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Identifying evaporation fractionation and streamflow components based on stable isotopes in the Kaidu River Basin with mountain–oasis system in north‐west China
Author(s) -
Haiyan Chen,
Yaning Chen,
Weihong Li,
Xinming Hao,
Yupeng Li,
Qifei Zhang
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
hydrological processes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.222
H-Index - 161
eISSN - 1099-1085
pISSN - 0885-6087
DOI - 10.1002/hyp.13176
Subject(s) - meltwater , groundwater , hydrology (agriculture) , streamflow , environmental science , spring (device) , surface water , glacier , drainage basin , precipitation , stable isotope ratio , geology , geomorphology , geography , physics , geotechnical engineering , cartography , quantum mechanics , meteorology , mechanical engineering , environmental engineering , engineering
Based on stable isotopes in stream water, groundwater, and meltwater in the Kaidu River Basin, NW China, we estimated the evaporation enrichment of stable oxygen isotopes in different types of water and separated the contribution of each streamflow component in river run‐off. Our results indicated that δ 18 O and δ 2 H in stream water did not vary with altitude regularly but with seasons, with low concentrations in spring and high concentrations in summer. However, the seasonal variations of δ 18 O and δ 2 H in groundwater were not as obvious. The mean evaporation enrichment was between 26% and 44% for δ 18 O. Of the various water types under investigation, we found glaciers were influenced the most, showing an evaporation enrichment of 44%, followed by oasis groundwater (37%), stream water (36%), and mountain groundwater (26%). Overall, meltwater and groundwater were the predominant streamflow components, with their contributions were governed by temperature, and varied both temporally and specially. In the oasis region, groundwater was the predominant contributor (64% in spring, 50% in summer, and 66% in autumn), whereas in the mountains, groundwater was the dominant in spring (53%) and autumn (51%), and meltwater contributed the most in summer (52%). Precipitation contributed less than 15% to the streamflow.