Concurrent conservative and reactive tracer tests in a stream undergoing hyporheic exchange

• Published in: Water resources research 2013-05, Vol.49 (5), p.3024-3037
• Main Authors: Lemke, Dennis, Liao, Zijie, Wöhling, Thomas, Osenbrück, Karsten, Cirpka, Olaf A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biogeochemical cycles; Freshwater; hyporheic exchange; Markov analysis; Markov chains; Mathematical models; Monte Carlo simulation; Parameter estimation; resazurin; resorufin; Solutes; stream tracer experiments; Streambeds; travel-time distributions
• ISSN: 0043-1397; 1944-7973
• DOI: 10.1002/wrcr.20277

Key Points concurrent tests of conservative and reactive tracers in streams joint analysis of the tracers improved the estimation of hyporheic parameters Markov chain Monte Carlo methods used to infer parameter distributions Knowledge about the strength and travel times of hyporheic exchange is vital to predict reactive transport and biogeochemical cycling in streams. In this study, we outline how to perform and analyze stream tracer tests using pulse injections of fluorescein as conservative and resazurin as reactive tracer, which is selectively transformed to resorufin when exposed to metabolically active zones, presumably located in the hyporheic zone. We present steps of preliminary data analysis and apply a conceptually simple mathematical model of the tracer tests to separate effects of in‐stream transport from hyporheic exchange processes. To overcome the dependence of common parameter estimation schemes on the initial guess, we derive posterior parameter probability density functions using an adaptive Markov chain Monte Carlo scheme. By this, we can identify maximum‐likelihood parameter values of in‐stream transport, strength of hyporheic exchange, distribution of hyporheic travel times as well as sorption and reactivity coefficients of the hyporheic zone. We demonstrate the approach by a tracer experiment at River Goldersbach in southern Germany (60 L/s discharge). In‐stream breakthrough curves were recorded with online fluorometers and jointly fitted to simulations of a one‐dimensional reactive transport model assuming an exponential hyporheic travel‐time distribution. The findings show that the additional analysis of resazurin not only improved the physical basis of the modeling, but was crucial to differentiate between surface transport and hyporheic transient storage of stream solutes. Parameter uncertainties were usually small and could not explain parameter variability between adjacent monitoring stations. The latter as well as a systematic underestimation of the tailing are due to structural errors of the model, particularly the exponential hyporheic travel‐time distribution. Mean hyporheic travel times were in the range of 12 min, suggesting that small streambed structures dominate hyporheic exchange at the study site.