Snowmelt-mediated isotopic homogenization of shallow till soil

Abstract

The hydrological cycle of sub-arctic areas is dominated by the snowmelt event. An understanding of the mechanisms that control water fluxes during high-volume infiltration events in sub-arctic till soils is needed to assess how future changes in the timing and magnitude of snowmelt can affect soil water storage dynamics. We conducted a tracer experiment in which deuterated water was used to irrigate a plot on a forested hilltop in Lapland, tracked water fluxes of different mobility and monitored how the later snowmelt modifies the labelled soil water storage. We used lysimeters and destructive soil coring for soil water sampling and monitored and sampled the groundwater. Large spatiotemporal variability between the waters of different mobility was observed in the subsurface, while surface water flow during the tracer experiment was largely controlled by a fill-and-spill mechanism. Extensive soil saturation induced the flow of labelled water into the roots of nearby trees. We found that labelled water remained in deeper soil layers over the winter, but the snowmelt event gradually displaced all deuterated water and fully homogenized all water fluxes at the soil–vegetation interface. The conditions required for the full displacement of the old soil water occur only during a snowmelt with a persistently high groundwater table. We propose a conceptual model where infiltration into the soil and eventual soil water replenishment occur in three stages. First, unsaturated macropore flow is initiated via the surface microtopography and is directed towards the groundwater storage. The second stage is characterized by groundwater rise through the macropore network, subsequent pore water saturation and increased horizontal connectivity of macropores. Shallow subsurface lateral fluxes develop in more permeable shallow soil layers. In the third stage, which materializes during a long period with a high groundwater table and high hydrological connectivity within the soil, the soil water is replenished via enhanced matrix flow and pore water exchange with the macropore network.