Collaborative Research: Biogeochemical and Hydrologic Controls on Solutes and Flowpaths in Alpine Watersheds

这项研究将阐明地球化学和地球化学过程，是重要的在流域尺度在高山盆地。 它将使用多学科的方法，结合稳定和放射性同位素示踪剂，情节级实验，过程级建模和现场研究来约束建模结果，检查这些过程。 新的同位素工具将结合水质和水量的实地测量来分离大气和土壤来源的硝酸盐在溪流中的相对贡献，增加我们对控制碱度的地球化学反应的理解，并提供对硫沉积动力学的见解。 一个关键的目标是建立一个强大的溶质运移模型的基本原则，以预测在许多网站和各种条件下的各种化学成分的命运。 相关的地球化学、水文地球化学和水文过程在流域尺度上相互关联，因此必须一起研究。 用于这个基于物理的数学模型的算法提供了一个综合的方法来模拟季节性积雪覆盖的高山盆地的水文和地球化学模型的开发和现场工作密不可分。 这项研究将有助于更好地了解地球化学和地球化学过程，这可以用来应对人为扰动。多学科研究小组得到了国家生物服务局、美国地质调查局、国家公园服务局和长期生态研究计划的合作支持。 这两个研究区域是尼沃特岭/绿色湖谷和锁谷流域，位于科罗拉多前山脉的东坡。

This research will elucidate geochemical and biogeochemical processes that are important at the watershed scale in alpine basins. It will examine these processes using a multidisciplinary approach that combines stable and radiogenic isotopic tracers, plot level experiments, process-level modeling, and field research to constrain the modeling results. New isotopic tools will be used in combination with field measurements of water quality and quantity to separate the relative contributions of atmospheric and soil-derived sources of nitrate in streamwaters, increase our understanding of the biogeochemical reactions controlling alkalinity, and provide insights into the dynamics of sulfur deposition. A key objective is the development of a robust model for solute transport built on fundamental principles to predict the fate of a variety of chemical constituents at many sites and under a variety of conditions. The relevant geochemical, biogeochemical and hydrologic processes are interconnected at the watershed scale and therefore must be studied together. The algorithms used for this ph ysically-based mathematical model provide an integrated approach to modeling the hydrology and biogeochemistry of seasonally snow-covered alpine basins with model development and field work inextricably linked. This research will contribute to a better fundamental understanding of the biogeochemical and geochemical processes, which can be used in responding to anthropogenic perturbations. The multidisciplinary research team has cooperative support from the National Biological Service, U.S. Geological Survey, the National Park Service, and the Long-Term Ecological Research Program. The two study areas are Niwot Ridge/Green Lakes Valley and Lock Vale Watershed, which lie on the east slope of the Colorado Front Range.