| Title: | Young water fractions in spring discharge |
|---|
| Authors: | ID Seelig, Simon (Author)
ID Thalheim, Felix (Author)
ID Seelig, Magdalena (Author)
ID Töchterle, Paul (Author)
ID Vremec, Matevž (Author)
ID Masten, Martin (Author)
ID Brielmann, Heike (Author)
ID Eybl, Jutta (Author)
ID Winkler, Gerfried (Author) |
|---|
| Files: |  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022169426003185?via%3Dihub
 1-s2.0-S0022169426003185-mmc1.pdf (3,53 MB)
MD5: 6D0B4EAE439112C276838282C6FB2750
|
|---|
| Language: | English |
|---|
| Work type: | Unknown |
|---|
| Typology: | 1.01 - Original Scientific Article |
|---|
| Organization: | UAMEU - Alma Mater Europaea University
|
|---|
| Abstract: | Transit time distributions are fundamental to hydrologic research and practice, providing insights into how catch ments store, transport, and release water and solutes. Mean transit time estimates, however, often suffer from significant aggregation errors in heterogeneous and nonstationary catchments. The young water fraction (Fyw) provides a robust alternative that directly reflects the proportion of recent precipitation in discharge and enables consistent comparison between catchments. While numerous studies have focused on estimating Fyw in rivers, little is known about its magnitude and variability in springs. To address this knowledge gap, this study quanti f ies Fyw in spring discharge from a diverse set of 469 springs in Austria. Across the dataset, Fyw is generally low and approximately log-normally distributed (mean 0.06), with variability among springs largely controlled by aquifer structure: karst springs display the highest fractions and greatest variability, talus springs intermediate values, and fracture and alluvial springs low fractions with limited variability. Evaluating the sensitivity of Fyw to discharge reveals distinct responses to hydrologic forcing: karst springs are most sensitive, reflecting tempo rary shifts in relative flow path contributions, whereas fracture springs are least sensitive, reflecting conservative f low dynamics. Drawing on a dataset of 565 rivers compiled for comparison, springs exhibit substantially lower Fyw, likely reflecting their predominantly slow subsurface flow paths. By analyzing Fyw across a large number of springs, this study delivers the first systematic insight into young water contributions to spring discharge, informing conceptual models, water resource management strategies, and contamination risk assessments. |
|---|
| Keywords: | young water fraction, stable isotopes, spring discharge, transit time, alpine hydrology, comparative hydrology |
|---|
| Publication date: | 01.05.2026 |
|---|
| Year of publishing: | 2026 |
|---|
| Number of pages: | 15 str. |
|---|
| Numbering: | Vol. 670, [article no.] ǂ135221 |
|---|
| PID: | 20.500.12556/ReVIS-13349  |
|---|
| COBISS.SI-ID: | 272580355 |
|---|
| UDC: | 556.36 |
|---|
| ISSN on article: | 1879-2707 |
|---|
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.135221 |
|---|
| Note: | Nasl. z nasl. zaslona;
Opis vira z dne 23. 3. 2026;
|
|---|
| Publication date in ReVIS: | 23.03.2026 |
|---|
| Views: | 29 |
|---|
| Downloads: | 0 |
|---|
| Metadata: |    |
|---|
|
:
|
Copy citation |
|---|
| | | | Share: |  |
|---|
Hover the mouse pointer over a document title to show the abstract or click
on the title to get all document metadata. |
