Groundwater dominates snowmelt runoff and controls streamflow efficiency in the western United States
Abstract Climate change in seasonally snow-covered mountain catchments is reducing water supply and decreasing streamflow predictability. Here, we use tritium age dating to show that contrary to the common assumption that snowmelt quickly contributes to runoff, streamflow during snowmelt in western...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Communications Earth & Environment |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02303-3 |
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| author | Paul D. Brooks D. Kip Solomon Stephanie Kampf Sara Warix Carleton Bern David Barnard Holly R. Barnard Gregory T. Carling Rosemary W. H. Carroll Jon Chorover Adrian Harpold Kathleen Lohse Fabiola Meza Jennifer McIntosh Bethany Neilson Megan Sears Margaret Wolf |
| author_facet | Paul D. Brooks D. Kip Solomon Stephanie Kampf Sara Warix Carleton Bern David Barnard Holly R. Barnard Gregory T. Carling Rosemary W. H. Carroll Jon Chorover Adrian Harpold Kathleen Lohse Fabiola Meza Jennifer McIntosh Bethany Neilson Megan Sears Margaret Wolf |
| author_sort | Paul D. Brooks |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Climate change in seasonally snow-covered mountain catchments is reducing water supply and decreasing streamflow predictability. Here, we use tritium age dating to show that contrary to the common assumption that snowmelt quickly contributes to runoff, streamflow during snowmelt in western US catchments is dominated by older groundwater. The average age of streamwater during snowmelt runoff (5.7 ± 4.3 years) was intermediate to the average age of groundwater (10.4 ± 4.5 years) and recent precipitation, indicating that 58% (±34%) of snowmelt runoff was derived from groundwater. Water ages, streamflow, and groundwater storage were mediated by bedrock geology: low-permeability hard rock/shale catchments exhibited younger ages, less storage, and more efficient streamflow generation than high-permeability sandstone/clastic catchments. Our results demonstrate that snowmelt runoff is the result of multiple prior years of climate mediated by groundwater storage. Including these interactions will be crucial for predicting water resources as climate and landscape changes accelerate. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0ee3dbbf9a29414788b46c576f73aa3e |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2662-4435 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Earth & Environment |
| spelling | doaj-art-0ee3dbbf9a29414788b46c576f73aa3e2025-08-20T01:51:41ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Earth & Environment2662-44352025-05-01611810.1038/s43247-025-02303-3Groundwater dominates snowmelt runoff and controls streamflow efficiency in the western United StatesPaul D. Brooks0D. Kip Solomon1Stephanie Kampf2Sara Warix3Carleton Bern4David Barnard5Holly R. Barnard6Gregory T. Carling7Rosemary W. H. Carroll8Jon Chorover9Adrian Harpold10Kathleen Lohse11Fabiola Meza12Jennifer McIntosh13Bethany Neilson14Megan Sears15Margaret Wolf16Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of UtahDepartment of Geology and Geophysics, University of UtahDepartment of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Colorado State UniversityDepartment of Geology and Geophysics, University of UtahUSGS Colorado Water Science CenterUSDA Agricultural Research ServiceDepartment of Geography, University of ColoradoDepartment of Geological Sciences, Brigham Young UniversityDivision of Hydrologic Sciences, Desert Research InstituteDepartment of Environmental Science, University of ArizonaDepartment of Natural Resources & Environmental Science, University of NevadaDepartment of Biological Sciences, Idaho State UniversityDepartment of Natural Resources & Environmental Science, University of NevadaDepartment of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, University of ArizonaDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Utah Water Research Laboratory, Utah State UniversityDepartment of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Colorado State UniversityIdaho Water Resources Research Institute, University of IdahoAbstract Climate change in seasonally snow-covered mountain catchments is reducing water supply and decreasing streamflow predictability. Here, we use tritium age dating to show that contrary to the common assumption that snowmelt quickly contributes to runoff, streamflow during snowmelt in western US catchments is dominated by older groundwater. The average age of streamwater during snowmelt runoff (5.7 ± 4.3 years) was intermediate to the average age of groundwater (10.4 ± 4.5 years) and recent precipitation, indicating that 58% (±34%) of snowmelt runoff was derived from groundwater. Water ages, streamflow, and groundwater storage were mediated by bedrock geology: low-permeability hard rock/shale catchments exhibited younger ages, less storage, and more efficient streamflow generation than high-permeability sandstone/clastic catchments. Our results demonstrate that snowmelt runoff is the result of multiple prior years of climate mediated by groundwater storage. Including these interactions will be crucial for predicting water resources as climate and landscape changes accelerate.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02303-3 |
| spellingShingle | Paul D. Brooks D. Kip Solomon Stephanie Kampf Sara Warix Carleton Bern David Barnard Holly R. Barnard Gregory T. Carling Rosemary W. H. Carroll Jon Chorover Adrian Harpold Kathleen Lohse Fabiola Meza Jennifer McIntosh Bethany Neilson Megan Sears Margaret Wolf Groundwater dominates snowmelt runoff and controls streamflow efficiency in the western United States Communications Earth & Environment |
| title | Groundwater dominates snowmelt runoff and controls streamflow efficiency in the western United States |
| title_full | Groundwater dominates snowmelt runoff and controls streamflow efficiency in the western United States |
| title_fullStr | Groundwater dominates snowmelt runoff and controls streamflow efficiency in the western United States |
| title_full_unstemmed | Groundwater dominates snowmelt runoff and controls streamflow efficiency in the western United States |
| title_short | Groundwater dominates snowmelt runoff and controls streamflow efficiency in the western United States |
| title_sort | groundwater dominates snowmelt runoff and controls streamflow efficiency in the western united states |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02303-3 |
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