Seasonal change in precipitation, snowpack, snowmelt, soil water, and streamwater chemistry, northern Michigan
Stottlemyer R and Toczydlowski D. 1999. Seasonal change in precipitation, snowpack, snowmelt, soil water, and streamwater chemistry, northern Michigan. Hydrological Processes. 13:2215-2231
Weekly precipitation, snowpack, snowmelt, soil water, and streamwater chemistry was studied throughout winter for over a decade in a small (176 ha.) northern Michigan watershed (Calumet, MI) with high snowfall and vegetated by 60 to 80 year-old northern hardwoods. In this paper the authors examined physical, chemical, and biological processes responsible for observed seasonal change in streamwater chemistry based upon intensive study during winter 1996-97. The objective was to define the contributions made to winter and spring streamwater chemical concentration and flux by processes as snowmelt, over-winter forest floor and surface soil mineralization, immobilization, and exchange, and subsurface flowpath. Small, but steady, snowmelt throughout winter removed readily mobilized soil NO3 which resulted in big over-winter streamwater concentrations but little flux. Winter soil water levels and flowpaths were generally deep which increased soil water and streamwater base cation, HCO3, and Si concentrations. Spring snowmelt increased soil water levels and removal of ions and DOC from the biologically active forest floor and shallow soils. Following peak snowmelt, soil microbial immobilization and rapidly increased plant uptake of limiting nutrients removed nearly all available nitrogen from soil water and streamwater.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Stottlemyer, Robert; Toczydlowski, David
- Units
- ISRO
- Keywords
- Biogeochemistry, Michigan, Snowmelt, Snowpack, soil water, stream chemistry, Watershed