Snowmelt and groundwater storage in an alpine basin

Martinec, J.; Oeschger, H.; Schotterer, U.; Siegenthaler, U. (1982). Snowmelt and groundwater storage in an alpine basin. In: Glen, J. W. (ed.) Hydrological aspects of alpine and high-mountain areas. IAHS Publication: Vol. 138 (pp. 169-175). International Association of Hydrological Sciences

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In contrast to usual runoff concepts emphasizing the role of surface flow, tracer studies using environmental isotopes reveal a big groundwater recharge from snowmelt and a similarly large amount of groundwater in the discharge from the Alpine basin Dischma. Concentrations of tritium indicate an average residence time of groundwater of four to five years. Thus the groundwater storage capacity appears to exceed significantly the conventional estimates for mountain basins. A quick effect of meltwater infiltration on the outflow from groundwater reserves, caused by rapid pressure transmission, has to be assumed. Such an effect was actually demonstrated by Stauffer et al. (1981) in a laboratory model. This runoff mechanism seems to be confirmed in various other basins by other authors.

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