Using Stable Water Isotopes to Analyze Spatiotemporal Variability and Hydrometeorological Forcing in Mountain Valley Wetlands

Hathaway, Julia M.; Petrone, Richard M.; Westbrook, Cherie J.; Rooney, Rebecca C.; Langs, Lindsey E.

doi:10.3390/w14111815

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Using Stable Water Isotopes to Analyze Spatiotemporal Variability and Hydrometeorological Forcing in Mountain Valley Wetlands

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Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada

Department of Geography and Planning, University of Saskatchewan, 117 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5C8, Canada

Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada

⁴

Center for Hydrology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, AB S7N 3H5, Canada

⁵

Hydrometeorology Research Group, Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Academic Editor: Maurizio Barbieri

Water 2022, 14(11), 1815; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14111815

Received: 28 April 2022 / Revised: 27 May 2022 / Accepted: 29 May 2022 / Published: 5 June 2022

(This article belongs to the Section Hydrology)

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Abstract

Wetlands in Montane and Subalpine Subregions are increasingly recognized as important hydrologic features that support ecosystem function. However, it is currently not clear how climate trends will impact wetland hydrological processes (e.g., evaporative fluxes) across spatiotemporal scales. Therefore, identifying the factors that influence wetland hydrologic response to climate change is an important step in understanding the sensitivity of these ecosystems to environmental change. We used stable water isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen (δ²H and δ¹⁸O), coupled with climate data, to determine the spatiotemporal variability in isotopic signatures of wetland source waters and understand the influence of evaporative fluxes on wetlands in the Kananaskis Valley. Our results show that the primary runoff generation mechanism changes throughout the growing season resulting in considerable mixing in wetland surface waters. We found that evaporative fluxes increased with decreasing elevation and that isotopic values became further removed from meteoric water lines during the late peak- and into the post-growing seasons. These findings suggest that a change in the water balance in favor of enhanced evaporation (due to a warmer and longer summer season than present) will not only lead to greater water loss from the wetlands themselves but may also reduce the water inputs from their catchments. View Full-Text

Keywords: subalpine; montane; isotopes; evaporation; wetlands; Rocky Mountains; runoff; deuterium excess

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MDPI and ACS Style

Hathaway, J.M.; Petrone, R.M.; Westbrook, C.J.; Rooney, R.C.; Langs, L.E. Using Stable Water Isotopes to Analyze Spatiotemporal Variability and Hydrometeorological Forcing in Mountain Valley Wetlands. Water 2022, 14, 1815. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14111815

AMA Style

Hathaway JM, Petrone RM, Westbrook CJ, Rooney RC, Langs LE. Using Stable Water Isotopes to Analyze Spatiotemporal Variability and Hydrometeorological Forcing in Mountain Valley Wetlands. Water. 2022; 14(11):1815. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14111815

Chicago/Turabian Style

Hathaway, Julia M., Richard M. Petrone, Cherie J. Westbrook, Rebecca C. Rooney, and Lindsey E. Langs. 2022. "Using Stable Water Isotopes to Analyze Spatiotemporal Variability and Hydrometeorological Forcing in Mountain Valley Wetlands" Water 14, no. 11: 1815. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14111815

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Using Stable Water Isotopes to Analyze Spatiotemporal Variability and Hydrometeorological Forcing in Mountain Valley Wetlands

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