Isotope tracers in catchment hydrology

Amsterdam

2000

XXIX, 839 S.

Ill., graph. Darst., Kt.

Monographie

0-444-50155-X

161727

Isotope tracers have been an important tool in catchment hydrology for the past two decades. Isotope hydrograph separations determined by simple conservative-mixing models have shown repeatedly that streamflow generated during rainfall or snowmelt is supplied largely by water sotred in the catchment prior to the event, an insight that has greatly changed how hydrologists view how waters and solutes move from the land surface into streams and groundwater. Other uses of isotopes for tracing physical mixig and biogeochemical transformations have revolutionized our preception fo catchments as integrated physical-chemical-biological systems. "Isotope Tracers in Catchment Hydrology" is the first synthesis of physical hydrology and isotope geochemistry with a catchment focus, and is a valuable reference for professionals and students alike in the fields of hydrology, hydrochemistry, and environmental science. This important interdisciplinary text provides extensive guidelines for the application of isotope techniques for all investigators facing the challenge of protecting precious water, soil, and ecological resources from the ever-increasing problems associated with population growth and environmental change, including those from urban development and agricultural land uses.