Concepts

Process controlling environmental tracer and groundwater age distributions in fractured rock systems through diffusive exchange between fractures and rock matrix

Parameters including recharge temperature, elevation, and excess-air conditions that control dissolved noble gas concentrations in groundwater

Physical and thermodynamic processes that alter snowpack isotopic composition after initial deposition, including sublimation, vapor exchange, and melt-freeze cycles

The movement of eroded soil and rock particles by water flow

Overland flow that occurs when rainfall intensity exceeds the rate at which water can enter the soil

Below-normal snowpack conditions that can be caused by lack of winter precipitation (dry) or winter precipitation falling as rain rather than snow (warm)

Direct transition of snow from solid to vapor phase, important for water balance in mountain watersheds

The difference between observed streamflow and expected or baseline streamflow, representing water shortage

Spatial and temporal variation in water temperatures that can support diverse aquatic species and provide thermal refugia

Unsaturated zone above the water table where pore spaces contain both air and water

The integrated biogeochemical, hydrological, and ecological processes that control water, energy, and nutrient cycling within a watershed

The degree to which a watershed can rebound after perturbations to predicted increases in climate variability

A physically-based model that simulates the hydro-thermal dynamics from the top of the canopy to the bedrock

A method to track individual water parcels through a hydrologic system using particles that move according to velocity fields

A dimensionless ratio of fluid inertial to viscous forces that distinguishes between laminar and turbulent flow regimes

Theoretical framework describing continuous changes in stream characteristics from headwaters to mouth