CHANGES IN GROUNDWATER CONTRIBUTION TO MOUNTAIN RIVERS UNDER VARYING TECTONIC AND CLIMATE CONDITIONS: OBSERVED INTERACTIONS BETWEEN BASEFLOW AND FORCINGS
This study demonstrates the degree of correlation between groundwater discharge to the surface and tectonic and climatic forcings. A landscape evolution model coupled with deep, 3D groundwater simulation is thus constructed to accommodate the variabilities. We examined changes in groundwater upwelling characteristics in several hypothetical topographic settings for dozens of million years. In addition, we present several metrics that represent the overall “connectedness” of surface flow (i.e., mountain rivers) supported by baseflow.
The constructed history of groundwater contribution to mountain rivers and resulting stream connections through time can indicate the importance of baseflow on characteristics of fluvial geomorphic processes and species evolution. This work supports our currently ongoing project aimed at developing an integrated understanding of geology, ecology, and hydrology.