Localizing and quantifying groundwater-surface water interactions at
different scales: a tracer approach at the River Moselle, Germany
Abstract
Groundwater-surface water interactions (GSI) connect rivers and streams
with riparian areas and the adjacent aquifer. Although these
interactions represent a substantial control of quantity and quality of
both groundwater and surface water, knowledge on GSI along rivers at the
regional scale, particularly inland waterways, is still limited. We
investigated GSI along the river Moselle, an important federal inland
waterway in Germany, by using radon and tritium to identify gaining and
losing stream conditions, respectively. Gaining stream conditions were
identified by continuously measuring radon along the river as part of
boat surveys using a high spatial resolution (every two km) during
intermediate (October 2020) and near low flow conditions
(August/September 2021). Quarterly tritium inventories from 2017 to 2021
revealed losses of up to 27 % due to losing stream conditions at the
upstream locations of damns (particularly near the hydroelectric power
plant Lehmen) while gains (up to 51 %) likely triggered by a
flood-induced mass transfer of water from the aquifer back into the
river. Using radon mass balance modeling, good agreements of simulated
versus measured radon data with respect to two groundwater end-member
scenarios were obtained during intermediate flow (Spearman’s ρ: 0.97 and
0.99; MAE: 10.1 and 3.4 Bq l -1) and near low flow
(Spearman’s ρ: 0.97 and 0.99; MAE: 11 and 6.5 Bq l
-1). Important groundwater inflow was limited to the
meander of Detzem, where cumulated groundwater inflow of about 19 m
3 s -1 (9.5 % of total discharge)
and 4.2 m 3s -1 (3.8 % of total
discharge) was simulated during intermediate and near low flow,
respectively. However, these groundwater contributions were relatively
low compared to alpine streams, for example. Finally, the study will
help to better identify and quantify GSI at the regional scale and
provide methodological guidance for future studies focusing on inland
waterways.