The hydrological regime in Arctic catchments is being altered as an effect of climate change. To be able to project future changes in Arctic hydrology and hydrogeology, the mechanisms and drivers affecting runoff generation needs to be understood. This thesis aims to investigate and compare rainfall-runoff processes in three hillslope subcatchments, one glacierized and one non-glacierized catchment, in the Arctic. By estimating catchment response parameters and using recession analysis it was found that soil layer extent, rather than catchment size, explained differences in catchment response. The character of the rainfall events was a dominant factor affecting catchment response in both the glacierized and non-glacierized catchment. Saturation excess overland flow was a runoff-generating process in all catchments. Furthermore, permafrost and glacier presence, as well as meltwater contribution to the streams, were suggested to result in a larger variability in catchment response and storage contribution along the hillslopes and the glacierized catchment. Meanwhile, the wetness of the non-glacierized catchment was suggested to influence the storage-discharge dynamics in the non-linearized catchment. Water height recession analysis was not considered reliable to characterize aquifer properties in the catchments. However, it was able to describe the changes in storage-discharge relations over time in Arctic catchments.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:su-225795 |
| Date | January 2023 |
| Creators | Johansson, June |
| Publisher | Stockholms universitet, Institutionen för naturgeografi |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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