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Accurate estimation of precipitation in mountain catchments is challenging due to its high spatial variability and lack of measured ground data. Weather radar can help to provide precipitation estimates in such conditions. This study investigates the differences between measured and radar-estimated daily precipitation in the mountain catchment of the Jalovecký Creek (area 22 km2, 6 rain gauges at altitudes 815–1900 m a.s.l.) in years 2017–2020. Despite good correlations between measured and radar-based precipitation at individual sites (correlation coefficients 0.68–0.90), the radar-estimated precipitation was mostly substantially smaller than measured precipitation. The underestimation was smaller at lower altitude (on average by –4% to –17% at 815 m a.s.l.) than at higher altitudes (–35% to –59% at 1400–1900 m a.s.l.). Unlike measured data, the radar-estimated precipitation did not show the differences in precipitation amounts at lower and higher altitudes (altitudinal differences). The differences between the measured and radar-estimated precipitation were not related to synoptic weather situations. The obtained results can be useful in preparation of more accurate precipitation estimates for the small mountain catchments.

The rainfall-runoff process transforms a precipitation input to a catchment into runoff output and is an important indicator for river water quality and quantity. Since runoff events are comprised of precipitation event water and stored pre-event water of the catchment, exploring the event and pre-event components of runoff events using the stable isotopes of water (δ18O, δ2H) and two-component and ensemble isotopic hydrograph separation may further our insights into overall catchment behaviour and the origin of water. The aim of this study is to investigate the origin of water for different streamflow gauges in a small agricultural catchment that represent different runoff generation mechanisms. The analysis is performed at the Hydrological Open Air Laboratory (HOAL) in Austria, which is a 66 ha experimental catchment dominated by agricultural land use. One of the main features of this research catchment is that several tributaries of the catchment representing different runoff generation mechanisms are gauged. Two-component and ensemble isotopic hydrograph separations (for both δ18O and δ2H) are conducted for three streamflow gauges (the catchment’s inlet and outlet and a tile drainage system) for multiple events in the warm periods of 2013-2018. The results of the two methods are compared and discussed for different runoff generation mechanisms.

Paradana is one of the biggest ice caves in Slovenia, with an estimated ice volume of 8,000 m3. Reflecting climatological conditions, the cave ice undergoes repeated freeze-thaw cycles and regular yearly deposition of fresh ice. Three distinct ice block samples, collected from the frozen lake in May 2016, were analysed to obtain data on ice physicochemical properties and the composition of associated microbiota. Isotopic composition of the ice samples (18O, 2H) and a local meteoric water line (LMWL) constructed for monthly precipitation at Postojna were used to estimate the isotopic composition of the water that formed the ice, which had high values of deuterium excess and low concentrations of chloride, sulphate and nitrate. The values of total organic carbon (1.93–3.95 mg/l) within the ice blocks fall within the range of those measured in karst streams. Total cell count in the ice was high and the proportion of cell viability increased along the depth gradient and ranged from 4.67 × 104 to 1.52 × 105 cells/ml and from 51.0 to 85.4%, respectively. Proteobacteria represented the core of the cave-ice microbiome (55.9–79.1%), and probably play an essential role in this ecosystem. Actinobacteria was the second most abundant phylum (12.0–31.4%), followed in abundance by Bacteroidetes (2.8–4.3%). Ice phylotypes recorded amounted to 442 genera, but only 43 genera had abundances greater than 0.5%. Most abundant were Pseudomonas, a well-known ice dweller, and Lysobacter, which previously was not reported in this context. Finally, two xanthophytes, Chloridella glacialis and Ellipsoidion perminimum, known from polar environments, were cultured from the ice. This indicates that the abundance and ecological role of phototrophs in such environments might be greater than previously deduced.

We analyse water balance, hydrological response, runoff and snow cover characteristics in the Jalovecký Creek catchment (area 22 km2, mean elevation 1500 m a.s.l.), Slovakia, in hydrological years 1989–2018 to search for changes in hydrological cycle of a mountain catchment representing hydrology of the highest part of the Western Carpathians. Daily air temperature data from two meteorological stations located in the studied mountain range (the Tatra Mountains) at higher elevations show that the study period is 0.1°C to 2.4°C warmer than the climatic standard period 1951–1980. Precipitation and snow depth data from the same stations do not allow to conclude if the study period is wetter/drier or has a decreasing snow cover. Clear trends or abrupt changes in the analysed multivariate hydrometric data time series are not obvious and the oscillations found in catchment runoff are not coherent to those found in catchment precipitation and air temperature. Several time series (flashiness index, number of flow reversals, annual and seasonal discharge maxima, runoff coefficients) indicate that hydrological cycle is more dynamic in the last years of the study period and more precipitation runs off since 2014. The snow cover characteristics and climatic conditions during the snow accumulation and melting period do not indicate pronounced changes (except the number of days with snowfall at the Kasprowy Wierch station since 2011). However, some data series (e.g. flow characteristics in March and June, annual versus summer runoff coefficients since 2014) suggest the changes in the cold period of the year.

δ18O in precipitation at station Liptovský Mikuláš (about 8.5 km south from the outlet of the Jalovecký Creek catchment) remains constantly higher since 2014 that might be related to greater evaporation in the region of origin of the air masses bringing precipitation to the studied part of central Europe. Increased δ18O values are reflected also in the Jalovecký Creek catchment runoff. Seasonality of δ18O in the Jalovecký Creek became less pronounced since 2014. The most significant trends found in annual hydrological data series from the catchment in the study period 1989–2018 have the correlation coefficients 0.4 to 0.7. These trends are found in the number of flow reversals (change from increasing to decreasing discharge and vice versa), June low flow, number of simple runoff events in summer months (June to September) and the flashiness index. The attribution analysis suggests that drivers responsible for the changes in these data series include the number of periods with precipitation six and more days long, total precipitation amount in February to June, number of days with precipitation in June to September and total precipitation in May on days with daily totals 10 mm and more, respectively. The coefficients of determination show that linear regressions between the drivers and supposedly changed data series explain only about 31% to 36% of the variability. Most of the change points detected in the time series by the Wild Binary Segmentation method occur in the second and third decades of the study period. Both hydrometric and isotopic data indicate that hydrological cycle in the catchment after 2014 became different than before.

We present preliminary results of the monitoring of oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in the water cycle of Georgia. The objective of the monitoring is to create maps of isotopic composition of precipitation over Georgia, estimate seasonal amplitudes in the isotopic composition of precipitation, and relationships with the surface and ground waters. Monthly cumulative precipitation samples have been collected since 2013 at 17 sites over entire Georgia at elevations 14 m a. s. l to 2220 m a. s. l. Local meteoric water lines (LMWLs) indicated differences between western, central, and eastern Georgia. Although the LMWLs slopes were mostly not substantially different, only the highest stations (Bakuriani and Gudauri) exhibited slopes that were slightly greater than 8. The lowest LMWL slope (7.4) was found for stations Chaladidi and Sabueti located in western and central Georgia. LMWL derived for Gudauri (the Greater Caucasus) had a significantly greater intercept (19.9) than at all other sites. Isotopic gradients in delta 18O and delta 2H calculated between stations Tbilisi (430 m a.s.l.) and Gudauri (2220 m a.s.l.) were -0.26 per mil and -1.8 per mil per 100 m, respectively. Monthly samples were collected in several major rivers (Rioni, Mtkvari, Alazani, Iori). Isotopic composition of the greatest Georgian river Mtkvari was best correlated with precipitation in the central Lesser Caucasus (Bakuriani and Sabueti) and southern slopes of the eastern Greater Caucasus (Lagodekhi). One-fourth of groundwater samples were collected in boreholes between mid-July and mid-August and almost all samples from the second half of September (i.e. in the periods without groundwater replenishment) contained evaporated water. Slopes of the evaporation lines were 5.4 and 4.8, respectively.

Soil moisture plays an important role in the transformation of precipitation into flow and affects the severity of droughts, floods and other hydrological processes such as transpiration and evaporation. Estimation of spatio-temporal dynamics of soil moisture is therefore crucial for all water sectors. The main objective of this study is to compare satellite-derived ASCAT soil moisture data and field soil moisture measurements in an experimental, well-documented catchment (the Jalovecký Creek catchment, Western Tatra mountains, Slovakia). For the comparison, we used data from the period of 2012 – 2019. Measured data are represented by point measurements at two localities: (a) Červenec – open area (1500 m a.s.l., measurements at a depth of 5 cm) and (b) Červenec – forest (1420 m a.s.l., measurements at a depth of 10 cm). The new, experimental version of the ASCAT product provides data with higher spatial and temporal resolutions and improved soil moisture mapping under vegetation. Satellite-derived soil moisture data represented by the Soil Water Index are determined by an exponential filter with characteristic time delays (T in days). T value represents the reduction of the infiltration of the soil moisture dynamics, and therefore, it must be carefully chosen. The suitability of the satellite data in terms of different T values (i.e., T = 1, 2, 5, 10) is assessed by the visual inspection (measurements vs satellite) and correlation coefficient. The agreement between observed ASCAT data and the field soil moisture measurements will be further evaluated using observations of snow accumulation and melt, precipitation, air temperature and global radiation. The study will discuss the factors controlling this agreement. AcknowledgmentsThis work was supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency under Contract No. APVV-19-0340 and the VEGA Grant Agency No. 2/0065/19. The financial support by the Stefan Schwarz grant of the Slovak Academy of Sciences is also gratefully acknowledged.

The rapid movement of water in a complex system of preferential pathways in soils is a common natural phenomenon. However, quantification of the properties of this phenomenon is not easy and such results are not often found in the literature. The paper presents results of quantification of the number of macropores, their relative volume and the ratio of water infiltrating through the macropores for five study sites with stony soils located in a mountain catchment of northern Slovakia. These characteristics were calculated from the saturated and unsaturated soil hydraulic conductivities under the assumptions of the Poiseuille’s law. Saturated hydraulic conductivities were estimated by single ring infiltrometer measurements in the field and by falling head method in the laboratory. Unsaturated hydraulic conductivities were estimated by tension infiltration measurements in the field (using a minidisc infiltrometer, Decagon Devices). The largest amount of macropores (defined as the pores with radius larger than 1.5 mm) in the entire soil profile (7–5276 per 1 m2) was found at forest sites overgrown by spruce with high to extremely high stoniness. The number of macropores decreased with depth of the soil profile at all study sites. The contribution of macropore flow to water infiltration varied from approximately 63% to almost 100%. Although macropores can conduct a large proportion of water, their relative volume is small (0.001–0.9%). The relative volume of all macropores (active and non-active) estimated from the soil porosity and the water retention function was in the range 2–23%.

The Jalovecký Creek catchment, Slovakia (area 22.2 km², mean elevation 1500 m a.s.l.), is likely the last big valley complex in the Carpathian Mountains, in which the hydrological cycle is still governed by natural processes. Hydrological research is conducted there since the end of the 1980s. The overall mission of the research is to increase the knowledge about the hydrological cycle in the highest part of the Carpathians. The research agenda, briefly introduced in the first part of this article, is focused on water balance, snow accumulation and melt and runoff formation. Recent analysis of precipitation, discharge, snow cover and isotopic data from period 1989–2018 indicates that hydrological cycle has become more dynamic since 2014. Although several indicators suggest that it could be related to the cold part of the year, direct links with snow storage and the contribution of snowmelt water to catchment runoff were not confirmed. The second part of the article is therefore focused on an analysis of daily cycles in streamflow in March to June 1988–2018 to obtain a deeper insight into the snowmelt process. We describe characteristics of the cycles and examine their variability over the study period. The results indicate that less snow at the lowest elevations (800–1150 m a.s.l.) since 2009 could have influenced the cessation of the cycles in June since 2010. The possible role of the decreased amount of snow at the lowest elevations in changes in runoff characteristics is also suggested by an increase in time lags between maximum discharges during the events and maximum air temperatures preceding discharge maxima measured near the catchment outlet (at 750 m a.s.l.) in spring 2018 compared to springs with a similar number of streamflow cycles in the years 1988, 2000 and 2009. Wavelet analysis did not indicate changes in global power spectra in hourly discharge and air temperature data.

Exploring the isotopic composition of precipitation and streamflow in small catchments and the event and pre-event components of precipitation events using two-component isotopic hydrograph separation may better explain the overall catchment behaviour, more specifically the sources of water origin. This study’s main objective is to investigate the origin of water for different streamflow gauges in a small agricultural catchment, which represent different runoff generation mechanisms. The analysis will be performed in the Hydrological Open Air Laboratory (HOAL) in Austria, a 66 ha experimental catchment dominated by agricultural land use (Blöschl et al., 2016). One of the main specialities of this research catchment is that several tributaries of the catchment representing different runoff generation mechanisms are gauged, such as tile drainage flow or saturation excess runoff from erosion gullies. Two-component isotopic hydrograph separation (for both 18O and 2H) will be conducted for five streamflow gauges (catchment inlet and outlet, two erosion gullies and a tile drainage system) for multiple events in the period 2013-2018. The results will be linked and interpreted using additional observations such as time-lapse images of overland flow, electric conductivity measurements, groundwater level changes, evapotranspiration measurements, etc. The aim is to explain and discuss the processes of rainfall-runoff generation in small agricultural catchments. Reference:Blöschl, G., et al. (2016). The Hydrological Open Air Laboratory (HOAL) in Petzenkirchen: A hypothesis‐driven observatory. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20(1), 227–255. doi: 10.5194/hess‐20‐227‐2016.

Natural disturbances (windthrow, bark beetle, and fire) have reduced forest cover in the Tatra National Park (Slovakia) by 50% since the year 2004. We analyzed carbon fluxes and streamflow ten years after the forest destruction in three small catchments which differ in size, land cover, disturbance type and post-disturbance management. Point-wise CO2 fluxes were estimated by chamber methods for vegetation-dominated land-use types and extrapolated over the catchments using the site-specific regressions with environmental variables. Streamflow characteristics in the pre- and post-disturbance periods (water years of 1965&ndash, 2004 and 2005&ndash, 2014, respectively) were compared to identify changes in hydrological cycle initiated by the disturbances. Mature Norway spruce forest which was carbon neutral, turned to carbon source (330 &plusmn, 98 gC m&minus, 2 y&minus, 1) just one year after the wind disturbance. After ten years most of the windthrow sites acted as carbon sinks (from &minus, 341 &plusmn, 92.1 up to &minus, 463 &plusmn, 178 gC m&minus, 1). In contrast, forest stands strongly infested by bark beetles regenerated much slowly and on average emitted 495 &plusmn, 176 gC m&minus, 2 year&minus, 1. Ten years after the forest destruction, annual carbon balance in studied catchments was almost neutral in the least disturbed catchment. Carbon uptake notably exceeded its release in the most severely disturbed catchment (by windthrow and fire), where net ecosystem exchange (NEE) was &minus, 206 &plusmn, 115 gC m&minus, 2. The amount of sequestered carbon in studied catchments was driven by the extent of fast-growing successional vegetation cover (represented by the leaf area index LAI) rather than by the disturbance or vegetation types. Different post-disturbance management has not influenced the carbon balance yet. Streamflow characteristics did not indicate significant changes in the hydrological cycle. However, greater cumulative decadal runoff, different median monthly flows and low flows and the greater number of flow reversals in the in the first years after the windthrow in two severely affected catchments could be partially related to the influence of the disturbances.

The objective of this study is to examine the impact of the number of calibration repetitions on hydrologic model performance and parameter uncertainty in varying climatic conditions. The study is performed in a pristine alpine catchment in the Western Tatra Mountains (the Jaloveck&yacute, Creek catchment, Slovakia) using daily data from the period 1989&ndash, 2018. The entire data set has been divided into five 6-years long periods, the division was based on the wavelet analysis of precipitation, air temperature and runoff data. A lumped conceptual hydrologic model TUW (&ldquo, Technische Universit&auml, t Wien&rdquo, ) was calibrated by an automatic optimisation using the differential evolution algorithm approach. To test the effect of the number of calibrations in the optimisation procedure, we have conducted 10, 50, 100, 300, 500 repetitions of calibrations in each period and validated them against selected runoff and snow-related model efficiency criteria. The results showed that while the medians of different groups of calibration repetitions were similar, the ranges (max&ndash, min) of model efficiency criteria and parameter values differed. An increasing number of calibration repetitions tend to increase the ranges of model efficiency criteria during model validation, particularly for the runoff volume error and snow error, which were not directly used in model calibration. Comparison of model efficiencies in climate conditions that varied among the five periods documented changes in model performance in different periods but the difference between 10 and 500 calibration repetitions did not change much between the selected time periods. The results suggest that ten repetitions of model calibrations provided the same median of model efficiency criteria as a greater number of calibration repetitions and model parameter variability and uncertainty were smaller.

Manually collected snow data can be considered as ground truth for many applications, such as climatological or hydrological studies. Water equivalent of snow cover (SWE) can be manually measured by using a snow tube or snow cylinder to extract a snow core and measure the bulk density of the core by weighing it. Different snow core samplers and scales are used, but they all use the same measurement principle. However, there are various sources of uncertainty that have not been quantified in detail. To increase the understanding of these errors, different manual SWE measurement devices used across Europe were evaluated within the framework of the COST Action ES1404 HarmoSnow. Two field campaigns were organized in different environments to quantify uncertainties when measuring snow depth, snow bulk density and SWE with core samplers. The 1st field campaign in 2017 in Iceland focused on measurement differences attributed to different instrumentation compared with the natural variability in the snowpack, and the 2nd field campaign in 2018 in Finland focused on device comparison and on the separation of the different sources of variability. To our knowledge, such a comparison has not previously been conducted in terms of the number of device and different environments.During the 1st campaign, repeated measurements were taken along two 20 m long snow trenches to distinguish snow variability measured at the plot and at the point scale. The results revealed a much higher variability of SWE at the plot scale, resulting from both natural variability and instrument bias, compared to repeated measurements at the same spot, resulting mostly from error induced by observers or a high variability in the snow depth. Snow Micro Pen sampling showed that the snowpack was very homogeneous for the 2nd campaign, which allowed for the disregarding of the natural variability of the snowpack properties and the focus to be on separating between instrumental bias and error induced by observers. Results confirmed that instrumental bias exceeded both the natural variability and the error induced by observers, even when observers performed measurements with snow core samplers they were not formally trained on. Under such measurement conditions, the uncertainty in bulk snow density estimation is about 5% for an individual instrument and is close to 10% among different instruments. The results showed that the devices provided slightly different uncertainties since they were designed for different snow conditions. The aim of this comparison was not to provide a definitive estimation of uncertainty for manual SWE measurements, but to illustrate the role of the different uncertainty sources.

Large-scale forest dieback was reported in recent decades in many parts of the world. In Slovakia, the most endangered species is Norway spruce (Picea Abies). Spruce dieback affects also indigenous mountain forests. We analysed changes in snow cover characteristics in the disturbed spruce forest representing the tree line zone (1420 m a.s.l.) in the Western Tatra Mountains, Slovakia, in five winter seasons 2013-2017. Snow depth, density and water equivalent (SWE) were measured biweekly (10-12 times per winter) at four sites representing the living forest (Living), disturbed forest with dead trees (Dead), forest opening (Open) and large open area outside the forest (Meadow). The data confirmed statistically significant differences in snow depth between the living and disturbed forest. These differences increased since the third winter after forest dieback. The differences in snow density between the disturbed and living forest were in most cases not significant. Variability of snow density expressed by coefficient of variation was approximately half that of the snow depth. Forest dieback resulted in a significant increase (about 25%) of the water amount stored in the snow while the snowmelt characteristics (snowmelt beginning and time of snow disappearance) did not change much. Average SWE calculated for all measurements conducted during five winters increased in the sequence Living < Dead < Meadow < Open. SWE variability expressed by the coefficient of variation increased in the opposite order.

The role of stony soils in runoff response of mountain catchments is rarely studied. We have compared simulated response of stony soils with measured catchment runoff for events caused by rains of small and high intensities in the mountain catchment of the Jalovecký Creek, Slovakia. The soil water response was simulated for three sites with stoniness 10–65% using the Hydrus-2D single porosity model. Soil hydraulic parameters employed in the modelling, i. e. the saturated hydraulic conductivity and parameters of the soil water retention curves, were obtained by two approaches, namely by the Representative Elementary Volume approach (REVa) and by the inverse modelling with Hydrus-1D model (IMa). The soil water outflow hydrographs simulated by Hydrus-2D were compared to catchment runoff hydrographs by analysing their skewness and peak times. Measured catchment runoff hydrographs were similar to simulated soil water outflow hydrographs for about a half of rainfall events. Interestingly, most of them were caused by rainfalls with small intensity (below 2.5 mm/10 min). The REV approach to derive soil hydraulic parameters for soil water outflow modelling provided more realistic shapes of soil water outflow hydrographs and peak times than the IMa approach.

WOS: 000449717800011, This study evaluates MODIS snow cover characteristics for large number of snowmelt runoff events in 145 catchments from 9 countries in Europe. The analysis is based on open discharge daily time series from the Global Runoff Data Center database and daily MODIS snow cover data. Runoff events are identified by a base flow separation approach. The MODIS snow cover characteristics are derived from Terra 500 m observations (MOD10A1 dataset, V005) in the period 2000-2015 and include snow cover area, cloud coverage, regional snowline elevation (RSLE) and its changes during the snowmelt runoff events. The snowmelt events are identified by using estimated RSLE changes during a runoff event. The results indicate that in the majority of catchments there are between 3 and 6 snowmelt runoff events per year. The mean duration between the start and peak of snowmelt runoff events is about 3 days and the proportion of snowmelt events in all runoff events tends to increase with the maximum elevation of catchments. Clouds limit the estimation of snow cover area and RSLE, particularly for dates of runoff peaks. In most of the catchments, the median of cloud coverage during runoff peaks is larger than 80%. The mean minimum RSLE, which represents the conditions at the beginning of snowmelt events, is situated approximately at the mean catchment elevation. It means that snowmelt events do not start only during maximum snow cover conditions, but also after this maximum. The mean RSLE during snowmelt peaks is on average 170 m lower than at the start of the snowmelt events, but there is a large regional variability., European Commission FP7 [603587]; European Research Council under the ERC [291152]; Slovenian Research Agency [P2-0180], This work was supported by the European Commission FP7 funded research projects "Sharing Water-related Information to Tackle Changes in the Hydrosphere - for Operational Needs" (grant agreement number 603587), the European Research Council under the ERC Advanced Grant "Flood Change", project no. 291152) and the Slovenian Research Agency (grant P2-0180). The financial support is gratefully acknowledged. We would like also to thank the Global Runoff Data Centre, Koblenz, Germany and Czech Hydrometeorological Institute for providing daily runoff data for this work.

Understanding water flow paths and chemical inputs from the catchment to downstream water bodies is essential for determining sensitivity and response of water resources to climatic, land use and environmental changes. Multivariate analysis of hydrochemical data and estimation of water balance using chloride as a chemical tracer, and oxygen and hydrogen stable isotopes in water as physical tracers were applied to explore surface and subsurface hydrological pathways of water, organic and inorganic solutes in the unmanaged mountain catchment of Plesne Lake (Czech Republic). Nitrate 18O and 15N data were used to support hydrochemical data and hydrological pathways identification. Our results showed that even small variations of water transit time had an important influence on chemical composition in surface and subsurface flows. Water flowing through the subsurface weathered granite had mean transit time of about 11 months and a higher content of geogenic ions due to longer contact with bedrock materials. In contrast, surface flows with a transit time of about 5 months had higher concentrations of dissolved organic carbon, total phosphorus and organic nitrogen due to a higher proportion of water originating from the upper, organic-rich soil horizon. Stratification of oxygen isotopes in the water column of the lake were related to subsurface inlets into the lake. Our results were used to describe the transformation of chemical and isotopic signals by surface and subsurface hydrological pathways in the sensitive headwater catchment.

Publisher's version (útgefin grein), This paper is the outcome of a community initiative to identify major unsolved scientific problems in hydrology motivated by a need for stronger harmonisation of research efforts. The procedure involved a public consultation through online media, followed by two workshops through which a large number of potential science questions were collated, prioritised, and synthesised. In spite of the diversity of the participants (230 scientists in total), the process revealed much about community priorities and the state of our science: a preference for continuity in research questions rather than radical departures or redirections from past and current work. Questions remain focused on the process-based understanding of hydrological variability and causality at all space and time scales. Increased attention to environmental change drives a new emphasis on understanding how change propagates across interfaces within the hydrological system and across disciplinary boundaries. In particular, the expansion of the human footprint raises a new set of questions related to human interactions with nature and water cycle feedbacks in the context of complex water management problems. We hope that this reflection and synthesis of the 23 unsolved problems in hydrology will help guide research efforts for some years to come., We would like to thank the members of the IAHS, EGU, AGU and IAH for supporting this initiative. The LinkedIn group and overall secretariat was hosted by the IAHS, the Splinter meeting by EGU and the Vienna Catchment Science Symposium by the Vienna Doctoral Programme on Water Resource Systems (DK W1219-N28) funded by the Austrian Science Funds (FWF)., "Peer Reviewed"

Numerous global and regional validation studies have examined MODIS snow mapping accuracy by using measurements at climate stations, which are mainly at open sites. MODIS accuracy in alpine and forested regions is, however, still not well understood. The main objective of this study is to evaluate MODIS (MOD10A1 and MYD10A1) snow cover products in a small experimental catchment by using extensive snow course measurements at open and forest sites. The MODIS accuracy is tested in the Jalovecky creek catchment (northern Slovakia) in the period 2000–2011. The results show that the combined Terra and Aqua images enable snow mapping at an overall accuracy of 91.5%. The accuracies at forested, open and mixed land uses at the Červenec sites are 92.7%, 98.3% and 81.8%, respectively. The use of a 2-day temporal filter enables a significant reduction in the number of days with cloud coverage and an increase in overall snow mapping accuracy. In total, the 2-day temporal filter decreases the number of cloudy days from 61% to 26% and increases the snow mapping accuracy to 94%. The results indicate three possible factors leading to misclassification of snow as land: patchy snow cover, limited MODIS geolocation accuracy and mapping algorithm errors. Out of a total of 27 misclassification cases, patchy snow cover, geolocation issues and mapping errors occur in 12, 12 and 3 cases, respectively.

The non-equilibrium water flow was studied on an aeolian sandy soil under grass using the dye tracer infiltration experiments. Two experiments simulating infiltration of 20 mm and 70 mm of rain water were conducted. The improved digital image analysis technique for estimating the effective cross section (ECS) and degree of preferential flow (DPF) from stained soil profiles was used to analyze the depth dependency and variation of the ECS and DPF parameters. It was found that the heterogeneity of water flow in sandy soil under grass increased with depth. Extremes of heterogeneity parameters (minimum value of the ECS and maximum value of the DPF) were almost the same for the two cumulative infiltrations, and the depth, in which the extremes of heterogeneity parameters occurred, increased with an increase in cumulative infiltration. Moreover, considerable variation of infiltration patterns was indentified in consecutive vertical sections.

Syringes are the most expensive consumables for analyses in the Liquid Water Isotope Analyser using commercial Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (CRDS) systems. Our experience shows that although the syringe life significantly varies, it is not an exception that a syringe performs many thousands of injections. A simple maintenance procedure consisting of replacing the syringes two times per day and keeping them in the deionised water resulted in an average syringe life of over 3500 injections. Number of injections per sample affects the between-sample memory effect and the cost of the analysis (duration, energy, consumption of syringes). We studied the influence of the number of injections (six and nine) on the final δ(18)O and δ(2)H values using two sets of samples covering the ranges of isotopic composition typical for the natural waters of the highest part of the Carpathians (streams, springs, soil water and precipitation). The differences in the final δ-values between nine and six injections were within 0.1 ‰ for δ(18)O and 1.0 ‰ for δ(2)H for the Picarro 2120i and 2130i CRDS systems.

We modified a passive capillary sampler (PCS) to collect snowmelt water for isotopic analysis. Past applications of PCSs have been to sample soil water, but the novel aspect of this study was the placement of the PCSs at the ground-snowpack interface to collect snowmelt. We deployed arrays of PCSs at 11 sites in ten partner countries on five continents representing a range of climate and snow cover worldwide. The PCS reliably collected snowmelt at all sites and caused negligible evaporative fractionation effects in the samples. PCS is low-cost, easy to install, and collects a representative integrated snowmelt sample throughout the melt season or at the melt event scale. Unlike snow cores, the PCS collects the water that would actually infiltrate the soil; thus, its isotopic composition is appropriate to use for tracing snowmelt water through the hydrologic cycle. The purpose of this Briefing is to show the potential advantages of PCSs and recommend guidelines for constructing and installing them based on our preliminary results from two snowmelt seasons. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Pines, used for sand dune stabilization, can influence the hydrophysical parameters and water flow in an aeolian sandy soil considerably, mainly due to soil water repellency. Two sites, separated by distance of about 20 m, formed the basis of our study. A control soil (“Pure sand“) with limited impact of vegetation or organic matter was formed at 50 cm depth beneath a forest glade area. This was compared to a “Forest soil” in a 30-year old Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) forest. Most of the hydrophysical parameters were substantially different between the two soil surfaces. The forest soil was substantially more water repellent and had two-times the degree of preferential flow compared to pure sand. Water and ethanol sorptivities, hydraulic conductivity, and saturated hydraulic conductivity were 1%, 84%, 2% and 26% those of the pure sand, respectively. The change in soil hydrophysical parameters due to soil water repellency resulted in preferential flow in the forest soil, emerging during a simulated heavy rain following a long hot, dry period. The wetting front established in pure sand exhibited a form typical of that for stable flow. Such a shape of the wetting front can be expected in the forest soil in spring, when soil water repellency is alleviated substantially.

Variability of precipitation and runoff in the entire high Tatra Mountains in the period 1961–2010

Snow accumulation and melt are highly variable. Therefore, correct modeling of spatial variability of the snowmelt, timing and magnitude of catchment runoff still represents a challenge in mountain catchments for flood forecasting. The article presents the setup and results of detailed field measurements of snow related characteristics in a mountain microcatchment (area 59 000 m2, mean altitude 1509 m a. s. l.) in the Western Tatra Mountains, Slovakia obtained in winter 2015. Snow water equivalent (SWE) measurements at 27 points documented a very large spatial variability through the entire winter. For instance, range of the SWE values exceeded 500 mm at the end of the accumulation period (March 2015). Simple snow lysimeters indicated that variability of snowmelt and discharge measured at the catchment outlet corresponded well with the rise of air temperature above 0°C. Temperature measurements at soil surface were used to identify the snow cover duration at particular points. Snow melt duration was related to spatial distribution of snow cover and spatial patterns of snow radiation. Obtained data together with standard climatic data (precipitation and air temperature) were used to calibrate and validate the spatially distributed hydrological model MIKE-SHE. The spatial redistribution of input precipitation seems to be important for modeling even on such a small scale. Acceptable simulation of snow water equivalents and snow duration does not guarantee correct simulation of peakflow at short-time (hourly) scale required for example in flood forecasting. Temporal variability of the stream discharge during the snowmelt period was simulated correctly, but the simulated discharge was overestimated.

This study tested the hypothesis that the changes in hydrophysical parameters and heterogeneity of water flow in an aeolian sandy soil have the same trend as the process of succession. Three sub-sites were demarcated at the area of about 50 m x 50 m. The first sub-site was located at the pine-forest glade covered with a biological soil crust and represented the initial stage of succession. The second sub-site was located at the grassland and represented more advanced stage of succession. The third sub-site was located at the pine forest with 30-year old Scots pines and represented advanced stage (close to climax) of succession. The sandy soil at the surface was compared to the soil at the pine-forest glade at 50 cm depth, which served as a control because it had a similar texture but limited impact of vegetation or organic matter. It was found that any type of vegetation cover studied had a strong influence on hydrophysical parameters and heterogeneity of water flow in an aeolian sandy soil during hot and dry spells. The changes in some hydrophysical parameters (WDPT, R, k(-2 cm), Sw(-2 cm), ECS and DPF) and heterogeneity of water flow in an aeolian sandy soil had the same trend as the process of succession, but it was not so in the case of Ksand Se(-2 cm), probably due to the higher content of smaller soil particles in grassland soil in comparison with that content at other sub-sites. Both the persistence and index of water repellency of pure sand differed significantly from those of grassland, glade and forest soils. The highest repellency parameter values in forest soil resulted in the lowest value of both the water sorptivity and hydraulic conductivity in this soil in comparison with other soils studied. The highest value of ethanol sorptivity and the lowest value of saturated hydraulic conductivity in the grassland soil in comparison with other soils studied were due to the higher content of fine-grained (silt and clay) particles in the grassland soil. The effective cross section and the degree of preferential flow of pure sand differed significantly from those of grassland, glade and forest soils. The change in soil hydrophysical parameters due to soil water repellency resulted in preferential flow in the grassland, glade and forest soils, while the wetting front in pure sand area exhibited a form typical of that for stable flow. The latter shape of the wetting front can be expected in the studied soils in spring, when soil water repellency is alleviated substantially. The columnar shape of the wetting front, which can be met during heavy rains following long dry and hot spells, was attributed to redistribution of applied water on the surface to a series of micro-catchments, which acted as runon and runoff zones.

The article synthesizes available information on isotopic composition of precipitation in Slovakia (the Western Carpathians). Monthly δ18O data from eleven stations and period 1988-1997 were used to investigate correlations among the stations, altitude, air temperature and precipitation amount effects. The mean annual altitude and air temperature gradients of δ18O in precipitation were 0.21‰/100 m and 0.36‰/1°C, respectively. Maps of spatial distribution of mean annual δ18O in precipitation based on both gradients were constructed. The two maps do not significantly differ for the majority of Slovakia. δ2H data were available for only three stations. Local meteoric water line derived for the station with the longest data series (δ2H = = 7.86δ18O + 6.99) was close to the Global Meteoric Water line. Its parameters in periods 1991-1993 and 1991-2008 did not change. The study indicates that a more detailed monitoring of isotopic composition of precipitation in mountains should be carried out in the future. The highest station exhibited very small seasonal variability of δ18O in precipitation compared to other Slovak stations. The second highest mountain station had significantly higher deuterium excess than the neighboring stations located in the valley. In some analyses the data from the nearest stations situated abroad (Vienna, Krakow) were used.

Vegetation cover has a major effect on water flow in soils. Two sites, separated by distance of about 50 m, were selected to quantify the influence of grass cover on hydrophysical parameters and heterogeneity of water flow in a sandy soil emerging during a heavy rain following a long hot, dry period. A control soil (pure sand) with limited impact of vegetation or organic matter was obtained by sampling at 50 cm depth beneath a glade area, and a grassland soil was covered in a 10 cm thick humic layer and colonised by grasses. The persistence of water repellency was measured using the water drop penetration time test, sorptivity and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity using a mini disk infiltrometer, and saturated hydraulic conductivity using a double-ring infiltrometer. Dye tracer experiments were used to assess the heterogeneity of water flow, and both the modified method for estimating effective cross section and an original method for assessing the degree of preferential flow were used to quantify this heterogeneity from the images of dyed soil profiles. Most hydrophysical parameters were substantially different between the two surfaces. The grassland soil had an index of water repellency about 10 times that of pure sand and the persistence of water repellency almost 350 times that of pure sand. Water and ethanol sorptivities in the grassland soil were 7% and 43%, respectively, of those of the pure sand. Hydraulic conductivity and saturated hydraulic conductivities in the grassland soil were 5% and 16% of those of the pure sand, respectively. Dye tracer experiments revealed a stable flow with “air-draining” condition in pure sand and well-developed preferential flow in grassland soil, corresponding to individual grass tussocks and small micro-depressions. The grassland soil was substantially more water repellent and had 3 times the degree of preferential flow compared to pure sand. The results of this study reinforce our view that the consequences of any change in climate, which will ultimately influence hydrology, will be markedly different between grasslands and bare soils.

Summary This article evaluates the spatial and temporal changes in streamflow flashiness in 122 mountain catchments in Slovakia and Austria. The flashiness is quantified by the Richards–Baker flashiness index ( FI ), which is the ratio of absolute day-to-day fluctuations of streamflow relative to total flow in a year. The analysis is based on daily streamflow data from the period 1976 to 2005. The results show that the average day-to-day fluctuations of streamflow vary from 6% to 43%, depending on the catchment. The spatial pattern of the FI reflects the variations in the main geological units and generally shows a trend of decreasing flashiness with increasing size of the catchment. Statistically significant temporal trends in flashiness are found in 7 Slovak and 22 Austrian catchments. Most of these trends are related to anthropogenic effects, while, in a few catchments, the change in annual flashiness appears to be caused by changes in precipitation seasonality. A multivariate statistical analysis of FI indicates negative correlations with catchment area, mean catchment elevation, percents of forest cover, agricultural land and Quaternary geology. Positive correlations are found between FI and Tertiary and Calcareous geologies. Extrapolating the regression models beyond the observed range of catchment attributes used in the estimation leads to significant prediction errors. In order to better interpret the FI values, a statistically significant relationship was found between the FI and the frequency of peak flows exceeding the long-term mean as well as between the FI and the 5% quantile of daily streamflow.

This article describes the role of snow in the hydrological cycle in mountainous areas of central Europe (the Austrian Alps, Bohemian Massif, Western and Ukrainian Carpathians), presents a review of articles devoted to snow hydrology in the region and addresses the issues that seem to be focal areas of research in the near future. The last 60 years of snow hydrology research in central Europe, which was in many aspects comparable with research foci worldwide, provided a lot of knowledge on snow measurements, spatial and temporal distribution and modeling. However, despite continuous development of mathematical models and measurements of snow characteristics at meteorological stations and snow courses, current research seems to be mainly focused on testing new methods of obtaining snow cover data, e.g. using satellite images or terrestrial laser scanning. Combined application of snowmelt modeling, tracers and analyses of hydrological response of small catchments, especially during periods with diurnal runoff oscillations may extend knowledge on snow-influenced runoff generation.

Short-time measurements of interception in mountain spruce forestOpen area rainfall and throughfall measurements in the Western Tatra Mountains (altitude about 1500 m a.s.l.) made by tipping bucket gauges were used to estimate the usefulness of the short-time data in analysis of spruce interception. The 10-minute data from period 13 May-13 October 2009 did not reveal meaningful correlations between the open area rainfall and throughfall. Aggregated measurements representing individual rainfall events were more useful. They showed linear relationship between open area rainfall and throughfall for events with total rainfall depth in the open area exceeding 5 mm. Correlation between open area rainfall and throughfall for rainfall events with duration above 120 minutes was significantly better than for the shorter ones. Mean values of interception (percentage of open area rainfall which did not appear in throughfall) of individual rainfall events was high. When we excluded events for which throughfall was higher than the open area rainfall, mean interception for larger and longer rainfall events was 46% and 48%, respectively. For smaller (runoff depth below 5 mm) and shorter events (duration below 2 hours) the mean interception was 70% and 72%, respectively. However, the data revealed very high variability of interception.

The paper analyzes the impacts of the spruce forest on precipitation interception and evolution of snow cover in the mountain catchment of the Jalovecký creek, the Western Tatra Mountains, Slovakia. Both processes were monitored at the elevation of 1420 m a.s.l.. Interception was measured from the end of August 2006 until November 2008 by a network of 13 raingauges. Mean interception over the studied period in forest window was 23%. Mean values for the dripping zone under tree branches, near stems of the trees and under the young trees were 28%, 65% and 44%, respectively. With exception of forest window, the interception at the same characteristic positions was highly variable. Calculated daily precipitation thresholds needed to fulfill the storage capacity of the canopy were about 0.8–0.9 mm.

Spatial and temporal variability of snow line (SL) elevation, snow cover area (SCA) and depletion (SCD) in winters 2001–2014 is investigated in ten main Slovak river basins (the Western Carpathians). Daily satellite snow cover maps from MODIS Terra (MOD10A1, V005) and Aqua (MYD10A1, V005) with resolution 500 m are used. The results indicate three groups of basins with similar variability in the SL elevation. The first includes basins with maximum elevations above 1500 m a.s.l. (Poprad, Upper Váh, Hron, Hornád). Winter median SL is equal or close to minimum basin elevation in snow rich winters in these basins. Even in snow poor winters is SL close to the basin mean. Second group consists of mid-altitude basins with maximum elevation around 1000 m a.s.l. (Slaná, Ipeľ, Nitra, Bodrog). Median SL varies between 150 and 550 m a.s.l. in January and February, which represents approximately 40–80% snow coverage. Median SL is near the maximum basin elevation during the snow poor winters. This means that basins are in such winters snow free approximately 50% of days in January and February. The third group includes the Rudava/Myjava and Lower Váh/Danube. These basins have their maximum altitude less than 700 m a.s.l. and only a small part of these basins is covered with snow even during the snow rich winters. The evaluation of SCA shows that snow cover typically starts in December and last to February. In the highest basins (Poprad, Upper Váh), the snow season sometimes tends to start earlier (November) and lasts to March/April. The median of SCA is, however, less than 10% in these months. The median SCA of entire winter season is above 70% in the highest basins (Poprad, Upper Váh, Hron), ranges between 30–60% in the mid-altitude basins (Hornád, Slaná, Ipeľ, Nitra, Bodrog) and is less than 1% in the Myjava/Rudava and Lower Váh/Danube basins. However, there is a considerable variability in seasonal coverage between the years. Our results indicate that there is no significant trend in mean SCA in the period 2001–2014, but periods with larger and smaller SCA exist. Winters in the period 2002–2006 have noticeably larger mean SCA than those in the period 2007–2012. Snow depletion curves (SDC) do not have a simple evolution in most winters. The snowmelt tends to start between early February and the end of March. The snowmelt lasts between 8 and 15 days on average in lowland and high mountain basins, respectively. Interestingly, the variability in SDC between the winters is much larger than between the basins.

Hydrological processes research remains a field that is severely measurement limited. While conventional tracers (geochemicals, isotopes) have brought extremely valuable insights into water source and flowpaths, they nonetheless have limitations that clearly constrain their range of application. Integrating hydrology and ecology in catchment science has been repeatedly advocated as offering potential for interdisciplinary studies that are eventually to provide a holistic view of catchment functioning. In this context, aerial diatoms have been shown to have the potential for detecting of the onset/cessation of rapid water flowpaths within the hillslope-riparian zone-stream continuum. However, many open questions prevail as to aerial diatom reservoir size, depletion and recovery, as well as to their mobilisation and transport processes. Moreover, aerial diatoms remain poorly known compared to freshwater species and new species are still being discovered. Here, we ask whether aerial diatom flushing can be observed in three catchments with contrasting physiographic characteristics in Luxembourg, Oregon (USA) and Slovakia. This is a prerequisite for qualifying aerial diatoms as a robust indicator of the onset/cessation of rapid water flowpaths across a wider range of physiographical contexts. One species in particular, (Hantzschia amphioxys (Ehr.) Grunow), was found to be common to the three investigated catchments. Aerial diatom species were flushed, in different relative proportions, to the river network during rainfall-runoff events in all three catchments. Our take-away message from this preliminary examination is that aerial diatoms appear to have a potential for tracing episodic hydrological connectivity through a wider range of physiographic contexts and therefore serve as a complementary tool to conventional hydrological tracers.