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A daily salt balance model for representing stream salinity generation process following land use change
1Department of Environment, 3 Plain Street, East Perth, W.A. 6004, Australia
2School of Earth and Geographical Sciences, Hydroscience Discipline Group, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, W.A. 6009, Australia
3Centre for Water Research, The University of Western Australia 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, W.A. 6009, Australia
4Cooperative Research Centre for Plant-Based Management of Dryland Salinity, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, W.A. 6009, Australia
Abstract. We developed a coupled salt and water balance model to represent the stream salinity generation process following land use changes. The conceptual model consists of three main components with five stores: (i) Dry, Wet and Subsurface Stores, (ii) saturated Groundwater Store and (iii) a transient Stream zone Store. The Dry and Wet Stores represent the salt and water movement in the unsaturated zone and also the near-stream dynamic saturated areas, responsible for the generation of salt flux associated with surface runoff and interflow. The unsaturated Subsurface Store represents the salt bulge and the salt fluxes. The Groundwater Store comes into play when the groundwater level is at or above the stream invert and quantifies the salt fluxes to the Stream zone Store. In the stream zone module, we consider a "free mixing" between the salt brought about by surface runoff, interflow and groundwater flow. Salt accumulation on the surface due to evaporation and its flushing by initial winter flow is also incorporated in the Stream zone Store. The salt balance model was calibrated sequentially following successful application of the water balance model. Initial salt stores were estimated from measured salt profile data. We incorporated two lumped parameters to represent the complex chemical processes like diffusion-dilution-dispersion and salt fluxes due to preferential flow. The model has performed very well in simulating stream salinity generation processes observed at Ernies and Lemon experimental catchments in south west of Western Australia. The simulated and observed stream salinity and salt loads compare very well throughout the study period. The model slightly over predicted annual stream salt load by 6.2% and 6.8%, with R2 of 0.95 and 0.96 for Ernies and Lemon catchment, respectively.
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Citation: Bari, M. A. and Smettem, K. R. J.: A daily salt balance model for representing stream salinity generation process following land use change, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., 2, 1147-1183, 2005. Bibtex EndNote Reference Manager
