Flow and transport in the critical zone: How landscape characteristics drive watershed dynamics
Prof. Dr. Julian Klaus
Hydrology, University of Bonn, Germany
Headwater streams comprise the majority of the length of the global river network. How water and solutes are transported in those headwater catchments is key for sustainable water resource management under global change in terms of quantity and quality. Yet, our capabilities of predicting headwater response are still limited and we lack understanding of how landscape controls water flow paths and water travel times. In this seminar I will present recent research combining novel observational and modelling approaches to decipher how landscape characteristics control hydrological processes. The seminar addresses examples of isotope-based hydrological model applications in a range of landscapes for better understanding fluxes, storage, and travel times of water and the use of physics-based modelling approaches. This will be complemented by novel ecohydrological observations that can shed light to the critical impact of forest vegetation on runoff generation and travel times in headwaters. In summary, the seminar gives a concise overview of recent developments of new hydrological observation approaches and how they can be linked to hydrological models for gaining a robust understanding of hydrological processes in a changing environment.