Hydrological hillslope response in an alpine basin

The objectives of this study are 1) to determine if a representative hillslope shape can be found for a complex dendritic basin by scaling the surface and bedrock topography of hillslope profiles by their respective lengths and elevations, 2) to ascertain scale-dependent or scale-independent hydrological behaviors by investigating how the subsurface stormflow response varies when dimensional hillslopes are scaled to different sizes, and 3) to estimate the spatial extent of pyrite oxidation necessary for producing the acidic stream water chemistry measured in the Snake River by modeling the effect of recharge events on the hillslope geochemical reactions and transport processes. To meet these objectives, both field data and model simulations were used. Field data included topographic data, soil depth data, and stream water analyses. Hydrological hillslope responses were simulated using a saturated-unsaturated transport groundwater flow model (SUTRA), while geochemical reactions and mixing processes were simulated with a redox equilibrium. model (PHREEQE