Emerging Methods to Observe and Simulate the Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of Surface Water Groundwater Interactions

Recent advancements in tracer methods, particularly those based on noble gases, have provided new opportunities to observe the spatial and temporal dynamics at the stream-aquifer interface. These emerging methods offer enhanced precision in tracing the movement and mixing of water, shedding light on the complexities of surface-subsurface interactions. Simultaneously, significant progress in physically based modeling has enabled the fully coupled simulation of surface and subsurface processes and the explicit simulation of tracers. This parallel development allows for more realistic representations of the interactions between streamflow and groundwater systems. This integration of innovative tracer analysis techniques with advanced modeling methods holds the potential to address the non-uniqueness and reduce the substantial uncertainties typically encountered in these complex systems. In this presentation, we explore these new developments through several case studies.