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The contributions and composition of baseflow sources across an extended recession period were quantified for six subwatersheds of varying size in a structurally complex watershed in coastal California using endmember mixing analysis and related to catchment characteristics (e.g., topography, geology, land use, and soil characteristics). Both shallow subsurface and deep groundwater reservoirs were important contributors for streamflow during low flow periods, and the composition of baseflow sources across subwatersheds was directly related to geologic indices. A binary classification of underlying bedrock permeability (e.g., low vs. high) best explained the changes in shallow subsurface water and deeper groundwater inputs through the seasonal recession. Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and specific UV absorbance at 254 nm (SUVA₂₅₄) were used to provide additional insight into endmember characteristics and their contributions to baseflow. Stream water DIC concentrations were broadly controlled by mixing of groundwater and shallow subsurface water endmembers with relatively constant DIC concentrations, while stream water DOC concentrations reflected both spatial and temporal changes in shallow subsurface water DOC. Results from this study show (1) the importance of considering baseflow as a dynamic mixture of water from multiple sources, (2) the effect of geology on source composition at the subwatershed scale during low flow conditions, and (3) the impact of shifting baseflow sources on stream water dissolved carbon concentrations and the utility of using dissolved carbon concentrations to obtain additional insight into temporal variability in baseflow sources.

 

Degradation of peatlands via drainage is increasing globally and destabilizing peat carbon (C) stores. The effects of drainage on the timing and magnitude of lateral C losses from degraded peatlands remains understudied. We measured spatial and temporal variability in lateral C exports from three drained peat islands in the Sacramento‐San Joaquin Delta in California across the 2017 and 2018 water years using measurements of dissolved inorganic C (DIC), dissolved organic C (DOC), and suspended particulate organic C (POC) concentration combined with discharge. These measurements were supplemented with stable isotope data (δ¹³C‐DIC, δ¹³C‐POC, δ¹⁵N‐PON, and δ²H‐H₂O values) to provide insight into hydrological and biogeochemical controls on lateral C exports from drained peatlands. Drainage DOC and DIC concentrations were seasonally variable with the highest values in the winter rainy season, when discharge was also elevated. Seasonal differences in the mobilization of dissolved C appeared to result from changing water sources and water table levels. Peat island drainage C contributions to surrounding waterways were also greatest during the winter. Although temporal variability in C cycling processes and trends were generally similar across islands, baseline drainage DIC, DOC, and POC concentrations were spatially variable, likely a result of sub‐island‐scale differences in soil organic matter content and hydrology. This spatial variability complicates system‐wide assessments of C budgets. Net lateral C exports were water year dependent and comparable to previously published vertical C emission rates for this system. This work highlights the importance of including lateral C exports from drained peatlands in local and regional C budgets.

 

Abstract We search for signatures of gravitational lensing in the gravitational-wave signals from compact binary coalescences detected by Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) and Advanced Virgo during O3a, the first half of their third observing run. We study: (1) the expected rate of lensing at current detector sensitivity and the implications of a non-observation of strong lensing or a stochastic gravitational-wave background on the merger-rate density at high redshift; (2) how the interpretation of individual high-mass events would change if they were found to be lensed; (3) the possibility of multiple images due to strong lensing by galaxies or galaxy clusters; and (4) possible wave-optics effects due to point-mass microlenses. Several pairs of signals in the multiple-image analysis show similar parameters and, in this sense, are nominally consistent with the strong lensing hypothesis. However, taking into account population priors, selection effects, and the prior odds against lensing, these events do not provide sufficient evidence for lensing. Overall, we find no compelling evidence for lensing in the observed gravitational-wave signals from any of these analyses.