Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3807–3823, 2018 https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3807-2018 © Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Dynamics of water fluxes and storages in an Alpine karst catchment under current and potential future climate conditions Zhao Chen1, Andreas Hartmann2,3, Thorsten Wagener3, and Nico Goldscheider1 1Institute of Applied Geosciences, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany 2Institute of Hydrology, Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany 3Department of Civil Engineering, University of Bristol, UK Correspondence: Zhao Chen (
[email protected]) Received: 11 April 2017 – Discussion started: 8 May 2017 Revised: 1 April 2018 – Accepted: 6 June 2018 – Published: 18 July 2018 Abstract. Karst aquifers are difficult to manage due to their other. (4) Impacts on the karst springs are distinct; the low- unique hydrogeological characteristics. Future climate pro- est permanent spring presents a “robust” discharge behav- jections suggest a strong change in temperature and pre- ior, while the highest overflow outlet is highly sensitive to cipitation regimes in European karst regions over the next changing climate. This analysis effectively demonstrates that decades. Alpine karst systems can be especially vulnera- the impacts on subsurface flow dynamics are regulated by ble under changing hydro-meteorological conditions since the characteristic dual flow and spatially heterogeneous dis- snowmelt in mountainous environments is an important con- tributed drainage structure of the karst aquifer. Overall, our trolling process for aquifer recharge and is highly sensitive study highlights the fast groundwater dynamics in mountain- to varying climatic conditions. Our paper presents the first ous karst catchments, which make them highly vulnerable to study to investigate potential impacts of climate change on future changing climate conditions.