HYDROCHEMICAL MODELING OF A STREAM DOMINATED BY ORGANIC-ACIDS AND ORGANICALLY BOUND ALUMINUM

An existing hydrogeochemical model, the Birkenes model (BIM), has been extended to include production of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the soil/water system and its chemical interactions with H+ and Al3+. The model has been calibrated and verified using precipitation and runoff data from the Svartberget catchment in northern Sweden. The catchment is impacted by moderate amounts of sulphur deposition (6 kg S ha(-1) a(-1)); the stream is high in DOC (7-35 mg L(-1)) and experiences episodically low pH-values (similar to 4.0). The refined BIM is able to simulate the main variations in major chemical components of the stream water (H+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Al-i, Al-0, Cl-, SO42- and DOC), as well as stream discharge and O-18, while Na+ is not well reproduced. Although very simplified relationships are used for the chemical interactions between DOC and Hf and aluminium, the model shows that these interactions are essential to stream acidity and aluminium-species content. Some of the model parameters are poorly determined by calibration with runoff data only. Soil and soil water investigations may contribute to the evaluation and development of the model structure and the representation of chemical processes. Further improvements of the model should emphasize DOC-production/absorption, detailed studies on DOC chemical behaviour and hydrological structure.