Hydrology and Earth System Sciences www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net 1027-5606 1607-7938 13 9 2009 10.5194/hess-13-1583-2009 http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/13/1583/2009/ http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/13/1583/2009/hess-13-1583-2009.html http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/13/1583/2009/hess-13-1583-2009.pdf 1583 1596 2009-09-08 A modeling study of heterogeneity and surface water-groundwater interactions in the Thomas Brook catchment, Annapolis Valley (Nova Scotia, Canada) M. J. Gauthier M. Camporese C. Rivard crivard@nrcan.gc.ca C. Paniconi M. Larocque INRS – Eau, Terre et Environnement, Québec, QC, Canada Geological Survey of Canada, Québec, QC, Canada Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada now at: Golder Inc., Montréal, QC, Canada now at: Università di Padova, Padova, Italy A modelling study of the impacts of subsurface heterogeneity on the hydrologic response of a small catchment is reported. The study is focused in particular on the hydraulic connection and interactions between surface water and groundwater. A coupled (1-D surface/3-D subsurface) numerical model is used to investigate, for a range of scenarios, the spatio-temporal patterns of response variables such as return flow, recharge, groundwater levels, surface saturation, and streamflow. Eight scenarios of increasing geological complexity are simulated for an 8 km² catchment in the Annapolis Valley (eastern Canada), introducing at each step more realistic representations of the geological strata and corresponding hydraulic properties. In a ninth scenario the effects of snow accumulation and snowmelt are also considered. 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