Progress on the Use of Stable Isotope Techniques in Catchment Hydrograph Separation: A Review.

Hydrograph separation is a fundamental catchment descriptor, revealing information about sources of wafer in runoff generation processes. The wafer isotopes are ideal tracers in studying hydrological processes since the isotope fractionation produces a natural labeling effect within the hydrologic cycle. The wafer isotope technique has become one of effective means tor investigating complex hydrologic system on a catchment scale. This paper reviews the progress on the use of stable wafer isotope techniques in catchment hydrograph separation in last decades. Also, the isotope mixing model tor hydrograph separation and its uncertainties are explained in detail. In future research, there are three hot issues in the use of isotopic hydrograph separation (IHS): integrating new approaches info IHS, calibration and verification of IHS model and IHS application in large river basins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]