Seasonal recharge and mean residence times of soil and epikarst water in a small karst catchment of southwest China

Soil and epikarst play an important role in the hydrological cycle in karst regions. This paper focuses on investigating the seasonal recharge and mean residence time (MRT) of soil water and epikarst water in a small karst catchment of southwest China. The deuterium contents in precipitation, creek, soil baseflow (direct recharge of the saturated soil water to the stream), epikarst spring, and soil waters were monitored weekly for two years, and MRT was calculated by an exponential model (EM) and a dispersion model (DM). The obvious seasonal variation of deuterium in rainfall was buffered in epikarst water, indicating sufficient water mixing. Soil baseflow contained less rainy-season rainwater than epikarst spring discharge, reflecting the retarded effect of soil thickness on rainwater recharge. MRTs of all water bodies were 41-71 weeks, and soils in the depression extended those of shallow groundwater. This demonstrated that the deep soil layer played an important role in karst hydrological processes in the study catchment. The creek was recharged mostly by rainfall through epikarst, indicating its crucial role in water circulation. These results showed epikarst had a strong water-holding capacity and also delayed water contact time with dolomite.