Abstract The Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed (RCEW) and Critical Zone Observatory (CZO), located south of the western Snake River Plain in the Intermountain West of the United States, is the site of over 60 years of research aimed at understanding integrated earth processes in a semi‐arid climate to aid sustainable use of environmental resources. Meteoric water lines (MWLs) are used to interpret hydrologic processes, though equilibrium and nonequilibrium processes affect the linear function and can reveal seasonal and climatological effects, necessitating the development of local meteoric water lines (LMWLs). At RCEW‐CZO, an RCEW LMWL was developed using non‐volume‐weighted, orthogonal regression with assumed error in both predictor and response variables from several years of precipitation (2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, and 2021) primarily at three different elevations (1203, 1585, and 2043 m). As most precipitation is evaporated or intercepted by vegetation in the driest months, an RCEW LMWL for groundwater recharge (RCEW LMWL‐GWR) was also developed using precipitation from the wettest months (November through April). The RCEW LMWL (δ2H = 7.41 × δ18O – 3.09) is different from the RCEW LMWL‐GWR (δ2H = 8.21 × δ18O + 9.95) and compares favorably to other LMWLs developed for the region and climate. Comparative surface, spring, and subsurface water datasets within the RCEW‐CZO are more similar to precipitation during the wettest months than dry months, illustrating that some semi‐arid hydrologic systems may most appropriately be compared to MWLs developed from precipitation only from the wettest season.

Stream drying and wildfire are projected to increase with climate change in the western United States, and both are likely to influence the patterns and processes explaining stream chemistry. To investigate drying and wildfire effects on stream chemistry (carbon, nutrients, anions, cations, and isotopes), we examined seasonal drying in two intermittent streams in southwestern Idaho, one stream that was unburned and one that burned six months prior. We hypothesized that spatiotemporal patterns of stream chemistry would change due to increased evaporation, groundwater dominance, and autochthonous carbon production as water and carbon sources shifted from snowmelt to low flow conditions. With increased nutrients and sunlight available, we expected greater shifts in the burned stream. To capture spatial stream chemistry patterns, we sampled surface water for a suite of analytes in each stream longitudinally with a high spatial scope (50-meter intervals along ~2500 meters). To capture temporal variation during drying, we sampled each stream in April, May, and June (2016). Patterns and processes influencing stream chemistry were generally similar in both streams, but some were amplified in the burned stream. Mean dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentrations increased with drying by 22% in the unburned and by 3-fold in the burned stream. In contrast, mean total nitrogen (TN) concentrations decreased in both streams, with a 16% TN decrease (mostly DON) in the unburned stream and a 5-fold TN decrease (mostly nitrate) in the burned stream. Contrary to expectations, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations were longitudinally variable but relatively less temporally variant. In addition, we found weak evidence for evapoconcentration with drying. However, consistent with our expectations, both water isotopes and strontium-DIC ratios indicated stream water shifted towards groundwater-dominance, especially in the burned stream. Fluorescence and absorbance measurements showed considerable longitudinal variation in DOC sourcing with seasonal drying in both streams, and temporal shifts from autochthonous to allochthonous carbon sources in the burned stream. Our findings suggest that the effects of fire may magnify chemistry patterns but not the controls with stream drying. This empirical study contributes to advancing our conceptual stream models that incorporate stream drying, wildfire, and the interplay between them.

Stream drying and wildfire are projected to increase with climate change in the western United States, and both are likely to impact stream chemistry patterns and processes. To investigate drying and wildfire effects on stream chemistry (carbon, nutrients, anions, cations, and isotopes), we examined seasonal drying in two intermittent streams in southwestern Idaho, one stream that was unburned and one that burned 8 months prior to our study period. During the seasonal recession following snowmelt, we hypothesized that spatiotemporal patterns of stream chemistry would change due to increased evaporation, groundwater dominance, and autochthonous carbon production. With increased nutrients and reduced canopy cover, we expected greater shifts in the burned stream. To capture spatial chemistry patterns, we sampled surface water for a suite of analytes along the length of each stream with a high spatial scope (50-m sampling along ~2,500 m). To capture temporal variation, we sampled each stream in April (higher flow), May, and June (lower flow) in 2016. Seasonal patterns and processes influencing stream chemistry were generally similar in both streams, but some were amplified in the burned stream. Mean dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentrations increased with drying by 22% in the unburned and by 300% in the burned stream. In contrast, mean total nitrogen (TN) concentrations decreased in both streams, with a 16% TN decrease in the unburned stream and a 500% TN decrease (mostly nitrate) in the burned stream. Contrary to expectations, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations varied more in space than in time. In addition, we found the streams did not become more evaporative relative to the Local Meteoric Water Line (LMWL) and we found weak evidence for evapoconcentration with drying. However, consistent with our expectations, strontium-DIC ratios indicated stream water shifted toward groundwater-dominance, especially in the burned stream. Fluorescence and absorbance measurements showed considerable spatial variation in DOC sourcing each month in both streams, and mean values suggested a temporal shift from allochthonous toward autochthonous carbon sources in the burned stream. Our findings suggest that the effects of fire may magnify some chemistry patterns but not the biophysical controls that we tested with stream drying.