Water and matter cycles

Rivers, lakes and wetlands connect the land to the sea, they are directly linked to groundwater, and regulate the global nutrient and carbon balance. Their sediments are also highly active zones that can extract nutrients and contaminants from the surface water. We explore these complex physical, hydrological, biological and chemical processes and interactions. We then use the knowledge gained to develop concepts for sustainable water management and for enhancing water quality. For example, we focus on the wetland rehydration of bogs, interactions between groundwater and surface water, the significance of riparian zones, and matter conversion in sediments.

Selected publications

September 2025
WIREs Water. - 12(2025)5, Art. 70036

Knots in the Strings: Do Small-Scale River Features Shape Catchment-Scale Fluxes?

Ellen Wohl; Martyn Clark; Li Li; Chris Soulsby; Dörthe Tetzlaff

The authors review how river “knots” associated with bifurcations, confluences, and obstructions, which are spatially and temporally heterogeneous reaches in a river network affect reach-scale processes including flow attenuation, enhanced vertical and lateral connectivity, and augmented solute retention and uptake. .

August 2025
Journal of Hydrology. - 662(2025)Part C, Art. 134083

Stepwise tracer-based hydrograph separation to quantify contributions of multiple sources of streamflow in a large glacierized catchment over the Tibetan Plateau

Guangxuan Li; Xi Chen; Man Gao; Zhicai Zhang; Chris Soulsby; Doerthe Tetzlaff; Yuyi Wang

The authors identified the sources of streamflow and their temporal dynamics in a glacierized catchment of the Tibetan Plateau using isotopic and geochemical signatures. They demonstrated that incorporation of high-resolution tracer data in an appropriate model structure can help resolve streamflow components and identify the dynamics of dominant recharge sources in cryosphere environments.

July 2025
Hydrological Processes. - 39(2025)7, Art. e70190

Urban Hydrological Connectivity and Response Patterns Across Timescales: An Integrated Time-Frequency Domain Analysis

Gregorio A. López Moreira Mazacotte; Dörthe Tetzlaff; Chris Soulsby

The authors investigated the interconnections of rainfall, groundwater and stream flow in the Wuhle river in Berlin using autocorrelation, cross-correlation and time-frequency analyses of long-term data. Despite the strong influence of urban storm drainage, they showed a high degree of persistence of the groundwater signals.

May 2025
Hydrological Processes. - 39(2025)5, Art. e70141

Storage Dynamics and Groundwater–Surface Water Interactions in a Drought Sensitive Lowland Catchment: Process-Based Modelling as a Learning Tool

Zhengtao Ying; Doerthe Tetzlaff; Jean-Christophe Comte; Songjun Wu; Chris Soulsby

The authors simulated seasonal and long-term changes in the spatio-temporal patterns of water storage dynamics and groundwater–surface water interactions in lowland tributary of the Spree catchment. After several major droughts, groundwater stores are depleted and stream flows intermittent. This shows the importance of integrated land and water management in NE Germany.

April 2025
WIREs Water. - 12(2025)2, Art. e70018

The Unexploited Treasures of Hydrological Observations Beyond Streamflow for Catchment Modeling

Paul D. Wagner; Doris Duethmann; Jens Kiesel; Sandra Pool; Markus Hrachowitz; Serena Ceola; Anna Herzog; Tobias Houska; Ralf Loritz; Diana Spieler; Maria Staudinger; Larisa Tarasova; Stephan Thober; Nicola Fohrer; Doerthe Tetzlaff; Thorsten Wagener; Björn Guse

Other hydrological data than streamflow have the potential to improve process consistency in hydrological modeling and consequently for predictions under change. The authors review how storage and flux variables are used for model evaluation and calibration; improving process representation.