We used high-frequency fluorescence data, a proxy for DOC, to investigate 1. the relationship between stream discharge and concentration in a blanket peat catchment during extreme high flows and 2. the relationship between inflow and in-lake estimated DOC concentrations. We found that for approximately two thirds of extreme events, there was a decrease in stream DOC concentration (i.e., a dilution) on the rising limb rather than an increase (i.e., a flushing out of DOC from terrestrial stores). Flushing events dominated only in summer when concentrations in the stream were also increasing. In comparison to the stream, concentrations in the downstream lake were less variable, and peaks and troughs were damped and lagged.
Eleanor Jennings,
Elvira de Eyto,
Tadhg N. Moore,
Mary Dillane,
Elizabeth Ryder,
Norman Allott,
Caitriona Nic Aonghusa,
Martin Rouen,
Russell Poole,
Donald C. Pierson