Surface water-groundwater interface geomorphology leads to scaling of residence times

We know little regarding how geomorphological features along the surface-groundwater interface collectively affect water quality and quantity. Simulations of surface water-groundwater exchange at increasing scales across bed forms, bars and bends, and basins show that groundwater has a power-law transit time distribution through all these features, providing a purely mechanistic foundation and explanation for temporal fractal stream chemistry. Power-law residence time distributions are almost always attributed to spatial variability in subsurface transport properties-something we show is not necessary. Since the different geomorphological features considered here are typical of most landscapes, fractal stream chemistry may be universal and is a natural consequence of water exchange across multifaceted interfaces.