Theory 58/Mountain & Alpine/Mountain water
Streamflow Is Snow Against Ice
The claim
Mountain streamflow is set by the ratio of snowpack storage to glacier storage, so two catchments with the same precipitation have different seasonal timing.
01Mechanism
Snow releases water in spring and glaciers in late summer; the ratio determines the shape of the hydrograph.
02Prediction
Hydrograph shape should track the ratio.
03Refutation
Flow tracking precipitation would remove storage.