Paolo Benettin

Assistant professor, Department of Earth Surface Dynamics, UNIL

About me

I am the Principal Investigator in the Hydrology group. I have a background in Environmental Engineering. I like to use quantitative approaches that combine theory, modeling and field experiments.

My key expertise is in water transit times, which I use to understand flow and transport processes and vegetation water sources. I have experience with hydrological modeling, solute transport in soils and catchments, tracer experiments, water stable isotope approaches.

Research interests

  • water age and transit times
  • solute transport in catchments
  • streamwater sampling
  • streamflow generation processes
  • vegetation water sources
  • isotope ecohydrology
  • weighed lysimeters / soil columns

Work experience

2023 – now, Assistant Professor, University of Lausanne, Switzerland

2017 – 2023, Research Scientist, Ecohydrology lab, EPFL, Switzerland

2015 – 2017, Postdoc, Ecohydrology lab, EPFL, Switzerland

Education

2012 – 2015, Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering and Science, supervisors: G. Botter and A. Rinaldo, University of Padova, Italy

2013 – 2014, Research Fellow, Virginia Tech University, USA

2010 – 2010, Erasmus student, Wageningen University, Netherlands

2005 – 2011, BS, MS, Environmental Engineering, University of Padova, Italy

Publications

* indicates supervised students

2023

Druhan, J. L., & Benettin, P. (2023). Isotope Ratio – Discharge Relationships of Solutes Derived From Weathering Reactions. American Journal of Science, 323. https://doi.org/10.2475/001c.84469

Richieri, B., Bittner, D., Hartmann, A., Benettin, P., Van Breukelen, B. M., Labat, D., & Chiogna, G. (2023). Using continuous electrical conductivity measurements to derive major solute concentrations in karst systems. Hydrological Processes, 37(6), e14929. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14929

Kirchner, J. W., Benettin, P., & van Meerveld, I. (2023). Instructive Surprises in the Hydrological Functioning of Landscapes. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 51(1), annurev-earth-071822-100356. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-earth-071822-100356

Miele, F., Benettin, P., Wang, S., Retti, I., Asadollahi, M., Frutschi, M., Mohanty, B., Bernier‐Latmani, R., & Rinaldo, A. (2023). Spatially Explicit Linkages Between Redox Potential Cycles and Soil Moisture Fluctuations. Water Resources Research, 59(3). https://doi.org/10.1029/2022WR032328

2022

Benettin, P., Rodriguez, N. B., Sprenger, M., Kim, M., Klaus, J., Harman, C. J., van der Velde, Y., Hrachowitz, M., Botter, G., McGuire, K. J., Kirchner, J. W., Rinaldo, A., & McDonnell, J. J. (2022). Transit Time Estimation in Catchments: Recent Developments and Future Directions. Water Resources Research, 58(11). https://doi.org/10.1029/2022WR033096

Sprenger, M., Llorens, P., Gallart, F., Benettin, P., Allen, S. T., & Latron, J. (2022). Precipitation fate and transport in a Mediterranean catchment through models calibrated on plant and stream water isotope data. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 26(15), 4093–4107. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4093-2022

Asadollahi*, M., Nehemy, M. F., McDonnell, J. J., Rinaldo, A., & Benettin, P. (2022). Toward a Closure of Catchment Mass Balance: Insight on the Missing Link From a Vegetated Lysimeter. Water Resources Research, 58(4). https://doi.org/10.1029/2021WR030698

Nehemy, M. F., Benettin, P., Allen, S. T., Steppe, K., Rinaldo, A., Lehmann, M. M., & McDonnell, J. J. (2022). Phloem water isotopically different to xylem water: Potential causes and implications for ecohydrological tracing. Ecohydrology. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.2417

Botter, G., Benettin, P., & Soulsby, C. (2022). Using water age to explore hydrological processes in contrasting environments. Hydrological Processes, 36(3). https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14524

2021

Giezendanner, J., Benettin, P., Durighetto, N., Botter, G., & Rinaldo, A. (2021). A Note on the Role of Seasonal Expansions and Contractions of the Flowing Fluvial Network on Metapopulation Persistence. Water Resources Research, 57(11). https://doi.org/10.1029/2021WR029813

Benettin, P., Nehemy, M. F., Asadollahi, M., Pratt, D., Bensimon, M., McDonnell, J. J., & Rinaldo, A. (2021). Tracing and closing the water balance in a vegetated lysimeter. Water Resources Research, 57(4). https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR029049

Benettin, P., Nehemy, M. F., Cernusak, L. A., Kahmen, A., & McDonnell, J. J. (2021). On the use of leaf water to determine plant water source: A proof of concept. Hydrological Processes, 35(3). https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14073

Li, L., Sullivan, P. L., Benettin, P., Cirpka, O. A., Bishop, K., Brantley, S. L., Knapp, J. L. A., Meerveld, I., Rinaldo, A., Seibert, J., Wen, H., & Kirchner, J. W. (2021). Toward catchment hydro‐biogeochemical theories. WIREs Water, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1495

Nehemy, M. F., Benettin, P., Asadollahi, M., Pratt, D., Rinaldo, A., & McDonnell, J. J. (2021). Tree water deficit and dynamic source water partitioning. Hydrological Processes, 35(1), e14004. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14004

2020

Benettin, P., Fovet, O., & Li, L. (2020). Nitrate removal and young stream water fractions at the catchment scale. Hydrological Processes, 3, hyp.13781. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13781

Asadollahi*, M., Stumpp, C., Rinaldo, A., & Benettin, P. (2020). Transport and Water Age Dynamics in Soils: A Comparative Study of Spatially Integrated and Spatially Explicit Models. Water Resources Research, 56(3), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019WR025539

Rodriguez, N. B., Benettin, P., & Klaus, J. (2020). Multimodal water age distributions and the challenge of complex hydrological landscapes. Hydrological Processes, October 2019, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13770

2013 – 2019

Benettin, P., Queloz, P., Bensimon, M., McDonnell, J. J., & Rinaldo, A. (2019). Velocities, residence times, tracer breakthroughs in a vegetated lysimeter: A multitracer experiment. Water Resources Research, 55(1), 21–33. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018WR023894

Sprenger, M., Stumpp, C., Weiler, M., Aeschbach, W., Allen, S. T., Benettin, P., Dubbert, M., Hartmann, A., Hrachowitz, M., Kirchner, J. W., McDonnell, J. J., Orlowski, N., Penna, D., Pfahl, S., Rinderer, M., Rodriguez, N., Schmidt, M., & Werner, C. (2019). The demographics of water: A review of water ages in the critical zone. Reviews of Geophysics, 2018RG000633. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018RG000633

Penna, D., Hopp, L., Scandellari, F., Allen, S. T., Benettin, P., Beyer, M., Geris, J., Klaus, J., Marshall, J. D., Schwendenmann, L., Volkmann, T. H. M., von Freyberg, J., Amin, A., Ceperley, N., Engel, M., Frentress, J., Giambastiani, Y., McDonnell, J. J., Zuecco, G., … Kirchner, J. W. (2018). Ideas and perspectives: Tracing terrestrial ecosystem water fluxes using hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopes – challenges and opportunities from an interdisciplinary perspective. Biogeosciences, 15(21), 6399–6415. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-6399-2018

Benettin, P., Volkmann, T. H. M., von Freyberg, J., Frentress, J., Penna, D., Dawson, T. E., & Kirchner, J. W. (2018). Effects of climatic seasonality on the isotopic composition of evaporating soil waters. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 22(5), 2881–2890. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-2881-2018

Benettin, P., & Bertuzzo, E. (2018). tran-SAS v1.0: A numerical model to compute catchment-scale hydrologic transport using StorAge Selection functions. Geoscientific Model Development, 11(4), 1627–1639. https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-1627-2018

Benettin, P., & van Breukelen, B. M. (2017). Decomposing the Bulk Electrical Conductivity of Streamflow To Recover Individual Solute Concentrations at High Frequency. Environmental Science & Technology Letters, 4(12), 518–522. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.7b00472

Benettin, P., Bailey, S. W., Rinaldo, A., Likens, G. E., McGuire, K. J., & Botter, G. (2017). Young runoff fractions control streamwater age and solute concentration dynamics. Hydrological Processes, 31(16), 2982–2986. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.11243

Benettin, P., Soulsby, C., Birkel, C., Tetzlaff, D., Botter, G., & Rinaldo, A. (2017). Using SAS functions and high-resolution isotope data to unravel travel time distributions in headwater catchments. Water Resources Research, 53(3), 1864–1878. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016WR020117

Hrachowitz, M., Benettin, P., van Breukelen, B. M., Fovet, O., Howden, N. J. K., Ruiz, L., van der Velde, Y., & Wade, A. J. (2016). Transit times-the link between hydrology and water quality at the catchment scale. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water, 3(5), 629–657. https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1155

Rinaldo, A., Benettin, P., Harman, C. J., Hrachowitz, M., McGuire, K. J., van der Velde, Y., Bertuzzo, E., & Botter, G. (2016). Reply to comment by Porporato and Calabrese on “Storage selection functions: A coherent framework for quantifying how catchments store and release water and solutes”. Water Resources Research, 52(1), 616–618. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015WR018045

Benettin, P., Rinaldo, A., & Botter, G. (2015). Tracking residence times in hydrological systems: Forward and backward formulations. Hydrological Processes, 29(25), 5203–5213. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10513

Benettin, P., Bailey, S. W., Campbell, J. L., Green, M. B., Rinaldo, A., Likens, G. E., McGuire, K. J., & Botter, G. (2015). Linking water age and solute dynamics in streamflow at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, NH, USA. Water Resources Research, 51(11), 9256–9272. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015WR017552

Rinaldo, A., Benettin, P., Harman, C. J., Hrachowitz, M., McGuire, K. J., van der Velde, Y., Bertuzzo, E., & Botter, G. (2015). Storage selection functions: A coherent framework for quantifying how catchments store and release water and solutes. Water Resources Research, 51(6), 4840–4847. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015WR017273

Benettin, P., Kirchner, J. W., Rinaldo, A., & Botter, G. (2015). Modeling chloride transport using travel time distributions at Plynlimon, Wales. Water Resources Research, 51(5), 3259–3276. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014WR016600

Queloz, P., Carraro, L., Benettin, P., Botter, G., Rinaldo, A., & Bertuzzo, E. (2015). Transport of fluorobenzoate tracers in a vegetated hydrologic control volume: 2. Theoretical inferences and modeling. Water Resources Research, 51(4), 2793–2806. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014WR016508

Benettin, P., Rinaldo, A., & Botter, G. (2013). Kinematics of age mixing in advection-dispersion models. Water Resources Research, 49(12), Article 12. https://doi.org/10.1002/2013WR014708

Benettin, P., Van Der Velde, Y., Van Der Zee, S. E. A. T. M., Rinaldo, A., & Botter, G. (2013). Chloride circulation in a lowland catchment and the formulation of transport by travel time distributions. Water Resources Research, 49(8), Article 8. https://doi.org/10.1002/wrcr.20309