Groundwater discharge in high-mountain watersheds: A valuable resource for downstream semi-arid zones. The case of the Bérchules River in Sierra Nevada (Southern Spain).

Aquifers in permeable formations developed in high-mountain watersheds slow down the transfer of snowmelt to rivers, modifying rivers' flow pattern. To gain insight into the processes that control the hydrologic response of such systems the role played by groundwater in an alpine basin located at the southeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula is investigated. As data in these environments is generally scarce and its variability is high, simple lumped parameter hydrological models that consider the groundwater component and snow accumulation and melting are needed.