Quantitative depiction of hyporheic hydraulic geometry for different values of α.

Pie chart represents 50 transient storage zones (TSZs) within a representative unit (RU; 1 m^x) of hyporheic water stored within the hyporheic zone. Each TSZ contains 2% (0.02 m^x) of the RU’s water storage; color represents the mean water age of each TSZ. The area of superimposed grey wedges is proportional to the water units discharged to the channel from each TSZ in a 1 h period. The 1 h time-scale of depicted discharge can be inferred from plot because, at τ = 1 h, the storage and discharge wedges are equal in area. The nautilus shaped distribution of grey wedges describes the relative water discharge from each TSZ, while the color distribution represents water age across TSZs within the hyporheic zone.