Bryce A. Mihalevich | USGS Science

USGS2025

Low water levels interact with reservoir aging to increase the severity of summertime metalimnion dissolved oxygen minima in Lake Powell, desert Southwest, USA

Water level drawdowns are common in reservoirs and can affect dissolved oxygen (DO) dynamics via several pathways. In large storage reservoirs, inflow deltas are often important sites for sediment deposition, with some sediment laden rivers forming highly dynamic delta regions as they enter the reservoir. As water levels change, deposited sediment may be remobilized and affect pelagic DO dynamics. Here, we analyze a long-term set of DO profiles to ask how water levels have interacted with both reservoir age and spring inflow volumes to affect metalimnion low DO events in Lake Powell, desert Southwest, USA. The most supported model suggests that declining water levels interact with reservoir age, such that an older and lower elevation reservoir leads to more metalimnion DO consumption, with larger spring snowmelt inflows furthering DO declines. We also conducted incubations to understand how sediment source, monsoon inputs, and water temperature affect DO demand and nutrient cycling. Incubation oxygen demand varied significantly by sediment source, exhibiting modest temperature dependence at the nonmonsoonal sites. We observed the highest oxygen demand from monsoonal inputs and substantial phosphorus release from 2 of 3 sediment types. Our findings emphasize how reservoir aging and hydrological dynamics can combine to reduce DO availability.

Arizona, Utah↗

USGS2020

Water temperature controls for regulated canyon-bound rivers

Many canyon‐bound rivers have been dammed and downstream flow and water temperatures modified. Climate change is expected to cause lower storage in reservoirs and warmer release temperatures, which may further alter downstream flow and thermal regimes. To anticipate potential future changes, we first need to understand the dominant heat transfer mechanisms in canyon‐bound river systems. Towards this end, we adapt a dynamic process‐based river routing and temperature model to account for complex shading and radiation characteristics found in canyon‐bound rivers. We apply the model to a 362 km segment of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, USA to simulate temperature over an 18‐year period. Extensive temperature and flow datasets from within the canyon were used to assess model performance. At the most downstream gaging location, root mean square errors of hourly flow routing and temperature predictions were 11.5 m 3 /s and 0.93 °C, respectively. We found that heat fluxes controlling temperatures were highly variable over space and time, primarily due to shortwave radiation dynamics and hydropeaking flow conditions. Additionally, the large differences between air and water temperature during summer periods resulted in high sensible and latent heat fluxes. Sensitivity analyses indicate that reservoir release temperatures are most influential above the RM88 gage (141 kilometers below Glen Canyon Dam), while a combination of discharge, shortwave radiation, and air temperature become more important farther downstream. This study illustrates the importance of understanding the spatial and temporal variability of topographic shading when predicting water temperatures in canyon‐bound rivers.

Colorado↗