Geology topics

D.C. Goodrich

Publications and source records attributed to D.C. Goodrich.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2012

KINEROS2/AGWA: Model use, calibration and validation

KINEROS (KINematic runoff and EROSion) originated in the 1960s as a distributed event-based model that conceptualizes a watershed as a cascade of overland flow model elements that flow into trapezoidal channel model elements. KINEROS was one of the first widely available watershed models that interactively coupled a finite difference approximation of the kinematic overland flow equations to a physically based infiltration model. Development and improvement of KINEROS continued from the 1960s on a variety of projects for a range of purposes, which has resulted in a suite of KINEROS-based modeling tools. This article focuses on KINEROS2 (K2), a spatially distributed, event-based watershed rainfall-runoff and erosion model, and the companion ArcGIS-based Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (AGWA) tool. AGWA automates the time-consuming tasks of watershed delineation into distributed model elements and initial parameterization of these elements using commonly available, national GIS data layers. A variety of approaches have been used to calibrate and validate K2 successfully across a relatively broad range of applications (e.g., urbanization, pre- and post-fire, hillslope erosion, erosion from roads, runoff and recharge, and manure transport). The case studies presented in this article (1) compare lumped to stepwise calibration and validation of runoff and sediment at plot, hillslope, and small watershed scales; and (2) demonstrate an uncalibrated application to address relative change in watershed response to wildfire.

Transactions of the ASABE↗

USGS2010

Surface energy balance estimates at local and regional scales using optical remote sensing from an aircraft platform and atmospheric data collected over semiarid rangelands

Remotely sensed data in the visible, near-infrared, and thermal-infrared wave bands were collected from a low-flying aircraft during the Monsoon '90 field experiment. Monsoon '90 was a multidisciplinary experiment conducted in a semiarid watershed. It had as one of its objectives the quantification of hydrometeorological fluxes during the “monsoon” or wet season. The remote sensing observations along with micrometeprological and atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) data were used to compute the surface energy balance over a range of spatial scales. The procedure involved averaging multiple pixels along transects flown over the meteorological and flux (METFLUX) stations. Average values of the spectral reflectance and thermal-infrared temperatures were computed for pixels of order 10 −1 to 10 1 km in length and were used with atmospheric data for evaluating net radiation ( R n ), soil heat flux ( G ), and sensible ( H ) and latent ( LE ) heat fluxes at these same length scales. The model employs a single-layer resistance approach for estimating H that requires wind speed and air temperature in the ABL and a remotely sensed surface temperature. The values of R n and G are estimated from remote sensing information together with near-surface observations of air temperature, relative humidity, and solar radiation. Finally, LE is solved as the residual term in the surface energy balance equation. Model calculations were compared to measurements from the METFLUX network for three days having different environmental conditions. Average percent differences for the three days between model and the METFLUX estimates of the local fluxes were about 5% for R n , 20% for G and H , and 15% for LE . Larger differences occurred during partly cloudy conditions because of errors in interpreting the remote sensing data and the higher spatial and temporal variation in the energy fluxes. Minor variations in modeled energy fluxes were observed when the pixel size representing the remote sensing inputs changed from 0.2 to 2 km. Regional scale estimates of the surface energy balance using bulk ABL properties for the model parameters and input variables and the 10-km pixel data differed from the METFLUX network averages by about 4% for R n , 10% for G and H , and 15% for LE . Model sensitivity in calculating the turbulent fluxes H and LE to possible variations in key model parameters (i.e., the roughness lengths for heat and momentum) was found to be fairly significant. Therefore the reliability of the methods for estimating key model parameters and potential errors needs further testing over different ecosystems and environmental conditions.

Water Resources Research↗

USGS2008

Multiyear riparian evapotranspiration and groundwater use for a semiarid watershed

Riparian evapotranspiration (ET) is a major component of the surface and subsurface water balance for many semiarid watersheds. Measurement or model-based estimates of ET are often made on a local scale, but spatially distributed estimates are needed to determine ET over catchments. In this paper, we document the ET that was quantified over 3 years using eddy covariance for three riparian ecosystems along the Upper San Pedro River of southeastern Arizona, USA, and we use a water balance equation to determine annual groundwater use. Riparian evapotranspiration and groundwater use for the watershed were then determined by using a calibrated, empirical model that uses 16-day, 250-1000 m remote-sensing products for the years of 2001-2005. The inputs for the model were derived entirely from the NASA MODIS sensor and consisted of the Enhanced Vegetation Index and land surface temperature. The scaling model was validated using subsets of the entire dataset (omitting different sites or years) and its capable performance for well-watered sites (MAD=0.32 mm day-1, R2=0.93) gave us confidence in using it to determine ET over the watershed. Three years of eddy covariance data for the riparian sites reveal that ET and groundwater use increased as woody plant density increased. Groundwater use was less variable at the woodland site, which had the greatest density of phreatophytes. Annual riparian groundwater use within the watershed was nearly constant over the study period despite an on-going drought. For the San Pedro alone, the amounts determined in this paper are within the range of most recently reported values that were derived using an entirely different approach. However, because of our larger estimates for groundwater use for the main tributary of the San Pedro, the watershed totals were higher. The approach presented here can provide riparian ET and groundwater use amounts that reflect real natural variability in phreatophyte withdrawals and improve the accuracy of a watershed's water budget. ?? 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Journal of Arid Environments↗

USGS2007

Impact of recent extreme Arizona storms

Heavy rainfall on 27–31 July 2006 led to record flooding and triggered an historically unprecedented number of debris flows in the Santa Catalina Mountains north of Tucson, Ariz. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) documented record floods along four watercourses in the Tucson basin, and at least 250 hillslope failures spawned damaging debris flows in an area where less than 10 small debris flows had been documented in the past 25 years. At least 18 debris flows destroyed infrastructure in the heavily used Sabino Canyon Recreation Area (http://wwwpaztcn.wr.usgs.gov/rsch_highlight/articles/20061 l.html). In four adjacent canyons, debris flows reached the heads of alluvial fans at the boundary of the Tucson metropolitan area. While landuse planners in southeastern Arizona evaluate the potential threat of this previously little recognized hazard to residents along the mountain front, an interdisciplinary group of scientists has collaborated to better understand this extreme event.

Arizona↗

USGS2000

Preface paper to the Semi-Arid Land-Surface-Atmosphere (SALSA) Program special issue

The Semi-Arid Land-Surface-Atmosphere Program (SALSA) is a multi-agency, multi-national research effort that seeks to evaluate the consequences of natural and human-induced environmental change in semi-arid regions. The ultimate goal of SALSA is to advance scientific understanding of the semi-arid portion of the hydrosphere-biosphere interface in order to provide reliable information for environmental decision making. SALSA approaches this goal through a program of long-term, integrated observations, process research, modeling, assessment, and information management that is sustained by cooperation among scientists and information users. In this preface to the SALSA special issue, general program background information and the critical nature of semi-arid regions is presented. A brief description of the Upper San Pedro River Basin, the initial location for focused SALSA research follows. Several overarching research objectives under which much of the interdisciplinary research contained in the special issue was undertaken are discussed. Principal methods, primary research sites and data collection used by numerous investigators during 1997-1999 are then presented. Scientists from about 20 US, five European (four French and one Dutch), and three Mexican agencies and institutions have collaborated closely to make the research leading to this special issue a reality. The SALSA Program has served as a model of interagency cooperation by breaking new ground in the approach to large scale interdisciplinary science with relatively limited resources.

Conference Paper↗

USGS2000

Seasonal estimates of riparian evapotranspiration using remote and in situ measurements

In many semi-arid basins during extended periods when surface snowmelt or storm runoff is absent, groundwater constitutes the primary water source for human habitation, agriculture and riparian ecosystems. Utilizing regional groundwater models in the management of these water resources requires accurate estimates of basin boundary conditions. A critical groundwater boundary condition that is closely coupled to atmospheric processes and is typically known with little certainty is seasonal riparian evapotranspiration ET). This quantity can often be a significant factor in the basin water balance in semi-arid regions yet is very difficult to estimate over a large area. Better understanding and quantification of seasonal, large-area riparian ET is a primary objective of the Semi-Arid Land-Surface-Atmosphere (SALSA) Program. To address this objective, a series of interdisciplinary experimental Campaigns were conducted in 1997 in the San Pedro Basin in southeastern Arizona. The riparian system in this basin is primarily made up of three vegetation communities: mesquite (Prosopis velutina), sacaton grasses (Sporobolus wrightii), and a cottonwood (Populus fremontii)/willow (Salix goodingii) forest gallery. Micrometeorological measurement techniques were used to estimate ET from the mesquite and grasses. These techniques could not be utilized to estimate fluxes from the cottonwood/willow (C/W) forest gallery due to the height (20-30 m) and non-uniform linear nature of the forest gallery. Short-term (2-4 days) sap flux measurements were made to estimate canopy transpiration over several periods of the riparian growing season. Simultaneous remote sensing measurements were used to spatially extrapolate tree and stand measurements. Scaled C/W stand level sap flux estimates were utilized to calibrate a Penman-Monteith model to enable temporal extrapolation between Synoptic measurement periods. With this model and set of measurements, seasonal riparian vegetation water use estimates for the riparian corridor were obtained. To validate these models, a 90-day pre-monsoon water balance over a 10 km section of the river was carried out. All components of the water balance, including riparian ET, were independently estimated. The closure of the water balance was roughly 5% of total inflows. The ET models were then used to provide riparian ET estimates over the entire corridor for the growing season. These estimates were approximately 14% less than those obtained from the most recent groundwater model of the basin for a comparable river reach.

Conference Paper↗