Geology topics

R.L. Runkel

Publications and source records attributed to R.L. Runkel.

25 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

USGS2002

A new metric for determining the importance of transient storage

A review of various metrics used to characterize transient storage indicates that none of the existing measures successfully integrate the interaction between advective velocity and the transient storage parameters (storage zone area, storage zone exchange coefficient). Further, 2 existing metrics are related to mean travel time, a quantity that is independent of the storage zone exchange coefficient, ??. This interaction and the effect of ?? on travel time are important considerations when determining the mass of solute entering the storage zone within a given reach. A new metric based on median reach travel time is therefore proposed. Median reach travel time due to advection-dispersion and transient storage, and median reach travel time due solely to advection-dispersion are computed based on numerical simulations. These 2 travel times are used to determine Fmed, the fraction of median travel time due to transient storage. Application of the new metric to 53 existing parameter sets indicates that transient storage accounts for 0.12% to 68.0% of total reach travel time. Rankings of storage zone importance based on the new metric are substantially different from rankings based on storage zone residence time, storage exchange flux, and the hydrological retention factor. These differences result from the ability of the new metric to characterize the interaction between advecrive velocity and transient storage, and the resultant effects on reach travel time and mass transport.

Journal of the North American Benthological Societ↗

USGS2001

pH dependence of iron photoreduction in a rocky mountain stream affected by acid mine drainage

The redox speciation of dissolved iron and the transport of iron in acidic, metal‐enriched streams is controlled by precipitation and dissolution of iron hydroxides, by photoreduction of dissolved ferric iron and hydrous iron oxides, and by oxidation of the resulting dissolved ferrous iron. We examined the pH dependence of these processes in an acidic mine‐drainage stream, St Kevin Gulch, Colorado, by experimentally increasing the pH of the stream from about 4·0 to 6·5 and following the downstream changes in iron species. We used a solute transport model with variable flow to evaluate biogeochemical processes controlling downstream transport. We found that at pH 6·4 there was a rapid and large initial loss of ferrous iron concurrent with the precipitation of aluminium hydroxide. Below this reach, ferrous iron was conservative during the morning but there was a net downstream loss of ferrous iron around noon and in the afternoon. Calculation of net oxidation rates shows that the noontime loss rate was generally much faster than rates for the ferrous iron oxidation at pH 6 predicted by Singer and Stumm (1970. Science 167 : 1121). The maintenance of ferrous iron concentrations in the morning is explained by the photoreduction of photoreactive ferric species, which are then depleted by noon.

Hydrological Processes↗

USGS1999

Modeling impact of storage zones on stream dissolved oxygen

The Streeter-Phelps dissolved oxygen model is modified to incorporate storage zones. A dimensionless number reflecting enhanced decomposition caused by the increased residence time of the biochemical oxygen demand in the storage zone parameterizes the impact. This result provides a partial explanation for the high decomposition rates observed in shallow streams. An application suggests that the storage zone increases the critical oxygen deficit and moves it closer to the point source. It also indicates that the storage zone should have lower oxygen concentration than the main channel. An analysis of a dimensionless enhancement factor indicates that the biochemical oxygen demand decomposition in small streams could be up to two to three times more than anticipated based on the standard Streeter-Phelps model without storage zones. For larger rivers, enhancements of up to 1.5 could occur.The Streeter-Phelps dissolved oxygen model is modified to incorporate storage zones. A dimensionless number reflecting enhanced decomposition caused by the increased residence time of the biochemical oxygen demand in the storage zone parameterizes the impact. This result provides a partial explanation for the high decomposition rates observed in shallow streams. An application suggests that the storage zone increases the critical oxygen deficit and moves it closer to the point source. It also indicates that the storage zone should have lower oxygen concentration than the main channel. An analysis of a dimensionless enhancement factor indicates that the biochemical oxygen demand decomposition in small streams could be up to two to three times more than anticipated based on the standard Streeter-Phelps model without storage zones. For larger rivers, enhancements of up to 1.5 could occur.

Journal of Environmental Engineering↗

USGS1998

Analysis of transient storage subject to unsteady flow: Diel flow variation in an Antarctic stream

Transport of dissolved material in streams and small rivers may be characterized using tracer-dilution methods and solute transport models. Recent studies have quantified stream/substream interactions using models of transient storage. These studies are based on tracer-dilution data obtained during periods of steady flow. We present a modeling framework for the analysis of transient storage in stream systems with unsteady flows. The framework couples a kinematic wave routing model with a solute transport model that includes transient storage. The routing model provides time-varying flows and cross-sectional areas that are used as input to the solute transport model. The modeling framework was used to quantify stream/substream interaction in Huey Creek, an Antarctic stream fed exclusively by glacial meltwater. Analysis of tracer-dilution data indicates that there was substantial interaction between the flowing surface water and the hyporheic (substream) zone. The ratio of storage zone area to stream cross-sectional area (A<sub>s</sub>/A) was >1 in all stream reaches, indicating that the substream area contributing to hyporheic exchange was large relative to stream cross-sectional area. The rate of exchange, as governed by the transient storage exchange coefficient (α), was rapid because of a high stream gradient and porous alluvial materials. Estimates of α generally exceed those determined for other small streams. The high degree of hyporheic exchange supports the hypothesis that weathering reactions within the hyporheos account for observed increases in solute concentration with stream length, as noted in other studies of Antarctic streams.

Journal of the North American Benthological Societ↗

USGS1996

Reactive solute transport in an acidic stream: Experimental pH increase and simulation of controls on pH, aluminum, and iron

Solute transport simulations quantitatively constrained hydrologic and geochemical hypotheses about field observations of a pH modification in an acid mine drainage stream. Carbonate chemistry, the formation of solid phases, and buffering interactions with the stream bed were important factors in explaining the behavior of pH, aluminum, and iron. The precipitation of microcrystalline gibbsite accounted for the behavior of aluminum; precipitation of Fe(OH)3 explained the general pattern of iron solubility. The dynamic experiment revealed limitations on assumptions that reactions were controlled only by equilibrium chemistry. Temporal variation in relative rates of photoreduction and oxidation influenced iron behavior. Kinetic limitations on ferrous iron oxidation and hydrous oxide precipitation and the effects of these limitations on field filtration were evident. Kinetic restraints also characterized interaction between the water column and the stream bed, including sorption and desorption of protons from iron oxides at the sediment-water interface and post-injection dissolution of the precipitated aluminum solid phase.

Environmental Science & Technology↗

USGS1996

Solution of the advection-dispersion equation: Continuous load of finite duration

Field studies of solute fate and transport in streams and rivers often involve an. experimental release of solutes at an upstream boundary for a finite period of time. A review of several standard references on surface-water-quality modeling indicates that the analytical solution to the constant-parameter advection-dispersion equation for this type of boundary condition has been generally overlooked. Here an exact analytical solution that considers a continuous load of unite duration is compared to an approximate analytical solution presented elsewhere. Results indicate that the exact analytical solution should be used for verification of numerical solutions and other solute-transport problems wherein a high level of accuracy is required.

Journal of Environmental Engineering↗

USGS1995

Simulation models for conservative and nonconservative solute transport in streams

Solute transport in streams is governed by a suite of hydrologic and chemical processes. Interactions between hydrologic processes and chemical reactions may be quantified through a combination of field-scale experimentation and simulation modeling. Two mathematical models that simulate conservative and nonconservative solute transport in streams are presented. A model for conservative solutes that considers One Dimensional Transport with Inflow and Storage (OTIS) may be used in conjunction with tracer-dilution methods to quantify hydrologic transport processes (advection, dispersion, lateral inflow and transient storage). For nonconservative solutes, a model known as OTEQ may be used to quantify chemical processes within the context of hydrologic transport. OTEQ combines the transport mechanisms in OTIS with a chemical equilibrium sub-model that considers complexation, precipitation/dissolution and sorption. OTEQ has been used to quantify processes affecting trace metals in two streams in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, USA.

Effects of scale on interpretation and management ↗