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At least 829 records · Page 46Linked to original sources
USGS2005

The role of topography on catchment‐scale water residence time

The age, or residence time, of water is a fundamental descriptor of catchment hydrology, revealing information about the storage, flow pathways, and source of water in a single integrated measure. While there has been tremendous recent interest in residence time estimation to characterize watersheds, there are relatively few studies that have quantified residence time at the watershed scale, and fewer still that have extended those results beyond single catchments to larger landscape scales. We examined topographic controls on residence time for seven catchments (0.085–62.4 km 2 ) that represent diverse geologic and geomorphic conditions in the western Cascade Mountains of Oregon. Our primary objective was to determine the dominant physical controls on catchment‐scale water residence time and specifically test the hypothesis that residence time is related to the size of the basin. Residence times were estimated by simple convolution models that described the transfer of precipitation isotopic composition to the stream network. We found that base flow mean residence times for exponential distributions ranged from 0.8 to 3.3 years. Mean residence time showed no correlation to basin area (r 2 < 0.01) but instead was correlated (r 2 = 0.91) to catchment terrain indices representing the flow path distance and flow path gradient to the stream network. These results illustrate that landscape organization (i.e., topography) rather than basin area controls catchment‐scale transport. Results from this study may provide a framework for describing scale‐invariant transport across climatic and geologic conditions, whereby the internal form and structure of the basin defines the first‐order control on base flow residence time.

Water Resources Research↗
USGS2005

Incorporating seepage losses into the unsteady streamflow equations for simulating intermittent flow along mountain front streams

Seepage losses along numerous mountain front streams that discharge intermittently onto alluvial fans and piedmont alluvial plains are an important source of groundwater in the Basin and Range Province of the Western United States. Determining the distribution of seepage loss along mountain front streams is important when assessing groundwater resources of the region. Seepage loss along a mountain front stream in northern Nevada was evaluated using a one‐dimensional unsteady streamflow model. Seepage loss was incorporated into the spatial derivatives of the streamflow equations. Because seepage loss from streams is dependent on stream depth, wetted perimeter, and streambed properties, a two‐dimensional variably saturated flow model was used to develop a series of relations between seepage loss and stream depth for each reach. This method works when streams are separated from groundwater by variably saturated sediment. Two periods of intermittent flow were simulated to evaluate the modeling approach. The model reproduced measured flow and seepage losses along the channel. Seepage loss in the spring of 2000 was limited to the upper reaches on the alluvial plain and totaled 196,000 m 3 , whereas 64% of the seepage loss in the spring of 2004 occurred at the base of the alluvial plain and totaled 273,000 m 3 . A greater seepage loss at the base of the piedmont alluvial plain is attributed to increased streambed hydraulic conductivity caused by less armoring of the channel. The modeling approach provides a method for quantifying and distributing seepage loss along mountain front streams that cross alluvial fans or piedmont alluvial plains.

Water Resources Research↗
USGS2005

Variation in the reference Shields stress for bed load transport in gravel‐bed streams and rivers

The present study examines variations in the reference shear stress for bed load transport (τ r ) using coupled measurements of flow and bed load transport in 45 gravel‐bed streams and rivers. The study streams encompass a wide range in bank‐full discharge (1–2600 m 3 /s), average channel gradient (0.0003–0.05), and median surface grain size (0.027–0.21 m). A bed load transport relation was formed for each site by plotting individual values of the dimensionless transport rate W * versus the reach‐average dimensionless shear stress τ*. The reference dimensionless shear stress τ* r was then estimated by selecting the value of τ* corresponding to a reference transport rate of W * = 0.002. The results indicate that the discharge corresponding to τ* r averages 67% of the bank‐full discharge, with the variation independent of reach‐scale morphologic and sediment properties. However, values of τ* r increase systematically with average channel gradient, ranging from 0.025–0.035 at sites with slopes of 0.001–0.006 to values greater than 0.10 at sites with slopes greater than 0.02. A corresponding relation for the bank‐full dimensionless shear stress τ* bf , formulated with data from 159 sites in North America and England, mirrors the relation between τ* r and channel gradient, suggesting that the bank‐full channel geometry of gravel‐ and cobble‐bedded streams is adjusted to a relatively constant excess shear stress, τ* bf − τ* r , across a wide range of slopes.

Water Resources Research↗
USGS2005

Effects of rainfall seasonality and soil moisture capacity on mean annual water balance for Australian catchments

An important factor controlling catchment‐scale water balance is the seasonal variation of climate. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of the seasonal distributions of water and energy, and their interactions with the soil moisture store, on mean annual water balance in Australia at catchment scales using a stochastic model of soil moisture balance with seasonally varying forcing. The rainfall regime at 262 catchments around Australia was modeled as a Poisson process with the mean storm arrival rate and the mean storm depth varying throughout the year as cosine curves with annual periods. The soil moisture dynamics were represented by use of a single, finite water store having infinite infiltration capacity, and the potential evapotranspiration rate was modeled as an annual cosine curve. The mean annual water budget was calculated numerically using a Monte Carlo simulation. The model predicted that for a given level of climatic aridity the ratio of mean annual evapotranspiration to rainfall was larger where the potential evapotranspiration and rainfall were in phase, that is, in summer‐dominant rainfall catchments, than where they were out of phase. The observed mean annual evapotranspiration ratios have opposite results. As a result, estimates of mean annual evapotranspiration from the model compared poorly with observational data. Because the inclusion of seasonally varying forcing alone was not sufficient to explain variability in the mean annual water balance, other catchment properties may play a role. Further analysis showed that the water balance was highly sensitive to the catchment‐scale soil moisture capacity. Calibrations of this parameter indicated that infiltration‐excess runoff might be an important process, especially for the summer‐dominant rainfall catchments; most similar studies have shown that modeling of infiltration‐excess runoff is not required at the mean annual timescale.

Water Resources Research↗
USGS2005

Estimating sediment budgets at the interface between rivers and estuaries with application to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta

Where rivers encounter estuaries, a transition zone develops where riverine and tidal processes both affect sediment transport processes. One such transition zone is the Sacramento‐San Joaquin River Delta, a large, complex system where several rivers meet to form an estuary (San Francisco Bay). Herein we present the results of a detailed sediment budget for this river/estuary transitional system. The primary regional goal of the study was to measure sediment transport rates and pathways in the delta in support of ecosystem restoration efforts. In addition to achieving this regional goal, the study has produced general methods to collect, edit, and analyze (including error analysis) sediment transport data at the interface of rivers and estuaries. Estimating sediment budgets for these systems is difficult because of the mixed nature of riverine versus tidal transport processes, the different timescales of transport in fluvial and tidal environments, and the sheer complexity and size of systems such as the Sacramento‐San Joaquin River Delta. Sediment budgets also require error estimates in order to assess whether differences in inflows and outflows, which could be small compared to overall fluxes, are indeed distinguishable from zero. Over the 4 year period of this study, water years 1999‐2002, 6.6 ± 0.9 Mt of sediment entered the delta and 2.2 ± 0.7 Mt exited, resulting in 4.4 ± 1.1 Mt (67 ± 17%) of deposition. The estimated deposition rate corresponding to this mass of sediment compares favorably with measured inorganic sediment accumulation on vegetated wetlands in the delta.

Water Resources Research↗
USGS2005

Comparison of constitutive flow resistance equations based on the Manning and Chezy equations applied to natural rivers

A set of conceptually derived in‐bank river discharge–estimating equations (models), based on the Manning and Chezy equations, are calibrated and validated using a database of 1037 discharge measurements in 103 rivers in the United States and New Zealand. The models are compared to a multiple regression model derived from the same data. The comparison demonstrates that in natural rivers, using an exponent on the slope variable of 0.33 rather than the traditional value of 0.5 reduces the variance associated with estimating flow resistance. Mean model uncertainty, assuming a constant value for the conductance coefficient, is less than 5% for a large number of estimates, and 67% of the estimates would be accurate within 50%. The models have potential application where site‐specific flow resistance information is not available and can be the basis for (1) a general approach to estimating discharge from remotely sensed hydraulic data, (2) comparison to slope‐area discharge estimates, and (3) large‐scale river modeling.

Water Resources Research↗
USGS2005

Estimating contaminant loads in rivers: An application of adjusted maximum likelihood to type 1 censored data

This paper presents an adjusted maximum likelihood estimator (AMLE) that can be used to estimate fluvial transport of contaminants, like phosphorus, that are subject to censoring because of analytical detection limits. The AMLE is a generalization of the widely accepted minimum variance unbiased estimator (MVUE), and Monte Carlo experiments confirm that it shares essentially all of the MVUE's desirable properties, including high efficiency and negligible bias. In particular, the AMLE exhibits substantially less bias than alternative censored‐data estimators such as the MLE (Tobit) or the MLE followed by a jackknife. As with the MLE and the MVUE the AMLE comes close to achieving the theoretical Frechet‐Cramér‐Rao bounds on its variance. This paper also presents a statistical framework, applicable to both censored and complete data, for understanding and estimating the components of uncertainty associated with load estimates. This can serve to lower the cost and improve the efficiency of both traditional and real‐time water quality monitoring.

Water Resources Research↗
USGS2005

Radiogenic 4He as a conservative tracer in buried‐valley aquifers

The accumulation of 4 He in groundwater can be a powerful tool in hydrogeologic investigations. However, the use of 4 He often suffers from disagreement or uncertainty related to in situ and external sources of 4 He. In situ sources are quantified by several methods, while external sources are often treated as calibration parameters in modeling. We present data from direct laboratory measurements of 4 He release from sediments and field data of dissolved 4 He in the Mahomet Aquifer, a well‐studied buried‐valley aquifer in central Illinois. The laboratory‐derived accumulation rates (0.13–0.91 μcm 3 STP kg water −1 yr −1 ) are 1–2 orders of magnitude greater than the accumulation rates based on the U and Th concentrations of the sediments (0.004–0.009 μcm 3 STP kg water −1 yr −1 ). The direct measurement of accumulation rates are more consistent with dissolved concentrations of 4 He in the groundwater. We suggest that the direct measurement method is applicable in a variety of hydrogeologic settings. The patterns of accumulation of 4 He are consistent with the conceptual model of flow in the aquifer based on hydraulic and geochemical evidence and show areas where in situ production and external sources of 4 He are dominant. In the southwestern part of the study area, Ne concentrations are less than atmospheric solubility, indicating gases have been lost from the groundwater. Available evidence indicates that the gases are lost as groundwater passes by pockets of CH 4 in glacial deposits overlying the aquifer. However, the external flux from the underlying bedrock appears to dominate the accumulation of radiogenic 4 He in the aquifer in the southwestern part of the study area, and the loss or gain of helium as groundwater passes through the overlying sediments is minor in comparison.

Water Resources Research↗
USGS2006

Detection of water quality trends at high, median, and low flow in a Catskill Mountain stream, New York, through a new statistical method

The effects of changes in acid deposition rates resulting from the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 should first appear in stream waters during rainstorms and snowmelt, when the surface of the watershed is most hydrologically connected to the stream. Early detection of improved stream water quality is possible if trends at high flow could be separately determined. Trends in concentrations of sulfate (SO 4 2− ), nitrate (NO 3 − ), calcium plus magnesium (Ca 2+ +Mg 2+ ), and acid‐neutralizing capacity (ANC) in Biscuit Brook, Catskill Mountains, New York, were assessed through segmented regression analysis (SRA). The method uses annual concentration‐to‐discharge relations to predict concentrations for specific discharges, then compares those annual values to determine trends at specific discharge levels. Median‐flow trends using SRA were comparable to those predicted by the seasonal Kendall tau test and a multiple regression residual analysis. All of these methods show that stream water SO 4 2− concentrations have decreased significantly since 1983; Ca 2+ +Mg 2+ concentrations have decreased at a steady but slower rate than SO 4 2− ; and ANC shows no trend. The new SRA method, however, reveals trends that differ at specified flow levels. ANC has increased, and NO 3 − concentrations have decreased at high flows, but neither has changed as significantly at low flows. The general downward trend in SO 4 2− flattened at median flow and reversed at high flow between 1997 and 2002. The reversal of the high‐flow SO 4 2− trend is consistent with increases in SO 4 2− concentrations in both precipitation and soil solutions at Biscuit Brook. Separate calculation of high‐flow trends provides resource managers with an early detection system for assessing changes in water quality resulting from changes in acidic deposition.

Water Resources Research↗
USGS2005

Snow-fed streamflow timing at different basin scales: Case study of the Tuolumne River above Hetch Hetchy, Yosemite, California

Diurnal cycles in snow‐fed streams provide a useful technique for measuring the time it takes water to travel from the top of the snowpack, where snowmelt typically peaks in the afternoon, to the river gauge, where the daily maximum flows may arrive many hours later. Hourly stage measurements in nested subbasins (6‐775 km 2 ) of the Tuolumne River in Yosemite National Park illustrate travel time delays at different basin scales during the spring 2002 and 2003 melt seasons. Travel times increase with longer percolation times through deeper snowpacks, increase with longer travel times over land and along longer stream channels, and increase with slower in‐stream flow velocities. In basins smaller than 30 km 2 , travel times through the snowpack dominate streamflow timing. In particular, daily peak flows shift to earlier in the day as snowpacks thin and mean discharges increase. In basins larger than 200 km 2 , snowpack heterogeneity causes the hour of peak flow to be highly consistent, with little or no variation as the snowpack thins. Basins with areas in between 30 and 200 km 2 exhibit different sequences of diurnal streamflow timing in different years, sometimes acting like small basins and other times like large basins. From the start of the melt season until the day of peak snowmelt discharge, increasing travel distances in channels as the snow line retreats to higher elevations do not cause long enough travel delays to offset the observed decrease in mean travel times through the snowpack. A model that couples porous medium flow through thinning snowpacks with free surface flow in stream channels can reproduce the observed patterns, provided that the model incorporates snowpack heterogeneity.

California↗
USGS2005

Estimation of groundwater consumption by phreatophytes using diurnal water table fluctuations: A saturated‐unsaturated flow assessment

Groundwater consumption by phreatophytes is a difficult‐to‐measure but important component of the water budget in many arid and semiarid environments. Over the past 70 years the consumptive use of groundwater by phreatophytes has been estimated using a method that analyzes diurnal trends in hydrographs from wells that are screened across the water table (White, 1932). The reliability of estimates obtained with this approach has never been rigorously evaluated using saturated‐unsaturated flow simulation. We present such an evaluation for common flow geometries and a range of hydraulic properties. Results indicate that the major source of error in the White method is the uncertainty in the estimate of specific yield. Evapotranspirative consumption of groundwater will often be significantly overpredicted with the White method if the effects of drainage time and the depth to the water table on specific yield are ignored. We utilize the concept of readily available specific yield as the basis for estimation of the specific yield value appropriate for use with the White method. Guidelines are defined for estimating readily available specific yield based on sediment texture. Use of these guidelines with the White method should enable the evapotranspirative consumption of groundwater to be more accurately quantified.

Water Resources Research↗
USGS2005

Quasi‐steady centrifuge method for unsaturated hydraulic properties

We have developed the quasi‐steady centrifuge (QSC) method as a variation of the steady state centrifuge method that can be implemented simply and inexpensively with greater versatility in terms of sample size and other features. It achieves these advantages by somewhat relaxing the criterion for steadiness of flow through the sample. This compromise entails an increase in measurement uncertainty but to a degree that is tolerable in most applications. We have tested this new approach with an easily constructed apparatus to establish a quasi‐steady flow of water in unsaturated porous rock samples spinning in a centrifuge, obtaining measurements of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity and water retention that agree with results of other methods. The QSC method is adaptable to essentially any centrifuge suitable for hydrogeologic applications, over a wide range of sizes and operating speeds. The simplified apparatus and greater adaptability of this method expands the potential for exploring situations that are common in nature but have been the subject of few laboratory investigations.

Water Resources Research↗
USGS2006

Simulation of reactive transport of uranium(VI) in groundwater with variable chemical conditions

The reactive transport of U(VI) in a shallow alluvial aquifer beneath a former U(VI) mill located near Naturita, CO, was simulated using a surface complexation model (SCM) to describe U(VI) adsorption. The groundwater had variable U(VI) concentrations (0.01–20 μM), variable alkalinity (2.5–18 meq/L), and a nearly constant pH equal to 7.1. U(VI) K D values decreased with increasing U(VI) and alkalinity, and these parameters were more important than sediment variability in controlling K D values. Reactive transport simulations were fit to the observed U(VI) and alkalinity by varying the concentration of U(VI) and alkalinity in recharge at the source area. Simulated K D values varied temporally and spatially because of the differential transport of U(VI) and alkalinity and the nonlinearity of U(VI) adsorption. The model also simulated the observed U(VI) tailing, which would not be expected from a constant K D model. The simulated U(VI) concentrations were sensitive to the recharge flux because of the increased flux of U(VI) to the aquifer. The geochemical behavior of U(VI) was most sensitive to the alkalinity and was relatively insensitive to pH.

Water Resources Research↗
USGS2005

Nonlinear regression modeling of nutrient loads in streams: A Bayesian approach

A Bayesian nonlinear regression modeling method is introduced and compared with the least squares method for modeling nutrient loads in stream networks. The objective of the study is to better model spatial correlation in river basin hydrology and land use for improving the model as a forecasting tool. The Bayesian modeling approach is introduced in three steps, each with a more complicated model and data error structure. The approach is illustrated using a data set from three large river basins in eastern North Carolina. Results indicate that the Bayesian model better accounts for model and data uncertainties than does the conventional least squares approach. Applications of the Bayesian models for ambient water quality standards compliance and TMDL assessment are discussed.

Water Resources Research↗
USGS2005

Estimating changes in heat energy stored within a column of wetland surface water and factors controlling their importance in the surface energy budget

Changes in heat energy stored within a column of wetland surface water can be a considerable component of the surface energy budget, an attribute that is demonstrated by comparing changes in stored heat energy to net radiation at seven sites in the wetland areas of southern Florida, including the Everglades. The magnitude of changes in stored heat energy approached the magnitude of net radiation more often during the winter dry season than during the summer wet season. Furthermore, the magnitude of changes in stored heat energy in wetland surface water generally decreased as surface energy budgets were upscaled temporally. A new method was developed to estimate changes in stored heat energy that overcomes an important data limitation, namely, the limited spatial and temporal availability of water temperature measurements. The new method is instead based on readily available air temperature measurements and relies on the convolution of air temperature changes with a regression‐defined transfer function to estimate changes in water temperature. The convolution‐computed water temperature changes are used with water depths and heat capacity to estimate changes in stored heat energy within the Everglades wetland areas. These results likely can be adapted to other humid subtropical wetlands characterized by open water, saw grass, and rush vegetation type communities.

Water Resources Research↗
USGS2006

Relative contributions of transient and steady state infiltration during ephemeral streamflow

Simulations of infiltration during three ephemeral streamflow events in a coarse‐grained alluvial channel overlying a less permeable basin‐fill layer were conducted to determine the relative contribution of transient infiltration at the onset of streamflow to cumulative infiltration for the event. Water content, temperature, and piezometric measurements from 2.5‐m vertical profiles within the alluvial sediments were used to constrain a variably saturated water flow and heat transport model. Simulated and measured transient infiltration rates at the onset of streamflow were about two to three orders of magnitude greater than steady state infiltration rates. The duration of simulated transient infiltration ranged from 1.8 to 20 hours, compared with steady state flow periods of 231 to 307 hours. Cumulative infiltration during the transient period represented 10 to 26% of the total cumulative infiltration, with an average contribution of approximately 18%. Cumulative infiltration error for the simulated streamflow events ranged from 9 to 25%. Cumulative infiltration error for typical streamflow events of about 8 hours in duration in is about 90%. This analysis indicates that when estimating total cumulative infiltration in coarse‐grained ephemeral stream channels, consideration of the transient infiltration at the onset of streamflow will improve predictions of the total volume of infiltration that may become groundwater recharge.

Water Resources Research↗
USGS2005

Averaged indicators of secondary flow in repeated acoustic Doppler current profiler crossings of bends

Cross‐stream velocity was measured in a large river bend at high spatial resolution over three separate survey episodes. A suite of methods for resolving cross‐stream velocity distributions was tested on data collected using acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCP) in the sand‐bedded Sacramento River, California. The bend was surveyed with repeated ADCP crossings at eight cross sections during a rising limb of high discharge in February 2004 and twice on recession in March 2004. By translating and interpolating repeated ADCP crossings to planar grids, velocity ensembles at similar positions along irregular boat paths could be averaged. The averaging minimized turbulent fluctuations in streamwise velocities over 1 m/s, enabling the resolution of weaker cross‐stream velocities (~15‐30 cm/s). Secondary‐flow influence on suspended sediment was inferred from a lateral region of acoustic backscatter intensity aligned with outward flow over the point bar. A near‐bed decrease in backscatter intensity across the pool corresponded with inward cross‐stream flow. These suspension indicators were used to orient averaged velocity grids for unambiguously defining the cross‐stream velocity magnitudes. Additional field investigations could test whether the correlation between cross‐stream velocity and backscatter intensity patterns results from helical recirculation of suspended sediment to the inside of the bend. These river measurements, consistent with classic and recent laboratory studies, show that ADCP surveys can provide refined views of secondary flow and sediment movement in large rivers.

Water Resources Research↗
USGS2005

Percolation and transport in a sandy soil under a natural hydraulic gradient

Unsaturated flow and transport under a natural hydraulic gradient in a Mediterranean climate were investigated with a field tracer experiment combined with laboratory analyses and numerical modeling. Bromide was applied to the surface of a sandy soil during the dry season. During the subsequent rainy season, repeated sediment sampling tracked the movement of bromide through the profile. Analysis of data on moisture content, matric pressure, unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, bulk density, and soil texture and structure provides insights into parameterization and use of the advective‐dispersive modeling approach. Capturing the gross features of tracer and moisture movement with model simulations required an order‐of‐magnitude increase in laboratory‐measured hydraulic conductivity. Wetting curve characteristics better represented field results, calling into question the routine estimation of hydraulic characteristics based only on drying conditions. Measured increases in profile moisture exceeded cumulative precipitation in early winter, indicating that gains from dew drip can exceed losses from evapotranspiration during periods of heavy (“Tule”) fog. A single‐continuum advective‐dispersive modeling approach could not reproduce a peak of bromide that was retained near the soil surface for over 3 years. Modeling of this feature required slow exchange of solute at a transfer rate of 0.5–1 × 10 −4 d −1 with an immobile volume approaching the residual moisture content.

Water Resources Research↗