Spatial  and  Temporal  Variability  in  Baseflow in  the  Mattole  River  Headwaters, California, USA

Queener, Nathan; Stubblefield, A. P.

doi:10.5194/hess-2016-300

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Although groundwater can sustain streams during low‐flow periods between precipitation events (Freeze, 1974; Godsey et al, 2013; Segura et al, 2019), few studies have quantified the fraction of groundwater and flow persistence during times of stream network contraction and expansion (Queener, 2015). Our study reveals a threshold‐based relationship between stream drying and the primary source of stream flow (i.e., groundwater or runoff) within Murphy Creek.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of groundwater and topography on stream drying in semi‐arid headwater streams

Warix

Godsey

Lohse

et al. 2021

Hydrological Processes

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Non-perennial streams comprise over half of the global stream network and impact downstream water quality. Although aridity is a primary driver of stream drying globally, surface flow permanence varies spatially and temporally within many headwater streams, suggesting that these complex drying patterns may be driven by topographic and subsurface factors. Indeed, these factors affect shallow groundwater flows in perennial systems, but there has been only limited characterisation of shallow groundwater residence times and groundwater contributions to intermittent streams.Here, we asked how groundwater residence times, shallow groundwater contributions to streamflow, and topography interact to control stream drying in headwater streams. We evaluated this overarching question in eight semi-arid headwater catchments based on surface flow observations during the low-flow period, coupled with tracer-based groundwater residence times. For one headwater catchment, we analysed stream drying during the seasonal flow recession and rewetting period using a sensor network that was interspersed between groundwater monitoring locations, and linked drying patterns to groundwater inputs and topography. We found a poor relationship between groundwater residence times and flowing network extent (R 2 < 0.24). Although groundwater residence times indicated that old groundwater was present in all headwater streams, surface drying also occurred in each of them, suggesting old, deep flowpaths are insufficient to sustain surface flows. Indeed, the timing of stream drying at any given point typically coincided with a decrease in the contribution from near-surface sources and an increased relative contribution of groundwater to streamflow at that location, whereas the spatial pattern of drying within the stream network typically correlated with locations where groundwater inputs were most seasonally variable. Topographic metrics only explained $30% of the variability in seasonal flow permanence, and surprisingly, we found no correlation with seasonal drying and down-valley subsurface storage area. Because we found complex spatial patterns, future studies should pair dense spatial observations of subsurface properties, such as hydraulic conductivity and transmissivity, to observations of seasonal flow permanence.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of groundwater and topography on stream drying in semi‐arid headwater streams

Warix

Godsey

Lohse

et al. 2021

Hydrological Processes

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“…Seepage into thick sediment deposits can completely drain surface flow and thereby prevent continuous wetted channel development (e.g., Godsey & Kirchner, 2014;Queener & Stubblefield, 2016;Whiting & Godsey, 2016). In the lower reaches of Elder (downstream of the first major knickpoint), the channel is mostly covered by thin alluvium with a depth of only a few coarse grain diameters.…”

Section: Geomorphic History and The Influence Of Disconnections And Cmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The thickness of alluvial fill in the channel bed also affects the distribution of wetted channels. Conductive, in‐channel sediment fill that lines the channel can cause streamflow to go subsurface during low flows (hyporheic flow; e.g., Godsey & Kirchner, ; Queener & Stubblefield, ; Whiting & Godsey, ). At present, however, we generally lack field data on the occurrence of sediment fill and its impact on the extent and magnitude of flow in wetted channels during dry periods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drainage from the Critical Zone: Lithologic Controls on the Persistence and Spatial Extent of Wetted Channels during the Summer Dry Season

Lovill

Hahm

Dietrich

2018

Water Resources Research

154

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In seasonally dry environments, critical zone drainage provides base flow that sustains river ecosystems. The extent of wetted channels and magnitude of base flow throughout the network, however, are rarely documented, and no general theory currently exists enabling the prediction of these key ecosystem properties. We conducted channel surveys in early and late summers of 2012, 2014, and 2015 in four headwater drainage networks (2.8–17.0 km2, in the Franciscan Formation of the Eel River (Northern California)), two of which are underlain by the Coastal Belt (argillite and inter‐bedded sandstone) and two of which are underlain by the Central Belt (sheared argillaceous‐matrix, meta‐sedimentary mélange). In all networks, stationary springs controlled the extent of flow. Though surveyed during a period of multiyear drought, the two adjacent Coastal Belt networks remained flowing throughout late‐summer months, sustained by drainage from groundwater stored in thick weathered bedrock above fresh, impermeable bedrock. Flow magnitudes, however, decreased and surface flows became increasingly discontinuous, largely due to infiltration into thick gravel deposits on the channel bed. Only 23 km away, in the Central Belt mélange, channel flow ceased early in the summer because the thin critical zone (typically <3 m) stored little water. All late‐summer flowing water initiated from deep‐rooted sandstone blocks and terminated a short distance downslope. Our findings suggest that lithology and critical zone development exert primary controls on wetted channel extent. Given similar annual precipitation, nearby watersheds can have dramatically different summer wetted channel networks that result in fundamentally different aquatic ecosystems.

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“…Stream drying is common in headwater streams (Nadeau and Rains, 2007;Datry et al, 2014), which drive water quality and availability in larger downstream water resources (US EPA, 2015; Costigan et al, 2016;Hale and Godsey, 2019). Though headwaters often contract from their uppermost reaches, as modeled in Ward et al (2018), stream drying is spatiotemporally heterogeneous, even within a single headwater stream (Queener, 2015;González-Ferreras and Barquín, 2017;Yu et al, 2018;Jensen et al, 2019;Warix et al, 2021). Short dry segments (<50 m) have been observed between flowing segments (Godsey and Kirchner, 2014;Jensen et al, 2018;Botter and Durighetto, 2020;Moidu et al, 2021), suggesting that controls on stream drying can vary at fine spatial scales.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evapotranspiration and groundwater inputs control the timing of diel cycling of stream drying during low-flow periods

Warix,

Godsey,

Flerchinger

et al. 2023

Front. Water

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Geologic, geomorphic, and climatic factors have been hypothesized to influence where streams dry, but hydrologists struggle to explain the temporal drivers of drying. Few hydrologists have isolated the role that vegetation plays in controlling the timing and location of stream drying in headwater streams. We present a distributed, fine-scale water balance through the seasonal recession and onset of stream drying by combining spatiotemporal observations and modeling of flow presence/absence, evapotranspiration, and groundwater inputs. Surface flow presence/absence was collected at fine spatial (~80 m) and temporal (15-min) scales at 25 locations in a headwater stream in southwestern Idaho, USA. Evapotranspiration losses were modeled at the same locations using the Simultaneous Heat and Water (SHAW) model. Groundwater inputs were estimated at four of the locations using a mixing model approach. In addition, we compared high-frequency, fine-resolution riparian normalized vegetation difference index (NDVI) with stream flow status. We found that the stream wetted and dried on a daily basis before seasonally drying, and daily drying occurred when evapotranspiration outputs exceeded groundwater inputs, typically during the hours of peak evapotranspiration. Riparian NDVI decreased when the stream dried, with a ~2-week lag between stream drying and response. Stream diel drying cycles reflect the groundwater and evapotranspiration balance, and riparian NDVI may improve stream drying predictions for groundwater-supported headwater streams.

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Spatial and Temporal Variability in Baseflow in the Mattole River Headwaters, California, USA

Cited by 4 publications

References 66 publications

Influence of groundwater and topography on stream drying in semi‐arid headwater streams

Influence of groundwater and topography on stream drying in semi‐arid headwater streams

Drainage from the Critical Zone: Lithologic Controls on the Persistence and Spatial Extent of Wetted Channels during the Summer Dry Season

Evapotranspiration and groundwater inputs control the timing of diel cycling of stream drying during low-flow periods

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