2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference
March 13 - 15, 2022
5/24/2021 | 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM | A CONTINENTAL-SCALE ANALYSIS OF HOW GROUNDWATER FLOW PATH DEPTH INFLUENCES THE TEMPERATURE STABILITY OF STREAMS | Virtual Platform
A CONTINENTAL-SCALE ANALYSIS OF HOW GROUNDWATER FLOW PATH DEPTH INFLUENCES THE TEMPERATURE STABILITY OF STREAMS
Groundwater discharge to streams maintain thermal stability and water quality essential for sustaining many aquatic ecosystems. However, the depth of the contributing groundwater flow path can influence how vulnerable these ecosystems are to landscape and climate modifications. Here we use paired multi-year air-water temperature signals to categorize 1786 varied size stream sites across the continental United States. These categories parse streams with strong shallow or deeper groundwater connectivity from those with reduced groundwater connectivity and sites with thermal regimes likely influenced by major upstream dam operation. Nationally, 40% of non-dam stream sites were identified as having clear groundwater influence, of which approximately 50% are dominated by shallow groundwater. We observed that long-term shallow groundwater signature sites are warming at a similar proportion to sites with reduced groundwater contributions. Sites with deep groundwater signature tended to have long term temperature records that were stable or cooling. When compared to human-modified watershed characteristics streams with thermal regimes closely coupled to air temperature indicating groundwater disconnection. These results demonstrate that the vulnerability of groundwater-influenced streams to warming depends on the relative flow path depth of the source groundwater requiring distinct management strategies.
- Stream
- Land use
- Ecosystem functioning
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Presenters/Authors
Danielle Hare
(), University of Connecticut, danielle.hare@uconn.edu;
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Ashley Helton
(), University of Connecticut, ashley.helton@uconn.edu;
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Zachary Johnson
(), U.S. Geological Survey, Washington Water Science Center, zach.c.johnson3@gmail.com ;
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Martin Briggs
(), U. S. Geological Survey, Hydrogeophysics Branch, Storrs, Connecticut, USA, mbriggs@usgs.gov;
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