Hydrology Commons^™

Cross-Scale Interactions Between Atmospheric And Hydrologic Processes In A Topographically Complex, Snow-Dominated Watershed As Revealed Through An Integrated Hydrologic Model, Miguel A. Aguayo Arias

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

In much of the world, water for agricultural, domestic, and hydroelectric power generation uses are derived from snow-dominated mountain basins. In these regions, water management requires accurate and timely knowledge of runoff generation by snowmelt. This information is used to plan reservoir releases for downstream users and is generated by models of biophysical processes associated with varying degrees of fidelity to physical processes and/or spatial heterogeneities. The large variability in the characteristic spatial and temporal scales of atmospheric forcings, land-surface water and energy balance, and groundwater flow contribute to significant uncertainties in resolved hydrologic states and fluxes. Underlying sources of …

Investigating The Annual Water Balance Of A High-Altitude Watershed Using Near-Real Time Lidar Data Integration Into A Physically Based Snowmelt Model, Andrew R. Hedrick

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Knowledge of the amount of water stored in the mountain snowpack is crucial for flood prevention, drought mitigation, and energy production in the Western United States. In modeling terms, the most important component of the hydrologic water balance is the precipitation input to the system. Determining where and how much precipitation falls in mountain catchments, however, is the most difficult problem with regards to closing the water balance. The work presented in this dissertation details the modeling portion of the NASA Airborne Snow Observatory (ASO) using the iSnobal physically based snow model. This combination of remote sensing and modeling at …

Correlating The Spatial Distribution Of Snow Depth To Forest Canopy Parameters Derived From Terrestrial Laser Scans, Zachary Uhlmann

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

In nonpolar, cold climate zones, snow accounts for 17% of the total terrestrial water storage. Estimating the amount of water stored in a snowpack, the snow water equivalent (SWE), and its spatial distribution is crucial to providing water managers with parameters to predict runoff timing, duration and amount. Reservoir management, hydropower and flood forecasting depend on SWE estimates. While landscape features such as aspect and slope are dominant controls on radiative energy in non-forested areas, forest cover can shift the energy balance composition from turbulent exchange in exposed, windy sites to primarily radiative inputs in the subcanopy. Additionally, forest cover …

From Snow To Flow: Exploring Relationships Between Snotel Ablation Curves And Peak Streamflow Timing, Kara Jane Ferguson

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Predictions of peak streamflow timing in snow-dominated river systems are essential for proper water management and recreational availability. This study evaluates historic snow and streamflow data from 14 river basins throughout Idaho to investigate the relationship between snowmelt timing at SNOw TELemetry (SNOTEL) sites and peak streamflow within each basin. The goal is to provide a simple operational tool that estimates the probability of peak streamflow occurring within a certain number of days as ablation progresses from 0 to 100% melted. For individual basins we evaluate meltout levels in increments of 10% from each SNOTEL site and use a probabilistic …

Exploring The Role Of Deforestation On Regional Hydroclimate In Southeast Africa: An Approach Fusing Models And Data, Megan Maksimowicz

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Land cover acts as the gatekeeper to incoming and outgoing energy and water fluxes at the land surface, partitioning energy and water in accordance with the vegetation type and in response to atmospheric forcings. As Land Surface Models become more complex and more capable of simulating the coupled dynamics of the land-atmosphere system in greater spatial detail, the need for accurate representation of spatial distribution of vegetation types and their dynamics through time grows.

As humans modify land cover, there are complex dynamics at play between the vegetation, the surface energy balance and the cycling of water. The resultant hydroclimatic …

Evaporation Depth Controls The Relationship Between Soil Water Mobility And Soil Water Isotopic Composition, John Byars Shuler

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Recent studies of plant water uptake assume that soil water isotopic composition can be used to infer soil water mobility. However, the strength of the relationship between mobility and isotopic composition remains poorly constrained. In addition, many ecohydrologic investigations are restricted by low sampling frequencies and insufficient soil moisture and matric potential data to support assumptions of soil water mobility. We sampled bulk soil water every 14 to 21 days in hillslope and riparian profiles during the 2016 and 2017 growing seasons in a semi-arid watershed outside Boise, ID. We collected twig samples of four tree and shrub species concurrently. …

Assessment Of Snow Atmosphere Forcing During Central Idaho Atmospheric Rivers, William Rudisill

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Atmospheric Rivers (AR) are globally occuring weather features and the primary mechanism through which water vapor moves from the tropics and subtropics towards the mid-latitudes, doing so at rates comparable to the world’s largest terrestrial rivers. AR that encounter mountains often cause extreme precipitation in the form of rain and snow, high winds, and flooding in many watersheds. They account for as much as 20-30% of cool season precipitation in the central Idaho Mountains. In the Northern Hemisphere, seasonal snow cover during Winter and Spring months is the most variable land surface component in space and time, and acts on …

Using Landlab, A Fine Scale Biogeography Model, To Measure The Sustainability Of Semi-Arid Vegetation In A Changing Climate, Lucy Gelb

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The distribution of vegetation in water-limited ecosystems is a product of complex and nonlinear interactions between climatic forcings (e.g., precipitation, temperature, solar radiation) and the underlying geomorphic template, which includes topography, geology, and soils. Changes in climate, particularly in precipitation and temperature, can dramatically alter the organization of vegetation. This is especially true in ecotones such as our area of study: the semi-arid transition between Great Basin shrub-steppe ecosystems and the coniferous forests of the Northern Rockies. Understanding and predicting how the spatial composition of terrestrial vegetation communities will change in these ecosystems is critical to predicting important future landscape …

Geochemical Dynamics And Nitrous Oxide Release From The Hyporheic Zone Of Streams, Annika Marie Quick

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The hyporheic zones of streams and rivers, consisting of the sediments beneath and immediately adjacent to the stream channel, are an important site of geochemical processing. Due to the difficulty of measuring these geochemical processes in the hyporheic zone in situ with meaningful spatial and temporal resolution, we conducted multiple column and large-scale flume experiments to model 1D and 2D hyporheic flow paths and observed important geochemical reactions, including the production and consumption of nitrous oxide (N₂O). N₂O is a significant greenhouse gas, but the controls on its emissions from streams are poorly constrained. We describe …

Spatial And Temporal Dynamics Of Dissolved Oxygen Concentrations And Bioactivity In The Hyporheic Zone, W. Jeffery Reeder, Annika M. Quick, Tiffany B. Farrell, Shawn G. Benner, Kevin P. Feris, Daniele Tonina

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations and consumption rates are primary indicators of heterotrophic respiration and redox conditions in the hyporheic zone (HZ). Due to the complexity of hyporheic flow and interactions between hyporheic hydraulics and the biogeochemical processes, a detailed, mechanistic, and predictive understanding of the biogeochemical activity in the HZ has not yet been developed. Previous studies of microbial activity in the HZ have treated the metabolic DO consumption rate constant (K_DO) as a temporally fixed and spatially homogeneous property that is determined primarily by the concentration of bioavailable carbon. These studies have generally treated bioactivity as temporally …

Geologic Framework Of The Fang Hot Springs Area With Emphasis On Structure, Hydrology, And Geothermal Development, Chiang Mai Provence, Northern Thailand, Spencer H. Wood, Pichet Kaewsomwang, Fongsaward Suvagondha Singharajwarapan

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Geologic mapping, a magnetotelluric survey, well data, and earlier reports are integrated to guide further development of the Fang geothermal system. The Fang Hot Springs originally flowed ~ 20 l s⁻¹ of 90–99 °C water from a 10-hectare area of crystal- line rocks presumed to be of Triassic age. Four wells 92–500 m deep now flow ~ 20 l s⁻¹ of 110–115 °C water and generate 115–250 kWe from the 1989 Ormat binary power plant. Wells are not pumped nor is the spent water re-injected. Temperatures of 130 °C occur in some wells and water chemistry indicates reservoir …