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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Evaluating The Sensitivity Of Crustal Deformation To Bedrock Hydrology In A Mountain Watershed, Brett J. Oliver
Evaluating The Sensitivity Of Crustal Deformation To Bedrock Hydrology In A Mountain Watershed, Brett J. Oliver
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
We evaluate the sensitivity of Earth's elastic deformation to groundwater hydraulic diffusivity using coupled groundwater and elastic deformation models. Seasonal changes in terrestrial water storage cause deformation to the Earth’s crust and deeper interior that is within the observational capacity of GPS instruments. We couple finite difference groundwater simulations with geodetic forward models of crustal displacement to investigate the ability of geodetic deformation to constrain bedrock hydrologic properties. We use MODFLOW-2005 to simulate seasonal changes in groundwater flow and storage, and then use the LoadDef elastic deformation model to forward model surface displacement caused by the change in terrestrial water …
Relating Streamflow Discharge To Surface Elastic Response Under Hydrologic Loading Using Single Gps Vertical Displacement And The Storage-Discharge Relationship At Local Watershed Scales, Noah B. Clayton
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Uncertainties associated with climate change and increasing demands for water resources require better methods for estimating water availability at small to intermediate watershed scales (<1500 km2). Temporal changes in watershed storage and transport across various watersheds in the western U.S. were investigated using the hydrologic loading signal from GPS vertical displacements as a proxy for changes in watershed total terrestrial storage. GPS vertical displacement and streamflow discharge relationships were analyzed at daily to monthly temporal resolution. Stream connected storage changes were inferred using discharge using a first-order dynamical system model. Storage inferred from discharge, GPS vertical displacement and storage …
Nitrogen Dynamics And Transport Along Flowpaths In A Rural Wetland-Stream Complex, Colton Kyro
Nitrogen Dynamics And Transport Along Flowpaths In A Rural Wetland-Stream Complex, Colton Kyro
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Human activities have doubled the rate of nitrogen inputs onto the landscape resulting in elevated nitrogen concentrations in our streams. Anthropogenically applied nitrogen is largely transported to stream networks via groundwater movement. Groundwater discharge occurs in distinct points along a stream but whose influences can often persist far beyond that area due to insufficient biogeochemical removal of imported nitrogen potentially causing alterations in community structure and precipitating large algae blooms. To understand the factors governing nitrogen abundance in a historical polluted stream, I used a mass-balance approach to quantify groundwater-surface water interaction and the magnitude of groundwater nitrogen input and …
Detecting Groundwater Discharge In The Clark Fork River Near Stone Container Using Spectral Alpha Decay Detection For Dissolved Radon In Surface Water Samples Abstract, Daniel William Forsland
Detecting Groundwater Discharge In The Clark Fork River Near Stone Container Using Spectral Alpha Decay Detection For Dissolved Radon In Surface Water Samples Abstract, Daniel William Forsland
Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts
Radon-222 (222Rn) was measured along 8.7 kilometers of the Clark Fork River, between Harper’s Bridge and Frenchtown, MT. Twelve water samples were taken along the stretch. Samples 1 through 4 and 10 through 12 were collected on a 1 km interval, samples 5 through 9 were taken on a 500 meter interval. Samples were analyzed for dissolved 222Rn using a RAD7 spectral alpha decay detector. Instream 222Rn was modeled to quantify groundwater discharge to the river. Literature on the Missoula Valley aquifer was analyzed, revealing an alluvial aquifer system to the east consisting of interbedded gravel, …
Ice Flow Impacts The Firn Structure Of Greenland's Percolation Zone, Rosemary C. Leone
Ice Flow Impacts The Firn Structure Of Greenland's Percolation Zone, Rosemary C. Leone
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
One dimensional simulations of firn evolution neglect horizontal transport as the firn column moves down slope during burial. This approach is justifiable near Greenland's ice divide, where ice flow is near vertical, but fidelity is lost in the percolation zone where horizontal ice flow advects the firn column through climate gradients. We simulate firn evolution processes under advection conditions using a transient, thermo-mechanically coupled model for firn densification and heat transfer with various schemes for meltwater penetration and refreezing. The simulations isolate processes in synthetic runs and investigate an ice core site and four transects of Greenland’s percolation zone. The …
A Dual State Hierarchical Ensemble Kalman Filter Algorithm, William J. Cook, Jesse Johnson, Marko Maneta, Doug Brinkerhoff
A Dual State Hierarchical Ensemble Kalman Filter Algorithm, William J. Cook, Jesse Johnson, Marko Maneta, Doug Brinkerhoff
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Dynamic models that simulate processes across large geographic locations, such as hydrologic models, are often informed by empirical parameters that are distributed across a geographical area and segmented by geological features such as watersheds. These parameters may be referred to as spatially distributed parameters. Spatially distributed parameters are frequently spatially correlated and any techniques utilized in their calibration ideally incorporate existing spatial hierarchical relationships into their structure. In this paper, a parameter estimation method based on the Dual State Ensemble Kalman Filter called the Dual State Hierarchical Ensemble Kalman Filter (DSHEnKF) is presented. This modified filter is innovative in that …
Detecting Regional Groundwater Discharge To The Clark Fork River, Melinda Horne
Detecting Regional Groundwater Discharge To The Clark Fork River, Melinda Horne
Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts
In this study, Radon-222 (222Rn) measured in stream water and groundwater was used to constrain the quantity of groundwater discharge along a 22 km reach of the Clark Fork River as it runs through Missoula, MT. Dissolved 222Rn samples were taken at 2 km intervals along a reach extending from the confluence of the Clark Fork and the Blackfoot River near Bonner, MT to the confluence with the Bitterroot River on the northwestern edge of the Missoula Valley. Groundwater samples were taken from wells in an alluvial aquifer near Rattlesnake Creek, and combined with previous data from …
The Effect Of Spatial Patterns Of Soil Hydraulic Conductivity And Depth On Local And Hillslope Scale Shallow Water Table Dynamics, Casey E. Ryan
The Effect Of Spatial Patterns Of Soil Hydraulic Conductivity And Depth On Local And Hillslope Scale Shallow Water Table Dynamics, Casey E. Ryan
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Much research in forested headwater catchments has focused on the role of topography for organizing subsurface flow and the hydrologic connectivity of upland flow paths to stream networks. However, little work has been conducted to evaluate how localized and hillslope scale patterns of hydraulic conductivity and soil depth contribute to spatial patterns of water table duration, magnitude, and connectivity. I monitored shallow groundwater dynamics in wells distributed across a 1st order hillslope in the Lubrecht Experimental Forest, Montana. Additionally, I collected in-situ measurements of soil saturated hydraulic conductivity and soil depth at 10m intervals across the study hillslope and compared …
Understanding Greenland Ice Sheet Hydrology Using An Integrated Multi-Scale Approach, A. K. Rennermalm, S. E. Moustafa, J. Mioduszewski, V. W. Chu, R. R. Forster, B. Hagedorn, Joel T. Harper, T. L. Mote, D. A. Robinson, C. A. Shuman, L. C. Smith, M. Tedesco
Understanding Greenland Ice Sheet Hydrology Using An Integrated Multi-Scale Approach, A. K. Rennermalm, S. E. Moustafa, J. Mioduszewski, V. W. Chu, R. R. Forster, B. Hagedorn, Joel T. Harper, T. L. Mote, D. A. Robinson, C. A. Shuman, L. C. Smith, M. Tedesco
Geosciences Faculty Publications
Improved understanding of Greenland ice sheet hydrology is critically important for assessing its impact on current and future ice sheet dynamics and global sea level rise. This has motivated the collection and integration of in situ observations, model development, and remote sensing efforts to quantify meltwater production, as well as its phase changes, transport, and export. Particularly urgent is a better understanding of albedo feedbacks leading to enhanced surface melt, potential positive feedbacks between ice sheet hydrology and dynamics, and meltwater retention in firn. These processes are not isolated, but must be understood as part of a continuum of processes …
High Altitude Himalayan Climate Inferred From Glacial Ice Flux, Joel T. Harper, Neil Humphrey
High Altitude Himalayan Climate Inferred From Glacial Ice Flux, Joel T. Harper, Neil Humphrey
Geosciences Faculty Publications
Glaciological processes are modeled to investigate precipitation patterns and the resulting mass flux of snow and ice across Himalayan topography. Our model tracks the accumulation and ablation of snow and ice and the transport of snow and ice across the topography by glacier motion. We investigate high elevation precipitation on the Annapurna Massif by comparing the existing ice cover with model-simulated glaciers produced by a suite of different precipitation scenarios. Our results suggest that precipitation reaches a maximum level well below the elevation of the highest peaks. Further, essentially no snow accumulates on the topography above an elevation of 6200–6300 …