Hydrology Commons^™

Hydrological Response Patterns And Solute Flux In Canadian Shield Basins: Role Of Different Physical Features And Antecedent Moisture Conditions, Jessica Mueller

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Patterns of stream flow in relatively undisturbed Canadian Shield basins are closely linked to their physical and vegetative characteristics and meteorological conditions. The physical characteristics include topography, soil-till composition, depth and structure, slope morphology and bedrock geology. Hydrological flowpaths through, and in-situ chemical processes in the soil-till matrix are influenced greatly by the composition of these features and by the antecedent hydrological conditions preceding a given storm or snowmelt event.

A long term data set, collected by the Dorset Environmental Science Centre, is used to examine eight forested basins within the Muskoka-Haliburton region of south-central Ontario. The basins have a …

Patterns Of Total Suspended Solids Concentration And The Influence Of Antecedent Conditions On Hydrograph Response To Precipitation Events On Beaver Creek, Ontario, Matthew Peter Roy Mittler

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study explored relationships between suspended solids concentration and discharge, the influence of antecedent conditions on event hydrograhs and the state of dynamic equilibrium in a second-order stream (Beaver Creek), draining an agricultural basin in southern Ontario, near the City of Waterloo. Beaver creek was monitored for nineteen weeks from July to November of 2005. Thirteen precipitation events of various magnitude and duration were examined within the study period. Discharge and total suspended soils were sampled throughout the events. Cross sectional profiles of six transects were measured prior to and after each event. Base flow, antecedent conditions and event response …

Temporal Variability In Nutrient Transport In A First-Order Agricultural Basin In Southern Ontario, Merrin L. Macrae

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis examines phosphorus and nitrate transport in a first-order agricultural catchment in Southern Ontario. Specific areas of concern relate to (1) long- and short-term temporal variability in nutrient export patterns, (2) the role of drainage tiles in annual nutrient export, (3) the effects of antecedent hydrologic conditions (AHC) on nutrient export patterns and (4) temporal variability in the nutrient retention in riparian buffer strips and streams. Temporal variability in hydrochemical export from the study basin over a two-year period is described and quantified and the importance of high magnitude events is highlighted. This is the first comprehensive study to …

Baseline Limnology And Nutrient Study Of Basin Head Lagoon, Prince Edward Island, With Management Implications, Karen Connolly

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Knowledge of physical and chemical process ongoing within an environment is an important step towards proper environmental management. Basin Head, Prince Edward Island is in the process of becoming a Marine Protected Area (MPA) and therefore a comprehensive management plan will need to be completed. The area contains a unique strain of Irish Moss (Chrondrus crispus Stackhouse) that is an important marine plant used in various industries. A study was conducted during the summer of 2000 to assess the basic physical and chemical conditions within the Basin Head Lagoon and surrounding stream inputs. The purpose of the study was to …

Seiche Events At The Slave River Delta And Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories: An Assessment Of Process And Impact, James Tobias Gardner

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Seiche events are important hydrodynamic processes that impact the Slave River Delta, during the late summer and autumn. Given the scarcity of previous research on seiche events at river deltas and the physical dimensions and orientation of the Slave River Delta, this location at the southern shore of Great Slave Lake is ideal to study the occurrence and impacts of seiche events at a river delta. Seasonal changes to long-term water level trends and water level variability on Great Slave Lake, correspond to changes to the Slave River flow potentially associated with the impacts of regulation of the Peace River. …

Investigating Spatio-Temporal Variability Of Hydrological Components In The Canadian Rockies (Alberta), Christopher Dennis Hopkinson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis addresses two questions related to the broad topic of mountain hydrology: 1) How do interannual hydrological balancee and pathway components vary in complex temperate high mountain environments at various spatio-temporal scales? 2) a) Is it possible, using dedicated hydrological models, for significant errors in simulated runoff components despite good hydrograph recreations (i.e. right results for wrong reasons)? b) If so, what kinds of errors are encountered? The first question was addressed by undertaking a hydrological tracer and hydrometric study at three basin scales (Banff —2200 km2, Lake Louise —400 km2 and the headwaters —30 km2) within the Bow …

Examination Of The Role Of Macropores And Subsurface Drainage In The Delivery Of Nitrogen Trioxide-Nitrogen To A Small First-Order Agricultural Stream In Southern Ontario, Abraham House

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Agricultural practices may result in nitrate losses, diminished surface water quality and widespread groundwater aquifer contamination. Many works have identified preferential flow through macropores as an important feature that may increase nitrate losses. Subsurface drainage collectors may intercept preferential flow and indicate changing unsaturated/saturated processes. Antecedent conditions are important in determining runoff response. It is unclear how tile drains modify the antecedent soil moisture regime and water tables in near stream areas. Vegetated riparian buffer zones found beetween agricultural fields and watercourses may attenuate nitrate in shallow groundwater pathways. However, little work recognizes the close proximity of buffer strips and …

Nitrate Attenuation In A Narrow Non-Forested Riparian Buffer Zone In An Agricultural Watershed In Southern Ontario, Mark David Harris

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Riparian buffer zones are defined as strips of natural vegetation separating streams or lakes from surrounding upland landscapes. These zones may effectively reduce the nitrate-N load in shallow ground water draining intensively fertilized agricultural regions. Contemporary research has tended to focus on wide, forested riparian zones situated on poorly drained lowland sites. In addition, research has typically focused on the growing season, when the ecosystem is biologically active, with relatively day hydrological conditions. This field study monitored spatial and temporal patterns of nitrate-N in a comparatively narrow, non-forested buffer zone situated in an upland agricultural watershed in southern Ontario. Results …

A Sensitivity Analysis Of The Hydrology Of The Bow Valley Above Banff, Alberta Using The Ubc Watershed Model, Alexi Zawadzki

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Snow and ice meltwater constitutes a significant portion of westem Canada's water resources for residential, industrial and agricultural uses. As a consequence, temporal variations in climate will have a marked effect on the local hydrology of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, especially as glaciers, glacierettes and snow packs decrease in size or melt out. It is therefore very important for hydrologists to accurately understand the climatic sensitivity of glacierized watersheds in order to predict and prepare for potentially dramatic variations in the future water budget. This thesis proposes a methodology for the estimation of the hydrological response of a large, temperate, …

Fluid Patterns, Sediment Pathways And Woody Obstructions In The Pine River, Angus, Ontario, John T. Beebe

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The objective of this research was to determine the effects that woody obstructions have on flow patterns and sediment pathways in a sand-bed river in Central Ontario. The Pine River near Angus, a tributary of the Nottawasaga River, was chosen because it contained a number of woody obstructions to flow from which to choose study sites. Two reaches, one containing a trunk oriented in the direction of flow, were chosen as the study reaches. Sampling of fluid speeds through the study reaches showed that the cross-stream obstruction acted to slow fluid as it approached and exited the obstruction zone, while …

An Assessment Of Hydrological Process And Landform Change: Slave River Delta, Northwest Territories, Ronald Brad Hill

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The Slave River Delta, 61˚15'N, 113˚30'W, is located at the mouth of the Slave River in the southeast arm of Canada's Great Slave Lake. Although the delta itself lies some 1600 km downstream from the W.A.C. Bennett Dam at Hudson's Hope, British Columbia, the mean annual discharge and sediment load of the Slave River have decreased by 16% and 33% respectively since regulation. Such alterations in the Slave River flow regime have significant implications for the growth of the River Delta since the transfer of sediment to the delta front is one of the most important factors in the landform’s …

Seasonal Hydrology And Geochemistry Of Two Small High Arctic Catchments, Axel Heiberg Island, Northwest Territories, Julia Boike

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study examines hydrological and geochemical processes in a continuous permafrost setting in the Canadian High Arctic on Axel Heiberg Island (79°25 ' N; 90°45 ' W) with the following objective: to identify spatial and seasonal variation in hydrology and geochemistry of the East Inflow (EIF) and West Inflow (WIF) sub basins draining into Colour Lake and relate them to processes operating in the basins. Field work in the catchment was carried out between 20 May to 16 August 1991 and 23 July to 20 August 1992. Surface flow and suprapermafrost groundwater in the active layer were monitored to assess …

Investigation Of Hydrometeorological Relationships, Pasu Glacier Basin, Northern Pakistan, Bob Boyce

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Records of air temperature, global radiation and discharge from the Pasu Glacier basin in the Upper Indus River Basin have been examined with a view to developing a modest understanding of the simple physically based processes in action within this globally extreme mountainous region. Some glaciological data are also reported but in a preliminary manner. Relationships between air temperature characteristics, global radiation and discharge were investigated using correlation techniques. Daily average air temperatures recorded at the highest meteorological station, Parundas (4200m), provide the strongest degree of association with discharge. The data shows that this highly glacierised Karakoram basin exhibits similar …

The Role Of The Vadose Zone In The Generation Of Runoff From A Headwater Basin In The Canadian Shield, Robert Alex Maclean

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Hydrological processes occurring within the vadose zone, especially in heterogeneous soils and tills typical of the Canadian shield, are not well understood. This research investigates the importance of the vadose zone in a small headwater basin (Harp 4-21) in the Canadian shield with respect to the generation of stream runoff quantity and quality during episodic rainfall and snowmelt events. The study focused specifically on: firstly the effect of variable antecedent moisture conditions on water-table and stream response, secondly, the significance of the stored vadose water in water extracted from a rising water-table, and thirdly the significance of preferential flowpathways in …

River Channel Stability And The Implications For Fish Habitat, John T. Beebe

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this project was to investigate various aspects of river channel stability as they relate to fish habitat. Two headwater creeks of the Credit River system, Black and Silver Creeks, and their confluent stream, the West Credit River in Southern Ontario were used in the study. Thirty-five cross-sections were established and revisited during four flow regimes, summer base flow, fall secondary peak flow, spring melt-high flow and post-spring high flow. Measurements of width, depth and temperature were taken at these times. Water samples were taken for determination of suspended sediment concentration. Channel stability was investigated in relation to …

Hydrologic Investigations Of Meltwaters Draining Gornergletscher And Findelengletscher, Switzerland Using Hydrochemistry And Isotopic Analyses, Robert A. Metcalfe

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the hydrological dynamics of Gornerglestcher and Findelengletscher, Switzerland by performing hydrochemical analyses on the bulk runoff exiting the portal of these two alpine glaciers. The hydrochemical analyses utilized electrical conductivity, as a surrogate for total dissolved solids, to determine the flow of routing of the bulk runoff (englacial or subglacial as defined by Collins, 1979b) and 8^18O to determine the contributions of pre-event and event water to bulk runoff during precipitation events. The pre-event water was defined as a combination of snow meltwater, ice meltwater and groundwater as these flow components could …

Water Quality Dynamics In Meltwaters Draining Peyto Glacier, Alberta, Christopher Bradley

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Variations in the quantity and quality of meltwaters draining Peyto Glacier, Alberta, are assessed to examine to what extent meltwater characteristics might be indicative of any distinctive source and routing of water through a glacierised drainage basin. Continuous monitoring of solute concentrations of the principle melt-stream, Peyto Creek, was undertaken for significant periods in 1982, 1984 and 1987, coupled with measurements of suspended sediment concentration at the glacier terminus. Discharge of meltwater was determined for periods in 1982 and 1987. Supplementary monitoring of hydrogen-ion variation and total solute concentration was undertaken at additional sites within the basin, at a stream …

Characteristic Discharge And Suspended-Sediment Relationships In Two Glacier-Fed Rivers In The Karakoram, Richard E.J. Kelly

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate relationships between meltwater flow and production and flushing of suspended-sediment beneath two alpine glaciers. During the ablation seasons of 1987 and 1988, discrete, hourly measurements were taken of discharge, stage, suspended-sediment concentration and electrical conductivity in two rivers draining catchments of the Bualtar and Batura Glaciers in the Karakoram, N. Pakistan. The discharge time series of the Bualtar River reveals that flow varies over a daily period of three to four weeks, at a diurnal level and over one to four hours. Over all three time scales, electrical conductivity is inversely proportional …

The Effect Of Mid-Winter Snowmelt Events On Nitrate And Ammonium Concentration In The Unsaturated And Shallow Saturated Zones: A Case Study, Richard J. Elgood

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

During the period of December 19, 1987 to March 28, 1988, the unsaturated and shallow saturated groundwater zones under two agricultural land use sites, near Waterloo, Ontario, were investigated to determine the effect of snowmelt percolation on the groundwater quality. Periods of widely fluctuating temperatures and sporadic rain events produced large changes in snowpack water equivalence. The resulting infiltration of snowmelt significantly altered the extent of the saturated area and the concentration of N (nitrogen) ions in both the soil column and percolate water. An N flux from the vadose (unsaturated) zone to the shallow phreatic (saturated) zone, occurring in …

An Evaluation Of Phosphorus Export From Four Urban Land Uses During Summer Rainfall-Runoff Events In The Laurel Creek Watershed, E. Martin Pemberton

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Cultural eutrophication, resulting from anthropogenic inputs of nutrients, such as phosphorus, can be detrimental to aquatic ecosystems. The effectiveness of recent phosphorus abatement programs, focused on point source inputs such as municipal and industrial effluent, has brought attention to the reduction of non-point sources, such as urban runoff. Target phosphate loads for the Great Lakes, set by the International Joint Commission, are deemed unattainable, without phosphorous reduction from non-point sources (Yaksich and Rumer, 1980), and it is with this knowledge that this thesis is undertaken. Analysis of phosphate export data from areas of different urban land uses indicates that residential …

Some Hydrologic Aspects Of Snowmelt Runoff Under Summer Conditions, In The Barpu Glacier Basin, Central Karakoram, Himalaya, Northern Pakistan, Ali Ghazanfar

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Snow and ice in high mountains represent and important water resource in many parts of the world, especially the dry continental interior of Central Asia. In the Northern Areas of Pakistan, mountain ranges are the primary sources of annually renewed water supplies. They give rise to rivers which are the only significant, sustainable source of fresh water. The Indus basin is drained by the river Indus and its major tributaries, the Kabul, Jhelum, Chanab, Ravi and Sutlej. Snowmelt contributes about 70 percent to the annual flow of these rivers, but is not timed to meet the requirements for crop production, …

Environmental Planning Of Large-Scale Water Projects: The Three Gorges Dam Case, China, Long Li

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Controversy over the construction of the Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze River in China is an on-going national issue. Proposals have been advanced by numerous disciplinary research teams to identify the environmental consequences of the project development. However, whether the project will benefit or damage the overall environment still remains in question.

No matter which one of the four storage schemes is going to be put into operation, the human, economic, biological, and physical environmental alterations will have no equal in the our contemporary world and probably even for some time in the future. Above all, flood control, hydro-electricity …

Interbasin Water Transfers: An Appropriate Management Practice For The Great Lakes?, David M. Krentz

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Regional water deficiencies exist in North America, and proposals have been advanced to ‘correct’ these by transferring water from regions where it is relatively abundant to regions where it is relatively scarce. Many of these proposals identify the Great Lakes as either a potential source of the water, or as a ‘distribution centre’ into which water may be transferred and subsequently removed to regions experiencing deficiencies. Although the Great Lakes contain a very large amount of fresh water, most of it is required in place, and so many not be removed. The Great Lakes Basin is heavily populated and highly …

Irrigation Water Use In Southern Ontario, Kenneth Iain Macdonald

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The appreciation of water as a finite resource has engendered a renewed research interest in producing effective water management policies and practices in order to reduce both current and potential demands on existing reserves. Unfortunately, such research, especially in the humid regions of North America, has concentrated on water use in urban areas and has neglected the use of water in irrigation agriculture; even though irrigation is a major consumptive use of water in many localized areas. In addition, research has been dominated by physical, technological and economic viewpoints at the expense of an understanding of the human element in …

Current, Erosional And Depositional Patterns At A River Confluence And Bend In The Nottawasaga River, Angus, Ontario, Gregory Robert Brooks

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

At a bend and confluence of the Nottawasaga River, sixty-four measurements of flow velocities were recorded at points along vertical profiles regularly spaced across a series of cross-sections. From the summarization of the data into a ‘three dimensional’ diagram, the current velocity patterns in the river reach were evident.

As observed at low discharge levels, the low speeds and directional uniformity of the flow in the Nottawasaga River entering the study reach suggests that the observed asymmetrical channel the study reach suggests that the observed asymmetrical channel was a remnant of higher discharge levels. On the other hand, in the …