Hydrology Commons^™

Radon And Radium Isotope Signatures On A Massive Ice- And Permafrost-Rich Coastline, Lauren Kipp, Gwénaëlle Chaillou, Markus Kienast, Joseph Tamborski, Dustin Whalen

OES Faculty Publications

Rapid warming in the Arctic is degrading permafrost and massive ice deposits, which releases solutes previously trapped in ice and frozen soils into groundwater, rivers, and the coastal ocean. Radium and radon isotopes are enriched in groundwaters and may therefore have utility as tracers for the delivery of permafrost-derived solutes to the ocean, particularly if massive ice- or permafrost-derived meltwaters have a distinct isotopic ratio. The ratio of radium isotopes within massive ice deposits can also be used to constrain timescales of ice segregation, as the four isotopes will decay with known rates once removed from contact with sediments. Here …

Dynamics Of Water Mass Exchange Across The Central Ross Sea Slope, Yuanjie Chen, Zhaoru Zhang, Pasquale Castagno, Xianxian Han, Michael S. Dinniman, Zhiqiang Liu, Chuning Wang

OES Faculty Publications

The central Ross Sea slope (CRSS) is a critical region for water mass exchange, significantly influencing the physical and biological processes of the Ross Sea shelf and the global overturning circulation. This study utilizes a high-resolution ocean-ice shelf-sea ice coupled model to investigate the mechanisms driving this exchange, involving the onshore transport of circumpolar deep water (CDW) and the offshore transport of dense shelf water (DSW). Combining numerical simulations and mooring observations, this work reveals high-frequency oscillations with a periodicity of ∼32 hr in CDW transport induced by Topographic Rossby Waves and DSW transport induced by cyclonic eddies. These findings …

Unveiling Hidden Mercury And Methylmercury Sources: The Role Of Submarine Groundwater Discharge In Coastal Lagoons, Céline Lavergne, Júlia Rodriguez-Puig, Clara Ruiz-González, Maria Montero-Curiel, Gemma Casas, Daniel Romano-Gude, Irene Alorda-Montiel, Júlia Dordal-Soriano, Aaron Alorda-Kleinglass, Marc Diego-Feliu, Javier Gilabert, Alex Campillo-De La Maza, Cristina Romera-Castillo, Natalia Torres-Rodriguez, Lars-Eric Heimbürger-Boavida, Jordi Garcia-Orellana, Valenti Rodellas, Andrea G. Bravo

OES Faculty Publications

Mercury loads from Submarine Groundwater Discharge (SGD) may represent an overlooked source of methylmercury (MeHg) to the ocean, affecting human and ecosystem health. The SGD process involves the flow of fresh, saline, or mixed groundwater from coastal aquifers into the oceans classified in different components. Existing studies rarely report the fluxes supplied by the different SGD components; therefore, the relevance of SGD as a source of mercury remains unclear. We aimed to quantify SGD-driven mercury/methylmercury fluxes to the coast, focusing on the largest coastal lagoon in the western Mediterranean. We measured total dissolved mercury and MeHg in surficial and porewaters …

Groundwater Pumping Impacts On Stream Depletion In Humboldt County, Ca: Integrating Analytical Models And Field Data, Andy Hans Heise

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This study addresses the significant concern of stream depletion from groundwater pumping in Humboldt County, CA. The objective of this study is to develop an analytical model for estimating stream depletion and integrating field data into model parameters.

The methodology involved conducting a field study near three operating wells by a stream, installing stream gages upstream and downstream of the wells, and recording pumping rates and schedules for two of the wells. The third well’s pumping data was synthetically generated, for privacy concerns of the well owner. The StreamDepletR package was used for estimating depletion rates in a stream in …

Impact Of Submarine Groundwater Discharge On Microbial Communities In A Highly Anthropized Coastal Lagoon (Mar Menor, Se Spain), Daniel Romano-Gude, Júlia Dordal-Soriano, Júlia Rodriguez-Puig, Andrea G. Bravo, Irene Alorda-Montiel, Aaron Alorda-Kleinglass, Marc Diego-Feliu, Cristina Romera-Castillo, Rebeca Mallenco-Fornies, Javier Gilabert, Jordi Garcia-Orellana, Valentí Rodellas, Clara Ruiz-González

OES Faculty Publications

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) supplies large quantities of nutrients and other terrestrial elements to coastal ecosystems, impacting marine biota and ecosystem functioning. Despite the relevance of prokaryotes for marine biogeochemistry, little is known about their responses to groundwater inputs. Here we explored the impact of SGD on the spatiotemporal patterns of prokaryotic communities from the Mar Menor (Murcia, Spain), a highly anthropized hypersaline coastal lagoon that receives large amounts of nutrient-polluted SGD. Using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, activity assays, and flow cytometry, we investigated the dynamics of prokaryotic communities across the lagoon and its connected environments (freshwater streams, groundwater, soils, …

Unfolding Cascading Impacts Of Changing South Asia Monsoon On A Hindu Kush Himalayas Basin, Surendra Maharjan, Wenzhao Li, Shahryar Fazli, Arshad Ansari, Suraj Tiwari, Roma Thakurathi, Rejoice Thomas, Hesham El-Askary

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Study region

Study focus

New hydrological insights for the region

Recovery Of Black Carbon Concentrations In Burned Forests In Wyoming, Usa, Monica Vanesa Zapata Villegas

Dissertations and Theses

Burned forests that remain standing following fire release light-absorbing particles (LAPs), including black carbon (BC), into winter snowpacks, reducing snow surface albedo and accelerating snowmelt timing for decades postfire. Although the role of LAPs in seasonal snow has been extensively studied, the spatiotemporal variability of LAPs' contributions to snowmelt relative to time-since-fire and burn severity remains unknown. This study aimed to quantify the spatiotemporal variability of forest fire effects on LAPs in snow and associated snow albedo in the Triple Divide region of western Wyoming, headwaters of the Colorado, Columbia, and Missouri rivers. Using geochemical analysis and radiative transfer modeling, …

Investigating Crystalline Rock Weathering In Distinct Climate And Ecological Settings: Insights From Shallow Seismic Refraction, Rachel Uecker

All Dissertations

Despite decades of research, understanding the subsurface of the critical zone (CZ) remains a challenge, constrained by limited access to information at depth. Traditionally, boreholes, outcrops, soil pits, and near-surface (<1 meter) geochemical measurements provided access to and quantified CZ structure. These methods, though valuable in their detail, are spatially limited, and many landscape-scale weathering hypotheses are based on these observations. In recent years, geophysical techniques have been applied to characterize large-scale CZ structure and test the validity of existing hypotheses. This dissertation harnesses nearly 10 kilometers of seismic refraction data from diverse ecoregions across the United States to challenge prevailing assumptions about weathering patterns and CZ evolution. The objective of this work is to characterize the interpreted range of weathered materials in each ecoregion and connect them to remotely-sensed information like canopy height, elevation, slope, and aspect. To do this, this work first investigates differences in weathering at depth in a north and south-facing slope system in the Laramie Range, Wyoming. The motivation for this work came from nearly a century of soil and geochemical studies from the western United States that show a greater degree and depth of weathering on north-facing slopes when compared to south-facing slopes. Our seismic refraction data were used to show that there is not a significant difference in weathering thickness at depth between north and south-facing aspects at the study site, thus conflicting with the hypothesis that there would be. Next, the hypothesis that the depth of weathering is affected by elevation was tested in the San Jacinto Mountains in southern California. The motivation for this work came from several geochemical studies in the Sierra Nevada Mountains that show ecologically prosperous mid-elevations possess an ideal combination of temperature and precipitation to produce a greater degree and depth of weathering. Again, the seismic results from the San Jacinto Mountains provided observations that conflict with the existing hypothesis that climate conditions dominate the thickness of weathering seen in rocks. Lastly, I used seismic refraction data and topographic curvature to build a groundwater model of a watershed in the Carolina Piedmont. The results of this model reveal that seismic refraction as an application for including more realistic geometry in groundwater models can improve model calibration fits. This model is the first of its kind, and, therefore, is an important step forward in merging geophysical data with the hydrogeologic and modeling field and, with further development, can be used to explore the role of topographic and regional groundwater flow as a driver of CZ evolution.

Carbon Dioxide Dynamics In The Carbonate Critical Zone, Savoy Experimental Watershed, Arkansas, Usa, Michael Darvin Jones

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The dynamics of carbon dioxide (CO₂) within the Earth’s critical zone (CZ) are essential for driving spatial and temporal variations of carbonate dissolution and precipitation, which are fundamental to subsurface porosity and permeability development. However, there is still a significant knowledge gap regarding the patterns of CO₂ transport and production within the carbonate critical zone (CCZ). In this study, we investigated these dynamics within a mantled karst terrain at the Savoy Experimental Watershed (SEW) in Northwest Arkansas.

Previous monitoring of partial pressure of CO₂ (PCO₂) and dissolution rates at karst springs in …

Performance Of Acoustic Telemetry And Space Use Of Pallid Sturgeon In The Lower Platte River, Nebraska, Christopher F. Pullano

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Pallid Sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) are centenarian, potamodromous, rheophiles that historically occupied the Missouri River and Mississippi River basins. Listed on the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 1990, population declines are attributed to habitat fragmentation and degradation, as well as overharvest, and hybridization. A knowledge gap exists regarding the extent to which tributaries facilitate key life stages for Pallid Sturgeon. This study evaluated the capacity of acoustic telemetry to monitor the movements of Pallid Sturgeon in a shallow, braided tributary to the Missouri River. The specific objectives were to (1) evaluate the environmental variables influencing the performance of acoustic …

Occupancy Of Fish Species Of Greatest Conservation Need And Temporal Patterns Of Assemblage Occurrence In Sandhills Ecoregion, Nebraska Streams, Braxton M. Newkirk

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Fish species’ occurrence is influenced by environmental conditions across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Alteration to stream systems has the potential to affect occurrence patterns of fish species. Stream systems of the North American Great Plains face threats originating from climate change and anthropogenic activities resulting in negative implications for many fish species. The Sandhills Ecoregion, Nebraska is considered one of the largest intact grasslands in North America, and thus may experience fewer threats than surrounding areas. Stream systems of the Sandhills Ecoregion are home to 12 fish species of greatest conservation need (SGCN). Little context exists regarding the environmental …

Nature-Based Solutions For Flood Risk Mitigation: Mapping And Hydrological Modeling In An Under-Resourced Urban Area On The Mississippi Gulf Coast, Jennifer Makenzie Holifield

Master's Theses

Flooding is the most frequent and costly disaster in the United States, affecting people disproportionately based on environmental, societal, and economic limitations. Through stakeholder engagement, open-access research, and nature-based solutions (NBS), ecology and hydrology can be bridged with local-scale politics to raise awareness of local issues and form strong interdisciplinary bonds. I approached nature-based equity from a ground front, in which I engaged with local stakeholders and city officials to gain insight and calibration on flooding experiences and flooding presence within Moss Point, MS. This engagement helped calibrate GIS models, from which, I found that the flooding hazards of Moss …

Leveraging High-Frequency Water Quality Data And Machine Learning For Monitoring Harmful Algal Blooms, Ibrahim Busari

All Dissertations

Freshwater management is one of the most critical resources on the earth due to the plethora of water use and its limited availability. Increased algae proliferation is one of the significant problems of freshwater bodies that is triggered by nutrient enrichment and enabling conditions such as light and warm temperatures. This algal proliferation is toxic to the ecosystem through their biomass and potential toxin production that can cause hypoxic conditions and is often referred to as Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). Current monitoring approaches include laboratory analysis of water samples to observe algal cells, monitoring of water quality parameters using water …

Biochar/Hydrochar Applications In Disinfection Byproduct Removal For Drinking Water, Ashleu Mussio Marquez, Donna Rouhani, Ismail Abdulraheem, Kers Ung-Watson, Ahmadreza Khatamgooya, Scarlet Nelson, Dr. Jaeyun Moon, Dr. Erica Marti

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

This project aims to investigate the process of disinfection byproduct (DBP) removal in drinking water, looking into the applications of biochar and hydrochar, which are low cost and environmentally sustainable adsorbents. These carbon-based adsorbents are derived from agricultural waste biomass, such as walnut shells. These adsorbents will be used to capture and remove contaminants in water, such as DBPs. DBPs are formed when chemical disinfectants react with organic and inorganic substances naturally present in water. The targeted DBPs for adsorption include trihalomethanes, haloacetic acids, haloacetonitriles, and nitrosamines. An example of high concentration DBP formation is during emergency chlorination, where excess …

Evaporation Basins For Salinity Management, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

An evaporation basin is an engineered earth structure designed to safely store and evaporate saline water discharged from drainage or pumping, while protecting high-value agricultural land, natural assets or built infrastructure.

DPIRD recommends that evaporation basins should form part of an integrated water and salinity management program. Information on this page is a guide only.

It is recommended that landholders seek expert advice plus engineering design and related support from qualified contractors.

Measuring Soil Salinity, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

To make sound decisions on managing saline sites, you need to know the source of salt, how salinisation is occurring, the landscape context, and most importantly, the actual salt concentration of the soil.

The most common 'measures' of salt concentration are actually estimates based on electrical conductivity of a soil and water solution. Soil salt content can be measured in a laboratory by measuring the total dissolved solids in a sample. In the field, salt concentration can also be estimated using electromagnetic induction-based soil sensors.

Excavated Tanks (Farm Dams), Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

Guidelines and information for planning, legal requirements, design, construction and management of excavated tanks for water storage on farm.

Excavated tanks (farm dams) provide effective water storage wherever surface water run-off can be harvested for livestock, crop spraying, irrigation and domestic use on rural properties.

Excavated tanks for rainfall storage are common in the southern agricultural areas of WA.

Well-designed and constructed dams are farm assets, safe and require little maintenance.

Poor design and construction can lead to poor water harvesting and storage, excessive costs, downstream erosion and risks to property and people.

DPIRD recommends that excavated tanks should be …

Pumping Groundwater For Salinity Control In Wa, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

DPIRD recommends that groundwater pumping is used as part of an integrated water and salinity management program.

Groundwater pumping can lower local water tables, recover land for production and reduce the spread of local salinity or to protect high value assets at risk, such as townsites, roads or railway lines. Pump water can be discharged to safe disposal points or used on farm for desalination.

Roaded Catchments In Wa, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

Roaded catchments are earthwork structures designed to increase the amount of run-off from the catchment above a receiving farm dam.

Roaded catchments are lined with clay and compacted to make a smooth surface that reduces infiltration and increases run-off. Roaded catchments should discharge into a silt trap and then into a dam (excavated earth tank). This combined structure should be fenced to exclude livestock.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development recommends that roaded catchments are part of an integrated water and salinity management program.

The information in this page is only a guide – seek expert advice before …

Managing Subsurface Water In Wa, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) recommends that subsurface water management is part of an integrated water and salinity program. An integrated program can help to lower water tables and alleviate problems with waterlogging, rising salinity, and infrastructure damage.