Historical changes in pool habitats in the Columbia River basin

Treesearch

Bruce A. McIntosh; James R. Sedell; Russell F. Thurow; Sharon E. Clarke; Gwynn L. Chandler

2000-01-01

An historical stream survey (1934-1945) was compared with current surveys (1987-1997) to assess changes in pool frequencies in the Columbia River Basin. We surveyed 2267 km of 122 streams across the basin, representing a wide range of lithologies, stream sizes, land use histories, ownerships, and ecoregions. Based on pool classes inherited from the historical surveys,...

Status and trends in suspended-sediment discharges, soil erosion, and conservation tillage in the Maumee River basin--Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Myers, Donna N.; Metzker, Kevin D.; Davis, Steven

2000-01-01

The relation of suspended-sediment discharges to conservation-tillage practices and soil loss were analyzed for the Maumee River Basin in Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana as part of the U.S. Geological Survey?s National Water-Quality Assessment Program. Cropland in the basin is the largest contributor to soil erosion and suspended-sediment discharge to the Maumee River and the river is the largest source of suspended sediments to Lake Erie. Retrospective and recently-collected data from 1970-98 were used to demonstrate that increases in conservation tillage and decreases in soil loss can be related to decreases in suspended-sediment discharge from streams. Average annual water and suspended-sediment budgets computed for the Maumee River Basin and its principal tributaries indicate that soil drainage and runoff potential, stream slope, and agricultural land use are the major human and natural factors related to suspended-sediment discharge. The Tiffin and St. Joseph Rivers drain areas of moderately to somewhat poorly drained soils with moderate runoff potential. Expressed as a percentage of the total for the Maumee River Basin, the St. Joseph and Tiffin Rivers represent 29.0 percent of the basin area, 30.7 percent of the average-annual streamflow, and 9.31 percent of the average annual suspended-sediment discharge. The Auglaize and St. Marys Rivers drain areas of poorly to very poorly drained soils with high runoff potential. Expressed as a percentage of the total for the Maumee River Basin, the Auglaize and St. Marys Rivers represent 48.7 percent of the total basin area, 53.5 percent of the average annual streamflow, and 46.5 percent of the average annual suspended-sediment discharge. Areas of poorly drained soils with high runoff potential appear to be the major source areas of suspended sediment discharge in the Maumee River Basin. Although conservation tillage differed in the degree of use throughout the basin, on aver-age, it was used on 55.4 percent of all crop fields in the Maumee River Basin from 1993-98. Conservation tillage was used at relatively higher rates in areas draining to the lower main stem from Defiance to Waterville, Ohio and at relatively lower rates in the St. Marys and Auglaize River Basins, and in areas draining to the main stem between New Haven, Ind. and Defiance, Ohio. The areas that were identified as the most important sediment-source areas in the basin were characterized by some of the lowest rates of conservation tillage. The increased use of conservation tillage was found to correspond to decreases in suspended-sediment discharge over time at two locations in the Maumee River Basin. A 49.8 percent decrease in suspended-sediment discharge was detected when data from 1970-74 were compared to data from 1996-98 for the Auglaize River near Ft. Jennings, Ohio. A decrease in suspended-sediment discharge of 11.2 percent was detected from 1970?98 for the Maumee River at Waterville, Ohio. No trends in streamflow at either site were detected over the period 1970-98. The lower rate of decline in suspended-sediment discharge for the Maumee River at Waterville, Ohio compared to the Auglaize River near Ft. Jennings, may be due to resuspension and export of stored sediments from drainage ditches, stream channels, and flood plains in the large drainage basin upstream from Waterville. Similar findings by other investigators about the capacity of drainage networks to store sediment are supported by this investigation. These findings go undetected when soil loss estimates are used alone to evaluate the effectiveness of conservation tillage. Water-quality data in combination with soil-loss estimates were needed to draw these conclusions. These findings provide information to farmers and soil conservation agents about the ability of conservation tillage to reduce soil erosion and suspended-sediment discharge from the Maumee River Basin.

Simulation of Water Sources and Precipitation Recycling for the MacKenzie, Mississippi and Amazon River Basins

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bosilovich, Michael G.; Chern, Jiun-Dar

2005-01-01

An atmospheric general circulation model simulation for 1948-1997 of the water budgets for the MacKenzie, Mississippi and Amazon River basins is presented. In addition to the water budget, we include passive tracers to identify the geographic sources of water for the basins, and the analysis focuses on the mechanisms contributing to precipitation recycling in each basin. While each basin s precipitation recycling has a strong dependency on evaporation during the mean annual cycle, the interannual variability of the recycling shows important relationships with the atmospheric circulation. The MacKenzie River basin has only a weak interannual dependency on evaporation, where the variations in zonal moisture transport from the Pacific Ocean can affect the basin water cycle. On the other hand, the Mississippi River basin has strong interannual dependencies on evaporation. While the precipitation recycling weakens with increased low level jet intensity, the evaporation variations exert stronger influence in providing water vapor for convective precipitation at the convective cloud base. High precipitation recycling is also found to be partly connected to warm SSTs in the tropical Pacific Ocean. The Amazon River basin evaporation exhibits small interannual variations, so that the interannual variations of precipitation recycling are related to atmospheric moisture transport from the tropical south Atlantic Ocean. Increasing SSTs over the 50-year period are causing increased easterly transport across the basin. As moisture transport increases, the Amazon precipitation recycling decreases (without real time varying vegetation changes). In addition, precipitation recycling from a bulk diagnostic method is compared to the passive tracer method used in the analysis. While the mean values are different, the interannual variations are comparable between each method. The methods also exhibit similar relationships to the terms of the basin scale water budgets.

Regional water table (2004) and water-level changes in the Mojave River and Morongo ground-water basins, Southwestern Mojave Desert, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stamos, Christina L.; Huff, Julia A.; Predmore, Steven K.; Clark, Dennis A.

2004-01-01

The Mojave River and Morongo ground-water basins are in the southwestern part of the Mojave Desert in southern California. Ground water from these basins supplies a major part of the water requirements for the region. The continuous population growth in this area has resulted in ever-increasing demands on local ground-water resources. The collection and interpretation of ground-water data helps local water districts, military bases, and private citizens gain a better understanding of the ground-water flow systems, and consequently, water availability. During March and April 2004, the U.S. Geological Survey and other agencies made almost 900 water-level measurements in about 740 wells in the Mojave River and Morongo ground-water basins. These data document recent conditions and, when compared with historical data, changes in ground-water levels. A water-level contour map was drawn using data from 500 wells, providing coverage for most of the basins. In addition, 26 long-term (as much as 74 years) hydrographs were constructed which show water-level conditions throughout the basins, 9 short-term (1992 to 2004) hydrographs were constructed which show the effects of recharge and discharge along the Mojave River, and a water-level-change map was compiled to compare 2002 and 2004 water levels throughout the basins. The water-level change data show that in the Mojave River ground-water basin, more than one half (102) of the wells had water-level declines of 0.5 ft or more and almost one fifth (32) of the wells had declines greater than 5 ft. between 2002 and 2004. The water-level change data also show that about one tenth (17) of the wells compared in the Mojave River ground-water basin had water level increases of 0.5 ft or more. Most of the water-level increases were the result of stormflow in the Mojave River during March 2004, which resulted in recharge to wells in the floodplain aquifer mainly along the river in the Alto subarea and the Transition zone, and along the river east of Barstow. In the Morongo ground-water basin, nearly one half (55) of the wells had water-level declines of 0.5 ft or more, and about one tenth (13) of the wells had declines greater than 5 ft. The Warren subbasin, where artificial-recharge operations in Yucca Valley (pl. 1) have caused water levels to rise, had water-level increases of as much as about 97 ft since 2002.

Foundations of the participatory approach in the Mekong River basin management.

PubMed

Budryte, Paulina; Heldt, Sonja; Denecke, Martin

2018-05-01

Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) was acknowledged as a leading concept in the water management for the last two decades by academia, political decision-makers and experts. It strongly promotes holistic management and participatory approaches. The flexibility and adaptability of IWRM concept are especially important for large, transboundary river basins - e.g. the Mekong river basin - where natural processes and hazards, as well as, human-made "disasters" are demanding for a comprehensive approach. In the Mekong river basin, the development and especially the enforcement of one common strategy has always been a struggle. The past holds some unsuccessful experiences. In 2016 Mekong River Commission published IWRM-based Basin Development Strategy 2016-2020 and The Mekong River Commission Strategic Plan 2016-2020. They should be the main guiding document for the Mekong river development in the near future. This study analyzes how the concept of public participation resembles the original IWRM participatory approach in these documents. Therefore, IWRM criteria for public participation in international literature and official documents from the Mekong river basin are compared. As there is often a difference between "de jure" and "de facto" implementation of public participation in management concepts, the perception of local stakeholders was assessed in addition. The results of social survey give an insight if local people are aware of Mekong river basin development and present their dominant attitudes about the issue. The findings enable recommendations how to mitigate obstacles in the implementation of common development strategy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Storm orientation impacts on atmospheric river induced precipitation efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehran, A.; Lettenmaier, D. P.

2016-12-01

Atmospheric Rivers (ARs) along the Pacific North coast are often associated with heavy winter precipitation and flooding. We analyze 35 years (1981 2016) of landfalling ARs over a transect along the U.S. West Coast consisting of four river basins from coastal Washington to Southern California (Chehalis, Russian, Santa Ana, and Santa Margarita Rivers) to assess the impact of storm orientation on precipitation rainout efficiency. We define precipitation rainout efficiency as the correlation coefficient between the net integrated vapor transport and precipitation rate. We use 6-hourly climate data from the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) for each of the landfalling ARs. We compute storm orientation from CFSR wind vectors (daily averaged over atmospheric levels between 1000 hPa and 300 hPa) associated with each AR event. We also compute integrated vapor transport (IVT) by multiplying precipitable water by the wind vector and compare with daily averaged precipitation averaged over the river basins, where daily precipitation is taken from Parameter-Elevation Relationships on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) to evaluate the impact of storm orientation on rainfall efficiency. We calculate the local topographic orientation of each river basin (slope and aspect) from ArcGIS, which we related to storm orientation. To evaluate the impact of storm orientation on rainout efficiency over the Russian River basin (Northern California), we first calculated approaching IVT (for all of AR induced precipitations from 1981 to 2016) and daily averaged precipitation rate. Next, we calculated the correlation coefficient between IVT and precipitation rate (for all AR induced rainouts over the Russian River basin). Finally, by considering the local topographical changes (slope and aspect from ArcGIS) and integrating them into an effective IVT, we compared the correlation coefficients between actual and effective IVT and basin-average precipitation. We find that over the Russian River basin, the rainout efficiency increases from 55 to 75 % when we account for storm orientation relative to topography.

Historical changes in pool habitats in the Columbia River basin

Treesearch

Bruce A. McIntosh; James R. Sedell; Russell F. Thurow; Sharon E. Clarke; Gwynn L. Chandler

1995-01-01

Knowledge of how stream habitats change over time in natural and human-influenced ecosystems at large, regional scales is currently limited. A historical stream survey (1934-1945) was compared to current surveys to assess changes in pool habitats in the Columbia River basin. Streams from across the basin, representing a wide range of geologies, stream sizes and land-...

Sediment provenance in contractional orogens: The detrital zircon record from modern rivers in the Andean fold-thrust belt and foreland basin of western Argentina

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Capaldi, Tomas N.; Horton, Brian K.; McKenzie, N. Ryan; Stockli, Daniel F.; Odlum, Margaret L.

2017-12-01

This study analyzes detrital zircon U-Pb age populations from Andean rivers to assess whether active synorogenic sedimentation accurately records proportional contributions from varied bedrock source units across different drainage areas. Samples of modern river sand were collected from west-central Argentina (28-33°S), where the Andes are characterized by active uplift and deposition in diverse contractional provinces, including (1) hinterland, (2) wedge-top, (3) proximal foreland, and (4) distal broken foreland basin settings. Potential controls on sediment provenance were evaluated by comparing river U-Pb age distributions with predicted age spectra generated by a sediment mixing model weighted by relative catchment exposure (outcrop) areas for different source units. Several statistical measures (similarity, likeness, and cross-correlation) are employed to compare how well the area-weighted model predicts modern river age populations. (1) Hinterland basin provenance is influenced by local relief generated along thrust-bounded ranges and high zircon fertility of exposed crystalline basement. (2) Wedge-top (piggyback) basin provenance is controlled by variable lithologic durability among thrust-belt bedrock sources and recycled basin sediments. (3) Proximal foreland (foredeep) basin provenance of rivers and fluvial megafans accurately reflect regional bedrock distributions, with limited effects of zircon fertility and lithologic durability in large (>20,000 km2) second-order drainage systems. (4) In distal broken segments of the foreland basin, regional provenance signatures from thrust-belt and hinterland areas are diluted by local contributions from foreland basement-cored uplifts.

Simulated Effects of Year 2030 Water-Use and Land-Use Changes on Streamflow near the Interstate-495 Corridor, Assabet and Upper Charles River Basins, Eastern Massachusetts

USGS Publications Warehouse

Carlson, Carl S.; Desimone, Leslie A.; Weiskel, Peter K.

2008-01-01

Continued population growth and land development for commercial, industrial, and residential uses have created concerns regarding the future supply of potable water and the quantity of ground water discharging to streams in the area of Interstate 495 in eastern Massachusetts. Two ground-water models developed in 2002-2004 for the Assabet and Upper Charles River Basins were used to simulate water supply and land-use scenarios relevant for the entire Interstate-495 corridor. Future population growth, water demands, and commercial and residential growth were projected for year 2030 by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. To assess the effects of future development on subbasin streamflows, seven scenarios were simulated by using existing computer-based ground-water-flow models with the data projected for year 2030. The scenarios incorporate three categories of projected 2030 water- and land-use data: (1) 2030 water use, (2) 2030 land use, and (3) a combination of 2030 water use and 2030 land use. Hydrologic, land-use, and water-use data from 1997 through 2001 for the Assabet River Basin study and 1989 through 1998 for the Upper Charles River Basin study were used to represent current conditions - referred to as 'basecase' conditions - in each basin to which each 2030 scenario was compared. The effects of projected 2030 land- and water-use change on streamflows in the Assabet River Basin depended upon the time of year, the hydrologic position of the subbasin in the larger basin, and the relative areas of new commercial and residential development projected for a subbasin. Effects of water use and land use on streamflow were evaluated by comparing average monthly nonstorm streamflow (base flow) for March and September simulated by using the models. The greatest decreases in streamflow (up to 76 percent in one subbasin), compared to the basecase, occurred in September, when streamflows are naturally at their lowest level. By contrast, simulated March streamflows decreased less than 6.5 percent from basecase streamflows in all subbasins for all scenarios. The simulations showed similar effects in the Upper Charles River Basin, but increased water use contributed to decreased simulated streamflow in most subbasins. Simulated changes in March streamflows for 2030 in the Upper Charles River Basin were within +- 6 percent of the basecase for all scenarios and subbasins. Percentage decreases in simulated September streamflows for 2030 were greater than in March but less than the September decreases that resulted for some subbasins in the Assabet River Basin. Only two subbasins of the Upper Charles River Basin had projected decreases greater than 5 percent. In the Mill River subbasin, the decrease was 11 percent, and in the Mine Brook subbasin, 6.6 percent. Changes in water use and wastewater return flow generally were found to have the greatest effect in the summer months when streamflow and aquifer recharge rates are low and water use is high. September increases in main-stem streamflow of both basins were due mainly to increased discharge of treated effluent from wastewater-treatment facilities on the main-stem rivers. In the Assabet River Basin, wastewater-treatment-facility discharge became a smaller proportion of total streamflow with distance downstream. In contrast, wastewater-treatment facility discharge in the Upper Charles River Basin became a greater proportion of streamflow with distance downstream. The effects of sewer-line extension and low-impact development on streamflows in two different subbasins of the Assabet River Basin also were simulated. The result of extending sewer lines with a corresponding decrease in septic-system return flow caused September streamflows to decrease as much as 15 percent in the Fort Pond Brook subbasin. The effect of low-impact development was simulated in the Hop Brook subbasin in areas projected for commercial development. In this simulation, the greater the area where low-i

Ecosystem effects in the Lower Mississippi River Basin: Chapter L in 2011 Floods of the Central United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Turnipseed, D. Phil; Allen, Yvonne C.; Couvillion, Brady R.; McKee, Karen L.; Vervaeke, William C.

2014-01-01

The 2011 Mississippi River flood in the Lower Mississippi River Basin was one of the largest flood events in recorded history, producing the largest or next to largest peak streamflow for the period of record at a number of streamgages on the lower Mississippi River. Ecosystem effects include changes to wetlands, nutrient transport, and land accretion and sediment deposition changes. Direct effects to the wetland ecosystems in the Lower Mississippi River Basin were minimized because of the expansive levee system built to pass floodwaters. Nutrients carried by the Mississippi River affect water quality in the Lower Mississippi River Basin. During 2011, nutrient fluxes in the lower Mississippi River were about average. Generally, nutrient delivery of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers contributes to the size of the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Based on available limited post-flood satellite imagery, some land expansion in both the Wax Lake and Atchafalaya River Deltas was observed. A wetland sediment survey completed in June 2011 indicated that recent sediment deposits were relatively thicker in the Atchafalaya and Mississippi River (Birdsfoot) Delta marshes compared to marshes farther from these rivers.

Contribution potential of glaciers to water availability in different climate regimes

PubMed Central

Kaser, Georg; Großhauser, Martin; Marzeion, Ben

2010-01-01

Although reliable figures are often missing, considerable detrimental changes due to shrinking glaciers are universally expected for water availability in river systems under the influence of ongoing global climate change. We estimate the contribution potential of seasonally delayed glacier melt water to total water availability in large river systems. We find that the seasonally delayed glacier contribution is largest where rivers enter seasonally arid regions and negligible in the lowlands of river basins governed by monsoon climates. By comparing monthly glacier melt contributions with population densities in different altitude bands within each river basin, we demonstrate that strong human dependence on glacier melt is not collocated with highest population densities in most basins. PMID:21059938

Relations of Principal Components Analysis Site Scores to Algal-Biomass, Habitat, Basin-Characteristics, Nutrient, and Biological-Community Data in the Whitewater River and East Fork White River Basins, Indiana, 2002

USGS Publications Warehouse

Caskey, Brian J.; Frey, Jeffrey W.; Lowe, B. Scott

2007-01-01

Data were gathered from May through September 2002 at 76 randomly selected sites in the Whitewater River and East Fork White River Basins, Indiana, for algal biomass, habitat, nutrients, and biological communities (fish and invertebrates). Basin characteristics (land use and drainage area) and biolog-ical-community attributes and metric scores were determined for the basin of each sampling site. Yearly Principal Compo-nents Analysis site scores were calculated for algal biomass (periphyton and seston). The yearly Principal Components Analysis site scores for the first axis (PC1) were related using Spearman's rho to the seasonal algal-biomass, basin-charac-teristics, habitat, seasonal nutrient, and biological-community attribute and metric score data. The periphyton PC1 site score was not significantly related to the nine habitat or 12 nutrient variables examined. One land-use variable, drainage area, was negatively related to the periphyton PC1. Of the 43 fish-community attributes and metrics examined, the periphyton PC1 was negatively related to one attribute (large-river percent) and one metric score (car-nivore percent metric score). It was positively related to three fish-community attributes (headwater percent, pioneer percent, and simple lithophil percent). The periphyton PC1 was not statistically related to any of the 21 invertebrate-community attributes or metric scores examined. Of the 12 nutrient variables examined two were nega-tively related to the seston PC1 site score in two seasons: total Kjeldahl nitrogen (July and September), and TP (May and September). There were no statistically significant relations between the seston PC1 and the five basin-characteristics or nine habitat variables examined. Of the 43 fish-community attributes and metrics examined, the seston PC1 was positively related to one attribute (headwater percent) and negatively related to one metric score (large-river percent metric score) . Of the 21 invertebrate-community attributes and metrics exam-ined, the seston PC1 was negatively related to one metric score (number of individuals metric score). To understand how the choice of sampling sites might have affected the results, an analysis of the drainage area and land use was done. The sites selected in the Whitewater River Basin were generally small drainage basins; compared to Whitewater River Basin sites, the sites selected in the East Fork White River Basin were generally larger drainage basins. Although both basins were dominated by agricultural land use the Whitewater River Basin sites had more land in agriculture than the East Fork White River Basin sites. The values for nutrients (nitrate, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus) and chlorophyll a (per-iphyton and seston) were compared to published U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) values for Aggregate Nutrient Ecoregions VI and IX and USEPA Level III Ecore-gions 55 and 71. Several nutrient values were greater than the 25th percentile of published USEPA values. Chlorophyll a (periphyton and seston) values were either greater than the 25thpercentile of published USEPA values or they extended data ranges in the Aggregate Nutrient and Level III Ecore-gions. If the values for the 25th percentile as proposes by the USEPA were adopted as nutrient water-quality criteria, many samples in the Whitewater River and East Fork White River Basins would have exceeded the criteria.

Evaluation of volatile organic compounds in two Mojave Desert basins-Mojave River and Antelope Valley-in San Bernardino, Los Angeles, and Kern Counties, California, June-October 2002

USGS Publications Warehouse

Densmore, Jill N.; Belitz, Kenneth; Wright, Michael T.; Dawson, Barbara J.; Johnson, Tyler D.

2005-01-01

The California Aquifer Susceptibility Assessment of the Ground-Water Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Program was developed to assess water quality and susceptibility of ground-water resources to contamination from surficial sources. This study focuses on the Mojave River and the Antelope Valley ground-water basins in southern California. Volatile organic compound (VOC) data were evaluated in conjunction with tritium data to determine a potential correlation with aquifer type, depth to top of perforations, and land use to VOC distribution and occurrence in the Mojave River and the Antelope Valley Basins. Detection frequencies for VOCs were compiled and compared to assess the distribution in each area. Explanatory variables were evaluated by comparing detection frequencies for VOCs and tritium and the number of compounds detected. Thirty-three wells were sampled in the Mojave River Basin (9 in the floodplain aquifer, 15 in the regional aquifer, and 9 in the sewered subset of the regional aquifer). Thirty-two wells were sampled in the Antelope Valley Basin. Quality-control samples also were collected to identify, quantify, and document bias and variability in the data. Results show that VOCs generally were detected slightly more often in the Antelope Valley Basin samples than in the Mojave River Basin samples. VOCs were detected more frequently in the floodplain aquifer than in the regional aquifer and the sewered subset. Tritium was detected more frequently in the Mojave River Basin samples than in the Antelope Valley Basin samples, and it was detected more frequently in the floodplain aquifer than in the regional aquifer and the sewered subset. Most of the samples collected in both basins for this study contained old water (water recharged prior to 1952). In general, in these desert basins, tritium need not be present for VOCs to be present. When VOCs were detected, young water (water recharge after 1952) was slightly more likely to be contaminated than old water. Trihalomethanes (THMs) were detected less frequently in the Mojave River Basin samples than in the Antelope Valley Basin samples. The THMs that were detected in the Mojave River Basin were detected more frequently in the floodplain aquifer than in the regional aquifer and sewered subset. Solvents were detected more frequently in the Mojave River samples than in the Antelope Valley samples. In the Mojave River Basin samples, solvents were detected less frequently in the floodplain aquifer than in the regional aquifer and the sewered subset. Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) were not detected in either study area. Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) was detected in one sample from both the Mojave River and Antelope Valley Basins. The most frequently detected compound (detected in more than 10 percent of the wells) in the Mojave River Basin was chloroform. The two most frequently detected compounds in the Antelope Valley Basin were chloroform and tetrachloroethylene (PCE). In the Mojave River Basin, aquifer type and land use within 1,640 ft (500 m) of the well head were not statistically correlated with the number of VOCs detected, although VOCs were detected more frequently in the floodplain aquifer than in the regional aquifer and the sewered subset. Depth to the top of the perforations was an explanatory factor for the number of VOCs detected in the Mojave River Basin; the detection frequency was greater for shallow wells than for deep wells. In the Antelope Valley Basin, neither aquifer type, depth to the top of the perforations, nor land use within 1,640 ft of the well head were explanatory factors for the number of VOCs detected. Although aquifer type and depth to top of the perforations did explain the presence of tritium in the Mojave River Basin, land use within 1,640 ft of the well head was not a statistically significant explanatory factor for the presence of tritium in this basin. Aquifer type, depth to the top of the perfora

Estimation of potential runoff-contributing areas in the Kansas-Lower Republican River Basin, Kansas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Juracek, Kyle E.

1999-01-01

Digital soils and topographic data were used to estimate and compare potential runoff-contributing areas for 19 selected subbasins representing soil, slope, and runoff variability within the Kansas-Lower Republican (KLR) River Basin. Potential runoff-contributing areas were estimated separately and collectively for the processes of infiltration-excess and saturation-excess overland flow using a set of environmental conditions that represented high, moderate, and low potential runoff. For infiltration-excess overland flow, various rainfall intensities and soil permeabilities were used. For saturation-excess overland flow, antecedent soil-moisture conditions and a topographic wetness index were used. Results indicated that the subbasins with relatively high potential runoff are located in the central part of the KLR River Basin. These subbasins are Black Vermillion River, Clarks Creek, Delaware River upstream from Muscotah, Grasshopper Creek, Mill Creek (Wabaunsee County), Soldier Creek, Vermillion Creek (Pottawatomie County), and Wildcat Creek. The subbasins with relatively low potential runoff are located in the western one-third of the KLR River Basin, with one exception, and are Buffalo Creek, Little Blue River upstream from Barnes, Mill Creek (Washington County), Republican River between Concordia and Clay Center, Republican River upstream from Concordia, Wakarusa River downstream from Clinton Lake (exception), and White Rock Creek. The ability to distinguish the subbasins as having relatively high or low potential runoff was possible mostly due to the variability of soil permeability across the KLR River Basin.

THE INFLUENCE OF PHYSICAL FACTORS ON COMPARATIVE PERFORMANCE OF SAMPLING METHODS IN LARGE RIVERS

EPA Science Inventory

In 1999, we compared five existing benthic macroinvertebrate sampling methods used in boatable rivers. Each sampling protocol was performed at each of 60 sites distributed among four rivers in the Ohio River drainage basin. Initial comparison of methods using key macroinvertebr...

Reconstruction of the Amazon Basin effective moisture availability over the past 14,000 years.

PubMed

Maslin, M A; Burns, S J

2000-12-22

Quantifying the moisture history of the Amazon Basin is essential for understanding the cause of rain forest diversity and its potential as a methane source. We reconstructed the Amazon River outflow history for the past 14,000 years to provide a moisture budget for the river drainage basin. The oxygen isotopic composition of planktonic foraminifera recovered from a marine sediment core in a region of Amazon River discharge shows that the Amazon Basin was extremely dry during the Younger Dryas, with the discharge reduced by at least 40% as compared with that of today. After the Younger Dryas, a meltwater-driven discharge event was followed by a steady increase in the Amazon Basin effective moisture throughout the Holocene.

Effects of coal-mine drainage on stream water quality in the Allegheny and Monongahela River Basins-Sulfate transport and trends

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sams, James I.; Beer, Kevin M.

2000-01-01

In 1980, the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers transported a sulfate load of 1.2 million and 1.35 million tons, respectively, to the Ohio River at Pittsburgh. The Monongahela River Basin had a sulfate yield of 184 tons per square mile per year compared to 105 tons per square mile per year for the Allegheny River Basin. Within the large Allegheny and Monongahela River Basins, the subbasins with the highest sulfate yields in tons per square mile per year were those of Redstone Creek (580), Blacklick Creek (524), Conemaugh River (292), Buffalo Creek (247), Stonycreek River (239), Two Lick Creek (231), Dunkard Creek (212), and Loyalhanna Creek (196). These basins have been extensively mined. The sulfate yields of Brokenstraw and Conewango Creeks, which are outside the area underlain by coal and thus contain no coal mines, were 25 and 24 tons per square mile per year, respectively.Within the Allegheny and Monongahela River Basins, seven sites showed significant trends in sulfate concentration from 1965 to 1995. Dunkard Creek and Stonycreek River show significant upward trends in sulfate concentration. These trends appear to be related to increases in coal production in the two basins from 1965 to 1995. Blacklick Creek at Josephine and Loyalhanna Creek at Loyalhanna Dam show significant downward trends in sulfate concentration between 1965 and 1995. Blacklick Creek had a 50-percent decrease in sulfate concentration. Coal production in the Blacklick Creek Basin, which reached its peak at almost 4 million tons per year in the 1940's, dropped to less than 1 million tons per year by 1995. In the Loyalhanna Creek Basin, which had a 41-percent decrease in sulfate concentration, coal-production rates dropped steadily from more than 1.5 million tons per year in the 1940's to less than 200,000 tons per year in 1995.

Simulation of stream discharge and transport of nitrate and selected herbicides in the Mississippi River Basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Broshears, R.E.; Clark, G.M.; Jobson, H.E.

2001-01-01

Stream discharge and the transport of nitrate, atrazine, and metolachlor in the Mississippi River Basin were simulated using the DAFLOW/BLTM hydrologic model. The simulated domain for stream discharge included river reaches downstream from the following stations in the National Stream Quality Accounting Network: Mississippi River at Clinton, IA; Missouri River at Hermann, MO: Ohio River at Grand Chain, IL: And Arkansas River at Little Rock, AR. Coefficients of hydraulic geometry were calibrated using data from water year 1996; the model was validated by favourable simulation of observed discharges in water years 1992-1994. The transport of nitrate, atrazine, and metolachlor was simulated downstream from the Mississippi River at Thebes, IL, and the Ohio River at Grand Chain. Simulated concentrations compared favourably with observed concentrations at Baton Rouge, LA. Development of this model is a preliminary step in gaining a more quantitative understanding of the sources and fate of nutrients and pesticides delivered from the Mississippi River Basin to the Gulf of Mexico.

Modeling change in potential landscape vulnerability to forest insect and pathogen disturbances: methods for forested subwatersheds sampled in the midscale interior Columbia River basin assessment.

Treesearch

Paul F. Hessburg; Bradley G. Smith; Craig A. Miller; Scott D. Kreiter; R. Brion Salter

1999-01-01

In the interior Columbia River basin midscale ecological assessment, including portions of the Klamath and Great Basins, we mapped and characterized historical and current vegetation composition and structure of 337 randomly sampled subwatersheds (9500 ha average size) in 43 subbasins (404 000 ha average size). We compared landscape patterns, vegetation structure and...

Source, habitat and nutrient enrichment effects on decomposition of detritus in Lower Mississippi River Basin bayous

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Potential differences in storage and processing of detritus in agricultural landscapes may alter freshwater ecosystem function. We compared decomposition rates of maize (Zea mays) and willow oak (Quercus phellos) from three bayous located within the Lower Mississippi River Basin of NW Mississippi, ...

Peak streamflows and runoff volumes for the Central United States, February through September, 2011: Chapter C in 2011 floods of the central United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Holmes, Robert R.; Wiche, Gregg J.; Koenig, Todd A.; Sando, Steven K.

2013-01-01

During 2011, excessive precipitation resulted in widespread flooding in the Central United States with 33 fatalities and approximately $4.2 billion in damages reported in the Souris/Red River of the North (Souris/Red) and Mississippi River Basins. At different times, beginning in late February 2011 and extending through September 2011, various rivers in these basins had major flooding, with some locations receiving multiple rounds of flooding. Peak streamflow records were broken at 105 streamgages in the Souris/Red and Mississippi River Basins and annual runoff volume records set at 47 of the 211 streamgages analyzed for annual runoff. For the period of 1950 through 2011, the Ohio River provided almost one-half of the annual runoff at Vicksburg; the Missouri River contributed less than one-fourth, and the lower Mississippi River less than one-fourth. Those relative contribution patterns also occurred in 1973 and 2011, with the notable exception of the decrease in contribution of the lower Mississippi River tributaries and the increase in contribution from the upper Missouri River Basin in 2011 as compared to 1973 and the long-term average from 1950 to 2011.

Differential Rate of Deforestation in Two Adjoining Indian River Basins: Does Resource Availability Matters?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, P.; Behera, M. D.

2017-12-01

Deforestation is one of the key factors of global climate change by altering the surface albedo reduces the evapotranspiration and surface roughness leads to warming in tropical regions. River basins are always subjected to LULC changes, especially decline in forest cover to give way for agricultural expansion, urbanisation, industrialisation etc. We generated LULC maps at three decadal intervals i.e., 1985, 1995 and 2005 in two major river basins of India using Landsat data employing on-screen visual image interpretation technique. In Rain-fed, Mahanadi river basin (MRB), 30.64% forest cover in 1985 was reduced to 30.13% in 2005, wherein glacier-fed, Brahmaputra river basin (BRB) this change was 63.44% to 62.32% during 1985 to 2005. Though conversion of forest land for agricultural activities was the major LULC changes in both the basins, the rate was more than two times higher in BRB than MRB. Scrub land in few zones acted as an intermediate class for mixed forest conversion to cropland land in both the basins. Analysing the drivers, in deforestation we observed the proximity zones around habitat and socio-economic drivers contributed higher compared to topographic, edaphic and climate. Using Dyna-CLUE modelling approach, we have predicted the LULC for 2025. For validation, comparing the predicted result with actual LULC of 2005, we obtained > 97% modeling accuracy; therefore it is expected that the Dyna-CLUE model has very well predicted the LULC for the year 2025. The predicted LULC of 2025 captured the similar trend of deforestation around 0.52% in MRB and 1.18% in BRB during 2005 to 2025. Acting as early warning, and with the past 2-decadal change analysis this study is believed to help the land use planners for improved regional planning to create balanced ecosystem, especially in a changing climate. On the basis of driver analysis, we believe that availability of more forest resources in Brahmaputra River basin provided extra liberty for higher deforestation for agriculture land conversion, followed by other developmental activities in comparison to Mahanadi River basin.

An integrated model of water resources optimization allocation based on projection pursuit model - Grey wolf optimization method in a transboundary river basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Sen; Lu, Hongwei

2018-04-01

Under the effects of global change, water crisis ranks as the top global risk in the future decade, and water conflict in transboundary river basins as well as the geostrategic competition led by it is most concerned. This study presents an innovative integrated PPMGWO model of water resources optimization allocation in a transboundary river basin, which is integrated through the projection pursuit model (PPM) and Grey wolf optimization (GWO) method. This study uses the Songhua River basin and 25 control units as examples, adopting the PPMGWO model proposed in this study to allocate the water quantity. Using water consumption in all control units in the Songhua River basin in 2015 as reference to compare with optimization allocation results of firefly algorithm (FA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithms as well as the PPMGWO model, results indicate that the average difference between corresponding allocation results and reference values are 0.195 bil m3, 0.151 bil m3, and 0.085 bil m3, respectively. Obviously, the average difference of the PPMGWO model is the lowest and its optimization allocation result is closer to reality, which further confirms the reasonability, feasibility, and accuracy of the PPMGWO model. And then the PPMGWO model is adopted to simulate allocation of available water quantity in Songhua River basin in 2018, 2020, and 2030. The simulation results show water quantity which could be allocated in all controls demonstrates an overall increasing trend with reasonable and equal exploitation and utilization of water resources in the Songhua River basin in future. In addition, this study has a certain reference value and application meaning to comprehensive management and water resources allocation in other transboundary river basins.

Nutrient loads in the river mouth of the Río Verde basin in Jalisco, Mexico: how to prevent eutrophication in the future reservoir?

PubMed

Jayme-Torres, Gonzalo; Hansen, Anne M

2017-10-04

Since nutrients are emitted and mobilized in river basins, causing eutrophication of water bodies, it is important to reduce such emissions and subsequent nutrient loads. Due to processes of attenuation, nutrient loads are reduced during their mobilization in river basins. At the mouth of the Río Verde basin in western Mexico, the El Purgatorio dam is being constructed to supply water to the metropolitan area of the second most populated city in the country, Guadalajara. To analyze situations that allow protecting this future dam from eutrophication, nutrient loads in the mouth of the river basin were determined and their reduction scenarios evaluated by using the NEWS2 (Nutrient Export from Watersheds) model. For this, a nutrient emissions inventory was established and used to model nutrient loads, and modeling results were compared to an analysis of water quality data from two different monitoring sites located on the river. The results suggest that 96% of nitrogen and 99% of phosphorus emissions are attenuated in the watershed. Nutrient loads reaching the mouth of the river basin come mainly from wastewater discharges, followed by livestock activities and different land uses, and loads are higher as emissions are located closer to the mouth of the river basin. To achieve and maintain mesotrophic state of water in the future dam, different nutrient emission reduction scenarios were evaluated. According to these results, the reduction of 90% of the phosphorus loads in wastewater emissions or 75% of the phosphorus loads in wastewater emissions and at least 50% in emissions from livestock activities in the river basin are required.

Water quality of the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, and their U.S. tributaries, 1946-2005

USGS Publications Warehouse

Healy, Denis F.; Chambers, Douglas B.; Rachol, Cynthia M.; Jodoin, Richard S.

2007-01-01

The St. Clair River/Lake St. Clair waterway forms an international boundary between the United States and Canada. The waters of the area are an important part of the cultural heritage of the area and serves as an important water-supply and power-generating resource; the waterway also supports an economy based largely on recreation, agriculture, and manufacturing. This report was undertaken as part of the Lake St. Clair Regional Monitoring Project for the purpose of providing a comprehensive assessment of the hydrological, chemical, and physical state of the surface water of Lake St. Clair and its tributaries. The data varied in focus and density over the period of compilation which in many cases this variation prevented the completion of statistical analyses because data did not meet minimum comparability or quality requirements for those tests. Comparison of water quality of the Belle, Black, Clinton, and Pine River Basins, as well as basins of minor rivers in the study area, showed that water quality in many of the tributaries, particularly the Clinton River and some of the minor rivers, was degraded compared to the water quality of the St. Clair River/Lake St. Clair waterway. Data analyses included comparison of nutrients, chloride, specific conductance, turbidity, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and pesticides among the basins and the St. Clair River. Median concentrations of total nitrate were well below the recommended USEPA total nitrogen ambient water-quality criterion of 0.54 mg/L as N for nutrient ecoregion VII for all study-area streams except the Clinton River. More than 93 percent of the phosphorus concentrations for the Belle, Black, Pine and minor river basins and 84 percent of the phosphorus concentrations for the Clinton River Basin are greater than the USEPA recommended ambient total phosphorus criterion of 0.033 mg/L for rivers and streams. Nine chloride concentrations exceeded the USEPA criterion maximum concentration (CMC) for chloride set at 860 mg/L for all study-area streams, with the six largest being in the Belle River Basin. Higher chloride concentrations were increasingly common from 2002 to 2005. The urban minor river basins had the highest median specific conductance, whereas the agricultural Pine River Basin had the lowest median specific conductance. The median values of BOD for the five basins in the study area ranged from 2.4 mg/L for the Pine River Basin to 3.2 mg/L for the Black and Clinton River Basins, whereas the median for the St. Clair River was 0.5 mg/L. In 1985, the highest concentrations of pesticides were found in samples from the mouth of the Clinton River; however, in 1996–98, the majority of high pesticide concentrations were found in samples from the Black River. Changing land-use patterns, specifically conversion of agricultural lands to urban/residential lands in the Clinton River Basin, may explain this difference. Trend analysis was done for four stream sites where adequate data were available. These analyses identified no significant water-quality changes at a stream site on the Black River, where land-use patterns have changed little in the past few decades. This stands in marked contrast to trend analysis for three stream sites in the Clinton River Basin, which has undergone significant land-use change. The changes at the Clinton River stream sites, ranging from 5 to 13 significant trends, were generally decreases in nutrients and increases in total dissolved solids (TDS) and chloride. The greater flow volume of the St. Clair River/Lake St. Clair waterway is able to assimilate incoming dissolved and suspended constituents from tributaries with little effect upon its overall water quality, although incomplete mixing may result in localized water-quality impairment downstream from tributary confluences. Mixing effects on Lake St. Clair water quality was also demonstrated in analysis of Escherichia coli (E. coli) data collected at paired nearshore/offshore sites, which reflected similarity in water quality among many paired sites.

[Hydrochemical Characteristics and Influencing Factors in Different Geological Background: A Case Study in Darongjiang and Lingqu Basin, Guangxi, China].

PubMed

Sun, Ping-an; Yu, Shi; Mo, Fu-zhen; He, Shi-yi; Lu, Ju-fang; Yuan, Ya-qiong

2016-01-15

The observation and sampling were carried out in May 2013 to April 2014 in a hydrological year for two river basins with different geological background in upstream of Li river basin. The seasonal variations of river water chemistry and its main influencing factors were discussed in this paper. The results showed that the hydrochemistry types of both Darongjiang basin with 9% of carbonates and Lingqu basin with nearly 50% of carbonates in area belonged to Ca-HCO3 type. Ca2+ and HCO3- were the main cations and anions. The main ion concentrations were higher in winter and lower in summer, affected by the change of the flow. Ca2+, Mg2+, HCO3- were mainly sourced from the weathering of carbonates by carbonic acid. The weathering of carbonates by sulfuric acid and the weathering of silicate rocks also had contribution to the river water chemistry. In addition, comparing to the Lingqu basin, the contribution of the weathering of carbonates was much more than the percent of carbonates area, because the carbonate rocks were eroded by the allogenic water. On the other hand, K+, Na+, Cl-, NO3-, SO4(2-) were mainly affected by the atmospheric precipitation and human activities. Comparing to the Darongjiang Basin, the effects of human activities on the changes of K+, Na+, Cl-, NO3-, SO4(2-) were more significant in Lingqu Basin.

Effects of hydrology, watershed size, and agricultural practices on sediment yields in two river basins in Iowa and Mississippi

USGS Publications Warehouse

Merten, Gustavo Henrique; Welch, Heather L.; Tomer, M.D.

2016-01-01

The specific sediment yield (SSY) from watersheds is the result of the balance between natural, scale-dependent erosion and deposition processes, but can be greatly altered by human activities. In general, the SSY decreases along the course of a river as sediments are trapped in alluvial plains and other sinks. However, this relation between SSY and basin area can actually be an increasing one when there is a predominance of channel erosion relative to hillslope erosion. The US Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a study of suspended sediment in the Iowa River basin (IRB), Iowa, and the Yazoo River basin (YRB), Mississippi, from 2006 through 2008. Within each river basin, the SSY from four largely agricultural watersheds of various sizes (2.3 to 35,000 km2 [0.9 to 13,513 mi2]) was investigated. In the smallest watersheds, YRB sites had greater SSY compared to IRB sites due to higher rain erosivity, more erodible soils, more overland flow, and fluvial geomorphological differences. Watersheds in the YRB showed a steady decrease in SSY with increasing drainage basin area, whereas in the IRB, the maximum SSY occurred at the 30 to 500 km2 (11.6 to 193 mi2) scale. Subsurface tile drainage and limits to channel downcutting restrict the upstream migration of sediment sources in the IRB. Nevertheless, by comparing the SSY-basin size scaling relationships with estimated rates of field erosion under conservation and conventional tillage treatments reported in previous literature, we show evidence that the SSY-basin size relationship in both the IRB and YRB remain impacted by historical erosion rates that occurred prior to conservation efforts.

Tritium hydrology of the Mississippi River basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Michel, R.L.

2004-01-01

In the early 1960s, the US Geological Survey began routinely analysing river water samples for tritium concentrations at locations within the Mississippi River basin. The sites included the main stem of the Mississippi River (at Luling Ferry, Louisiana), and three of its major tributaries, the Ohio River (at Markland Dam, Kentucky), the upper Missouri River (at Nebraska City, Nebraska) and the Arkansas River (near Van Buren, Arkansas). The measurements cover the period during the peak of the bomb-produced tritium transient when tritium concentrations in precipitation rose above natural levels by two to three orders of magnitude. Using measurements of tritium concentrations in precipitation, a tritium input function was established for the river basins above the Ohio River, Missouri River and Arkansas River sampling locations. Owing to the extent of the basin above the Luling Ferry site, no input function was developed for that location. The input functions for the Ohio and Missouri Rivers were then used in a two-component mixing model to estimate residence times of water within these two basins. (The Arkansas River was not modelled because of extremely large yearly variations in flow during the peak of the tritium transient.) The two components used were: (i) recent precipitation (prompt outflow) and (ii) waters derived from the long-term groundwater reservoir of the basin. The tritium concentration of the second component is a function of the atmospheric input and the residence times of the groundwaters within the basin. Using yearly time periods, the parameters of the model were varied until a best fit was obtained between modelled and measured tritium data. The results from the model indicate that about 40% of the flow in the Ohio River was from prompt outflow, as compared with 10% for the Missouri River. Mean residence times of 10 years were calculated for the groundwater component of the Ohio River versus 4 years for the Missouri River. The mass flux of tritium through the Mississippi Basin and its tributaries was calculated during the years that tritium measurements were made. The cumulative fluxes, calculated in grams of 3II were: (i) 160 g for the Ohio (1961-1986), (ii) 98 g for the upper Missouri (1963-1997), (iii) 30 g for the Arkansas (1961-1997) and (iv) 780 g for the Mississippi (1961-1997). Published in 2004 by John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.

Snow mass and river flows modelled using GRACE total water storage observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, S.

2017-12-01

Snow mass and river flow measurements are difficult and less accurate in cold regions due to the hash environment. Floods in cold regions are commonly a result of snowmelt during the spring break-up. Flooding is projected to increase with climate change in many parts of the world. Forecasting floods from snowmelt remains a challenge due to scarce and quality issues in basin-scale snow observations and lack of knowledge for cold region hydrological processes. This study developed a model for estimating basin-level snow mass (snow water equivalent SWE) and river flows using the total water storage (TWS) observations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission. The SWE estimation is based on mass balance approach which is independent of in situ snow gauge observations, thus largely eliminates the limitations and uncertainties with traditional in situ or remote sensing snow estimates. The model forecasts river flows by simulating surface runoff from snowmelt and the corresponding baseflow from groundwater discharge. Snowmelt is predicted using a temperature index model. Baseflow is predicted using a modified linear reservoir model. The model also quantifies the hysteresis between the snowmelt and the streamflow rates, or the lump time for water travel in the basin. The model was applied to the Red River Basin, the Mackenzie River Basin, and the Hudson Bay Lowland Basins in Canada. The predicted river flows were compared with the observed values at downstream hydrometric stations. The results were also compared to that for the Lower Fraser River obtained in a separate study to help better understand the roles of environmental factors in determining flood and their variations with different hydroclimatic conditions. This study advances the applications of space-based time-variable gravity measurements in cold region snow mass estimation, river flow and flood forecasting. It demonstrates a relatively simple method that only needs GRACE TWS and temperature data for river flow or flood forecasting. The model can be particularly useful for regions with spare observation networks, and can be used in combination with other available methods to help improve the accuracy in river flow and flood forecasting over cold regions.

Water-Quality Characteristics for Sites in the Tongue, Powder, Cheyenne, and Belle Fourche River Drainage Basins, Wyoming and Montana, Water Years 2001-05, with Temporal Patterns of Selected Long-Term Water-Quality Data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Clark, Melanie L.; Mason, Jon P.

2007-01-01

Water-quality sampling was conducted regularly at stream sites within or near the Powder River structural basin in northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana during water years 2001-05 (October 1, 2000, to September 30, 2005) to characterize water quality in an area of coalbed natural gas development. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, characterized the water quality at 22 sampling sites in the Tongue, Powder, Cheyenne, and Belle Fourche River drainage basins. Data for general hydrology, field measurements, major-ion chemistry, and selected trace elements were summarized, and specific conductance and sodium-adsorption ratios were evaluated for relations with streamflow and seasonal variability. Trend analysis for water years 1991-2005 was conducted for selected sites and constituents to assess change through time. Average annual runoff was highly variable among the stream sites. Generally, streams that have headwaters in the Bighorn Mountains had more runoff as a result of higher average annual precipitation than streams that have headwaters in the plains. The Powder River at Moorhead, Mont., had the largest average annual runoff (319,000 acre-feet) of all the sites; however, streams in the Tongue River drainage basin had the highest runoff per unit area of the four major drainage basins. Annual runoff in all major drainage basins was less than average during 2001-05 because of drought conditions. Consequently, water-quality samples collected during the study period may not represent long-term water-quality con-ditions for all sites. Water-quality characteristics were highly variable generally because of streamflow variability, geologic controls, and potential land-use effects. The range of median specific-conductance values among sites was smallest in the Tongue River drainage basin. Median values in that basin ranged from 643 microsiemens per centimeter at 25 degrees Celsius (?S/cm at 25?C) on the Tongue River to 1,460 ?S/cm at 25?C on Prairie Dog Creek. The Tongue River drainage basin has the largest percentage of area underlain by Mesozoic-age and older rocks and by more resistant rocks. In addition, the higher annual precipitation and a steeper gradient in this basin compared to basins in the plains produce relatively fast stream velocities, which result in a short contact time between stream waters and basin materials. The Powder River drainage basin, which has the largest drainage area and most diverse site conditions, had the largest range of median specific-conductance values among the four major drainage basins. Median values in that basin ranged from 680 ?S/cm at 25?C on Clear Creek to 5,950 ?S/cm at 25?C on Salt Creek. Median specific-conductance values among sites in the Cheyenne River drainage basin ranged from 1,850 ?S/cm at 25?C on Black Thunder Creek to 4,680 ?S/cm at 25?C on the Cheyenne River. The entire Cheyenne River drainage basin is in the plains, which have low precipitation, soluble geologic materials, and relatively low gradients that produce slow stream velocities and long contact times. Median specific-conductance values among sites in the Belle Fourche River drainage basin ranged from 1,740 ?S/cm at 25?C on Caballo Creek to 2,800 ?S/cm at 25?C on Donkey Creek. Water in the study area ranged from a magnesium-calcium-bicarbonate type for some sites in the Tongue River drainage basin to a sodium-sulfate type at many sites in the Powder, Cheyenne, and Belle Fourche River drainage basins. Little Goose Creek, Goose Creek, and the Tongue River in the Tongue River drainage basin, and Clear Creek in the Powder River drainage basin, which have headwaters in the Bighorn Mountains, consistently had the smallest median dissolved-sodium concentrations, sodium-adsorption ratios, dissolved-sulfate concentrations, and dissolved-solids concentrations. Salt Creek, Wild Horse Creek, Little Powder River, and the Cheyenne River, which have headwat

Arthropods in Decomposing Wood of the Atchafalaya River Basin

Treesearch

B.G. Lockaby; B.D. Keeland; John A. Stanturf; M.D. Rice; G. Hodges; R.M. Governo

2002-01-01

Changes in arthropod populations (numbers of individuals identified to the family level in most cases) were studied during the decomposition of coarse woody debris (CWD) in the Atchafalaya River Basin of Louisiana. The arthropod study was linked with a CWD decomposition study installed after disturbance by Hurricane Andrew. Arthropod numbers were compared between two...

Sr and Nd isotopes of suspended sediments from rivers of the Amazon basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hatting, Karina; Santos, Roberto V.; Sondag, Francis

2014-05-01

The Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd isotopic systems are important tools to constrain the provenance of sediment load in river systems. This study presents the isotopic composition of Sr and Nd isotopes and major and minor elements in suspended sediments from the Marañón-Solimões, Amazonas and Beni-Madeira rivers. The data were used to constrain the source region of the sediments and to better understand the main seasonal and spatial transport processes within the basin based on the variations of the chemical and isotopic signals. They also allow establishing a relationship between sediment concentrations and flow rate values. The study presents data collected during a hydrological year between 2009 and 2010. The Marañón-Solimões River presents low Sr isotopic values (0.7090-0.7186), broad EpslonNd(0) range (-15.17 to -8.09) and Nd model (TDM) ages varying from 0.99 to 1.81 Ga. Sources of sediments to the Marañón-Solimões River include recent volcanic rocks in northern Peru and Ecuador, as well as rocks with long crustal residence time and carbonates from the Marañón Basin, Peru. The Beni-Madeira River has more radiogenic Sr isotope values (0.7255-0.7403), more negative EpslonNd(0) values (-20.46 to -10.47), and older Nd isotope model ages (from 1.40 to 2.35 Ga) when compared to the Marañón-Solimões River. These isotope data were related to the erosion of Paleozoic and Cenozoic foreland basins that are filled with Precambrian sediments derived from the Amazonian Craton. These basins are located in Bolivian Subandina Zone. The Amazon River presents intermediate isotopic values when compared to those found in the Marañón-Solimões and Beni-Madeira rivers. Its Sr isotope ratios range between 0.7193 and 0.7290, and its EpslonNd(0) values varies between -11.09 and -9.51. The Nd isotope model ages of the suspended sediments vary between 1.28 and 1.77 Ga. Concentrations of soluble and insoluble elements indicate a more intense weathering activity in sediments of the Beni-Madeira River. This river has a larger difference in the Sr isotopic composition between the diluted and solid phases, which has been assigned to the high level of weathering of its sediment source area. In the Beni-Madeira River sub-basin dominates weathering of silicate rocks, while in the Marañón-Solimões River sub-basin there also weathering of carbonate and evaporitic rocks.

Simulation of daily streamflow for nine river basins in eastern Iowa using the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System

USGS Publications Warehouse

Haj, Adel E.; Christiansen, Daniel E.; Hutchinson, Kasey J.

2015-10-14

The accuracy of Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System model streamflow estimates of nine river basins in eastern Iowa as compared to measured values at U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations varied. The Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System models of nine river basins in eastern Iowa were satisfactory at estimating daily streamflow at 57 of the 79 calibration sites and 13 of the 14 validation sites based on statistical results. Unsatisfactory performance can be contributed to several factors: (1) low flow, no flow, and flashy flow conditions in headwater subbasins having a small drainage area; (2) poor representation of the groundwater and storage components of flow within a basin; (3) lack of accounting for basin withdrawals and water use; and (4) the availability and accuracy of meteorological input data. The Precipitation- Runoff Modeling System models of nine river basins in eastern Iowa will provide water-resource managers with a consistent and documented method for estimating streamflow at ungaged sites and aid in environmental studies, hydraulic design, water management, and water-quality projects.

Defining river types in a Mediterranean area: a methodology for the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive.

PubMed

Munné, Antoni; Prat, Narcís

2004-11-01

The Water Framework Directive (WFD), approved at the end of 2000 by the European Union, proposes the characterization of river types through two classification systems (A and B) (Annex II of the WFD), thereby obtaining comparable reference sites and improving the management of aquatic systems. System A uses fixed categories of three parameters to classify rivers: three altitude ranges, four basin size ranges, and three geological categories. In the other hand, System B proposes to establish river types analyzing different factors considered as obligatory and optional. Here, we tested Systems A and B in the Catalan River Basin District (NE Spain). The application of System A results in 26 river types: 8 in the Pyrenees and 18 in the Iberic-Macaronesian ecoregions. This number would require the establishment of a complex management system and control of the ecological status in a relatively small river basin district. We propose a multivariant system to synthesize the environmental descriptors and to define river types using System B. We use five hydrological, seven morphological, five geological, and two climatic variables to discriminate among river types. This method results in fewer river type categories than System A but is expected to achieve the same degree of differentiation because of the large number of descriptors considered. Two levels are defined in our classification method using System B. Five "river types," defined at large scale (1:1,000,000), are mainly discriminated by annual runoff coefficient, air temperature, and discharge. This level is useful and could facilitate comparisons of results among European river basin districts. The second level defines 10 "subtypes of river management," mainly discriminated by geology in the basin and flow regime. This level is more adequate at local scale (1:250,000) and provides a useful tool for management purposes in relatively small and heterogeneous river basin districts.

Water Quality in the Yakima River Basin, Washington, 1999-2000

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fuhrer, Gregory J.; Morace, Jennifer L.; Johnson, Henry M.; Rinella, Joseph F.; Ebbert, James C.; Embrey, Sandra S.; Waite, Ian R.; Carpenter, Kurt D.; Wise, Daniel R.; Hughes, Curt A.

2004-01-01

This report contains the major findings of a 1999?2000 assessment of water quality in streams and drains in the Yakima River Basin. It is one of a series of reports by the NAWQA Program that present major findings on water resources in 51 major river basins and aquifer systems across the Nation. In these reports, water quality is assessed at many scales?from large rivers that drain lands having many uses to small agricultural watersheds?and is discussed in terms of local, State, and regional issues. Conditions in the Yakima River Basin are compared to those found elsewhere and to selected national benchmarks, such as those for drinking-water quality and the protection of aquatic organisms. This report is intended for individuals working with water-resource issues in Federal, Tribal, State, or local agencies; universities; public interest groups; or the private sector. The information will be useful in addressing a number of current issues, such as source-water protection, pesticide registration, human health, drinking water, hypoxia and excessive growth of algae and plants, the effects of agricultural land use on water quality, and monitoring and sampling strategies. This report is also for individuals who wish to know more about the quality of water resources in areas near where they live, and how that water quality compares to the quality of water in other areas across the Nation. Other products describing water-quality conditions in the Yakima River Basin are available. Detailed technical information, data and analyses, methodology, and maps that support the findings presented in this report can be accessed from http://or.water.usgs.gov/yakima. Other reports in this series and data collected from other basins can be accessed from the national NAWQA Web site (http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa).

Intra- and inter-basin mercury comparisons: Importance of basin scale and time-weighted methylmercury estimates

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bradley, Paul M.; Journey, Celeste A.; Bringham, Mark E.; Burns, Douglas A.; Button, Daniel T.; Riva-Murray, Karen

2013-01-01

To assess inter-comparability of fluvial mercury (Hg) observations at substantially different scales, Hg concentrations, yields, and bivariate-relations were evaluated at nested-basin locations in the Edisto River, South Carolina and Hudson River, New York. Differences between scales were observed for filtered methylmercury (FMeHg) in the Edisto (attributed to wetland coverage differences) but not in the Hudson. Total mercury (THg) concentrations and bivariate-relationships did not vary substantially with scale in either basin. Combining results of this and a previously published multi-basin study, fish Hg correlated strongly with sampled water FMeHg concentration (p = 0.78; p = 0.003) and annual FMeHg basin yield (p = 0.66; p = 0.026). Improved correlation (p = 0.88; p < 0.0001) was achieved with time-weighted mean annual FMeHg concentrations estimated from basin-specific LOADEST models and daily streamflow. Results suggest reasonable scalability and inter-comparability for different basin sizes if wetland area or related MeHg-source-area metrics are considered.

Relations among geology, physiography, land use, and stream habitat conditions in the Buffalo and Current River Systems, Missouri and Arkansas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Panfil, Maria S.; Jacobson, Robert B.

2001-01-01

This study investigated links between drainage-basin characteristics and stream habitat conditions in the Buffalo National River, Arkansas and the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Missouri. It was designed as an associative study - the two parks were divided into their principle tributary drainage basins and then basin-scale and stream-habitat data sets were gathered and compared between them. Analyses explored the relative influence of different drainage-basin characteristics on stream habitat conditions. They also investigated whether a relation between land use and stream characteristics could be detected after accounting for geologic and physiographic differences among drainage basins. Data were collected for three spatial scales: tributary drainage basins, tributary stream reaches, and main-stem river segments of the Current and Buffalo Rivers. Tributary drainage-basin characteristics were inventoried using a Geographic Information System (GIS) and included aspects of drainage-basin physiography, geology, and land use. Reach-scale habitat surveys measured channel longitudinal and cross-sectional geometry, substrate particle size and embeddedness, and indicators of channel stability. Segment-scale aerial-photo based inventories measured gravel-bar area, an indicator of coarse sediment load, along main-stem rivers. Relations within and among data sets from each spatial scale were investigated using correlation analysis and multiple linear regression. Study basins encompassed physiographically distinct regions of the Ozarks. The Buffalo River system drains parts of the sandstone-dominated Boston Mountains and of the carbonate-dominated Springfield and Salem Plateaus. The Current River system is within the Salem Plateau. Analyses of drainage-basin variables highlighted the importance of these physiographic differences and demonstrated links among geology, physiography, and land-use patterns. Buffalo River tributaries have greater relief, steeper slopes, and more streamside bluffs than the Current River tributaries. Land use patterns in both river systems correlate with physiography - cleared land area is negatively associated with drainage-basin average slope. Both river systems are dominantly forested (0-35 per-cent cleared land), however, the potential for landscape disturbance may be greater in the Buffalo River system where a larger proportion of cleared land occurs on steep slopes (>15 degrees). When all drainage basins are grouped together, reach-scale channel characteristics show the strongest relations with drainage-basin physiography. Bankfull channel geometry and residual pool dimensions are positively correlated with drainage area and topographic relief variables. After accounting for differences in drainage area, channel dimensions in Buffalo River tributaries tend to be larger than in Current River tributaries. This trend is consistent with the flashy runoff and large storm flows that can be generated in rugged, sandstone-dominate terrain. Substrate particle size is also most strongly associated with physiography; particle size is positively correlated with topographic relief variables. When tributaries are subset by river system, relations with geology and land use variables become apparent. Buffalo River tributaries with larger proportions of carbonate bedrock and cleared land area have shallower channels, better-sorted, gravel-rich substrate, and more eroding banks than those with little cleared land and abundant sandstone bedrock. Gravel-bar area on the Buffalo River main stem was also larger within 1-km of carbonate-rich tributary junctions. Because geology and cleared land are themselves correlated, relations with anthropogenic and natural factors could often not be separated. Channel characteristics in the Current River system show stronger associations with physiography than with land use. Channels are shallower and have finer substrates in the less rugged, karst-rich, western basins than in the

Modified Streamflows 1990 Level of Irrigation : Missouri, Colorado, Peace and Slave River Basin, 1928-1989.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

A.G. Crook Company; United States. Bonneville Power Administration

1993-07-01

This report presents data for monthly mean streamflows adjusted for storage change, evaporation, and irrigation, for the years 1928-1990, for the Colorado River Basin, the Missouri River Basin, the Peace River Basin, and the Slave River Basin.

Simulation of stream discharge and transport of nitrate and selected herbicides in the Mississippi River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Broshears, Robert E.; Clark, Gregory M.; Jobson, Harvey E.

2001-05-01

Stream discharge and the transport of nitrate, atrazine, and metolachlor in the Mississippi River Basin were simulated using the DAFLOW/BLTM hydrologic model. The simulated domain for stream discharge included river reaches downstream from the following stations in the National Stream Quality Accounting Network: Mississippi River at Clinton, IA; Missouri River at Hermann, MO; Ohio River at Grand Chain, IL; and Arkansas River at Little Rock, AR. Coefficients of hydraulic geometry were calibrated using data from water year 1996; the model was validated by favourable simulation of observed discharges in water years 1992-1994. The transport of nitrate, atrazine, and metolachlor was simulated downstream from the Mississippi River at Thebes, IL, and the Ohio River at Grand Chain. Simulated concentrations compared favourably with observed concentrations at Baton Rouge, LA. Development of this model is a preliminary step in gaining a more quantitative understanding of the sources and fate of nutrients and pesticides delivered from the Mississippi River Basin to the Gulf of Mexico. Published in 2001 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Comparison of two methods for estimating discharge and nutrient loads from Tidally affected reaches of the Myakka and Peace Rivers, West-Central Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Levesque, V.A.; Hammett, K.M.

1997-01-01

The Myakka and Peace River Basins constitute more than 60 percent of the total inflow area and contribute more than half the total tributary inflow to the Charlotte Harbor estuarine system. Water discharge and nutrient enrichment have been identified as significant concerns in the estuary, and consequently, it is important to accurately estimate the magnitude of discharges and nutrient loads transported by inflows from both rivers. Two methods for estimating discharge and nutrient loads from tidally affected reaches of the Myakka and Peace Rivers were compared. The first method was a tidal-estimation method, in which discharge and nutrient loads were estimated based on stage, water-velocity, discharge, and water-quality data collected near the mouths of the rivers. The second method was a traditional basin-ratio method in which discharge and nutrient loads at the mouths were estimated from discharge and loads measured at upstream stations. Stage and water-velocity data were collected near the river mouths by submersible instruments, deployed in situ, and discharge measurements were made with an acoustic Doppler current profiler. The data collected near the mouths of the Myakka River and Peace River were filtered, using a low-pass filter, to remove daily mixed-tide effects with periods less than about 2 days. The filtered data from near the river mouths were used to calculate daily mean discharge and nutrient loads. These tidal-estimation-method values were then compared to the basin-ratio-method values. Four separate 30-day periods of differing streamflow conditions were chosen for monitoring and comparison. Discharge and nutrient load estimates computed from the tidal-estimation and basin-ratio methods were most similar during high-flow periods. However, during high flow, the values computed from the tidal-estimation method for the Myakka and Peace Rivers were consistently lower than the values computed from the basin-ratio method. There were substantial differences between discharges and nutrient loads computed from the tidal-estimation and basin-ratio methods during low-flow periods. Furthermore, the differences between the methods were not consistent. Discharges and nutrient loads computed from the tidal-estimation method for the Myakka River were higher than those computed from the basin-ratio method, whereas discharges and nutrients loads computed by the tidal-estimation method for the Peace River were not only lower than those computed from the basin-ratio method, but they actually reflected a negative, or upstream, net movement. Short-term tidal measurement results should be used with caution, because antecedent conditions can influence the discharge and nutrient loads. Continuous tidal data collected over a 1- or 2-year period would be necessary to more accurately estimate the tidally affected discharge and nutrient loads for the Myakka and Peace River Basins.

Late Pleistocene fishes of the Tennessee River Basin: an analysis of a late Pleistocene freshwater fish fauna from Bell Cave (site ACb-2) in Colbert County, Alabama, USA.

PubMed

Jacquemin, Stephen J; Ebersole, Jun A; Dickinson, William C; Ciampaglio, Charles N

2016-01-01

The Tennessee River Basin is considered one of the most important regions for freshwater biodiversity anywhere on the globe. The Tennessee River Basin currently includes populations of at least half of the described contemporary diversity of extant North American freshwater fishes, crayfish, mussel, and gastropod species. However, comparatively little is known about the biodiversity of this basin from the Pleistocene Epoch, particularly the late Pleistocene (∼10,000 to 30,000 years B.P.) leading to modern Holocene fish diversity patterns. The objective of this study was to describe the fish assemblages of the Tennessee River Basin from the late Pleistocene using a series of faunas from locales throughout the basin documented from published literature, unpublished reports, and an undocumented fauna from Bell Cave (site ACb-2, Colbert County, AL). Herein we discuss 41 unequivocal taxa from 10 late Pleistocene localities within the basin and include a systematic discussion of 11 families, 19 genera, and 24 identifiable species (28 unequivocal taxa) specific to the Bell Cave locality. Among the described fauna are several extirpated (e.g., Northern Pike Esox lucius, Northern Madtom Noturus stigmosus) and a single extinct (Harelip Sucker Moxostoma lacerum) taxa that suggest a combination of late Pleistocene displacement events coupled with more recent changes in habitat that have resulted in modern basin diversity patterns. The Bell Cave locality represents one of the most intact Pleistocene freshwater fish deposits anywhere in North America. Significant preservational, taphonomic, sampling, and identification biases preclude the identification of additional taxa. Overall, this study provides a detailed look into paleo-river ecology, as well as freshwater fish diversity and distribution leading up to the contemporary biodiversity patterns of the Tennessee River Basin and Mississippi River Basin as a whole.

Minor soil erosion contribution to denudation in Central Nepal Himalaya.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morin, Guillaume; France-Lanord, Christian; Gallo, Florian; Lupker, Maarten; Lavé, Jérôme; Gajurel, Ananta

2013-04-01

In order to decipher river sediments provenance in terms of erosion processes, we characterized geochemical compositions of hillslope material coming from soils, glaciers and landslide, and compared them to rivers sediments. We focused our study on two South flank Himalayan catchments: (1) Khudi khola, as an example of small High Himalayan catchment (150 km2), undergoing severe precipitation, and rapid erosion ≈ 3.5 mm/yr [A] and (2) the Narayani-Gandak Transhimalayan basin (52000 km2) that drains the whole central Nepal. To assess the question, systematic samplings were conducted on hillslope material from different erosion processes in the basins. River sediment include daily sampling during the 2010 monsoon at two stations, and banks samples in different parts of the basins. Source rocks, soil and landslide samples, are compared to river sediment mobile to immobile element ratios, completed by hydration degree H2O+ analysis[2]. Data show that soils are clearly depleted in mobile elements Na, K, Ca, and highly hydrated compared to source rocks and other erosion products. In the Khudi basin, the contrast between soil and river sediment signatures allow to estimate that soil erosion represents less than 5% of the total sediment exported by the river. Most of the river sediment therefore derives from landslides inputs and to a lesser extent by barren high elevation sub-basins. This is further consistent with direct observation that, during monsoon, significant tributaries of the Khudi river do not export sediments. Considering that active landslide zones represent less than 0.5% of the total watershed area, it implies that erosion distribution is highly heterogeneous. Landslide erosion rate could reach more than 50 cm/yr in the landslide area. Sediments of the Narayani river are not significantly different from those of the Khudi in spite of more diverse geomorphology and larger area of the basin. Only H2O+ and Total Organic Carbon concentrations normalised to Al/Si ratios show distinctly higher values. This suggests that contribution of soil erosion is higher than in the Khudi basin. Nevertheless, soil erosion remains a minor source of sediments implying that more physical processes such as landslide and glaciers dominate the erosional flux. In spite of high deforestation and agricultural land-use [B], soil erosion does not represent an important source of sediments in Nepal Himalaya. [A] Gabet et al. (2008) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 267, 482-494. [B] Gardner et al. (2003) Applied Geography 23, 23-45.

A hydrogeomorphic river network model predicts where and why hyporheic exchange is important in large basins

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gomez-Velez, Jesus D.; Harvey, Judson

2014-01-01

Hyporheic exchange has been hypothesized to have basin-scale consequences; however, predictions throughout river networks are limited by available geomorphic and hydrogeologic data and by models that can analyze and aggregate hyporheic exchange flows across large spatial scales. We developed a parsimonious but physically based model of hyporheic flow for application in large river basins: Networks with EXchange and Subsurface Storage (NEXSS). We applied NEXSS across a broad range of geomorphic diversity in river reaches and synthetic river networks. NEXSS demonstrates that vertical exchange beneath submerged bed forms rather than lateral exchange through meanders dominates hyporheic fluxes and turnover rates along river corridors. Per kilometer, low-order streams have a biogeochemical potential at least 2 orders of magnitude larger than higher-order streams. However, when biogeochemical potential is examined per average length of each stream order, low- and high-order streams were often found to be comparable. As a result, the hyporheic zone's intrinsic potential for biogeochemical transformations is comparable across different stream orders, but the greater river miles and larger total streambed area of lower order streams result in the highest cumulative impact from low-order streams. Lateral exchange through meander banks may be important in some cases but generally only in large rivers.

A hydrogeomorphic river network model predicts where and why hyporheic exchange is important in large basins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gomez-Velez, Jesus D.; Harvey, Judson W.

2014-09-01

Hyporheic exchange has been hypothesized to have basin-scale consequences; however, predictions throughout river networks are limited by available geomorphic and hydrogeologic data and by models that can analyze and aggregate hyporheic exchange flows across large spatial scales. We developed a parsimonious but physically based model of hyporheic flow for application in large river basins: Networks with EXchange and Subsurface Storage (NEXSS). We applied NEXSS across a broad range of geomorphic diversity in river reaches and synthetic river networks. NEXSS demonstrates that vertical exchange beneath submerged bed forms rather than lateral exchange through meanders dominates hyporheic fluxes and turnover rates along river corridors. Per kilometer, low-order streams have a biogeochemical potential at least 2 orders of magnitude larger than higher-order streams. However, when biogeochemical potential is examined per average length of each stream order, low- and high-order streams were often found to be comparable. As a result, the hyporheic zone's intrinsic potential for biogeochemical transformations is comparable across different stream orders, but the greater river miles and larger total streambed area of lower order streams result in the highest cumulative impact from low-order streams. Lateral exchange through meander banks may be important in some cases but generally only in large rivers.

Quality of economically extractable coal beds in the Gillette coal field as compared with other Tertiary coal beds in the Powder River basin, Wyoming and Montana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ellis, Margaret S.

2002-01-01

The Powder River Basin, and specifically the Gillette coal field, contains large quantities of economically extractable coal resources. These coal resources have low total sulfur content and ash yield, and most of the resources are subbituminous in rank. A recent U.S Geological Survey study of economically extractable coal in the Gillette coal field focused on five coal beds, the Wyodak rider, Upper Wyodak, Canyon, Lower Wyodak-Werner, and Gates/Kennedy. This report compares the coal quality of these economically extractable coal beds to coal in the Wyodak-Anderson coal zone in the Powder River Basin and in the Gillette coal field (Flores and others, 1999) and other produced coal in the Gillette coal field (Glass, 2000). The Upper Wyodak, Canyon, and Lower Wyodak/Werner beds are within the Wyodak-Anderson coal zone. Compared with all coal in the Wyodak-Anderson coal zone, both throughout the Powder River Basin and just within the Gillette coal field; the thick, persistent Upper Wyodak coal bed in the Gillette coal field has higher mean gross calorific value (8,569 Btu/lb), lower mean ash yield (5.8 percent), and lower mean total sulfur content (0.46 percent).

Irrigation and streamflow depletion in Columbia River basin above The Dalles, Oregon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Simons, Wilbur Douglas

1953-01-01

The Columbia River is the largest stream in western United States. Above The Dalles, Oregon, it drains an area of 237,000 square miles, of which 39,000 square miles is in Canada. This area is largely mountainous and lies between the Rocky Mountains and the Cascade Range. The Kootenai, Pend Oreille, and Snake Rivers are the principal tributaries. Precipitation varies from 7 inches near Kennewick, Wash. to over 100 inches in some of the mountainous regions. Most of the runoff occurs in the spring and summer months as a result of melting snow. Precipitation is generally light during the summer months, and irrigation is necessary for sustained crop production. Historical data indicate that irrigation in the Columbia River basin began prior to 1840 at the site of missions established near Walla Walla, Wash. and Lewiston, Idaho. During the next half century the increase in irrigated area was slow and by 1890 included only 506,000 acres. The period 1890 to 1910 was marked by phenomenal increase to a total of 2,276,000 acres in 1910. Since that time there has been more gradual addition to a total of 4,004,S00 acres of irrigated land in 1946 in the Columbia River basin above The Dalles, Oreg. Of this total 918,000 acres were located in the Columbia Basin above the mouth of the Snake River; 2,830,000 acres in the Snake River basin, and the balance, 256,000 acres below the mouth of the Snake River. Values of net consumptive use were determined or estimated for various tributary basins of the Columbia River basin and compared to available experimental data. These values were then used to compute the average depletion which could be directly attributed to irrigation. The yield of a drainage basin was considered to be the rum of the ob- served runoff and the estimated depletion. For purposes of comparison, the depletion was expressed both in terms of acre-feet and as a percentage of the yield of the basin. This percentage depletion varied from less than 1 percent for many tributary basins to 53 percent for the portion of the Snake River basin between Heise and King Hill, Idaho. For the Columbia River near The Dalles, Oreg., the average depletion during the period 1921 through 1945, amounted to 4,7 percent of the yield and the depletion represented by the 1946 stage of irrigation development amounted to 5.3 percent of the long-term yield.

Estimation of River Discharge at Ungauged Catchment using GIS Map Correlation Method as Applied in Sta. Lucia River in Mauban, Quezon, Philippines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monjardin, Cris Edward F.; Uy, Francis Aldrine A.; Tan, Fibor J.

2017-06-01

This paper presents use of GIS Map Correlation Method, a novel method of Prediction of Ungauged Basin, which is used to estimate the river flow at an ungauged catchment. The PUB Method used here intends to reduce the time and costs of data gathering procedure since it will just rely on a reference calibrated watershed that has almost the same characteristics in terms of slope, curve number, land cover, climatic condition, and average basin elevation. Furthermore, this utilized a set of modelling software which used digital elevation models (DEM), rainfall and discharge data. The researchers estimated the river flow of Sta. Lucia River in Quezon province, which is the ungauged catchment. The researchers assessed 11 gauged catchments and determined which basin could be correlated to Sta. Lucia. After finding the most correlated basin, the researchers used the data considering adjusted parameters of the gauged catchment. In evaluating the accuracy of the method, the researchers simulated a rainfall event in the said catchment and compared the actual discharge and the generated discharge from HEC-HMS. The researchers found out that method showed a good fit in the compared results, proving GMC Method is effective for use in the calibration of ungauged catchments.

Design of Deflectors for Little Goose Spillway, Snake River, Oregon: A Physical Model Study

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-06-01

model of the spillway. Four different deflector designs were compared relative to flow conditions in the stilling basin and tailrace area of the...performance in a 1:40-scale section model of the spillway. Four different deflector designs were compared relative to flow conditions in the stilling basin and...ER D C/ CH L TR -1 7- 10 Dissolved Gas Abatement Studies Design of Deflectors for Little Goose Spillway, Snake River, Oregon A

Monitoring groundwater variation by satellite and implications for in-situ gravity measurements.

PubMed

Fukuda, Yoichi; Yamamoto, Keiko; Hasegawa, Takashi; Nakaegawa, Toshiyuki; Nishijima, Jun; Taniguchi, Makoto

2009-04-15

In order to establish a new technique for monitoring groundwater variations in urban areas, the applicability of precise in-situ gravity measurements and extremely high precision satellite gravity data via GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) was tested. Using the GRACE data, regional scale water mass variations in four major river basins of the Indochina Peninsula were estimated. The estimated variations were compared with Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere Transfer Scheme (SVATS) models with a river flow model of 1) globally uniform river velocity, 2) river velocity tuned by each river basin, 3) globally uniform river velocity considering groundwater storage, and 4) river velocity tuned by each river basin considering groundwater storage. Model 3) attained the best fit to the GRACE data, and the model 4) yielded almost the same values. This implies that the groundwater plays an important role in estimating the variation of total terrestrial storage. It also indicates that tuning river velocity, which is based on the in-situ measurements, needs further investigations in combination with the GRACE data. The relationships among GRACE data, SVATS models, and in-situ measurements were also discussed briefly.

Floods of September 15-16, 1992, in the Thompson, Weldon, and Chariton River basins, south-central Iowa

USGS Publications Warehouse

Eash, D.A.; Koppensteiner, B.A.

1997-01-01

Water-surface-elevation profiles and peak discharges for the floods of September 15-16, 1992, in the Thompson, Weldon, and Chariton River Basins, south-central Iowa, are presented in this report. The profiles illustrate the 1992 floods along the Thompson, Weldon, Chariton, and South Fork Chariton Rivers and along Elk Creek in the south-central Iowa counties of Adair, Clarke, Decatur, Lucas, Madison, Ringgold, Union, and Wayne. Water-surface-elevation profiles for the floods of July 4, 1981, along the Chariton River in Lucas County and along the South Fork Chariton River in Wayne County also are included in the report for comparative purposes. The September 15-16, 1992, floods are the largest known peak discharges at gaging stations Thompson River at Davis City (station number 06898000) 57,000 cubic feet per second, Weldon River near Leon (station number 06898400) 76,200 cubic feet per second, Chariton River near Chariton (station number 06903400) 37,700 cubic feet per second, and South Fork Chariton River near Promise City (station number 06903700) 70,600 cubic feet per second. The peak discharges were, respectively, 1.7, 2.6, 1.4, and 2.1 times larger than calculated 100-year recurrence-interval discharges. The report provides information on flood stages and discharges and floodflow frequencies for streamflow-gaging stations in the Thompson, Weldon, and Chariton River Basins using flood information collected through 1995. Information on temporary bench marks and reference points established in the Thompson and Weldon River Basins during 1994-95, and in the Chariton River Basin during 1983-84 and 1994-95, also is included in the report. A flood history summarizes rainfall conditions and damages for floods that occurred during 1947, 1959, 1981, 1992, and 1993.

Global scale modeling of riverine sediment loads: tropical rivers in a global context

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, Sagy; Syvitski, James; Kettner, Albert

2015-04-01

A global scale riverine sediment flux model (termed WBMsed) is introduced. The model predicts spatially and temporally explicit water, suspended sediment and nutrients flux in relatively high resolutions (6 arc-min and daily). Modeled riverine suspended sediment flux through global catchments is used in conjunction with observational data for 35 tropical basins to highlight key basin scaling relationships. A 50 year, daily model simulation illuminates how precipitation, relief, lithology and drainage basin area affect sediment load, yield and concentration. Tropical river systems, wherein much of a drainage basin experiences tropical climate are strongly influenced by the annual and inter-annual variations of the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and its derivative monsoonal winds, have comparatively low inter-annual variation in sediment yield. Rivers draining rainforests and those subjected to tropical monsoons typically demonstrate high runoff, but with notable exceptions. High rainfall intensities from burst weather events are common in the tropics. The release of rain-forming aerosols also appears to uniquely increase regional rainfall, but its geomorphic manifestation is hard to detect. Compared to other more temperate river systems, climate-driven tropical rivers do not appear to transport a disproportionate amount of particulate load to the world's oceans, and their warmer, less viscous waters are less competent. Multiple-year hydrographs reveal that seasonality is a dominant feature of most tropical rivers, but the rivers of Papua New Guinea are somewhat unique being less seasonally modulated. Local sediment yield within the Amazon is highest near the Andes, but decreases towards the ocean as the river's discharge is diluted by water influxes from sediment-deprived rainforest tributaries

Satellite Altimetry based River Forecasting of Transboundary Flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hossain, F.; Siddique-E-Akbor, A.; Lee, H.; Shum, C.; Biancamaria, S.

2012-12-01

Forecasting of this transboundary flow in downstream nations however remains notoriously difficult due to the lack of basin-wide in-situ hydrologic measurements or its real-time sharing among nations. In addition, human regulation of upstream flow through diversion projects and dams, make hydrologic models less effective for forecasting on their own. Using the Ganges-Brahmaputra (GB) basin as an example, this study assesses the feasibility of using JASON-2 satellite altimetry for forecasting such transboundary flow at locations further inside the downstream nation of Bangladesh by propagating forecasts derived from upstream (Indian) locations through a hydrodynamic river model. The 5-day forecast of river levels at upstream boundary points inside Bangladesh are used to initialize daily simulation of the hydrodynamic river model and yield the 5-day forecast river level further downstream inside Bangladesh. The forecast river levels are then compared with the 5-day-later "now cast" simulation by the river model based on in-situ river level at the upstream boundary points in Bangladesh. Future directions for satellite-based forecasting of flow are also briefly overviewed.round tracks or virtual stations of JASON-2 (J2) altimeter over the GB basin shown in yellow lines. The locations where the track crosses a river and used for deriving forecasting rating curves is shown with a circle and station number (magenta- Brahmaputra basin; blue - Ganges basin). Circles without a station number represent the broader view of sampling by JASON-2 if all the ground tracks on main stem rivers and neighboring tributaries of Ganges and Brahmaputra are considered.

Design rainfall depth estimation through two regional frequency analysis methods in Hanjiang River Basin, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Yue-Ping; Yu, Chaofeng; Zhang, Xujie; Zhang, Qingqing; Xu, Xiao

2012-02-01

Hydrological predictions in ungauged basins are of significant importance for water resources management. In hydrological frequency analysis, regional methods are regarded as useful tools in estimating design rainfall/flood for areas with only little data available. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the performance of two regional methods, namely the Hosking's approach and the cokriging approach, in hydrological frequency analysis. These two methods are employed to estimate 24-h design rainfall depths in Hanjiang River Basin, one of the largest tributaries of Yangtze River, China. Validation is made through comparing the results to those calculated from the provincial handbook approach which uses hundreds of rainfall gauge stations. Also for validation purpose, five hypothetically ungauged sites from the middle basin are chosen. The final results show that compared to the provincial handbook approach, the Hosking's approach often overestimated the 24-h design rainfall depths while the cokriging approach most of the time underestimated. Overall, the Hosking' approach produced more accurate results than the cokriging approach.

Estimation of daily mean streamflow for ungaged stream locations in the Delaware River Basin, water years 1960–2010

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stuckey, Marla H.

2016-06-09

The ability to characterize baseline streamflow conditions, compare them with current conditions, and assess effects of human activities on streamflow is fundamental to water-management programs addressing water allocation, human-health issues, recreation needs, and establishment of ecological flow criteria. The U.S. Geological Survey, through the National Water Census, has developed the Delaware River Basin Streamflow Estimator Tool (DRB-SET) to estimate baseline (minimally altered) and altered (affected by regulation, diversion, mining, or other anthropogenic activities) and altered streamflow at a daily time step for ungaged stream locations in the Delaware River Basin for water years 1960–2010. Daily mean baseline streamflow is estimated by using the QPPQ method to equate streamflow expressed as a percentile from the flow-duration curve (FDC) for a particular day at an ungaged stream location with the percentile from a FDC for the same day at a hydrologically similar gaged location where streamflow is measured. Parameter-based regression equations were developed for 22 exceedance probabilities from the FDC for ungaged stream locations in the Delaware River Basin. Water use data from 2010 is used to adjust the baseline daily mean streamflow generated from the QPPQ method at ungaged stream locations in the Delaware River Basin to reflect current, or altered, conditions. To evaluate the effectiveness of the overall QPPQ method contained within DRB-SET, a comparison of observed and estimated daily mean streamflows was performed for 109 reference streamgages in and near the Delaware River Basin. The Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) values were computed as a measure of goodness of fit. The NSE values (using log10 streamflow values) ranged from 0.22 to 0.98 (median of 0.90) for 45 streamgages in the Upper Delaware River Basin and from -0.37 to 0.98 (median of 0.79) for 41 streamgages in the Lower Delaware River Basin.

Comparison of the Abiotic Preferences of Macroinvertebrates in Tropical River Basins

PubMed Central

Everaert, Gert; De Neve, Jan; Boets, Pieter; Dominguez-Granda, Luis; Mereta, Seid Tiku; Ambelu, Argaw; Hoang, Thu Huong; Goethals, Peter L. M.; Thas, Olivier

2014-01-01

We assessed and compared abiotic preferences of aquatic macroinvertebrates in three river basins located in Ecuador, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Upon using logistic regression models we analyzed the relationship between the probability of occurrence of five macroinvertebrate families, ranging from pollution tolerant to pollution sensitive, (Chironomidae, Baetidae, Hydroptilidae, Libellulidae and Leptophlebiidae) and physical-chemical water quality conditions. Within the investigated physical-chemical ranges, nine out of twenty-five interaction effects were significant. Our analyses suggested river basin dependent associations between the macroinvertebrate families and the corresponding physical-chemical conditions. It was found that pollution tolerant families showed no clear abiotic preference and occurred at most sampling locations, i.e. Chironomidae were present in 91%, 84% and 93% of the samples taken in Ecuador, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Pollution sensitive families were strongly associated with dissolved oxygen and stream velocity, e.g. Leptophlebiidae were only present in 48%, 2% and 18% of the samples in Ecuador, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Despite some limitations in the study design, we concluded that associations between macroinvertebrates and abiotic conditions can be river basin-specific and hence are not automatically transferable across river basins in the tropics. PMID:25279673

Comparison of the abiotic preferences of macroinvertebrates in tropical river basins.

PubMed

Everaert, Gert; De Neve, Jan; Boets, Pieter; Dominguez-Granda, Luis; Mereta, Seid Tiku; Ambelu, Argaw; Hoang, Thu Huong; Goethals, Peter L M; Thas, Olivier

2014-01-01

We assessed and compared abiotic preferences of aquatic macroinvertebrates in three river basins located in Ecuador, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Upon using logistic regression models we analyzed the relationship between the probability of occurrence of five macroinvertebrate families, ranging from pollution tolerant to pollution sensitive, (Chironomidae, Baetidae, Hydroptilidae, Libellulidae and Leptophlebiidae) and physical-chemical water quality conditions. Within the investigated physical-chemical ranges, nine out of twenty-five interaction effects were significant. Our analyses suggested river basin dependent associations between the macroinvertebrate families and the corresponding physical-chemical conditions. It was found that pollution tolerant families showed no clear abiotic preference and occurred at most sampling locations, i.e. Chironomidae were present in 91%, 84% and 93% of the samples taken in Ecuador, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Pollution sensitive families were strongly associated with dissolved oxygen and stream velocity, e.g. Leptophlebiidae were only present in 48%, 2% and 18% of the samples in Ecuador, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Despite some limitations in the study design, we concluded that associations between macroinvertebrates and abiotic conditions can be river basin-specific and hence are not automatically transferable across river basins in the tropics.

Determination of predevelopment denudation rates of an agricultural watershed (Cayaguas River, Puerto Rico) using in-situ-produced 10Be in river-borne quartz

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brown, E.T.; Stallard, R.F.; Larsen, M.C.; Bourles, D.L.; Raisbeck, G.M.; Yiou, F.

1998-01-01

Accurate estimates of watershed denudation absent anthropogenic effects are required to develop strategies for mitigating accelerated physical erosion resulting from human activities, to model global geochemical cycles, and to examine interactions among climate, weathering, and uplift. We present a simple approach to estimate predevelopment denudation rates using in-situ-produced cosmogenic 10Be in fluvial sediments. Denudation processes in an agricultural watershed (Cayaguas River Basin, Puerto Rico) and a matched undisturbed watershed (Icacos River Basin) were compared using 10Be concentrations in quartz for various size fractions of bed material. The coarse fractions in both watersheds bear the imprint of long subsurface residence times. Fine material from old shallow soils contributes little, however, to the present-day sediment output of the Cayaguas. This confirms the recent and presumably anthropogenic origin of the modern high denudation rate in the Cayaguas Basin and suggests that pre-agricultural erosional conditions were comparable to those of the present-day Icacos.

Occurrence and distribution of nutrients, suspended sediment, and pesticides in the Mobile River Basin, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee, 1999-2001

USGS Publications Warehouse

McPherson, Ann K.; Moreland, Richard S.; Atkins, J. Brian

2003-01-01

The Mobile River Basin is one of more than 50 river basins and aquifer systems being investigated as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water- Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. This basin is the sixth largest river basin in the United States and the fourth largest in terms of streamflow. The Mobile River Basin encompasses parts of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee, and almost two-thirds of the 44,0000-square-mile basin is located in Alabama. The extensive water resources of the Mobile River Basin are influenced by an array of natural and cultural factors, which impart unique and variable qualities to the streams, rivers, and aquifers and provide abundant habitat to sustain the diverse aquatic life in the basin. From January 1999 to December 2001, a study was conducted of the occurrence and distribution of nutrients, suspended sediment, and pesticides in surface water of the Mobile River Basin. Nine sampling sites were selected on the basis of land use. The nine sites included two streams draining agricultural areas, two urban streams, and five large rivers with mixed land use. Surface-water samples were collected from one to four times each month to characterize the spatial and temporal variation in nutrient and pesticide concentrations. Nutrient and suspended-sediment concentrations were highest in watersheds dominated by urban or agricultural land uses. Forty-two percent of the total phosphorus concentrations at all nine sites exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recommended maximum concentration of 0.1 milligram per liter. Flow-weighted mean concentrations at the Mobile River Basin sites generally were in the lower to middle percentile ranges compared with data from other NAWQA studies across the Nation. However, flow-weighted mean concentrations of ammonia, total nitrogen, orthophosphate, and total phosphorus at Bogue Chitto Creek, an agricultural watershed, ranked in the upper 20th percentile of agricultural sites sampled across the Nation as part of the NAWQA Program. Nutrient loads in the Tombigbee River were nearly twice as high compared with nutrient loads in the Alabama River. Nutrient yields were highest in Bogue Chitto Creek, Cahaba Valley Creek, and Threemile Branch because of agricultural and urban land uses in these watersheds. Of the 104 pesticides and degradation products analyzed in the stream samples, 69 were detected in one or more samples. Of the 69 detected pesticides, 51 were herbicides, 15 were insecticides, and 3 were fungicides. A relatively small number of heavily used herbicides accounted for most of the detections, including atrazine and its metabolites (deethylatrazine, 2-hydroxyatrazine, deisopropylatrazine, and deethyldeisopropylatrazine), simazine, metolachlor, tebuthiuron, prometon, diuron, and 2,4-D. Diazinon, chlorpyrifos, and carbaryl were the most frequently detected insecticides; metalaxyl was the most frequently detected fungicide in the Mobile River Basin. Concentrations of pesticides detected in surface water of the Mobile River Basin were among the highest concentrations recorded nationally by the NAWQA Program during 1991 to 2001. The three highest concentrations of atrazine detected at sites across the country were recorded at Bogue Chitto Creek; the highest concentrations of 2,4-D, imazaquin, and malathion recorded nationally were detected at Threemile Branch. Aquatic-life criteria were exceeded by concentrations of five herbicides (2,4-D, atrazine, cyanazine, diuron, and metolachlor), six insecticides (carbaryl, chlorpyrifos, diazinon, dieldrin, malathion, and p,p'-DDE), and one fungicide (chlorothalonil). Drinking-water standards were exceeded by concentrations of four herbicides (2,4-D, atrazine, cyanazine, and simazine), three insecticides (alpha- HCH, diazinon, and dieldrin), and one fungicide (chlorothalonil). The types and concentrations of pesticides found in surface water are linked to land use and to the types of pesti

How important and different are tropical rivers? - An overview

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Syvitski, James P. M.; Cohen, Sagy; Kettner, Albert J.; Brakenridge, G. Robert

2014-12-01

Tropical river systems, wherein much of the drainage basin experiences tropical climate are strongly influenced by the annual and inter-annual variations of the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and its derivative monsoonal winds. Rivers draining rainforests and those subjected to tropical monsoons typically demonstrate high runoff, but with notable exceptions. High rainfall intensities from burst weather events are common in the tropics. The release of rain-forming aerosols also appears to uniquely increase regional rainfall, but its geomorphic manifestation is hard to detect. Compared to other more temperate river systems, climate-driven tropical rivers do not appear to transport a disproportionate amount of particulate load to the world's oceans, and their warmer, less viscous waters are less competent. Tropical biogeochemical environments do appear to influence the sedimentary environment. Multiple-year hydrographs reveal that seasonality is a dominant feature of most tropical rivers, but the rivers of Papua New Guinea are somewhat unique being less seasonally modulated. Modeled riverine suspended sediment flux through global catchments is used in conjunction with observational data for 35 tropical basins to highlight key basin scaling relationships. A 50 year, daily model simulation illuminates how precipitation, relief, lithology and drainage basin area affect sediment load, yield and concentration. Local sediment yield within the Amazon is highest near the Andes, but decreases towards the ocean as the river's discharge is diluted by water influxes from sediment-deprived rainforest tributaries. Bedload is strongly affected by the hydraulic gradient and discharge, and the interplay of these two parameters predicts foci of net bedload deposition or erosion. Rivers of the tropics have comparatively low inter-annual variation in sediment yield.

Comparative Phylogeography of Neotropical Birds

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-05-01

of lowland Neotropical rainforest birds that have populations isolated on either side of the Andes, Amazon River, and Madeira River. I found widely...Unlike canopy species, understory birds were structured at smaller spatial scales, particularly across riverine barriers of the Amazon basin...expansive complementary forest of the Amazon Basin. This divide is relatively young as the northern Andes were only half their present elevation

Pesticides detected in surface waters and fish of the Red River of the North drainage basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brigham, Mark E.

1994-01-01

Pesticide data have been collected in the Red River Basin by various Federal, State, and local agencies. Tornes and Brigham (1994) recently summarized many of these historical data. This paper summarizes selected data collected as part of the NAWQA program during 1992-93, and briefly compares these data to historical data and to pesticide usage.

Linkages between ENSO/PDO signals and precipitation, streamflow in China during the last 100 years

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ouyang, R.; Liu, W.; Fu, G.; Liu, C.; Hu, L.; Wang, H.

2014-09-01

This paper investigates the single and combined impacts of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) on precipitation and streamflow in China over the last century. Results indicate that the precipitation and streamflow overall decrease during El Niño/PDO warm phase periods and increase during La Niña/PDO cool phase periods in the majority of China, although there are regional and seasonal differences. Precipitation and streamflow in the Yellow River basin, Yangtze River basin and Pearl River basin are more significantly influenced by El Niño and La Niña events than is precipitation and streamflow in the Songhua River basin, especially in October and November. Moreover, significant influence of ENSO on streamflow in the Yangtze River mainly occurs in summer and autumn while in the Pearl River influence primarily occurs in the winter and spring. The precipitation and streamflow are relatively greater in the warm PDO phase in the Songhua River basin and several parts of the Yellow River basin and relatively less in the Pearl River basin and most parts of Northwest China compared to those in the cool PDO phase, though there is little significance detected by Wilcoxon signed-rank test. When considering the combined influence of ENSO and PDO, the responses of precipitation/streamflow are shown to be opposite in northern China and southern China, with ENSO-related precipitation/streamflow enhanced in northern China and decreased in southern China during the warm PDO phases, and enhanced in southern China and decreased in northern China during the cool PDO phases. It is hoped that this study will be beneficial for understanding the precipitation/streamflow responses to the changing climate and will correspondingly provide valuable reference for water resources prediction and management across China.

75 FR 25877 - Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-10

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory... River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council (Council) was established by the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control [[Page 25878

Evaluating the Impacts of Urbanization on Hydrological Processes and Water Resources by Comparing Two Neighboring Basins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shao, M.; Zhao, G.; Gao, H.

2017-12-01

Texas, the fastest growing state in the US, has seen significant land cover/land use change due to urbanization over the past decades. With most of the region being arid/semi-arid, water issues are unprecedentedly pressing. Among the 15 major river basins, two adjacent river basins located in south-central Texas—the San Antonio River Basin (SARB) and the Guadalupe River Basin (GRB)—form an ideal testbed for evaluating the impacts of urbanization on both hydrological processes and water resources. These two basins are similar in size and in climate pattern, but differ in terms of urbanization progress. In SARB, where the city of San Antonio is located, the impervious area has increased from 0.6% (1929) to 7.8% (2011). In contrast, there is little land cover change in the GRB. With regard to the underground components, both basins intersect with the Edward Aquifer (more than 15% of basin area in both cases). The Edward Aquifer acts as one of the major municipal water supplies for San Antonio, and as the water source for local agricultural uses (and for the surrounding habitat). This aquifer has the characteristic of being highly sensitive to changes in surface water conditions, like the descending trend of the underground water table due to over exploitation. In this study, a distributed hydrologic model—DHSVM (the Distributed Hydrology Soil Vegetation Model)—is used to compare the hydrologic characteristics (and their impacts on water resources) over the two basins. With a 200m spatial resolution, the model is calibrated and validated during the historical period over both basins. The objectives of the comparisons are two-fold: First, the urbanization effects on peak flows are evaluated for selected extreme rainfall events; Second, the Edward Aquifer recharge rate from surface water under flood and/or drought conditions within the two basins is analyzed. Furthermore, future urbanization scenarios are tested to provide information relevant to decision making.

A NEW METHOD FOR ENVIRONMENTAL FLOW ASSESSMENT BASED ON BASIN GEOLOGY. APPLICATION TO EBRO BASIN.

PubMed

2018-02-01

The determination of environmental flows is one of the commonest practical actions implemented on European rivers to promote their good ecological status. In Mediterranean rivers, groundwater inflows are a decisive factor in streamflow maintenance. This work examines the relationship between the lithological composition of the Ebro basin (Spain) and dry season flows in order to establish a model that can assist in the calculation of environmental flow rates.Due to the lack of information on the hydrogeological characteristics of the studied basin, the variable representing groundwater inflows has been estimated in a very simple way. The explanatory variable used in the proposed model is easy to calculate and is sufficiently powerful to take into account all the required characteristics.The model has a high coefficient of determination, indicating that it is accurate for the intended purpose. The advantage of this method compared to other methods is that it requires very little data and provides a simple estimate of environmental flow. It is also independent of the basin area and the river section order.The results of this research also contribute to knowledge of the variables that influence low flow periods and low flow rates on rivers in the Ebro basin.

Simulation of the Effects of Water Withdrawals, Wastewater Return Flows, and Land-Use Change on Streamflow in the Blackstone River Basin, Massachusetts and Rhode Island

USGS Publications Warehouse

Barbaro, Jeffrey R.

2007-01-01

Streamflow in many parts of the Blackstone River Basin in south-central Massachusetts and northern Rhode Island is altered by water-supply withdrawals, wastewater-return flows, and land-use change associated with a growing population. Simulations from a previously developed and calibrated Hydrological Simulation Program?FORTRAN (HSPF) precipitation-runoff model for the basin were used to evaluate the effects of water withdrawals, wastewater-return flows, and land-use change on streamflow. Most of the simulations were done for recent (1996?2001) conditions and potential buildout conditions in the future when all available land is developed to provide a long-range assessment of the effects of possible future human activities on water resources in the basin. The effects of land-use change were evaluated by comparing the results of long-term (1960?2004) simulations with (1) undeveloped land use, (2) 1995?1999 land use, and (3) potential buildout land use at selected sites across the basin. Flow-duration curves for these land-use scenarios were similar, indicating that land-use change, as represented in the HSPF model, had little effect on flow in the major tributary streams and rivers in the basin. However, land-use change?particularly increased effective impervious area?could potentially have greater effects on the hydrology, water quality, and aquatic habitat of the smaller streams in the basin. The effects of water withdrawals and wastewater-return flows were evaluated by comparing the results of long-term simulations with (1) no withdrawals and return flows, (2) actual (measured) 1996?2001 withdrawals and wastewater-return flows, and (3) potential withdrawals and wastewater-return flows at buildout. Overall, the results indicated that water use had a much larger effect on streamflow than did land use, and that the location and magnitude of wastewater-return flows were important for lessening the effects of withdrawals on streamflow in the Blackstone River Basin. Ratios of long-term (1960?2004) simulated flows with 1996?2001 water use (representing the net effect of withdrawals and wastewater-return flows) to long-term simulated flows with no water use indicated that, for many reaches, 1996?2001 water use did not deplete flows at the 90-percent flow duration substantially compared to flows unaffected by water use. Flows generally were more severely depleted in the reaches that include surface-water supplies for the larger cities in the basin (Kettle and Tatnuck Brooks, Worcester, Mass. water supply; Quinsigamond River, Shrewsbury, Mass. water supply; Crookfall Brook, Woonsocket, R.I. water supply; and Abbott Run, Pawtucket, R.I. water supply). These reaches did not have substantial wastewater-return flows that could offset the effects of the withdrawals. In contrast, wastewater-return flows from the Upper Blackstone Wastewater Treatment Facility in Millbury, Mass. increased flows at the 90-percent flow duration in the main stem of the Blackstone River compared to no-water-use conditions. Under the assumptions used to develop the buildout scenario, nearly all of the new water withdrawals were returned to the Blackstone River Basin at municipal wastewater-treatment plants or on-site septic systems. Consequently, buildout generally had small effects on simulated low flows in the Blackstone River and most of the major tributary streams compared to flows with 1996?2001 water use. To evaluate the effects of water use on flows in the rivers and major tributary streams in the Rhode Island part of the basin in greater detail, the magnitudes of water withdrawals and wastewater-return flows in relation to simulated streamflow were calculated as unique ratios for individual HSPF subbasins, total contributing areas to HSPF subbasins, and total contributing areas to the major tributary streams. For recent conditions (1996?2001 withdrawals and 1995?1999 land use), ratios of average summer (June through September) withdrawals to the l

Estimated dissolved-solids loads and trends at selected streams in and near the Uinta Basin, Utah, Water Years 1989–2013

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thiros, Susan A.

2017-03-23

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum, studied trends in dissolved-solids loads at selected sites in and near the Uinta Basin, Utah. The Uinta Basin study area includes the Duchesne River Basin and the Middle Green River Basin in Utah from below Flaming Gorge Reservoir to the town of Green River.Annual dissolved-solids loads for water years (WY) 1989 through 2013 were estimated for 16 gaging stations in the study area using streamflow and water-quality data from the USGS National Water Information System database. Eight gaging stations that monitored catchments with limited or no agricultural land use (natural subbasins) were used to assess loads from natural sources. Four gaging stations that monitored catchments with agricultural land in the Duchesne River Basin were used to assess loads from agricultural sources. Four other gaging stations were included in the dissolved-solids load and trend analysis to help assess the effects of agricultural areas that drain to the Green River in the Uinta Basin, but outside of the Duchesne River Basin.Estimated mean annual dissolved-solids loads for WY 1989–2013 ranged from 1,520 tons at Lake Fork River above Moon Lake, near Mountain Home, Utah (UT), to 1,760,000 tons at Green River near Green River, UT. The flow-normalized loads at gaging stations upstream of agricultural activities showed no trend or a relatively small change. The largest net change in modeled flow-normalized load was -352,000 tons (a 17.8-percent decrease) at Green River near Green River, UT.Annual streamflow and modeled dissolved-solids loads at the gaging stations were balanced between upstream and downstream sites to determine how much water and dissolved solids were transported to the Duchesne River and a section of the Green River, and how much was picked up in each drainage area. Mass-balance calculations of WY 1989–2013 mean annual dissolved-solids loads at the studied sites show that Green River near Jensen, UT, accounts for 64 percent of the load in the river at Green River, UT, while the Duchesne River and White River contribute 10 and 13 percent, respectively.Annual streamflow and modeled dissolved-solids loads at the gaging stations were balanced between upstream and downstream sites to determine how much water and dissolved solids were transported to the Duchesne River and a section of the Green River, and how much was picked up in each drainage area. Mass-balance calculations of WY 1989–2013 mean annual dissolved-solids loads at the studied sites show that Green River near Jensen, UT, accounts for 64 percent of the load in the river at Green River, UT, while the Duchesne River and White River contribute 10 and 13 percent, respectively.The flow-normalized dissolved-solids loads estimated at Duchesne River near Randlett, UT, and White River near Watson, UT, decreased by 68,000 and 55,300 tons, or 27.8 and 20.8 percent respectively, when comparing 1989 to 2013. The drainage basins for both rivers have undergone salinity-control projects since the early 1980s to reduce the dissolved-solids load entering the Colorado River. Approximately 19 percent of the net change in flow-normalized load at Green River at Green River, UT, is from changes in load modeled at Duchesne River near Randlett, UT, and 16 percent from changes in load modeled at White River near Watson, UT. The net change in flow-normalized load estimated at Green River near Greendale, UT, for WY 1989–2013 accounts for about 45 percent of the net change estimated at Green River at Green River, UT.Mass-balance calculations of WY 1989–2013 mean annual dissolved-solids loads at the studied sites in the Duchesne River Basin show that 75,400 tons or 44 percent of the load at the Duchesne River near Randlett, UT, gaging station was not accounted for at any of the upstream gages. Most of this unmonitored load is derived from tributary inflow, groundwater discharge, unconsumed irrigation water, and irrigation tail water.A mass balance of WY 1989–2013 flow-normalized loads estimated at sites in the Duchesne River Basin indicates that the flow-normalized load of unmonitored inflow to the Duchesne River between the Myton and Randlett gaging stations decreased by 38 percent. The total net decrease in flow-normalized load calculated for unmonitored inflow in the drainage basin accounts for 94 percent of the decrease in WY 1989–2013 flow-normalized load modeled at the Duchesne River near Randlett, UT, gaging station. Irrigation improvements in the drainage basin have likely contributed to the decrease in flow-normalized load.Reductions in dissolved-solids load estimated by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) from on- and off-farm improvements in the Uinta Basin totaled about 135,000 tons in 2013 (81,900 tons from on-farm improvements and 53,300 tons from off-farm improvements). The reduction in dissolved-solids load resulting from on- and off-farm improvements facilitated by the NRCS and Reclamation in the Price River Basin from 1989 to 2013 was estimated to be 64,800 tons.The amount of sprinkler-irrigated land mapped in the drainage area or subbasin area for a gaging station was used to estimate the reduction in load resulting from the conversion from flood to sprinkler irrigation. Sprinkler-irrigated land mapped in the Uinta Basin totaled 109,630 acres in 2012. Assuming conversion to wheel-line sprinklers, a reduction in dissolved-solids load in the Uinta Basin of 95,800 tons in 2012 was calculated using the sprinkler-irrigation acreage and a pre-salinity-control project dissolved-solids yield of 1.04 tons per acre.A reduction of 72,800 tons in dissolved-solids load from irrigation improvements was determined from sprinkler-irrigated lands in the Ashley Valley and Jensen, Pelican Lake, and Pleasant Valley areas (mapped in 2012); and in the Price River Basin (mapped in 2011). This decrease in dissolved-solids load is 8,800 tons more than the decrease in unmonitored flow-normalized dissolved-solids load (-64,000 tons) determined for the Green River between the Jensen and Green River gaging stations.The net WY 1989–2013 change in flow-normalized dissolved-solids load at the Duchesne River near Randlett, UT, and the Green River between the Jensen and Green River, UT, gaging stations determined from mass-balance calculations was compared to reported reductions in dissolved-solids load from on- and off-farm improvements and estimated reductions in load determined from mapped sprinkler-irrigated areas in the Duchesne River Basin and the area draining to the Green River between the Jensen and Green River gaging stations. The combined NRCS and Reclamation estimates of reduction in dissolved-solids load from on- and off-farm improvements in the study area (200,000 tons) is more than the reduction in load estimated using the acreage with sprinkler improvements (136,000 tons) or the mass-balance of flow-normalized load (132,000 tons).

Flood-plain and channel aggradation of selected bridge sites in the Iowa and Skunk River basins, Iowa

USGS Publications Warehouse

Eash, D.A.

1996-01-01

Flood-plain and channel-aggradation rates were estimated at 10 bridge sites on the Iowa River upstream of Coralville Lake and at two bridge sites in the central part of the Skunk River Basin. Four measurement methods were used to quantify aggradation rates: (1) a dendrogeomorphic method that used tree-age data and sediment-deposition depths, (2) a bridge-opening cross-section method that compared historic and recent cross sections of bridge openings, (3) a stage-discharge rating-curve method that compared historic and recent stages for the 5-year flood discharge and the average discharge, and (4) nine sediment pads that were installed on the Iowa River flood plain at three bridge sites in the vicinity of Marshalltown. The sediment pads were installed prior to overbank flooding in 1993. Sediments deposited on the pads as a result of the 1993 flood ranged in depth from 0.004 to 2.95 feet. Measurement periods used to estimate average aggradation rates ranged from 1 to 98 years and varied among methods and sites. The highest aggradation rates calculated for the Iowa River Basin using the dendrogeomorphic and rating- curve measurement methods were for the State Highway 14 crossing at Marshalltown, where these highest rates were 0.045 and 0.124 feet per year, respectively. The highest aggradation rates calculated for the Skunk River Basin were for the U.S. Highway 63 crossing of the South Skunk River near Oskaloosa, where these highest rates were 0.051 and 0.298 feet per year, respectively.

Water use and availability in the Woonasquatucket and Moshassuck River basins, north-central Rhode Island

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nimiroski, Mark T.; Wild, Emily C.

2005-01-01

The Woonasquatucket River Basin includes 51.0 square miles, and the Moshassuck River Basin includes 23.8 square miles in north-central Rhode Island. The study area comprises these two basins. The two basins border each other with the Moshassuck River Basin to the northeast of the Woonasquatucket River Basin. Seven towns are in the Woonasquatucket River Basin, and six towns are in the Moshassuck River Basin. To determine the water use and availability in the study area, water supply and discharge data were collected for these river basins for the 1995–99 period, and compared to estimated long-term water available. The study area is unique in the State of Rhode Island, because no withdrawals from major public suppliers were made during the study period. Withdrawals were, therefore, limited to self-supplied domestic use, two minor suppliers, and one self-supplied industrial user. Because no metered data were available, the summer water withdrawals were assumed to be the same as the estimates for the rest of the year. Seven major water suppliers distribute an average of 17.564 million gallons per day for use in the study area from sources outside of the study area. The withdrawals from minor water suppliers were 0.017 million gallons per day in the study area, all in the town of Smithfield in the Woonasquatucket River Basin. The remaining withdrawals in the study area were estimated to be 0.731 million gallons per day by self-supplied domestic, commercial, industrial, and agricultural users. Return flows in the study area included self-disposed water and disposal from permitted dischargers, including the Smithfield Sewage Treatment Plant. Return flows accounted for 4.116 million gallons per day in the study area. Most public-disposed water (15.195 million gallons per day) is collected by the Narragansett Bay Commission and is disposed outside of the basin in Narragansett Bay. The PART program, a computerized hydrograph-separation application, was used at one index stream-gaging station to determine water availability based on the 75th, 50th, and 25th percentiles of the total base flow, the base flow minus the 7-day, 10-year flow criteria, and the base flow minus the Aquatic Base Flow criteria. The index station selected was the Branch River at Forestdale, which is close to the study area and has a similar percentage of sand and gravel area. Water availability was estimated on the basis of baseflow contributions from sand and gravel deposits and till deposits at the index station. Flows were computed for June, July, August, and September 1957–2000, and a percentage of the total flow was determined to come from either sand and gravel deposits, or till, by using a regression equation. The base-flow contributions were converted to a flow per unit area at the station for the till and for the sand and gravel deposits and then applied to the deposits in the study area basins. These values were used to estimate the gross yield of base flow, as well as to subtract the two low flows (7-day, 10-year flow, and Aquatic Base Flow criteria). The results from the Branch River stream-gaging station were lowest in August at the 75th, 50th, and 25th percentile for total flow with either flow criteria subtracted. The estimated August gross yield at the 50th percentile from the Woonasquatucket River Basin was 12.94 million gallons per day, and 5.91 million gallons per day from the Moshassuck River Basin.A ratio was calculated that is equal to total withdrawals divided by water availability. Water-availability flow scenarios at the 75th, 50th, and 25th percentiles for the basins, which are based on total water available from base-flow contributions from till and sand and gravel deposits in the basins, were assessed. The ratios were the highest in July for the 50th percentile estimated gross yield minus Aquatic Base Flow (ABF) flow criteria, where withdrawals are close to the available water. Ratios are not presented if the available water is less than the flow criteria. The ratio of withdrawals to the July gross yield at the 50th percentile minus Aquatic Base Flow was 0.796 for the Woonasquatucket and 0.275 for the Moshassuck River Basin. A long-term hydrologic budget was calculated for the period of 1956–2000 for the Woonasquatucket River Basin and the period of 1964–2000 for the Moshassuck River Basin. The water withdrawals and return flows used in the budget were from 1995 through 1999. For the hydrologic budget, inflow was assumed to equal outflow and was about 120 million gallons per day in the Woonasquatucket River Basin and 56 million gallons per day in the Moshassuck River Basin. The estimated inflows from precipitation and water return flow were 97.3 and 2.7 percent, respectively, in the Woonasquatucket River Basin, and 98.3 and 1.7 percent, respectively, in the Moshassuck River Basin. The estimated outflows from evapotranspiration, streamflow, and water withdrawals were 43.4, 56.1, and 0.5 percent, respectively, in the Woonasquatucket River Basin, and 49.8, 50, and 0.2 percent, respectively, in the Moshassuck River Basin.

Using the analytical hierarchy process to assess the environmental vulnerabilities of basins in Taiwan.

PubMed

Chang, Chia-Ling; Chao, Yu-Chi

2012-05-01

Every year, Taiwan endures typhoons and earthquakes; these natural hazards often induce landslides and debris flows. Therefore, watershed management strategies must consider the environmental vulnerabilities of local basins. Because many factors affect basin ecosystems, this study applied multiple criteria analysis and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to evaluate seven criteria in three phases (geographic phase, hydrologic phase, and societal phase). This study focused on five major basins in Taiwan: the Tan-Shui River Basin, the Ta-Chia River Basin, the Cho-Shui River Basin, the Tseng-Wen River Basin, and the Kao-Ping River Basin. The objectives were a comprehensive examination of the environmental characteristics of these basins and a comprehensive assessment of their environmental vulnerabilities. The results of a survey and AHP analysis showed that landslide area is the most important factor for basin environmental vulnerability. Of all these basins, the Cho-Shui River Basin in central Taiwan has the greatest environmental vulnerability.

Synthesis of natural flows at selected sites in and near the Milk River basin, Montana, 1928-89

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cary, L.E.; Parrett, Charles

1995-01-01

Natural monthly streamflows were synthesized for the years 1928-89 at 2 sites in the St. Mary River Basin and 11 sites in the Milk River Basin in north- central Montana. The sites are represented as nodes in a streamflow accounting model being developed by the Bureau of Reclamation for the Milk River Basin. Recorded flows at most sites have been affected by human activities, including reservoir storage and irrigation diversions. The flows at the model nodes were corrected for the effects of these activities to obtain synthesized flows. The synthesized flows at nodes with seasonal and short-term records were extended using a statistical technique. The methods of synthesis varied, depending on upstream activities and information available. Flows at sites in the St. Mary River Basin and at the Milk River at Eastern Crossing of International Boundary pre- viously had been synthesized. The flows at mainstem sites downstream from the Milk River at Eastern Crossing were synthesized by adding synthesized natural runoff from intervening drainage areas to natural flows for Milk River at Eastern Crossing. Natural runoff from intervening drainage areas was estimated by multiplying recorded flows at selected index gaging stations on tributary streams by the ratio of the intervening drainage area to the combined drainage area of the index stations. The recorded flows for Milk River at Western Crossing of International Boundary and for Peoples Creek near Dodson, Montana, were assumed to be natural flows. The synthesized annual flows at the mouth of the Milk River compared favorably with the recorded flows near the mouth when the effects of upstream irrigation were considered.

Flood of July 9-11, 1993, in the Raccoon River basin, west-central Iowa

USGS Publications Warehouse

Eash, D.A.; Koppensteiner, B.A.

1997-01-01

Water-surface-elevation profiles and peak discharges for the flood of July 9-11, 1993, in the Raccoon River Basin, west-central Iowa, are presented in this report. The profiles illustrate the 1993 flood along the Raccoon, North Raccoon, South Raccoon, and Middle Raccoon Rivers and along Brushy and Storm Creeks in the west-central Iowa counties of Carroll, Dallas, Greene, Guthrie, and Polk. Water-surface-elevation profiles for the floods of June 1947, March 1979, and June 29- July 1, 1986, in the Raccoon River Basin also are included in the report for comparative purposes. The July 9-11, 1993, flood is the largest known peak discharge at gaging stations Brushy Creek near Templeton (station number 05483318) 19,000 cubic feet per second, Middle Raccoon River near Bayard (station number 05483450) 27,500 cubic feet per second, Middle Raccoon River at Panora (station number 05483600) 22,400 cubic feet per second, South Raccoon River at Redfield (station number 05484000) 44,000 cubic feet per second, and Raccoon River at Van Meter (station number 05484500) 70,100 cubic feet per second. The peak discharges were, respectively, 1.5, 1.3, 1.1,1.2, and 1.3 times larger than calculated 100-year recurrence-interval discharges. The report provides information on flood stages and discharges and floodflow frequencies for streamflow-gaging stations in the Raccoon River Basin using flood information collected through 1996. A flood history summarizes rainfall conditions and damages for floods that occurred during 1947, 1958, 1979, 1986, 1990, and 1993. Information on temporary bench marks and reference points established in the Raccoon River Basin during 1976-79 and 1995-97 also is included in the report.

Water resources of the Waccasassa River Basin and adjacent areas, Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Taylor, G.F.; Snell, L.J.

1978-01-01

This map report was prepared in cooperation with the Southwest Florida Water Management District which, with the Waccasassa River Basin Board, had jurisdiction over waters within the Waccasassa River basin, the coastal areas adjacent to the basin, and other adjacent areas outside the basin. New water management district boundaries, effective January 1977, place most of the Waccasassa River basin in the Suwannee River Water Management District. The purpose of the report is to provide water information for consideration in land-use and water development which is accelerating, especially in the northeastern part of the study area. It is based largely on existing data in the relatively undeveloped area. Of the total area included in the topographic drainage basin for the Waccasassa River about 72 percent is in Levy County, 18 percent in Alachua County, 9 percent in Gilchrist County, and 1 percent in Marion County. The elongated north-south drainage basin is approximately 50 mi in length, averages 13 mi in width, and lies between the Suwannee River, the St. Johns River, and the Withlacoochee River basins. (Woodard-USGS)

The spatial and temporal trends of Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb and Zn in Seine River floodplain deposits (1994-2000)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Grosbois, C.; Meybeck, Michel; Horowitz, A.; Ficht, A.

2006-01-01

Fresh floodplain deposits (FD), from 11 key stations, covering the Seine mainstem and its major tributaries (Yonne, Marne and Oise Rivers), were sampled from 1994 to 2000. Background levels for Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb, and Zn were established using prehistoric FD and actual bed sediments collected in small forested sub-basins in the most upstream part of the basin. Throughout the Seine River Basin, FD contain elevated concentrations of Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb and Zn compared to local background values (by factors > twofold). In the Seine River Basin, trace element concentrations display substantial downstream increases as a result of increasing population densities, particularly from Greater Paris (10 million inhabitants), and reach their maxima at the river mouth (Poses). These elevated levels make the Seine one of the most heavily impacted rivers in the world. On the other hand, floodplain-associated trace element levels have declined over the past 7 years. This mirrors results from contemporaneous suspended sediment surveys at the river mouth for the 1984-1999 period. Most of these temporal declines appear to reflect reductions in industrial and domestic solid wastes discharged from the main Parisian sewage plant (Seine Aval). ?? 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

18 CFR 725.7 - Regional or river basin planning.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 2 2013-04-01 2012-04-01 true Regional or river basin... Responsibilities § 725.7 Regional or river basin planning. (a) In agreements between river basin commissions or other regional planning sponsors and the Council for the preparation and revision of regional and river...

18 CFR 725.7 - Regional or river basin planning.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 2 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Regional or river basin... Responsibilities § 725.7 Regional or river basin planning. (a) In agreements between river basin commissions or other regional planning sponsors and the Council for the preparation and revision of regional and river...

Heavy metal transport in large river systems: heavy metal emissions and loads in the Rhine and Elbe river basins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vink, Rona; Behrendt, Horst

2002-11-01

Pollutant transport and management in the Rhine and Elbe basins is still of international concern, since certain target levels set by the international committees for protection of both rivers have not been reached. The analysis of the chain of emissions of point and diffuse sources to river loads will provide policy makers with a tool for effective management of river basins. The analysis of large river basins such as the Elbe and Rhine requires information on the spatial and temporal characteristics of both emissions and physical information of the entire river basin. In this paper, an analysis has been made of heavy metal emissions from various point and diffuse sources in the Rhine and Elbe drainage areas. Different point and diffuse pathways are considered in the model, such as inputs from industry, wastewater treatment plants, urban areas, erosion, groundwater, atmospheric deposition, tile drainage, and runoff. In most cases the measured heavy metal loads at monitoring stations are lower than the sum of the heavy metal emissions. This behaviour in large river systems can largely be explained by retention processes (e.g. sedimentation) and is dependent on the specific runoff of a catchment. Independent of the method used to estimate emissions, the source apportionment analysis of observed loads was used to determine the share of point and diffuse sources in the heavy metal load at a monitoring station by establishing a discharge dependency. The results from both the emission analysis and the source apportionment analysis of observed loads were compared and gave similar results. Between 51% (for Hg) and 74% (for Pb) of the total transport in the Elbe basin is supplied by inputs from diffuse sources. In the Rhine basin diffuse source inputs dominate the total transport and deliver more than 70% of the total transport. The diffuse hydrological pathways with the highest share are erosion and urban areas.

The role of river drainages in shaping the genetic structure of capybara populations.

PubMed

Byrne, María Soledad; Quintana, Rubén Darío; Bolkovic, María Luisa; Cassini, Marcelo H; Túnez, Juan Ignacio

2015-12-01

The capybara, Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris, is an herbivorous rodent widely distributed throughout most of South American wetlands that lives closely associated with aquatic environments. In this work, we studied the genetic structure of the capybara throughout part of its geographic range in Argentina using a DNA fragment of the mitochondrial control region. Haplotypes obtained were compared with those available for populations from Paraguay and Venezuela. We found 22 haplotypes in 303 individuals. Hierarchical AMOVAs were performed to evaluate the role of river drainages in shaping the genetic structure of capybara populations at the regional and basin scales. In addition, two landscape genetic models, isolation by distance and isolation by resistance, were used to test whether genetic distance was associated with Euclidean distance (i.e. isolation by distance) or river corridor distance (i.e. isolation by resistance) at the basin scale. At the regional scale, the results of the AMOVA grouping populations by mayor river basins showed significant differences between them. At the basin scale, we also found significant differences between sub-basins in Paraguay, together with a significant correlation between genetic and river corridor distance. For Argentina and Venezuela, results were not significant. These results suggest that in Paraguay, the current genetic structure of capybaras is associated with the lack of dispersion corridors through permanent rivers. In contrast, limited structuring in Argentina and Venezuela is likely the result of periodic flooding facilitating dispersion.

Pesticides in surface water of the Yakima River basin, Washington, 1999-2000; their occurrence and an assessment of factors affecting concentrations and loads

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ebbert, James C.; Embrey, Sandra S.

2002-03-19

Pesticide losses, defined as the ratio of the amount discharged from a basin from May 1999 through January 2000 divided by the amount applied during 1999, were estimated for Moxee and Granger Drains and the Yakima River at Kiona. Losses ranged from less than 0.01 to 1.5 percent of pesticides applied and are comparable to those observed (0.01 to 2.2 percent) in irrigated agricultural basins in the Central Columbia Plateau of Washington State.

A fully-online Neuro-Fuzzy model for flow forecasting in basins with limited data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashrafi, Mohammad; Chua, Lloyd Hock Chye; Quek, Chai; Qin, Xiaosheng

2017-02-01

Current state-of-the-art online neuro fuzzy models (NFMs) such as DENFIS (Dynamic Evolving Neural-Fuzzy Inference System) have been used for runoff forecasting. Online NFMs adopt a local learning approach and are able to adapt to changes continuously. The DENFIS model however requires upper/lower bound for normalization and also the number of rules increases monotonically. This requirement makes the model unsuitable for use in basins with limited data, since a priori data is required. In order to address this and other drawbacks of current online models, the Generic Self-Evolving Takagi-Sugeno-Kang (GSETSK) is adopted in this study for forecast applications in basins with limited data. GSETSK is a fully-online NFM which updates its structure and parameters based on the most recent data. The model does not require the need for historical data and adopts clustering and rule pruning techniques to generate a compact and up-to-date rule-base. GSETSK was used in two forecast applications, rainfall-runoff (a catchment in Sweden) and river routing (Lower Mekong River) forecasts. Each of these two applications was studied under two scenarios: (i) there is no prior data, and (ii) only limited data is available (1 year for the Swedish catchment and 1 season for the Mekong River). For the Swedish Basin, GSETSK model results were compared to available results from a calibrated HBV (Hydrologiska Byråns Vattenbalansavdelning) model. For the Mekong River, GSETSK results were compared against the URBS (Unified River Basin Simulator) model. Both comparisons showed that results from GSETSK are comparable with the physically based models, which were calibrated with historical data. Thus, even though GSETSK was trained with a very limited dataset in comparison with HBV or URBS, similar results were achieved. Similarly, further comparisons between GSETSK with DENFIS and the RBF (Radial Basis Function) models highlighted further advantages of GSETSK as having a rule-base (compared to opaque RBF) which is more compact, up-to-date and more easily interpretable.

Snow cover trend and hydrological characteristics of the Astore River basin (Western Himalayas) and its comparison to the Hunza basin (Karakoram region).

PubMed

Tahir, Adnan Ahmad; Chevallier, Pierre; Arnaud, Yves; Ashraf, Muhammad; Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif

2015-02-01

A large proportion of Pakistan's irrigation water supply is taken from the Upper Indus River Basin (UIB) in the Himalaya-Karakoram-Hindukush range. More than half of the annual flow in the UIB is contributed by five of its snow and glacier-fed sub-basins including the Astore (Western Himalaya - south latitude of the UIB) and Hunza (Central Karakoram - north latitude of the UIB) River basins. Studying the snow cover, its spatio-temporal change and the hydrological response of these sub-basins is important so as to better manage water resources. This paper compares new data from the Astore River basin (mean catchment elevation, 4100 m above sea level; m asl afterwards), obtained using MODIS satellite snow cover images, with data from a previously-studied high-altitude basin, the Hunza (mean catchment elevation, 4650 m asl). The hydrological regime of this sub-catchment was analyzed using the hydrological and climate data available at different altitudes from the basin area. The results suggest that the UIB is a region undergoing a stable or slightly increasing trend of snow cover in the southern (Western Himalayas) and northern (Central Karakoram) parts. Discharge from the UIB is a combination of snow and glacier melt with rainfall-runoff at southern part, but snow and glacier melt are dominant at the northern part of the catchment. Similar snow cover trends (stable or slightly increasing) but different river flow trends (increasing in Astore and decreasing in Hunza) suggest a sub-catchment level study of the UIB to understand thoroughly its hydrological behavior for better flood forecasting and water resources management. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pawcatuck and Woonasquatucket River Basins and Narragansett Bay Local Drainage Area. Main Report.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-10-01

building and housing codes are recommended. Flood warning systems, urban renewal, tax incentives, and public open space acquisition will also help...RIVER GROUP WATERSHEDLD LOCAL DRAINAGE PD, WOONASQUATUCKET - MOSI4ASSUCK - PROVIDENCE RIVERS SUB-BASIN PD2 BLACKSTONE RIVER SUB-BASIN orPD 3 TENMiLE...of the Taunton River Basin in Massachusetts, 1979 PNB Water Supply Study, January 1979 Big River Reservoir Project, July 1981 Blackstone River

Application of water quality models to rivers in Johor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chii, Puah Lih; Rahman, Haliza Abd.

2017-08-01

River pollution is one the most common hazard in many countries in the world, which includes Malaysia. Many rivers have been polluted because of the rapid growth in industrialization to support the country's growing population and economy. Domestic and industrial sewage, agricultural wastes have polluted the rivers and will affect the water quality. Based on the Malaysia Environment Quality Report 2007, the Department of Environment (DOE) has described that one of the major pollutants is Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD). Data from DOE in 2004, based on BOD, 18 river basins were classified polluted, 37 river basins were slightly polluted and 65 river basins were in clean condition. In this paper, two models are fitted the data of rivers in Johor state namely Streeter-Phelps model and nonlinear regression (NLR) model. The BOD concentration data for the two rivers in Johor state from year 1981 to year 1990 is analyzed. To estimate the parameters for the Streeter-Phelps model and NLR model, this study focuses on the weighted least squares and Gauss-Newton method respectively. Based on the value of Mean Square Error, NLR model is a better model compared to Streeter-Phelps model.

Surface Hydrology in Global River Basins in the Off-Line Land-Surface GEOS Assimilation (OLGA) System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bosilovich, Michael G.; Yang, Runhua; Houser, Paul R.

1998-01-01

Land surface hydrology for the Off-line Land-surface GEOS Analysis (OLGA) system and Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS-1) Data Assimilation System (DAS) has been examined using a river routing model. The GEOS-1 DAS land-surface parameterization is very simple, using an energy balance prediction of surface temperature and prescribed soil water. OLGA uses near-surface atmospheric data from the GEOS-1 DAS to drive a more comprehensive parameterization of the land-surface physics. The two global systems are evaluated using a global river routing model. The river routing model uses climatologic surface runoff from each system to simulate the river discharge from global river basins, which can be compared to climatologic river discharge. Due to the soil hydrology, the OLGA system shows a general improvement in the simulation of river discharge compared to the GEOS-1 DAS. Snowmelt processes included in OLGA also have a positive effect on the annual cycle of river discharge and source runoff. Preliminary tests of a coupled land-atmosphere model indicate improvements to the hydrologic cycle compared to the uncoupled system. The river routing model has provided a useful tool in the evaluation of the GCM hydrologic cycle, and has helped quantify the influence of the more advanced land surface model.

Flood-tracking chart for the Withlacoochee and Little River Basins in south-central Georgia and northern Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gotvald, Anthony J.; McCallum, Brian E.; Painter, Jaime A.

2014-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with other Federal, State, and local agencies, operates a flood-monitoring system in the Withlacoochee and Little River Basins. This system is a network of automated river stage stations (ten are shown on page 2 of this publication) that transmit stage data through satellite telemetry to the USGS in Atlanta, Georgia and the National Weather Service (NWS) in Peachtree City, Georgia. During floods, the public and emergency response agencies use this information to make decisions about road closures, evacuations, and other public safety issues. This Withlacoochee and Little River Basins flood-tracking chart can be used by local citizens and emergency response personnel to record the latest river stage and predicted flood-crest information along the Withlacoochee River, Little River, and Okapilco Creek in south-central Georgia and northern Florida. By comparing the current stage (water-surface level above a datum) and predicted flood crest to the recorded peak stages of previous floods, emergency response personnel and residents can make informed decisions concerning the threat to life and property.

2002 Water-Table Contours of the Mojave River and the Morongo Ground-Water Basins, San Bernardino County, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, G.A.; Stamos, C.L.; Predmore, S.K.

2004-01-01

The Mojave River and Morongo ground-water basins are in the southwestern part of the Mojave Desert in southern California. Ground water from these basins supplies a major part of the water requirements for the region. The continuous population growth in this area has resulted in ever-increasing demands on local ground-water resources. The collection and interpretation of ground-water data helps local water districts, military bases, and private citizens gain a better understanding of the ground-water flow systems, and consequently, water availability. During 2002, the U.S. Geological Survey and other agencies made approximately 2,500 water-level measurements in the Mojave River and Morongo ground-water basins. These data document recent conditions and, when compared with previous data, changes in ground-water levels. A water-level contour map was drawn using data from about 660 wells, providing coverage for most of the basins. Twenty-eight hydrographs show long-term (up to 70 years) water-level conditions throughout the basins, and 9 short-term (1997 to 2002) hydrographs show the effects of recharge and discharge along the Mojave River. In addition, a water-level-change map was compiled to compare 2000 and 2002 water levels throughout the basins. In the Mojave River ground-water basin, about 66 percent of the wells had water-level declines of 0.5 ft or more since 2000 and about 27 percent of the wells had water-level declines greater than 5 ft. The only area that had water-level increases greater than 5 ft that were not attributed to fluctuations in nearby pumpage was in the Harper Lake (dry) area where there has been a significant reduction in pumpage during the last decade. In the Morongo ground-water basin, about 36 percent of the wells had water-level declines of 0.5 ft or more and about 10 percent of the wells had water-level declines greater than 5 ft. Water-level increases greater than 5 ft were measured only in the Warren subbasin, where artificial-recharge operations have caused water levels to rise almost 60 ft since 2000.

Regional Water Table (2002) and Water-Level Changes in the Mojave River and Morongo Ground-Water Basins, Southwestern Mojave Desert, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, Gregory A.; Stamos, Christina L.; Predmore, Steven K.

2004-01-01

The Mojave River and Morongo ground-water basins are in the southwestern part of the Mojave Desert in southern California. Ground water from these basins supplies a major part of the water requirements for the region. The continuous population growth in this area has resulted in ever-increasing demands on local ground-water resources. The collection and interpretation of ground-water data helps local water districts, military bases, and private citizens gain a better understanding of the ground-water flow systems, and consequently, water availability. During 2002, the U.S. Geological Survey and other agencies made approximately 2,500 water-level measurements in the Mojave River and Morongo ground-water basins. These data document recent conditions and, when compared with previous data, changes in ground-water levels. A water-level contour map was drawn using data from about 600 wells, providing coverage for most of the basins. Twenty-eight hydrographs show long-term (up to 70 years) water-level conditions throughout the basins, and 9 short-term (1997 to 2002) hydrographs show the effects of recharge and discharge along the Mojave River. In addition, a water-level-change map was compiled to compare 2000 and 2002 water levels throughout the basins. In the Mojave River ground-water basin, about 66 percent of the wells had water-level declines of 0.5 ft or more since 2000 and about 27 percent of the wells had water-level declines greater than 5 ft. The only area that had water-level increases greater than 5 ft that were not attributed to fluctuations in nearby pumpage was in the Harper Lake (dry) area where there has been a significant reduction in pumpage during the last decade. In the Morongo ground-water basin, about 36 percent of the wells had water-level declines of 0.5 ft or more and about 10 percent of the wells had water-level declines greater than 5 ft. Water-level increases greater than 5 ft were measured only in the Warren subbasin, where artificial-recharge operations have caused water levels to rise almost 60 ft since 2000.

Comparative study of carbonic anhydrase activity in waters among different geological eco-environments of Yangtze River basin and its ecological significance.

PubMed

Nzung'a, Sila Onesmus; Pan, Weizhi; Shen, Taiming; Li, Wei; Qin, Xiaoqun; Wang, Chenwei; Zhang, Liankai; Yu, Longjiang

2018-04-01

This study provides the presence of carbonic anhydrase (CA) activity in waters of the Yangtze River basin, China, as well as the correlation of CA activity with HCO 3 - concentration and CO 2 sink flux. Different degrees of CA activity could be detected in almost all of the water samples from different geological eco-environments in all four seasons. The CA activity of water samples from karst areas was significantly higher than from non-karst areas (PP3 - concentration (r=0.672, P2 sink flux (r=0.602, P=0.076) in karst areas. This suggests that CA in waters might have a promoting effect on carbon sinks for atmospheric CO 2 in karst river basins. In conditions of similar geological type, higher CA activity was generally detected in water samples taken from areas that exhibited better eco-environments, implying that the CA activity index of waters could be used as an indicator for monitoring ecological environments and protection of river basins. These findings suggest that the role of CA in waters in the karst carbon sink potential of river basins is worthy of further in-depth studies. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Regional variations of organophosphorus flame retardants - Fingerprint of large river basin estuaries/deltas in Europe compared with China.

PubMed

Wolschke, Hendrik; Sühring, Roxana; Massei, Riccardo; Tang, Jianhui; Ebinghaus, Ralf

2018-05-01

This study reports the occurrence and distribution of organophosphorus flame retardants and plasticizer (OPEs) in sediments of eight large river basin estuaries and deltas across Europe. A robust and sensitive OPE analysis method was developed through the application of an in-cell clean-up in an accelerated solvent extraction and the use of an GC-MSMS System for instrumental analyses. OPEs were detected in all sediment samples with sum concentrations of up to 181 ng g -1 dw. A fingerprinting method was used to identify river specific pattern to compare river systems. The estuaries and deltas were chosen to have a conglomerate print of the whole river. The results are showing very similar OPE patterns across Europe with minor differences driven by local industrial input. The European estuary concentrations and patterns were compared with OPEs detected in the Xiaoquing River in China, as an example for a region with other production, usage and legislative regulations. The Chinese fingerprint differed significant from the overall European pattern. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

76 FR 24515 - Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-02

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory... Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council (Council) will meet as detailed below. The meeting of the... INFORMATION: The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council was established by the Colorado River...

Water quality in the Mobile River Basin, Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi, and Tennessee, 1999-2001

USGS Publications Warehouse

Atkins, J. Brian; Zappia, Humbert; Robinson, James L.; McPherson, Ann K.; Moreland, Richard S.; Harned, Douglas A.; Johnston, Brett F.; Harvill, John S.

2004-01-01

This report contains the major findings of a 1999?2001 assessment of water quality in the Mobile River Basin. It is one of a series of reports by the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program that present major findings in 51 major river basins and aquifer systems across the Nation. In these reports, water quality is discussed in terms of local, State, and regional issues. Conditions in a particular basin or aquifer system are compared to conditions found elsewhere and to selected national benchmarks, such as those for drinking-water quality and the protection of aquatic organisms. This report is intended for individuals working with water-resource issues in Federal, State, or local agencies, universities, public interest groups, or in the private sector. The information will be useful in addressing a number of current issues, such as the effects of agricultural and urban land use on water quality, human health, drinking water, source-water protection, hypoxia and excessive growth of algae and plants, pesticide registration, and monitoring and sampling strategies. This report is also for individuals who wish to know more about the quality of streams and ground water in areas near where they live, and how that water quality compares to the quality of water in other areas across the Nation. The water-quality conditions in the Mobile River Basin summarized in this report are discussed in detail in other reports that can be accessed from the Mobile River Basin Web site (http://al.water.usgs.gov/pubs/mobl/mobl.html). Detailed technical information, data and analyses, collection and analytical methodology, models, graphs, and maps that support the findings presented in this report in addition to reports in this series from other basins can be accessed from the national NAWQA Web site (http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa).

Water quality in the lower Tennessee River Basin, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Georgia, 1999-2001

USGS Publications Warehouse

Woodside, Michael D.; Hoos, Anne B.; Kingsbury, James A.; Powell, Jeffrey R.; Knight, Rodney R.; Garrett, Jerry W.; Mitchell, Reavis L.; Robinson, John A.

2004-01-01

This report contains the major findings of a 1999?2001 assessment of water quality in the Lower Tennessee River Basin. It is one of a series of reports by the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program that present major findings in 51 major river basins and aquifer systems across the Nation. In these reports, water quality is discussed in terms of local, State, and regional issues. Conditions in a particular basin or aquifer system are compared to conditions found elsewhere and to selected national benchmarks, such as those for drinking-water quality and the protection of aquatic organisms. This report is intended for individuals working with water-resource issues in Federal, State, or local agencies, universities, public interest groups, or in the private sector. The information will be useful in addressing a number of current issues, such as the effects of agricultural and urban land use on water quality, human health, drinking water, source-water protection, hypoxia and excessive growth of algae and plants, pesticide registration, and monitoring and sampling strategies. This report is also for individuals who wish to know more about the quality of streams and ground water in areas where they live, and how that water quality compares to the quality of water in other areas across the Nation. The water-quality conditions in the Lower Tennessee River Basin summarized in this report are discussed in detail in other reports that can be accessed from the Lower Tennessee River Basin Web site (http://tn.water.usgs.gov/lten/lten.html). Detailed technical information, data and analyses, collection and analytical methodology, models, graphs, and maps that support the findings presented in this report in addition to reports in this series from other basins can be accessed from the national NAWQA Web site (http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa).

Simulated and observed 2010 flood-water elevations in selected river reaches in the Moshassuck and Woonasquatucket River Basins, Rhode Island

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zarriello, Phillip J.; Straub, David E.; Westenbroek, Stephen M.

2014-01-01

Heavy persistent rains from late February through March 2010 caused severe flooding and set, or nearly set, peaks of record for streamflows and water levels at many long-term U.S. Geological Survey streamgages in Rhode Island. In response to this flood, hydraulic models were updated for selected reaches covering about 33 river miles in Moshassuck and Woonasquatucket River Basins from the most recent approved Federal Emergency Management Agency flood insurance study (FIS) to simulate water-surface elevations (WSEs) from specified flows and boundary conditions. Reaches modeled include the main stem of the Moshassuck River and its main tributary, the West River, and three tributaries to the West River—Upper Canada Brook, Lincoln Downs Brook, and East Branch West River; and the main stem of the Woonasquatucket River. All the hydraulic models were updated to Hydrologic Engineering Center-River Analysis System (HEC-RAS) version 4.1.0 and incorporate new field-survey data at structures, high-resolution land-surface elevation data, and flood flows from a related study. The models were used to simulate steady-state WSEs at the 1- and 2-percent annual exceedance probability (AEP) flows, which is the estimated AEP of the 2010 flood in the Moshassuck River Basin and the Woonasquatucket River, respectively. The simulated WSEs were compared to the high-water mark (HWM) elevation data obtained in these basins in a related study following the March–April 2010 flood, which included 18 HWMs along the Moshassuck River and 45 HWMs along the Woonasquatucket River. Differences between the 2010 HWMs and the simulated 2- and 1-percent AEP WSEs from the FISs and the updated models developed in this study varied along the reach. Most differences could be attributed to the magnitude of the 2- and 1-percent AEP flows used in the FIS and updated model flows. Overall, the updated model and the FIS WSEs were not appreciably different when compared to the observed 2010 HWMs along the Woonasquatucket and Moshassuck Rivers.

Evaluation of the satellite derived snow cover area - Runoff forecasting models for the inaccessible basins of western Himalayas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dey, B.

1985-01-01

In this study, the existing seasonal snow cover area runoff forecasting models of the Indus, Kabul, Sutlej and Chenab basins were evaluated with the concurrent flow correlation model for the period 1975-79. In all the basins under study, correlation of concurrent flow model explained the variability in flow better than by the snow cover area runoff models. Actually, the concurrent flow correlation model explained more than 90 percent of the variability in the flow of these rivers. Compared to this model, the snow cover area runoff models explained less of the variability in flow. In the Himalayan river basins under study and at least for the period under observation, the concurrent flow correlation model provided a set of results with which to compare the estimates from the snow cover area runoff models.

The Role of Forests in Regulating the River Flow Regime of Large Basins of the World

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salazar, J. F.; Villegas, J. C.; Mercado-Bettin, D. A.; Rodríguez, E.

2016-12-01

Many natural and social phenomena depend on river flow regimes that are being altered by global change. Understanding the mechanisms behind such alterations is crucial for predicting river flow regimes in a changing environment. Here we explore potential linkages between the presence of forests and the capacity of river basins for regulating river flows. Regulation is defined here as the capacity of river basins to attenuate the amplitude of the river flow regime, that is to reduce the difference between high and low flows. We first use scaling theory to show how scaling properties of observed river flows can be used to classify river basins as regulated or unregulated. This parsimonious classification is based on a physical interpretation of the scaling properties (particularly the scaling exponents) that is novel (most previous studies have focused on the interpretation of the scaling exponents for floods only), and widely-applicable to different basins (the only assumption is that river flows in a given river basin exhibit scaling properties through well-known power laws). Then we show how this scaling framework can be used to explore global-change-induced temporal variations in the regulation capacity of river basins. Finally, we propose a conceptual hypothesis (the "Forest reservoir concept") to explain how large-scale forests can exert important effects on the long-term water balance partitioning and regulation capacity of large basins of the world. Our quantitative results are based on data analysis (river flows and land cover features) from 22 large basins of the world, with emphasis in the Amazon river and its main tributaries. Collectively, our findings support the hypothesis that forest cover enhances the capacity of large river basins to maintain relatively high mean river flows, as well as to regulate (ameliorate) extreme river flows. Advancing towards this quantitative understanding of the relation between forest cover and river flow regimes is crucial for water management- and land cover-related decisions.

The Role of Forests in Regulating the River Flow Regime of Large Basins of the World

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salazar, J. F.; Villegas, J. C.; Mercado-Bettin, D. A.; Rodríguez, E.

2017-12-01

Many natural and social phenomena depend on river flow regimes that are being altered by global change. Understanding the mechanisms behind such alterations is crucial for predicting river flow regimes in a changing environment. Here we explore potential linkages between the presence of forests and the capacity of river basins for regulating river flows. Regulation is defined here as the capacity of river basins to attenuate the amplitude of the river flow regime, that is to reduce the difference between high and low flows. We first use scaling theory to show how scaling properties of observed river flows can be used to classify river basins as regulated or unregulated. This parsimonious classification is based on a physical interpretation of the scaling properties (particularly the scaling exponents) that is novel (most previous studies have focused on the interpretation of the scaling exponents for floods only), and widely-applicable to different basins (the only assumption is that river flows in a given river basin exhibit scaling properties through well-known power laws). Then we show how this scaling framework can be used to explore global-change-induced temporal variations in the regulation capacity of river basins. Finally, we propose a conceptual hypothesis (the "Forest reservoir concept") to explain how large-scale forests can exert important effects on the long-term water balance partitioning and regulation capacity of large basins of the world. Our quantitative results are based on data analysis (river flows and land cover features) from 22 large basins of the world, with emphasis in the Amazon river and its main tributaries. Collectively, our findings support the hypothesis that forest cover enhances the capacity of large river basins to maintain relatively high mean river flows, as well as to regulate (ameliorate) extreme river flows. Advancing towards this quantitative understanding of the relation between forest cover and river flow regimes is crucial for water management- and land cover-related decisions.

Long-term evolution of denudational escarpments in southeastern Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cherem, Luis Felipe Soares; Varajão, Cesar Augusto C.; Braucher, Regis; Bourlés, Didier; Salgado, André Augusto R.; Varajão, Angélica C.

2012-11-01

Topographic relief in southeastern Brazil consists of a sequence of stepped surfaces that formed after the fragmentation of Gondwana during the Cretaceous, Tertiary and Quaternary tectonic pulses. This region is drained by four major rivers within four major river basins, with interfluves that contain denudational escarpments, fault escarpments and mountain ranges. This study presents an analysis of the long-term evolution of two denudational escarpments, the Cristiano Otoni and the São Geraldo steps, which divide the river basins of the São Francisco, Doce and Paraíba do Sul rivers in southeastern Brazil. Denudation rates were obtained through the measurement of mean concentrations of in situ produced cosmogenic 10Be in sand-sized fluvial quartz sediments collected from granitic terrains. The rates were calculated and compared with one another and correlated to the basin-scale mean relief, slope, area, and stream power. The mean denudation rates of the Cristiano Otoni and São Geraldo highlands are 8.77 (± 2.78) m My- 1 and 15.68 (± 4.53) m My- 1, respectively. The mean denudation rates of the Cristiano Otoni and São Geraldo escarpments are 17.50 (± 2.71) m My- 1 and 21.22 (± 4.24) m My- 1, respectively. The denudation rates of the catchments of highlands that drain toward the escarpments are similar to those of their respective highlands. The results demonstrate that relief and slope have similar positive control on the denudation rates for all of the samples despite their different geomorphic context and history of landscape evolution. The São Francisco River Basin is losing area to the Doce River Basin, which, in turn, is losing area to the Paraíba do Sul River Basin.

Long-term fish monitoring in large rivers: Utility of “benchmarking” across basins

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ward, David L.; Casper, Andrew F.; Counihan, Timothy D.; Bayer, Jennifer M.; Waite, Ian R.; Kosovich, John J.; Chapman, Colin; Irwin, Elise R.; Sauer, Jennifer S.; Ickes, Brian; McKerrow, Alexa

2017-01-01

In business, benchmarking is a widely used practice of comparing your own business processes to those of other comparable companies and incorporating identified best practices to improve performance. Biologists and resource managers designing and conducting monitoring programs for fish in large river systems tend to focus on single river basins or segments of large rivers, missing opportunities to learn from those conducting fish monitoring in other rivers. We briefly examine five long-term fish monitoring programs in large rivers in the United States (Colorado, Columbia, Mississippi, Illinois, and Tallapoosa rivers) and identify opportunities for learning across programs by detailing best monitoring practices and why these practices were chosen. Although monitoring objectives, methods, and program maturity differ between each river system, examples from these five case studies illustrate the important role that long-term monitoring programs play in interpreting temporal and spatial shifts in fish populations for both established objectives and newly emerging questions. We suggest that deliberate efforts to develop a broader collaborative network through benchmarking will facilitate sharing of ideas and development of more effective monitoring programs.

78 FR 70574 - Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-26

...] Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior. ACTION: Notice of public meeting. SUMMARY: The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council (Council) was established by the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 (Pub. L.93-320) (Act) to...

77 FR 61784 - Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-11

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory... River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council (Council) was established by the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-320) (Act) to receive reports and advise Federal agencies on...

77 FR 23508 - Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-19

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory... River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council (Council) was established by the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-320) (Act) to receive reports and advise Federal agencies on...

78 FR 23784 - Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-22

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory... River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council (Council) was established by the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-320) (Act) to receive reports and advise Federal agencies on...

75 FR 66389 - Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-28

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory... River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council (Council) was established by the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-320) (Act) to receive reports and advise Federal agencies on...

75 FR 27360 - Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-14

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory... River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council (Council) was established by the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-320) (Act) to receive reports and advise Federal agencies on...

76 FR 61382 - Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-04

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory...: The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council (Council) was established by the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-320) (Act) to receive reports and advise Federal...

Residence times in river basins as determined by analysis of long-term tritium records

USGS Publications Warehouse

Michel, R.L.

1992-01-01

The US Geological Survey has maintained a network of stations to collect samples for the measurement of tritium concentrations in precipitation and streamflow since the early 1960s. Tritium data from outflow waters of river basins draining 4500-75000 km2 are used to determine average residence times of water within the basins. The basins studied are the Colorado River above Cisco, Utah; the Kissimmee River above Lake Okeechobee, Florida; the Mississippi River above Anoka, Minnesota; the Neuse River above Streets Ferry Bridge near Vanceboro, North Carolina; the Potomac River above Point of Rocks, Maryland; the Sacramento River above Sacramento, California; the Susquehanna River above Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The basins are modeled with the assumption that the outflow in the river comes from two sources-prompt (within-year) runoff from precipitation, and flow from the long-term reservoirs of the basin. Tritium concentration in the outflow water of the basin is dependent on three factors: (1) tritium concentration in runoff from the long-term reservoir, which depends on the residence time for the reservoir and historical tritium concentrations in precipitation; (2) tritium concentrations in precipitation (the within-year runoff component); (3) relative contributions of flow from the long-term and within-year components. Predicted tritium concentrations for the outflow water in the river basins were calculated for different residence times and for different relative contributions from the two reservoirs. A box model was used to calculate tritium concentrations in the long-term reservoir. Calculated values of outflow tritium concentrations for the basin were regressed against the measured data to obtain a slope as close as possible to 1. These regressions assumed an intercept of zero and were carried out for different values of residence time and reservoir contribution to maximize the fit of modeled versus actual data for all the above rivers. The final slopes of the fitted regression lines ranged from 0.95 to 1.01 (correlation coefficient > 0.96) for the basins studied. Values for the residence time of waters within the basins and average relative contributions of the within-year and long-term reservoirs to outflow were obtained. Values for river basin residence times ranged from 2 years for the Kissimmee River basin to 20 years for the Potomac River basin. The residence times indicate the time scale in which the basin responds to anthropogenic inputs. The modeled tritium concentrations for the basins also furnish input data for urban and agricultural settings where these river waters are used. ?? 1992.

Exploring Evidence of Land Surface Dynamics of River Basin Development in East Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eluwa, C.; Brown, C.

2017-12-01

Improving the productivity of agricultural lands in Africa in the face of climate variability and change is vital to achieving food security. A variety of possible approaches exist, many of which focus on the development and expansion of irrigation - at times associated with dam construction to provide co-benefits of hydropower and water supply. Optimal development of river basin infrastructure such as this has long been a topic of interest in water resources systems analysis. Recent advances have focused on addressing the uncertainty associated with climate change in the development of river basin plans. However, such studies rarely consider either the uncertainty from changing local surface-atmosphere interactions via basin development or the attendant effects on local ecosystems, precipitation, evapotranspiration and consequently the availability of water for the proposed projects. Some numerical experiments have described and reproduced the mechanisms via which river basin infrastructure influences local climatology in Sahelian Africa. However, no studies have explored available data for evidence of land-atmosphere interactions associated with actual development projects. This study explores the correlation of seasonal soil moisture and latent heat flux over currently dammed/irrigated areas on downwind precipitation in the East Africa region (bounded by 0N, -15N, 25E, 40E) at the mesoscale (30km - 100km) to unearth evidence of local climatological effects of river basin development (irrigation schemes). The adopted process is (1) use reanalysis data to derive mean wind directions at 800hPa for selected regions (2) use mean wind directions (and orthogonal directions) to locate high (and low) impact areas 30 -100km downwind (3) extract precipitation time series for downwind locations from three different gridded products (CRU, GCPC, PRINCETON) (4) compare precipitation time series across datasets in high/low impact areas and correlate with upwind latent heat flux and soil moisture (5) perform Pettit change point tests on downwind precipitation and compare with dates of infrastructure development. Evidence from this investigation will supply missing empiricism to hitherto theoretical results and strengthen the basis for much needed improved river basin planning on the continent

Trace Elements in Bed Sediments and Biota from Streams in the Santee River Basin and Coastal Drainages, North and South Carolina, 1995-97

Treesearch

Thomas A. Abrahamsen

1999-01-01

Bed-sediment and tissue samples were collected and analyzed for the presence of trace elements from 25 sites in the Santee River Basin and coastal drainages study area during 1995-97 as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment Program, Sediment trace-element priority-pollutant concentrations were compared among streams draining water-...

The agricultural water footprint of EU river basins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vanham, Davy

2014-05-01

This work analyses the agricultural water footprint (WF) of production (WFprod,agr) and consumption (WFcons,agr) as well as the resulting net virtual water import (netVWi,agr) for 365 EU river basins with an area larger than 1000 km2. Apart from total amounts, also a differentiation between the green, blue and grey components is made. River basins where the WFcons,agr,tot exceeds WFprod,agr,tot values substantially (resulting in positive netVWi,agr,tot values), are found along the London-Milan axis. River basins where the WFprod,agr,totexceeds WFcons,agr,totare found in Western France, the Iberian Peninsula and the Baltic region. The effect of a healthy (HEALTHY) and vegetarian (VEG) diet on the WFcons,agr is assessed, as well as resulting changes in netVWi,agr. For HEALTHY, the WFcons,agr,tot of most river basins decreases (max 32%), although in the east some basins show an increase. For VEG, in all but one river basins a reduction (max 46%) in WFcons,agr,tot is observed. The effect of diets on the WFcons,agrof a river basin has not been carried out so far. River basins and not administrative borders are the key geographical entity for water management. Such a comprehensive analysis on the river basin scale is the first in its kind. Reduced river basin WFcons,agrcan contribute to sustainable water management both within the EU and outside its borders. They could help to reduce the dependency of EU consumption on domestic and foreign water resources.

Hydrological responses to climatic changes in the Yellow River basin, China: Climatic elasticity and streamflow prediction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Qiang; Liu, Jianyu; Singh, Vijay P.; Shi, Peijun; Sun, Peng

2017-11-01

Prediction of streamflow of the Yellow River basin was done using downscaled precipitation and temperature based on outputs of 12 GCMs under RCP2.6 and RCP8.5 scenarios. Streamflow changes of 37 tributaries of the Yellow River basin during 2070-2099 were predicted related to different GCMs and climatic scenarios using Budyko framework. The results indicated that: (1) When compared to precipitation and temperature during 1960-1979, increasing precipitation and temperature are dominant during 2070-2099. Particularly, under RCP8.5, increase of 10% and 30% can be detected for precipitation and temperature respectively; (2) Precipitation changes have larger fractional contribution to streamflow changes than temperature changes, being the major driver for spatial and temporal patterns of water resources across the Yellow River basin; (3) 2070-2099 period will witness increased streamflow depth and decreased streamflow can be found mainly in the semi-humid regions and headwater regions of the Yellow River basin, which can be attributed to more significant increase of temperature than precipitation in these regions; (4) Distinctly different picture of streamflow changes can be observed with consideration of different outputs of GCMs which can be attributed to different outputs of GCMs under different scenarios. Even so, under RCP2.6 and RCP8.5 scenarios, 36.8% and 71.1% of the tributaries of the Yellow River basin are dominated by increasing streamflow. The results of this study are of theoretical and practical merits in terms of management of water resources and also irrigated agriculture under influences of changing climate.

Long-Term Ground-Water Levels and Transmissivity in the Blackstone River Basin, Northern Rhode Island

USGS Publications Warehouse

Eggleston, Jack R.; Church, Peter E.; Barbaro, Jeffrey R.

2007-01-01

Ground water provides about 7.7 million gallons per day, or 28 percent of total water use in the Rhode Island part of the Blackstone River Basin. Primary aquifers in the basin are stratified glacial deposits, composed mostly of sand and gravel along valley bottoms. The ground-water and surface-water system in the Blackstone River Basin is under stress due to population growth, out-of-basin water transfers, industrialization, and changing land-use patterns. Streamflow periodically drops below the Aquatic Base Flow standard, and ground-water withdrawals add to stress on aquatic habitat during low-flow periods. Existing hydrogeologic data were reviewed to examine historical water-level trends and to generate contour maps of water-table altitudes and transmissivity of the sand and gravel aquifer in the Blackstone River Basin in Rhode Island. On the basis of data from four long-term observation wells, water levels appear to have risen slightly in the study area during the past 55 years. Analysis of available data indicates that increased rainfall during the same period is a likely contributor to the water-level rise. Spatial patterns of transmissivity are shown over larger areas and have been refined on the basis of more detailed data coverage as compared to previous mapping studies.

Examining the effects of urban agglomeration polders on flood events in Qinhuai River basin, China with HEC-HMS model.

PubMed

Gao, Yuqin; Yuan, Yu; Wang, Huaizhi; Schmidt, Arthur R; Wang, Kexuan; Ye, Liu

2017-05-01

The urban agglomeration polders type of flood control pattern is a general flood control pattern in the eastern plain area and some of the secondary river basins in China. A HEC-HMS model of Qinhuai River basin based on the flood control pattern was established for simulating basin runoff, examining the impact of urban agglomeration polders on flood events, and estimating the effects of urbanization on hydrological processes of the urban agglomeration polders in Qinhuai River basin. The results indicate that the urban agglomeration polders could increase the peak flow and flood volume. The smaller the scale of the flood, the more significant the influence of the polder was to the flood volume. The distribution of the city circle polder has no obvious impact on the flood volume, but has effect on the peak flow. The closer the polder is to basin output, the smaller the influence it has on peak flows. As the level of urbanization gradually improving of city circle polder, flood volumes and peak flows gradually increase compared to those with the current level of urbanization (the impervious rate was 20%). The potential change in flood volume and peak flow with increasing impervious rate shows a linear relationship.

Map showing contours on top of the upper Cretaceous Mowry Shale, Powder River basin, Wyoming and Montana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Crysdale, B.L.

1991-01-01

This map is one in a series of U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies (MF) maps showing computer-generated structure contours, isopachs, and cross sections of selected formations in the Powder River basin, Wyoming and Montana. The map and cross sections were constructed from information stored in a U.S. Geological Survey Evolution of Sedimentary Basins data base. This data base contains picks of geologic formation and (or) unit tops and bases determined from electric resistivity and gamma-ray logs of 8,592 wells penetrating Tertiary and older rocks in the Powder River basin. Well completion cards (scout tickets) were reviewed and compared with copies of all logs, and formation or unit contacts determined by N. M. Denson, D.L. Macke, R. R. Schumann and others. This isopach map is based on information from 4,926 of these wells that penetrate the Minnelusa Formation and equivalents.

Map showing structure contours on the top of the upper Jurassic Morrison Formation, Powder River basin, Wyoming and Montana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Crysdale, B.L.

1991-01-01

This map is one in a series of U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies (MF) maps showing computer-generated structure contours, isopachs, and cross sections of selected formations in the Powder River basin, Wyoming and Montana. The map and cross sections were constructed from information stored in a U.S. Geological Survey Evolution of Sedimentary Basins data base. This data base contains picks of geologic formation and (or) unit tops and bases determined from electric resistivity and gamma-ray logs of 8,592 wells penetrating Tertiary and older rocks in the Powder River basin. Well completion cards (scout tickets) were reviewed and compared with copies of all logs, and formation or unit contacts determined by N. M. Denson, D.L. Macke, R. R. Schumann and others. This isopach map is based on information from 2,429 of these wells that penetrate the Minnelusa Formation and equivalents.

Two distinct phylogenetic clades of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus overlap within the Columbia River basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Garver, K.A.; Troyer, R.M.; Kurath, G.

2003-01-01

Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV), an aquatic rhabdovirus, causes a highly lethal disease of salmonid fish in North America. To evaluate the genetic diversity of IHNV from throughout the Columbia River basin, excluding the Hagerman Valley, Idaho, the sequences of a 303 nt region of the glycoprotein gene (mid-G) of 120 virus isolates were determined. Sequence comparisons revealed 30 different sequence types, with a maximum nucleotide diversity of 7.3% (22 mismatches) and an intrapopulational nucleotide diversity of 0.018. This indicates that the genetic diversity of IHNV within the Columbia River basin is 3-fold higher than in Alaska, but 2-fold lower than in the Hagerman Valley, Idaho. Phylogenetic analyses separated the Columbia River basin IHNV isolates into 2 major clades, designated U and M. The 2 clades geographically overlapped within the lower Columbia River basin and in the lower Snake River and tributaries, while the upper Columbia River basin had only U clade and the upper Snake River basin had only M clade virus types. These results suggest that there are co-circulating lineages of IHNV present within specific areas of the Columbia River basin. The epidemiological significance of these findings provided insight into viral traffic patterns exhibited by IHNV in the Columbia River basin, with specific relevance to how the Columbia River basin IHNV types were related to those in the Hagerman Valley. These analyses indicate that there have likely been 2 historical events in which Hagerman Valley IHNV types were introduced and became established in the lower Columbia River basin. However, the data also clearly indicates that the Hagerman Valley is not a continuous source of waterborne virus infecting salmonid stocks downstream.

A fate model for nitrogen dynamics in the Scheldt basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haest, Pieter Jan; van der Kwast, Johannes; Broekx, Steven; Seuntjens, Piet

2010-05-01

The European Union (EU) adopted the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in 2000 ensuring that all aquatic ecosystems meet ‘good ecological status' by 2015. However, the large population density in combination with agricultural and industrial activities in some European river basins pose challenges for river basin managers in meeting this status. The EU financed AQUAREHAB project (FP7) specifically examines the ecological and economic impact of innovative rehabilitation technologies for multi-pressured degraded waters. For this purpose, a numerical spatio-temporal model is developed to evaluate innovative technologies versus conventional measures at the river basin scale. The numerical model describes the nitrogen dynamics in the Scheldt river basin. Nitrogen is examined since nitrate is of specific concern in Belgium, the country comprising the largest area of the Scheldt basin. The Scheldt basin encompasses 20000 km2 and houses over 10 million people. The governing factors describing nitrogen fluxes at this large scale differ from the field scale with a larger uncertainty on input data. As such, the environmental modeling language PCRaster was selected since it was found to provide a balance between process descriptions and necessary input data. The resulting GIS-based model simulates the nitrogen dynamics in the Scheldt basin with a yearly time step and a spatial resolution of 1 square kilometer. A smaller time step is being evaluated depending on the description of the hydrology. The model discerns 4 compartments in the Scheldt basin: the soil, shallow groundwater, deep groundwater and the river network. Runoff and water flow occurs along the steepest slope in all model compartments. Diffuse emissions and direct inputs are calculated from administrative and statistical data. These emissions are geographically defined or are distributed over the domain according to land use and connectivity to the sewer system. The reactive mass transport is described using literature data. Process-knowledge on the innovative rehabilitation technologies, i.e. wetlands and riparian zones, will be derived from lab and field scale experiments. Datasets provided at the EU level are used to calibrate the model when available. The fate model will be used to create a database driven Decision Support System (DSS) in which costs of measures and ecotoxicological effects are considered. The DSS can then be used to compare alternative combinations of rehabilitation technologies versus conventional measures in the Scheldt river basin taking into account the ecological status of the river basin.

Rare earth elements in river waters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldstein, Steven J.; Jacobsen, Stein B.

1988-01-01

To characterize the input to the oceans of rare earth elements (REE) in the dissolved and the suspended loads of rivers, the REE concentrations were measured in samples of Amazon, Indus, Mississippi, Murray-Darling, and Ohio rivers and in samples of smaller rivers that had more distinct drainage basin lithology and water chemistry. It was found that, in the suspended loads of small rivers, the REE pattern was dependent on drainage basin geology, whereas the suspended loads in major rivers had relatively uniform REE patterns and were heavy-REE depleted relative to the North American Shale composite (NASC). The dissolved loads in the five major rivers had marked relative heavy-REE enrichments, relative to the NASC and the suspended material, with the (La/Yb)N ratio of about 0.4 (as compared with the ratio of about 1.9 in suspended loads).

Field evaluation of lead effects on Canada geese and mallards in the Coeur d'Alene River Basin, Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Henny, Charles J.; Blus, L.J.; Hoffman, D.J.; Sileo, L.; Audet, Daniel J.; Snyder, Mark R.

2000-01-01

Hatch year (HY) mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) in the Coeur d'Alene (CDA) River Basin had higher concentrations of lead in their blood than HY Western Canada geese (Branta canadensis moffitti) (geometric means 0.98 versus 0.28 μg/g, wet weight). The pattern for adults of both species was similar, although geometric means (1.77 versus 0.41 μg/g) were higher than in HY birds. HY mallards captured in the CDA River Basin in 1987 contained significantly lower lead concentrations in their blood than in 1994–95 (0.36 versus 0.98 μg/g); however, some very young mallards were sampled in 1987, and concentrations in adults were not significantly different in 1987, 1994, or 1995 (1.52, 2.07, 1.55 μg/g, respectively). Both species in the CDA River Basin in 1994–95 showed significantly reduced red blood cell delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD) activity compared to the reference areas: Canada geese (HY −65.4 to −86.0%, adults −82.3%), and mallards (HY −90.7 to −95.5%, adults −94.1%). Canada goose goslings were divided into size classes, and the two smaller classes from the CDA River Basin had significantly elevated free erythrocyte protoporphyrin (protoporphyrin) levels compared to the reference area (15.2× and 6.9×). HY and adult mallards both had significantly elevated protoporphyrin (5.9× and 7.5×). Recognizing that interspecific differences exist in response and sensitivity to lead, it appears (at least for hemoglobin and hematocrit) that Canada geese were more sensitive to lead than mallards, i.e., adverse hematologic effects occur at lower blood lead concentrations. Only Canada geese from the CDA River Basin, in spite of lower blood lead concentrations, had significantly reduced mean hemoglobin and hematocrit values. No euthanized Canada geese (all HYs) from CDA River Basin were classified as clinically lead poisoned, but 38 Canada geese found dead in the CDA River Basin during a concurrent study succumbed to lead poisoning between 1992 and 1997. Only 6 (15.8%) of these 38 contained ingested lead shot, which contrasts greatly with the 75–94% incidence of ingested lead shot when mortality was due to lead shot ingestion. Lead from other contaminated sources (i.e., sediments and vegetation) in the CDA River Basin was strongly implicated in most Canada goose deaths. Based on the 31 live mallards and Canada geese collected in the CDA River Basin, which were representative of the live populations blood sampled only, the prevalence of subclinical and clinical lead poisoning (as determined by liver lead concentrations, excluding birds with ingested lead shot) was higher in mallards: subclinical (4 of 8, 50% HYs and 6 of 11, 55% adults); clinical (0% HYs and 4 of 11, 36% adults), with less data available for Canada geese (only 1 of 9, 11% HYs marginally subclinical). The clinically lead-poisoned mallards had extremely high concentrations of lead in blood (2.69–8.82 μg/g) and liver (6.39–17.89 μg/g). Eight mallards found dead in the CDA River Basin during a concurrent study were diagnosed as lead poisoned, and only one (12.5%) contained ingested lead shot, which again strongly implicates other lead sources. The finding of dead lead poisoned Canada geese together with the high percentage of live mallards classified as subclinically or clinically lead poisoned, in combination with the low incidence of ingested lead shot causes us concern for both of these species, which live in association with lead-contaminated sediment in the CDA River Basin.

Revealing Water Stress by the Thermal Power Industry in China Based on a High Spatial Resolution Water Withdrawal and Consumption Inventory.

PubMed

Zhang, Chao; Zhong, Lijin; Fu, Xiaotian; Wang, Jiao; Wu, Zhixuan

2016-02-16

This study reveals the spatial distribution of water withdrawal and consumption by thermal power generation and the associated water stress at catchment level in China based on a high-resolution geodatabase of electric generating units and power plants. We identified three groups of regions where the baseline water stress exerted by thermal power generation is comparatively significant: (1) the Hai River Basin/East Yellow River Basin in the north; (2) some arid catchments in Xinjiang Autonomous Region in the northwest; and (3) the coastal city clusters in the Yangtze River Delta, Pearly River Delta, and Zhejiang Province. Groundwater stress is also detected singularly in a few aquifers mainly in the Hai River Basin and the lower reaches of the Yellow River Basin. As China accelerates its pace of coal mining and coal-fired power generation in the arid northwest regions, the energy/water priorities in catchments under high water stress are noteworthy. We conclude that promotion of advanced water-efficient technologies in the energy industry and more systematic analysis of the water stress of thermal power capacity expansion in water scarce regions in inland China are needed. More comprehensive and transparent data monitoring and reporting are essential to facilitate such water stress assessment.

Exploring the causes of Colorado River streamflow declines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, M.; Lettenmaier, D. P.; Udall, B. H.

2016-12-01

As the major river of the Southwestern U.S., the Colorado River (CR) is central to the region's water resources. Over the period 1916-2014, the river's naturalized Apr-Sep flow at Lee's Ferry declined by 18.4%, a number that is closely matched (19.8%) by reconstructions for the same period using the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) hydrology model. However, basin-average annual precipitation over that period declined by only 4.4%. In order to examine the causes of the runoff declines, we performed experiments with the VIC model in which we detrended the model's temperature forcings (about 1.6°C over the 100-year record) for each of 24 sub-basins that make up the basin. We find that decreases in winter precipitation (the season that controls annual runoff) mostly occured in the northeast part of the basin while summer precipitation decreases (which have much less effect on annual runoff) occurred over much of the lower basin. Our model simulations suggest that about 2/3 of observed runoff declines are attributable to decreases in winter precipitation (most importantly, in the upper basin, where most of the basin's runoff is generated). The remaining 1/3 is attributable to warming temperatures. We also examine what appear to be changing characteristics of droughts in the basin. Compared with a prolonged drought in the 1960s, which was characterized by abnormally low precipitation and cool temperatures, temperatures during the ongoing millennial drought have been much warmer, but winter precipitation anomalies have been only slightly negative. During the 2000s drought, the basin-wide runoff anomaly has been about -3.8 km3/yr, with four sub-basins in the northeastern part of the basin accounting for about 2/3 of the annual runoff anomaly.

Reconstruction of North American drainage basins and river discharge since the Last Glacial Maximum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wickert, Andrew D.

2016-11-01

Over the last glacial cycle, ice sheets and the resultant glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) rearranged river systems. As these riverine threads that tied the ice sheets to the sea were stretched, severed, and restructured, they also shrank and swelled with the pulse of meltwater inputs and time-varying drainage basin areas, and sometimes delivered enough meltwater to the oceans in the right places to influence global climate. Here I present a general method to compute past river flow paths, drainage basin geometries, and river discharges, by combining models of past ice sheets, glacial isostatic adjustment, and climate. The result is a time series of synthetic paleohydrographs and drainage basin maps from the Last Glacial Maximum to present for nine major drainage basins - the Mississippi, Rio Grande, Colorado, Columbia, Mackenzie, Hudson Bay, Saint Lawrence, Hudson, and Susquehanna/Chesapeake Bay. These are based on five published reconstructions of the North American ice sheets. I compare these maps with drainage reconstructions and discharge histories based on a review of observational evidence, including river deposits and terraces, isotopic records, mineral provenance markers, glacial moraine histories, and evidence of ice stream and tunnel valley flow directions. The sharp boundaries of the reconstructed past drainage basins complement the flexurally smoothed GIA signal that is more often used to validate ice-sheet reconstructions, and provide a complementary framework to reduce nonuniqueness in model reconstructions of the North American ice-sheet complex.

Preliminary applications of Landsat images and aerial photography for determining land-use, geologic, and hydrologic characteristics, Yampa River basin, Colorado and Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

Heimes, F.J.; Moore, G.K.; Steele, T.D.

1978-01-01

Expanded energy- and recreation-related activities in the Yampa River basin, Colorado and Wyoming, have caused a rapid increase in economic development which will result in increased demand and competition for natural resources. In planning for efficient allocation of the basin 's natural resources, Landsat images and small-scale color and color-infrared photographs were used for selected geologic, hydrologic and land-use applications within the Yampa River basin. Applications of Landsat data included: (1) regional land-use classification and mapping, (2) lineament mapping, and (3) areal snow-cover mapping. Results from the Landsat investigations indicated that: (1) Landsat land-use classification maps, at a regional level, compared favorably with areal land-use patterns that were defined from available ground information, (2) lineaments were mapped in sufficient detail using recently developed techniques for interpreting aerial photographs, (3) snow cover generally could be mapped for large areas with the exception of some densely forested areas of the basin and areas having a large percentage of winter-season cloud cover. Aerial photographs were used for estimation of turbidity for eight stream locations in the basin. Spectral reflectance values obtained by digitizing photographs were compared with measured turbidity values. Results showed strong correlations (variances explained of greater than 90 percent) between spectral reflectance obtained from color photographs and measured turbidity values. (Woodard-USGS)

Diazinon and chlorpyrifos loads in the San Joaquin River basin, California, January and February 2000

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kratzer, Charles R.; Zamora, Celia; Knifong, Donna L.

2002-01-01

The application of diazinon and chlorpyrifos on dormant orchards in 2000 in the San Joaquin River Basin was less than 21 percent of application in 1993 and 1994. A total of 13 sites were sampled weekly during nonstorm periods and more frequently during two storm periods. The sites included five major river and eight minor tributary sites. The highest concentrations of diazinon and chlorpyrifos occurred during the storm periods. Four samples from major river sites (Tuolumne River and two San Joaquin River sites) had diazinon concentrations greater than 0.08 microgram per liter, the concentration being considered by the state of California as its criterion maximum concentration for the protection of aquatic habitat. One sample from a major river site (San Joaquin River) exceeded the equivalent State guideline of 0.02 microgram per liter for chlorpyrifos. At the eight minor tributary sites, 24 samples exceeded the diazinon guideline and four samples exceeded the chlorpyrifos guideline. The total diazinon load in the San Joaquin River near Vernalis during January and February 2000 was 19.6 pounds active ingredient; of this, 8.17 pounds active ingredient was transported during two storms. In 1994, 27.4 pounds active ingredient was transported during two storms. The total chlorpyrifos load in the San Joaquin River near Vernalis during January and February 2000 was 5.68 pounds active ingredient; of this, 2.17 pounds active ingredient was transported during the two storms. During the frequently sampled February 2000 storm, the main sources of diazinon in the San Joaquin River Basin were the San Joaquin River near Stevinson Basin (25 percent), Tuolumne River Basin (14 percent), and the Stanislaus River Basin (10 percent). The main sources of chlorpyrifos in the San Joaquin River Basin were the San Joaquin River near Stevinson Basin (17 percent), Tuolumne River Basin (13 percent), and the Merced River Basin (11 percent). The total January and February diazinon load in the San Joaquin River near Vernalis was 0.17 percent of dormant application; total January and February chlorpyrifos load was 0.16 percent of dormant application.

Systematic impact assessment on inter-basin water transfer projects of the Hanjiang River Basin in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Yanlai; Guo, Shenglian; Hong, Xingjun; Chang, Fi-John

2017-10-01

China's inter-basin water transfer projects have gained increasing attention in recent years. This study proposes an intelligent water allocation methodology for establishing optimal inter-basin water allocation schemes and assessing the impacts of water transfer projects on water-demanding sectors in the Hanjiang River Basin of China. We first analyze water demands for water allocation purpose, and then search optimal water allocation strategies for maximizing the water supply to water-demanding sectors and mitigating the negative impacts by using the Standard Genetic Algorithm (SGA) and Adaptive Genetic Algorithm (AGA), respectively. Lastly, the performance indexes of the water supply system are evaluated under different scenarios of inter-basin water transfer projects. The results indicate that: the AGA with adaptive crossover and mutation operators could increase the average annual water transfer from the Hanjiang River by 0.79 billion m3 (8.8%), the average annual water transfer from the Changjiang River by 0.18 billion m3 (6.5%), and the average annual hydropower generation by 0.49 billion kW h (5.4%) as well as reduce the average annual unmet water demand by 0.40 billion m3 (9.7%), as compared with the those of the SGA. We demonstrate that the proposed intelligent water allocation schemes can significantly mitigate the negative impacts of inter-basin water transfer projects on the reliability, vulnerability and resilience of water supply to the demanding sectors in water-supplying basins. This study has a direct bearing on more intelligent and effectual water allocation management under various scenarios of inter-basin water transfer projects.

Habitat suitability of the Carolina madtom, an imperiled, endemic stream fish

USGS Publications Warehouse

Midway, S.R.; Kwak, Thomas J.; Aday, D.D.

2010-01-01

The Carolina madtom Noturus furiosus is an imperiled stream ictalurid that is endemic to the Tar and Neuse River basins in North Carolina. The Carolina madtom is listed as a threatened species by the state of North Carolina, and whereas recent distribution surveys have found that the Tar River basin population occupies a range similar to its historical range, the Neuse River basin population has shown recent significant decline. Quantification of habitat requirements and availability is critical for effective management and subsequent survival of the species. We investigated six reaches (three in each basin) to (1) quantify Carolina madtom microhabitat use, availability, and suitability; (2) compare suitable microhabitat availability between the two basins; and (3) examine use of an instream artificial cover unit. Carolina madtoms were located and their habitat was quantified at four of the six survey reaches. They most frequently occupied shallow to moderate depths of swift moving water over a sand substrate and used cobble for cover. Univariate and principal components analyses both showed that Carolina madtom use of instream habitat was selective (i.e., nonrandom). Interbasin comparisons suggested that suitable microhabitats were more prevalent in the impacted Neuse River basin than in the Tar River basin. We suggest that other physical or biotic effects may be responsible for the decline in the Neuse River basin population. We designed instream artificial cover units that were occupied by Carolina madtoms (25% of the time) and occasionally by other organisms. Carolina madtom abundance among all areas treated with the artificial cover unit was statistically higher than that in the control areas, demonstrating use of artificial cover when available. Microhabitat characteristics of occupied artificial cover units closely resembled those of natural instream microhabitat used by Carolina madtoms; these units present an option for conservation and restoration if increased management is deemed necessary. Results from our study provide habitat suitability criteria and artificial cover information that can inform management and conservation of the Carolina madtom.

Groundwater Discharge to Upper Barataria Basin Driven by Mississippi River Stage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cable, J. E.; Kim, J.; Johannesson, K. H.; Kolker, A.; Telfeyan, K.; Breaux, A.

2017-12-01

Groundwater flow into deltaic wetlands occurs despite the heterogeneous and anisotropic depositional environment of deltas. Along the Mississippi River this groundwater flow is augmented by the vast alluvial aquifer and the levees which confine the river to a zone much more narrow than the historical floodplain. The effect of the levees has been to force the river stage to as much as 10 m above the adjacent back-levee wetlands. Consequently, the head difference created by higher river stages can drive groundwater flow into these wetlands, especially during flood seasons. We measured Rn-222 in the surface waters of a bayou draining a bottomland hardwood swamp in the lower Mississippi River valley over a 14-month period. With a half-life of 3.83 days and its conservative geochemical behavior, Rn-222 is a well-known tracer for groundwater inputs in both fresh and marine environments. Transects from the mouth to the headwaters of the bayou were monitored for Rn-222 in real-time using Rad-7s on a semi-monthly basis. We found that Rn-222 decreased exponentially from the swamp at the headwaters to the mouth of the bayou. Using a mass balance approach, we calculated groundwater inputs to the bayou headwaters and compared these discharge estimates to variations in Mississippi River stage. Groundwater inputs to the Barataria Basin, Louisiana, represent a significant fraction of the freshwater budget of the basin. The flow appears to occur through the sandy Point Bar Aquifer that lies adjacent to the river and underlies many of the freshwater swamps of the Basin. Tracer measurements throughout the Basin in these swamp areas appear to confirm our hypothesis about the outlet for groundwater in this deltaic environment.

Climate Change Impacts on River Temperature in the Southeastern United States: A Case Study of the Tennessee River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Y.; Niemeyer, R. J.; Mao, Y.; Yearsley, J. R.; Nijssen, B.

2016-12-01

In the coming decades, climate change and population growth are expected to affect water and energy supply as well as demand in the southeastern United States. Changes in temperature and precipitation impact river flow and stream temperature with implications for hydropower generation, industrial and municipal water supply, cooling for thermo-electric power plants, agricultural irrigation, ecosystem functions and flood control. At the same time, water and energy demand are expected to change in response to temperature increase, population growth and changing crop water requirements. As part of a multi-institution study of the food-energy-water nexus in the southeastern U.S., we are developing coupled hydrological and stream temperature models that will be linked to water resources, power systems and crop models at a later stage. Here we evaluate the ability of our system to simulate water supply and stream temperature in the Tennessee River Basin using the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) macroscale hydrology model coupled to the River Basin Model (RBM), a 1-D semi-Lagrangian river temperature model, which has recently been expanded with a two-layer reservoir temperature model. Simulations with VIC-RBM were performed for the Tennessee River Basin at 1/8-degree spatial resolution and a temporal resolution of 1 day or less. Reservoir releases were prescribed based on historic operating rules. In future iterations, these releases will be modeled directly by a water resources model that incorporates flood control, and power and agricultural water demands. We compare simulated flows, as well as stream and reservoir temperatures with observed flows and temperatures throughout the basin. In preparation for later stages of the project, we also perform a set of climate change sensitivity experiments to evaluate how changes in climate may impact river and reservoir temperature.

Isopach and isoresource maps for oil shale deposits in the Eocene Green River Formation for the combined Uinta and Piceance Basins, Utah and Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mercier, Tracey J.; Johnson, Ronald C.

2012-01-01

The in-place oil shale resources in the Eocene Green River Formation of the Piceance Basin of western Colorado and the Uinta Basin of western Colorado and eastern Utah are estimated at 1.53 trillion barrels and 1.32 trillion barrels, respectively. The oil shale strata were deposited in a single large saline lake, Lake Uinta, that covered both basins and the intervening Douglas Creek arch, an area of comparatively low rates of subsidence throughout the history of Lake Uinta. Although the Green River Formation is largely eroded for about a 20-mile area along the crest of the arch, the oil shale interval is similar in both basins, and 17 out of 18 of the assessed oil shale zones are common to both basins. Assessment maps for these 17 zones are combined so that the overall distribution of oil shale over the entire extent of Lake Uinta can be studied. The combined maps show that throughout most of the history of Lake Uinta, the richest oil shale was deposited in the depocenter in the north-central part of the Piceance Basin and in the northeast corner of the Uinta Basin where it is closest to the Piceance Basin, which is the only area of the Uinta Basin where all of the rich and lean oil shale zones, originally defined in the Piceance Basin, can be identified. Both the oil shale and saline mineral depocenter in the Piceance Basin and the richest oil shale area in the Uinta Basin were in areas with comparatively low rates of subsidence during Lake Uinta time, but both areas had low rates of clastic influx. Limiting clastic influx rather than maximizing subsidence appears to have been the most important factor in producing rich oil shale.

Habitat and fish assemblage associations and current status of northern leatherside chub Lepidomeda copei in western Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schultz, Luke; Cavalli, Pete; Sexauer, Hilda; Zafft, David

2016-01-01

Human activities have extensively altered native fish assemblages and their habitats in the western United States. Conservation and restoration for long-term persistence of these fishes requires knowledge of their distributional patterns and life history requirements. Northern leatherside chub Lepidomeda copei (hereafter northern leatherside) is a cyprinid native to the Snake and Bear River Basins of Wyoming, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah, and it is believed to have declined in distribution relative to historical records. To address information gaps in the species' ecology and assess its status in the state, the objectives of this study were first to document the distribution (2010–2011) of northern leatherside in Wyoming and then to examine habitat factors related to the entire fish assemblage and to evaluate specific habitat associations of northern leatherside in the Bear River Basin, Wyoming. In the Bear River and Upper Snake River Basins, we documented the distribution of northern leatherside and compared it to the previously known distribution. Across the Bear River Basin, we used habitat measurements to assess abiotic features related to the distribution and abundance of northern leatherside. Northern leatherside was found across the Bear River Basin and was present in 2 streams each in the Upper Snake River and Green River Basins in Wyoming. Populations in Wyoming appear to represent the core of northern leatherside range, and our work provided a finer-scale delineation of the species' occurrence. Northern leatherside was collected from a variety of habitats, but multivariate analyses and occurrence modeling indicated it was associated with increased channel depth and depth variability, and positively associated with other native fishes (including mountain sucker Catostomus platyrhynchus, redside shiner Richardsonius balteatus, and speckled dace Rhinichthys osculus). These findings on the distribution and ecology of northern leatherside provide important new information to assist successful management and conservation efforts within Wyoming and across the species' range.

A multi-approach and multi-scale study on water quantity and quality changes in the Tapajós River basin, Amazon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bezerra Nóbrega, Rodolfo Luiz; Lamparter, Gabriele; Hughes, Harold; Chenjerayi Guzha, Alphonce; Santos Silva Amorim, Ricardo; Gerold, Gerhard

2018-04-01

We analyzed changes in water quantity and quality at different spatial scales within the Tapajós River basin (Amazon) based on experimental fieldwork, hydrological modelling, and statistical time-trend analysis. At a small scale, we compared the river discharge (Q) and suspended-sediment concentrations (SSC) of two adjacent micro-catchments ( < 1 km2) with similar characteristics but contrasting land uses (forest vs. pasture) using empirical data from field measurements. At an intermediary scale, we simulated the hydrological responses of a sub-basin of the Tapajós (Jamanxim River basin, 37 400 km2), using a hydrological model (SWAT) and land-use change scenario in order to quantify the changes in the water balance components due to deforestation. At the Tapajós' River basin scale, we investigated trends in Q, sediments, hydrochemistry, and geochemistry in the river using available data from the HYBAM Observation Service. The results in the micro-catchments showed a higher runoff coefficient in the pasture (0.67) than in the forest catchment (0.28). At this scale, the SSC were also significantly greater during stormflows in the pasture than in the forest catchment. At the Jamanxim watershed scale, the hydrological modelling results showed a 2 % increase in Q and a 5 % reduction of baseflow contribution to total Q after a conversion of 22 % of forest to pasture. In the Tapajós River, however, trend analysis did not show any significant trend in discharge and sediment concentration. However, we found upward trends in dissolved organic carbon and NO3- over the last 20 years. Although the magnitude of anthropogenic impact has shown be scale-dependent, we were able to find changes in the Tapajós River basin in streamflow, sediment concentration, and water quality across all studied scales.

THE EFFECT OF VARYING ELECTROFISHING DESIGNS AND DISTANCES ON METRIC SCORES IN LARGE RIVERS

EPA Science Inventory

To study the effects of electrofishing design and distance on metric scores, we electrofished almost 180 km across four rivers of the Ohio River basin and collected data on more than 28,000 fish. We compared three electrofishing designs using four fish assemblage composition met...

Scaling properties reveal regulation of river flows in the Amazon through a forest reservoir

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salazar, Juan Fernando; Villegas, Juan Camilo; María Rendón, Angela; Rodríguez, Estiven; Hoyos, Isabel; Mercado-Bettín, Daniel; Poveda, Germán

2018-03-01

Many natural and social phenomena depend on river flow regimes that are being altered by global change. Understanding the mechanisms behind such alterations is crucial for predicting river flow regimes in a changing environment. Here we introduce a novel physical interpretation of the scaling properties of river flows and show that it leads to a parsimonious characterization of the flow regime of any river basin. This allows river basins to be classified as regulated or unregulated, and to identify a critical threshold between these states. We applied this framework to the Amazon river basin and found both states among its main tributaries. Then we introduce the forest reservoir hypothesis to describe the natural capacity of river basins to regulate river flows through land-atmosphere interactions (mainly precipitation recycling) that depend strongly on the presence of forests. A critical implication is that forest loss can force the Amazonian river basins from regulated to unregulated states. Our results provide theoretical and applied foundations for predicting hydrological impacts of global change, including the detection of early-warning signals for critical transitions in river basins.

The water footprint of agricultural products in European river basins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vanham, D.; Bidoglio, G.

2014-05-01

This work quantifies the agricultural water footprint (WF) of production (WFprod, agr) and consumption (WFcons, agr) and the resulting net virtual water import (netVWi, agr) of 365 European river basins for a reference period (REF, 1996-2005) and two diet scenarios (a healthy diet based upon food-based dietary guidelines (HEALTHY) and a vegetarian (VEG) diet). In addition to total (tot) amounts, a differentiation is also made between the green (gn), blue (bl) and grey (gy) components. River basins where the REF WFcons, agr, tot exceeds the WFprod, agr, tot (resulting in positive netVWi, agr, tot values), are found along the London-Milan axis. These include the Thames, Scheldt, Meuse, Seine, Rhine and Po basins. River basins where the WFprod, agr, tot exceeds the WFcons, agr, tot are found in Western France, the Iberian Peninsula and the Baltic region. These include the Loire, Ebro and Nemunas basins. Under the HEALTHY diet scenario, the WFcons, agr, tot of most river basins decreases (max -32%), although it was found to increase in some basins in northern and eastern Europe. This results in 22 river basins, including the Danube, shifting from being net VW importers to being net VW exporters. A reduction (max -46%) in WFcons, agr, tot is observed for all but one river basin under the VEG diet scenario. In total, 50 river basins shift from being net VW importers to being net exporters, including the Danube, Seine, Rhone and Elbe basins. Similar observations are made when only the gn + bl and gn components are assessed. When analysing only the bl component, a different river basin pattern is observed.

Evaluation of Drought Occurrence and Climate Change in the Pearl River Basin in South China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DU, Y.; Chen, J.; Wang, K.; Shi, H.

2015-12-01

This study uses the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) Model to simulate the hydrological processes over the Pearl River basin in South China. The observed streamflow data in the Pearl River Basin for the period 1951-2000 are used to evaluate the model simulation results. Further, in this study, the 55 datasets of climate projection from 18 General Circulation Models (GCMs) for the IPCC AR4 (SRES A2/A1B/B1) and AR5 (RCP 2.6/4.5/6.0/8.5) are used to drive the VIC model at 0.5°× 0.5°spatial resolution and daily temporal resolution. Then, the monthly Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) and standardized runoff index (SRI) are generated to detect the drought occurrence. This study validates the GCMs projection through comparing the observed precipitation for the period of 2000-2013. Then, spatial variation of the frequency change of moderate drought, severe drought and extreme drought are analyzed for the 21st century. The study reveals that the frequencies of severe drought and extreme drought occurrences over the Pearl River Basin increase along with time. Specifically, for the scenario of AR5 RCP 8.5, the east and west parts of the Pearl River Basin most likely suffer from severe drought and extreme drought with an increased frequency throughout the 21st century.

The use of AQUATOOL DSS applied to the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting for Water (SEEAW)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pedro-Monzonís, María; Jiménez-Fernández, Pedro; Solera, Abel; Jiménez-Gavilán, Pablo

2016-02-01

Currently, water accounts are one of the next steps to be implemented in European River Basin Management Plans. Building water accounts is a complex task, mainly due to the lack of common European definitions and procedures. For their development, when data is not systematically measured, simulation models and estimations are necessary. The main idea of this paper is to present a new approach which enables the combined use of hydrological models and water resources models developed with AQUATOOL Decision Support System (DSS) to fill in the physical water supply and use tables and the asset accounts presented in the System of Economic and Environmental Accounts for Water (SEEAW). The case study is the Vélez River Basin, located in the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula in Spain. In addition to obtaining the physical water supply and use tables and the asset accounts in this river basin, we present here the indicators as a result thereof. These indicators cover many critical aspects of water management, showing a general description of the river basin and allowing decision-makers to characterise the pressures on water resources. As a general conclusion, the union of AQUATOOL DSS and SEEAW will provide more complete information to decision-makers and it enables to introduce these methodological decisions in order to guarantee consistency and comparability of the results between different river basins.

Floodplain influence on carbon speciation and fluxes from the lower Pearl River, Mississippi

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, Yihua; Shim, Moo-Joon; Guo, Laodong; Shiller, Alan

2016-08-01

To investigate the floodplain influence on carbon speciation and export to the northern Gulf of Mexico, water samples were collected monthly from two sites in the East Pearl River (EPR) basin during 2006-2008. Additionally, four spatial surveys in the river basin between those two sites were also conducted. Compared with the upstream sampling site at Bogalusa, MS, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and particulate organic carbon (POC) concentrations were 36% and 55% lower, respectively, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration was 49% higher at the downstream Stennis Space Center (SSC) site. In addition, the bulk DOC pool at SSC had a higher colloidal fraction than at Bogalusa (75% vs. 68%). Detailed spatial surveys revealed the differences between the upstream and downstream stations resulted both from input from Hobolochitto Creek, a tributary of the EPR, and from influence of the swamp-rich floodplain. The contributions from Hobolochitto Creek to the carbon pool in the EPR basin were lowest during a high flow event and reached a maximum during the dry season. Meanwhile, the floodplain in the EPR basin acted as a significant sink for DOC, POC and particulate nitrogen during summer and for suspended sediment during a high flow event. However, the floodplain was converted into a source of suspended sediment, DOC, and POC to the EPR during winter, revealing a dynamic nature and seasonality in the floodplain influence. Consistent with its dominant forest coverage, abundant wetlands along the river corridor, and mild anthropogenic disturbance, the Pearl River basin above Bogalusa generally had higher yields of DOC and POC (1903 and 1386 kg-C km-2 yr-1, respectively), but a lower yield of DIC (2126 kg-C km-2 yr-1) compared to other North American rivers. An estimation based on a mass balance approach suggests the interactions between floodplain and the main river stem could reduce the annual DIC and POC export fluxes from downstream of the EPR by 24% and 40%, respectively, but enhance the annual riverine DOC export by 25%. Similar scenarios likely occur in other wetland-rich coastal rivers and are capable of significantly altering the current estimation of riverine carbon export.

Simulation of ground-water flow in the Mojave River basin, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stamos, Christina L.; Martin, Peter; Nishikawa, Tracy; Cox, Brett F.

2001-01-01

The proximity of the Mojave River ground-water basin to the highly urbanized Los Angeles region has led to rapid growth in population and, consequently, to an increase in the demand for water. The Mojave River, the primary source of surface water for the region, normally is dry-except for a small stretch of perennial flow and periods of flow after intense storms. Thus, the region relies almost entirely on ground water to meet its agricultural and municipal needs. Ground-water withdrawal since the late 1800's has resulted in discharge, primarily from pumping wells, that exceeds natural recharge. To better understand the relation between the regional and the floodplain aquifer systems and to develop a management tool that could be used to estimate the effects that future stresses may have on the ground-water system, a numerical ground-water flow model of the Mojave River ground-water basin was developed, in part, on the basis of a previously developed analog model. The ground-water flow model has two horizontal layers; the top layer (layer 1) corresponds to the floodplain aquifer and the bottom layer (layer 2) corresponds to the regional aquifer. There are 161 rows and 200 columns with a horizontal grid spacing of 2,000 by 2,000 feet. Two stress periods (wet and dry) per year are used where the duration of each stress period is a function of the occurrence, quantity of discharge, and length of stormflow from the headwaters each year. A steady-state model provided initial conditions for the transient-state simulation. The model was calibrated to transient-state conditions (1931-94) using a trial-and-error approach. The transient-state simulation results are in good agreement with measured data. Under transient-state conditions, the simulated floodplain aquifer and regional aquifer hydrographs matched the general trends observed for the measured water levels. The simulated streamflow hydrographs matched wet stress period average flow rates and times of no flow at the Barstow and Afton Canyon gages. Steady-state particle-tracking was used to estimate travel times for mountain-front and streamflow recharge. The simulated travel times for mountain-front recharge to reach the area west of Victorville were about 5,000 to 6,000 years; this result is in reasonable agreement with published results. Steady-state particle-tracking results for streamflow recharge indicate that in most subareas along the river, the particles quickly leave and reenter the river. The complaint that resulted in the adjudication of the Mojave River ground-water basin alleged that the cumulative water production upstream of the city of Barstow had overdrafted the ground-water basin. In order to ascertain the effect of pumping on ground-water and surface-water relations along the Mojave River, two pumping simulations were compared with the 1931-90 transient-state simulation (base case). The first simulation assumed 1931-90 pumping in the upper region (Este, Oeste, Alto, and Transition zone model subareas) but with no pumping in the remainder of the basin, and the second assumed 1931-90 pumping in the lower region (Centro, Harper Lake, Baja, Coyote Lake, and Afton Canyon model subareas) but with no pumping in remainder of the basin. In the upper region, assuming pumping only in the upper region, there was no change in storage, recharge from the Mojave River, ground-water discharge to the Mojave River, or evapotranspiration when compared with the base case. In the lower region, assuming pumping only in the upper region, there was storage accretion, decreased recharge from the Mojave River, increased ground-water discharge to the Mojave River, and increased evapotranspiration when compared with the base case. In the upper region, assuming pumping only in the lower region, there was storage accretion, decreased recharge from the Mojave River, increased ground-water discharge to the Mojave River, and increased evapotranspiration when compared with the base case. In the

On the use of MODIS and TRMM products to simulate hydrological processes in the La Plata Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saavedra Valeriano, O. C.; Koike, T.; Berbery, E. H.

2009-12-01

La Plata basin is targeted to establish a distributed water-energy balance model using NASA and JAXA satellite products to estimate fluxes like the river discharge at sub-basin scales. The coupled model is called the Water and Energy Budget-based Distributed Hydrological Model (WEB-DHM), already tested with success in the Little Washita basin, Oklahoma, and the upper Tone River in Japan. The model demonstrated the ability to reproduce point-scale energy fluxes, CO2 flux, and river discharges. Moreover, the model showed the ability to predict the basin-scale surface soil moisture evolution in a spatially distributed fashion. In the context of the La Plata Basin, the first step was to set-up the water balance component of the distributed hydrological model of the entire basin using available global geographical data sets. The geomorphology of the basin was extracted using 1-km DEM resolution (obtained from EROS, Hydro 1K). The total delineated watershed reached 3.246 millions km2, identifying 145 sub-basins with a computing grid of 10-km. The distribution of land cover, land surface temperature, LAI and FPAR were obtained from MODIS products. In a first instance, the model was forced by gridded rainfall from the Climate Prediction Center (derived from available rain gauges) and satellite precipitation from TRMM 3B42 (NASA & JAXA). The simulated river discharge using both sources of data was compared and the overall low flow and normal peaks were identified. It was found that the extreme peaks tend to be overestimated when using TRMM 3B42. However, TRMM data allows tracking rainfall patterns which might be missed by the sparse distribution of rain gauges over some areas of the basin.

Identifying water-quality trends in the Trinity River, Texas, USA, 1969-1992, using sediment cores from Lake Livingston

USGS Publications Warehouse

Van Metre, P.C.; Callender, E.

1996-01-01

Chemical analyses were done on cores of bottom sediment from three locations in Lake Livingston, a reservoir on the Trinity River in east Texas to identify trends in water quality in the Trinity River using the chemical record preserved in bottom sediments trapped by the reservoir. Sediment cores spanned the period from 1969, when the reservoir was impounded, to 1992, when the cores were collected. Chemical concentrations in reservoir sediment samples were compared to concentrations for 14 streambed sediment samples from the Trinity River Basin and to reported concentrations for soils in the eastern United States and shale. These comparisons indicate that sediments deposited in Lake Livingston are representative of the environmental setting of Lake Livingston within the Trinity River Basin. Vertical changes in concentrations within sediment cores indicate temporal trends of decreasing concentrations of lead, sodium, barium, and total DDT (DDT plus its metabolites DDD and DDE) in the Trinity River. Possible increasing temporal trends are indicated for chlordane and dieldrin. Each sediment-derived trend is related to trends in water quality in the Trinity River or known changes in environmental factors in its drainage basin or both.

Floods of November-December 1950 in the Central Valley basin, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Paulsen, C.G.

1953-01-01

The flood of November-December 1950 in the Central Valley basin was the greatest in most parts of the basin since the turn of the century and probably was exceeded in the lower San Joaquin River basin only by the historic flood of 1862. In respect to monetary loss, the 1950 flood was the most disastrous in the history of the basin. Loss of life was remarkably small when one considers the extensive damage and destruction to homes and other property, which is estimated at 33 million dollars. Outstanding features of the flood were its unprecedented occurrence so early in the winter flood season, its magnitude in respect to both peak and volume in most major tributaries, and the occurrence of a succession of near-peak flows with a period of three weeks. The flood was caused by a series of storms during the period November 16 to December 8, which brought exceptionally warm, moisture-laden air inland against the Sierra Nevada range and caused intense rainfall, instead of snowfall, at unusually high altitudes. Basin-wide totals of rainfall during the period ranged from 30 inches over the Yuba and American River basins to 13 inches over the upper Sacramento and Feather River basins. Based on continuous records of discharge on major tributaries for periods ranging from 22 to 55 years and averaging about 43 years, the 1950 flood peaks were the greatest of record on the American, Cosumnes, Mokelumne, Stanislaus, Tuolumne, Merced, Chowchilla, Fresno, lower San Joaquin, Kings, Kaweah, Tule, and Kern Rivers. Second highest peak of record occurred during the flood of March 1928 on the Yuba, American and Mokelumne Rivers; the flood of Marcn 1940 on Cosumnes River; the flood of January 1911 on the Stanislaus and Tuolumne Rivers; the flood of December 1937 on the Merced, Kings, and Kaweah Rivers; the flood of March 1938 on the Chowchilla, Fresno, and lower San Joaquin Rivers; and the flood of March 1943 on the Tule and Kern Rivers. Peak discharges for 1950 did not exceed previous maxima on Bear, Yuba, Feather, and upper Sacramento Rivers, nor on west side tributaries of lower Sacramento River, Calaveras River, and upper San Joaquin River (above Friant Reservoir). Notable high rates of discharge were 354 cfs per square mile from 39.5 square miles in North Fork of Middle Fork Tule River, 225 cfs per square mile from 198 square miles in Rubicon River, 115 cfs per square mile from 999 square miles in North Fork of American River and 93.7 cfs per square mile from 1,921 square miles in American River at Fair Oaks. This report presents a general description of the 1950 flood, details and estimates of the damage incurred, records of stage and discharge for the period of the flood at 171 stream-gaging stations, records of storage in 14 reservoirs, a summary of peak discharges with comparative data for previous floods at 252 measurement points, and tables showing crest stages along the main stem and major tributary channels of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. The report also includes a discussion of meteorologic and hydrologic conditions associated with the flood, examples of the flood regulation afforded by storage reservoirs, a brief study of runoff characteristics, and a summary and comparison with previous floods in the Central Valley basin.

Population demographics of American eels Anguilla rostrata in two Arkansas, U.S.A., catchments that drain into the Gulf of Mexico.

PubMed

Cox, C A; Quinn, J W; Lewis, L C; Adams, S R; Adams, G L

2016-03-01

The goal of this study was to compare American eel Anguilla rostrata life history in two inland river systems in Arkansas, U.S.A., that ultimately discharge into the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River and the Red-Atchafalaya catchments. From 21 June 2011 to 24 April 2014, 238 yellow-phase A. rostrata were captured in the middle Ouachita River and tributaries using boat electrofishing and 39 in the lower White River using multiple sampling gears. Most of them were caught downstream of dams in both basins (61%). Medium-sized A. rostrata ranging from 225 to 350 mm total length (LT ) were the most abundant size group in the Ouachita River basin, but they were absent from the White River. Mean LT at age 4 years (i.e. youngest shared age) was 150 mm greater for the White River than the Ouachita River basin. Anguilla rostrata appeared to have a greater initial LT (i.e. minimum size upon arrival) in the White River that allowed them to reach a gonado-somatic index (IG ) of 1·5 up to 4 years earlier, and downstream migration appeared to occur 5 years earlier at 100 mm greater LT ; these differences may be related to increased river fragmentation by dams in the Ouachita River basin. Growth and maturation of A. rostrata in this study were more similar to southern populations along the Atlantic coast than other inland populations. Adult swimbladder nematodes Anguillicoloides crassus were not present in any of the 214 swimbladders inspected. Gulf of Mexico catchments may be valuable production areas for A. rostrata and data from these systems should be considered as range-wide protection and management plans are being developed. © 2016 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Investigations into the Early Life History of Naturally Produced Spring Chinook Salmon in the Grande Ronde Riiver Basin : Fish Research Project Oregon : Annual Progress Report 1 September 1995 to 1 August 1996.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jonasson, Brian C.; Carmichael, Richard W.; Keefe, MaryLouise

1997-09-01

Historically, the Grande Ronde River produced an abundance of salmonids including stocks of spring, summer and fall chinook salmon, sockeye salmon, coho salmon, and summer steelhead. During the past century, numerous factors have caused the reduction of salmon stocks such that only sustainable stocks of spring chinook salmon and summer steelhead remain. The sizes of spring chinook salmon populations in the Grande Ronde River basin also have been declining steadily and are substantially depressed from estimates of historic levels. In addition to a decline in population abundance, a reduction of spring chinook salmon spawning distribution is evident in the Grandemore » Ronde River basin. Numerous factors are thought to contribute to the decline of spring chinook salmon in the Snake River and its tributaries. These factors include passage problems and increased mortality of juvenile and adult migrants at mainstem Columbia and Snake river dams, overharvest, and habitat degradation associated with timber, agricultural, and land development practices. This study was designed to describe aspects of the life history strategies exhibited by spring chinook salmon in the Grande Ronde River basin. During the past year the focus was on rearing and migration patterns of juveniles in the upper Grande Ronde River and Catherine Creek. The study design included three objectives: (1) document the annual in-basin migration patterns for spring chinook salmon juveniles in the upper Grande Ronde River and Catherine Creek, including the abundance of migrants, migration timing and duration; (2) estimate and compare smolt survival indices to mainstem Columbia and Snake river dams for fall and spring migrating spring chinook salmon; and (3) determine summer and winter habitat utilization and preference of juvenile spring chinook salmon in the upper Grande Ronde River and Catherine Creek.« less

Statistical and Hydrological evaluation of precipitation forecasts from IMD MME and ECMWF numerical weather forecasts for Indian River basins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohite, A. R.; Beria, H.; Behera, A. K.; Chatterjee, C.; Singh, R.

2016-12-01

Flood forecasting using hydrological models is an important and cost-effective non-structural flood management measure. For forecasting at short lead times, empirical models using real-time precipitation estimates have proven to be reliable. However, their skill depreciates with increasing lead time. Coupling a hydrologic model with real-time rainfall forecasts issued from numerical weather prediction (NWP) systems could increase the lead time substantially. In this study, we compared 1-5 days precipitation forecasts from India Meteorological Department (IMD) Multi-Model Ensemble (MME) with European Center for Medium Weather forecast (ECMWF) NWP forecasts for over 86 major river basins in India. We then evaluated the hydrologic utility of these forecasts over Basantpur catchment (approx. 59,000 km2) of the Mahanadi River basin. Coupled MIKE 11 RR (NAM) and MIKE 11 hydrodynamic (HD) models were used for the development of flood forecast system (FFS). RR model was calibrated using IMD station rainfall data. Cross-sections extracted from SRTM 30 were used as input to the MIKE 11 HD model. IMD started issuing operational MME forecasts from the year 2008, and hence, both the statistical and hydrologic evaluation were carried out from 2008-2014. The performance of FFS was evaluated using both the NWP datasets separately for the year 2011, which was a large flood year in Mahanadi River basin. We will present figures and metrics for statistical (threshold based statistics, skill in terms of correlation and bias) and hydrologic (Nash Sutcliffe efficiency, mean and peak error statistics) evaluation. The statistical evaluation will be at pan-India scale for all the major river basins and the hydrologic evaluation will be for the Basantpur catchment of the Mahanadi River basin.

Trends in nutrient concentrations, loads, and yields in streams in the Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Santa Ana Basins, California, 1975-2004

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kratzer, Charles R.; Kent, Robert; Seleh, Dina K.; Knifong, Donna L.; Dileanis, Peter D.; Orlando, James L.

2011-01-01

A comprehensive database was assembled for the Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Santa Ana Basins in California on nutrient concentrations, flows, and point and nonpoint sources of nutrients for 1975-2004. Most of the data on nutrient concentrations (nitrate, ammonia, total nitrogen, orthophosphate, and total phosphorus) were from the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water Information System database (35.2 percent), the California Department of Water Resources (21.9 percent), the University of California at Davis (21.6 percent), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's STOrage and RETrieval database (20.0 percent). Point-source discharges accounted for less than 1 percent of river flows in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, but accounted for close to 80 percent of the nonstorm flow in the Santa Ana River. Point sources accounted for 4 and 7 percent of the total nitrogen and total phosphorus loads, respectively, in the Sacramento River at Freeport for 1985-2004. Point sources accounted for 8 and 17 percent of the total nitrogen and total phosphorus loads, respectively, in the San Joaquin River near Vernalis for 1985-2004. The volume of wastewater discharged into the Santa Ana River increased almost three-fold over the study period. However, due to improvements in wastewater treatment, the total nitrogen load to the Santa Ana River from point sources in 2004 was approximately the same as in 1975 and the total phosphorus load in 2004 was less than in 1975. Nonpoint sources of nutrients estimated in this study included atmospheric deposition, fertilizer application, manure production, and tile drainage. The estimated dry deposition of nitrogen exceeded wet deposition in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys and in the basin area of the Santa Ana Basin, with ratios of dry to wet deposition of 1.7, 2.8, and 9.8, respectively. Fertilizer application increased appreciably from 1987 to 2004 in all three California basins, although manure production increased in the San Joaquin Basin but decreased in the Sacramento and Santa Ana Basins from 1982 to 2002. Tile drainage accounted for 22 percent of the total nitrogen load in the San Joaquin River near Vernalis for 1985-2004. Nutrient loads and trends were calculated by using the log-linear multiple-regression model, LOADEST. Loads were calculated for water years 1975-2004 for 22 sites in the Sacramento Basin, 15 sites in the San Joaquin Basin, and 6 sites in the Santa Ana Basin. The average annual load of total nitrogen and total phosphorus for 1985-2004 in subbasins in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Basins were divided by their drainage areas to calculate average annual yield. Total nitrogen yields were greater than 2.45 tons per square mile per year [(tons/mi2)/yr] in about 61 percent of the valley floor in the San Joaquin Basin compared with only about 12 percent of the valley floor in the Sacramento Basin. Total phosphorus yields were greater than 0.34 (tons/mi2)/yr in about 43 percent of the valley floor in the San Joaquin Basin compared with only about 5 percent in the valley floor of the Sacramento Basin. In a stepwise multiple linear-regression analysis of 30 subbasins in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Basins, the most important explanatory variables (out of 11 variables) for the response variable (total nitrogen yield) were the percentage of land use in (1) orchards and vineyards, (2) row crops, and (3) urban categories. For total phosphorus yield, the most important explanatory variable was the amount of fertilizer application plus manure production. Trends were evaluated for three time periods: 1975-2004, 1985-2004, and 1993-2004. Most trends in flow-adjusted concentrations of nutrients in the Sacramento Basin were downward for all three time periods. The decreasing nutrient trends in the American River at Sacramento and the Sacramento River at Freeport for 1975-2004 were attributed to the consolidation of wastewater in the Sacramento metropolitan area in December 1982 to

Hydrogeology and Simulated Effects of Ground-Water Withdrawals in the Big River Area, Rhode Island

USGS Publications Warehouse

Granato, Gregory E.; Barlow, Paul M.; Dickerman, David C.

2003-01-01

The Rhode Island Water Resources Board is considering expanded use of ground-water resources from the Big River area because increasing water demands in Rhode Island may exceed the capacity of current sources. This report describes the hydrology of the area and numerical simulation models that were used to examine effects of ground-water withdrawals during 1964?98 and to describe potential effects of different withdrawal scenarios in the area. The Big River study area covers 35.7 square miles (mi2) and includes three primary surface-water drainage basins?the Mishnock River Basin above Route 3, the Big River Basin, and the Carr River Basin, which is a tributary to the Big River. The principal aquifer (referred to as the surficial aquifer) in the study area, which is defined as the area of stratified deposits with a saturated thickness estimated to be 10 feet or greater, covers an area of 10.9 mi2. On average, an estimated 75 cubic feet per second (ft3/s) of water flows through the study area and about 70 ft3/s flows out of the area as streamflow in either the Big River (about 63 ft3/s) or the Mishnock River (about 7 ft3/s). Numerical simulation models are used to describe the hydrology of the area under simulated predevelopment conditions, conditions during 1964?98, and conditions that might occur in 14 hypothetical ground-water withdrawal scenarios with total ground-water withdrawal rates in the area that range from 2 to 11 million gallons per day. Streamflow depletion caused by these hypothetical ground-water withdrawals is calculated by comparison with simulated flows for the predevelopment conditions, which are identical to simulated conditions during the 1964?98 period but without withdrawals at public-supply wells and wastewater recharge. Interpretation of numerical simulation results indicates that the three basins in the study area are in fact a single ground-water resource. For example, the Carr River Basin above Capwell Mill Pond is naturally losing water to the Mishnock River Basin. Withdrawals in the Carr River Basin can deplete streamflows in the Mishnock River Basin. Withdrawals in the Mishnock River Basin deplete streamflows in the Big River Basin and can intercept water flowing to the Flat River Reservoir North of Hill Farm Road in Coventry, Rhode Island. Withdrawals in the Big River Basin can deplete streamflows in the western unnamed tributary to the Carr River, but do not deplete streamflows in the Mishnock River Basin or in the Carr River upstream of Capwell Mill Pond. Because withdrawals deplete streamflows in the study area, the total amount of ground water that may be withdrawn for public supply depends on the minimum allowable streamflow criterion that is applied for each basin.

Water Quality in the Upper Illinois River Basin Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, 1999-2001

USGS Publications Warehouse

Groschen, George E.; Arnold, Terri L.; Harris, Mitchell A.; Dupre, David H.; Fitzpatrick, Faith A.; Scudder, Barbara C.; Morrow, William S.; Terrio, Paul J.; Warner, Kelly L.; Murphy, Elizabeth A.

2004-01-01

This report contains the major findings of a 1999?2001 assessment of water quality in the upper Illinois River Basin. It is one of a series of reports by the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program that present major findings in 51 major river basins and aquifer systems across the Nation. In these reports, water quality is discussed in terms of local, State, and regional issues. Conditions in a particular basin or aquifer system are compared to conditions found elsewhere and to selected national benchmarks, such as those for drinking-water quality and the protection of aquatic organisms. This report is intended for individuals working with water-resource issues in Federal, State, or local agencies, universities, public-interest groups, or in the private sector. The information will be useful in addressing a number of current issues, such as the effects of agricultural and urban land use on water quality, human health, drinking water, source-water protection, hypoxia and excessive growth of algae and plants, pesticide registration, and monitoring and sampling strategies. This report also is for individuals who wish to know more about the quality of streams and ground water in areas near where they live, and how that water quality compares to the quality of water in other areas across the Nation. The water-quality conditions in the upper Illinois River Basin summarized in this report are discussed in detail in other reports that can be accessed from (http://il.water.usgs.gov/nawqa/uirb). Detailed technical information, data and analyses, collection and analytical methodology, models, graphs, and maps that support the findings presented in this report in addition to reports in this series from other basins can be accessed from the national NAWQA Web site at (http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa).

Water Quality in the Delaware River Basin, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Delaware, 1998-2001

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fischer, Jeffrey M.; Riva-Murray, Karen; Hickman, R. Edward; Chichester, Douglas C.; Brightbill, Robin A.; Romanok, Kristin M.; Bilger, Michael D.

2004-01-01

This report contains the major findings of a 1998-2001 assessment of water quality in the Delaware River Basin. It is one of a series of reports by the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program that present major findings in 51 major river basins and aquifer systems across the Nation. In these reports, water quality is discussed in terms of local, State, and regional issues. Conditions in a particular basin or aquifer system are compared to conditions found elsewhere and to selected national benchmarks, such as those for drinking-water quality and the protection of aquatic organisms. This report is intended for individuals working with water-resource issues in Federal, State, or local agencies, universities, public interest groups, or in the private sector. The information will be useful in addressing a number of current issues, such as the effects of agricultural and urban land use on water quality, human health, drinking water, source-water protection, hypoxia and excessive growth of algae and plants, pesticide registration, and monitoring and sampling strategies. This report is also for individuals who wish to know more about the quality of streams and ground water in areas near where they live, and how that quality compares to the quality of water in other areas across the Nation. The water-quality conditions in the Delaware River Basin summarized in this report are discussed in detail in other reports that can be accessed from http://nj.water.usgs.gov/nawqa/delr/. Detailed technical information, data and analyses, collection and analytical methodology, models, graphs, and maps that support the findings presented in this report, in addition to reports in this series from other basins, can be accessed from the national NAWQA Web site (http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa).

Water quality in the Yellowstone River Basin, Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota, 1999-2001

USGS Publications Warehouse

Peterson, David A.; Bartos, Timothy T.; Clark, Melanie L.; Miller, Kirk A.; Porter, Stephen D.; Quinn, Thomas L.

2004-01-01

This report contains the major findings of a 1999?2001 assessment of water quality in the Yellowstone River Basin. It is one of a series of reports by the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program that present major findings in 51 major river basins and aquifer systems across the Nation. In these reports, water quality is discussed in terms of local, State, and regional issues. Conditions in a particular basin or aquifer system are compared to conditions found elsewhere and to selected national benchmarks, such as those for drinking-water quality and the protection of aquatic organisms. This report is intended for individuals working with water-resource issues in Federal, State, or local agencies, universities, public interest groups, or in the private sector. The information will be useful in addressing a number of current issues, such as the effects of agricultural and urban land use on water quality, human health, drinking water, source-water protection, hypoxia and excessive growth of algae and plants, pesticide registration, and monitoring and sampling strategies. This report also is for individuals who wish to know more about the quality of streams and ground water in areas near where they live, and how that water quality compares to the quality of water in other areas across the Nation. The water-quality conditions in the Yellowstone River Basin summarized in this report are discussed in detail in other reports that can be accessed from http://wy.water.usgs.gov/YELL/index.htm. Detailed technical information, data and analyses, collection and analytical methodology, models, graphs, and maps that support the findings presented in this report, in addition to reports in this series from other basins, can be accessed from the national NAWQA Web site (http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa).

Drainage areas in the Vermillion River basin in eastern South Dakota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Benson, Rick D.; Freese, M.D.; Amundson, Frank D.

1988-01-01

Above-normal precipitation in the northern portion of the Vermillion River basin from 1982 through 1987 caused substantial rises in lake levels in the Lake Thompson chain of lakes, resulting in discharge from Lake Thompson to the East Fork Vermillion River. Prior to 1986, the Lake Thompson chain of lakes was thought to be a noncontributing portion of the Vermillion River basin. To better understand surface drainage, the map delineates all named stream basins, and all unnamed basins larger than approximately 10 sq mi within the Vermillion River basin in South Dakota and lists by stream name the area of each basin. Stream drainage basins were delineated by visual interpretation of contour information of U.S. Geological Survey 7 1/2 minute topographic maps. Two tables list areas of drainage basins and reaches, as well as drainage areas above gaging stations. (USGS)

More frequent flooding? Changes in flood frequency in the Pearl River basin, China, since 1951 and over the past 1000 years

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Qiang; Gu, Xihui; Singh, Vijay P.; Shi, Peijun; Sun, Peng

2018-05-01

Flood risks across the Pearl River basin, China, were evaluated using a peak flood flow dataset covering a period of 1951-2014 from 78 stations and historical flood records of the past 1000 years. The generalized extreme value (GEV) model and the kernel estimation method were used to evaluate frequencies and risks of hazardous flood events. Results indicated that (1) no abrupt changes or significant trends could be detected in peak flood flow series at most of the stations, and only 16 out of 78 stations exhibited significant peak flood flow changes with change points around 1990. Peak flood flow in the West River basin increased and significant increasing trends were identified during 1981-2010; decreasing peak flood flow was found in coastal regions and significant trends were observed during 1951-2014 and 1966-2014. (2) The largest three flood events were found to cluster in both space and time. Generally, basin-scale flood hazards can be expected in the West and North River basins. (3) The occurrence rate of floods increased in the middle Pearl River basin but decreased in the lower Pearl River basin. However, hazardous flood events were observed in the middle and lower Pearl River basin, and this is particularly true for the past 100 years. However, precipitation extremes were subject to moderate variations and human activities, such as building of levees, channelization of river systems, and rapid urbanization; these were the factors behind the amplification of floods in the middle and lower Pearl River basin, posing serious challenges for developing measures of mitigation of flood hazards in the lower Pearl River basin, particularly the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region.

Has irrigated water from Mahaweli River contributed to the kidney disease of uncertain etiology in the dry zone of Sri Lanka?

PubMed

Diyabalanage, Saranga; Abekoon, Sumith; Watanabe, Izumi; Watai, Chie; Ono, Yuko; Wijesekara, Saman; Guruge, Keerthi S; Chandrajith, Rohana

2016-06-01

The Mahaweli is the largest river basin in Sri Lanka that provides water to the dry zone region through multipurpose irrigation schemes . Selenium, arsenic, cadmium, and other bioimportant trace elements in surface waters of the upper Mahaweli River were measured using ICP-MS. Trace element levels were then compared with water from two other rivers (Maha Oya, Kalu Ganga) and from six dry zone irrigation reservoirs. Results showed that the trace metal concentrations in the Mahaweli upper catchment were detected in the order of Fe > Cu > Zn > Se > Cr > Mn > As > Ni > Co > Mo. Remarkably high levels of Ca, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, As, and Se were observed in the Mahaweli Basin compared to other study rivers. Considerably high levels of Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, and Se were found in upstream tributaries of the Mahaweli River. Such metals possibly originated from phosphate and organic fertilizers that are heavily applied for tea and vegetable cultivations within the drainage basin. Cadmium that is often attributed to the etiology of unknown chronic kidney diseases in certain parts of the dry zone is much lower than previously reported levels. Decrease in these metals in the lower part of the Mahaweli River could be due to adsorption of trace metals onto sediment and consequent deposition in reservoirs.

Remote sensing research on fragile ecological environment in continental river basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ranghui; Peng, Ruyan; Zhang, Huizhi

2003-07-01

Based on some remote sensing data and software platform of image processing and analysis, the standard image for ecological thematic mapping is decided. Moreover, the vegetation type maps and land sandy desertification type maps are made. Relaying on differences of natural resources and ecological environment in Tarim River Basin, the assessment indicator system and ecological fragility index (EFI) of ecological environment are built up. The assessment results are very severely. That is, EFI is only 0.08 in Akesu River Basin, it belongs to slight fragility area. EFI of Yarkant River Basin and upper reaches of Tarim River Basin are 0.23 and 0.25 respectively, both of them belong to general fragility areas. Meanwhile, EFI of Hotan River Basin and middle reaches of Tarim River Basin are 0.32 and 0.49 respectively; they all belong to middle fragility areas. However, the fragility of the lower reaches of Tarim River Basin belongs to severe fragility area that the EFI is 0.87.The maladjustment among water with hot and land as well as salt are hindrance of energy transfer and material circulation and information transmission. It is also the main reason that caused ecological environment fragility.

43 CFR 431.7 - Administration and management of the Colorado River Dam Fund.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... the administration of the Colorado River Dam Fund and the Lower Colorado River Basin Development Fund... deposited by Western and shall be available without further appropriation for: (1) Defraying the costs of... River Basin Project Act; (5) Transfers to the Lower Colorado River Basin Development Fund and subsequent...

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Perkin, Joshuah S.; Troia, Matthew J.; Shaw, Dustin C. R.

Stream fish distributions are commonly linked to environmental disturbances affecting terrestrial landscapes. In Great Plains prairie streams, the independent and interactive effects of watershed impoundments and land cover changes remain poorly understood despite their prevalence and assumed contribution to declining stream fish diversity. We used structural equation models and fish community samples from third-order streams in the Kansas River and Arkansas River basins of Kansas, USA to test the simultaneous effects of geographic location, terrestrial landscape alteration, watershed impoundments and local habitat on species richness for stream-associated and impoundment-associated habitat guilds. Watershed impoundment density increased from west to east inmore » both basins, while per cent altered terrestrial landscape (urbanisation + row-crop agriculture) averaged ~50% in the west, declined throughout the Flint Hills ecoregion and increased (Kansas River basin ~80%) or decreased (Arkansas River basin ~30%) to the east. Geographic location had the strongest effect on richness for both guilds across basins, supporting known zoogeography patterns. In addition to location, impoundment species richness was positively correlated with local habitat in both basins; whereas stream-species richness was negatively correlated with landscape alterations (Kansas River basin) or landscape alterations and watershed impoundments (Arkansas River basin). These findings suggest that convergences in the relative proportions of impoundment and stream species (i.e., community structure) in the eastern extent of both basins are related to positive effects of increased habitat opportunities for impoundment species and negative effects caused by landscape alterations (Kansas River basin) or landscape alterations plus watershed impoundments (Arkansas River basin) for stream species.« less

Sediment fluxes from California Coastal Rivers: the influences of climate, geology, and topography

USGS Publications Warehouse

Andrews, E.D.; Antweiler, Ronald C.

2012-01-01

The influences of geologic and climatic factors on erosion and sedimentation processes in rivers draining the western flank of the California Coast Range are assessed. Annual suspended, bedload, and total sediment fluxes were determined for 16 river basins that have hydrologic records covering all or most of the period from 1950 to 2006 and have been relatively unaffected by flow storage, regulation, and depletion, which alter the downstream movement of water and sediment. The occurrence of relatively large annual sediment fluxes are strongly influenced by the El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). The frequency of relatively large annual sediment fluxes decreases from north to south during La Nina phases and increases from north to south during El Nino phases. The influence of ENSO is modulated over a period of decades by the PDO, such that relatively large annual sediment fluxes are more frequent during a La Nina phase in conjunction with a cool PDO and during an El Nino phase in conjunction with a warm PDO. Values of mean annual sediment flux, , were regressed against basin and climatic characteristics. Basin area, bedrock erodibility, basin relief, and precipitation explain 87% of the variation in from the 16 river basins. Bedrock erodibility is the most significant characteristic influencing . Basin relief is a superior predictor of compared with basin slope. is nearly proportional to basin area and increases with increasing precipitation. For a given percentage change, basin relief has a 2.3-fold greater effect on than a similar change in precipitation. The estimated natural from all California coastal rivers for the period 1950–2006 would have been approximately 85 million tons without flow storage, regulation, and depletion; the actual has been approximately 50 million tons, because of the effects of flow storage, regulation, and depletion.

Groundwater quality in the Chemung River, Eastern Lake Ontario, and Lower Hudson River Basins, New York, 2013

USGS Publications Warehouse

Scott, Tia-Marie; Nystrom, Elizabeth A.; Reddy, James E.

2015-11-10

The Lower Hudson River Basin study area covers 5,607 square miles and encompasses the part of the Lower Hudson River Basin that lies within New York plus the parts of the Housatonic, Hackensack, Bronx, and Saugatuck River Basins that are in New York. Twelve of the wells sampled in the Lower Hudson River Basin are completed in sand-and-gravel deposits, and 13 are completed in bedrock. Groundwater in the Lower Hudson River Basin was generally of good quality, although properties and concentrations of some constituents—pH, sodium, chloride, dissolved solids, arsenic, aluminum, iron, manganese, radon-222, total coliform bacteria, fecal coliform bacteria, Escherichia coli bacteria, and heterotrophic plate count—equaled or exceeded primary, secondary, or proposed drinking-water standards. The constituent most frequently detected in concentrations exceeding drinking-water standards (20 of 25 samples) was radon-222.

Comparison and evaluation of satellite- and reanalysis-based precipitation products for water resources management in the Brahmaputra River basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saleh Khan, Abu; Sohel Masud, Md.; Abdulla Hel Kafi, Md.; Sultana, Tashrifa; Lopez Lopez, Patricia

2017-04-01

The Brahmaputra River, with a transboundary basin area of approx. 554,500 km2, has its origin on the northern slope of the Himalayas in China, from where it flows through India, Bhutan and finally Bangladesh. Brahmaputra basin's climatology is heavily conditioned by precipitation during the monsoon months, concentrating about the 85 % of the rainfall in this period and originating severe and frequent floods that impact specially the Bangladeshi population in the delta region. Recent campaigns to increase the quality and to share ground-based hydro-meteorological data, in particular precipitation, within the basin have provided limited results. Global rainfall data from satellite and reanalysis may improve the temporal and spatial availability of in-situ observations for advanced water resources management. This study aims to evaluate the applicability of several global precipitation products from satellite and reanalysis in comparison with in-situ data to quantify their added value for hydrological modeling at a basin and sub-basin scale for the Brahmaputra River. Precipitation products from CMORPH, TRMM-3B42, GsMAP, WFDEI, MSWEP and various combinations with ground-based data were evaluated at basin and sub-basin level at a daily and monthly temporal resolution. The Brahmaputra was delineated into 54 sub-basins for a more detailed evaluation of the precipitation products. The data were analysed and inter-compared for the time period from 2002 to 2010. Precipitation performance assessment was conducted including several indicators, such as probability of detection (POD), false alarm ratio (FAR), Pearson's correlation coefficient (r), bias and root mean square error (RMSE). Preliminary results indicate high correlation and low bias and RMSE values between WFDEI, TRMM-3B42 and CMORPH precipitation and in-situ observations at a monthly time scale. Lower correlations and higher bias and RMSE values were found between GsMAP and MSWEP and ground-observed precipitation. The best performance was achieved with TRMM-3B42 precipitation. Preliminary results also show that precipitation is better captured during monsoon season rather than in dry seasons with all the analysed precipitation products. Moreover, in the comparison at a sub-basin level, precipitation estimates are more accurate in those sub-basins located in the southern part of the Brahmaputra River basin. These results identify the added value of satellite-based and reanalysis derived precipitation products for improving available information and water resources management in the Brahmaputra River basin. Keywords: precipitation, earth observations, hydrological modeling, Brahmaputra River basin.

The protection of RIVERLIFE by mitigation of flood damages RIVERLIFE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adler, M. J.

2003-04-01

The long-term development objective of the RIVERLIFE project is to contribute to sustainable human end economic development in the Timis-Bega river basin area as part of the Danube River Basin (DRB), through reinforcing the capacities of Romanian central and local authorities to develop effective mechanisms and tools for integrated river basin management in the Timis-Bega basin. The overall objective of the project is to assist the country in the EU enlargement and accession process to meet the EU requirements of water related Directives with emphasis on the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). The specific objective of the project is to support the WFD implementation process at the level of a sub-unit within the limits of the DRB, through the development of a River Basin Management Plan (RBMP). The project will also facilitate the implementation of the Danube River Protection Convention (DRPC) as an essential element in the implementation of the Directive in the transboundary river basins. Expected outcomes in the recipient country consist of (i) responding to a real hazard problem, which affects the quality of life of many citizens, and (ii) improvement in the environmental conditions in the targeted areas. Flooding is one of the major natural hazards to human society and an important influence on social and economic development for Romania causing financially greater losses per annum on average than any other natural hazard. One key concept of the WFD is the coordination, organization and regulation of water management at the level of river basins. Therefore, river basin districts are shaped in such a way as to include not only the surface run-off through streams and rivers to the sea, but the total area of land and sea together with the associated groundwater and coastal waters. The concept allows even for the small river basins directly discharging into the sea to be combined into one river basin district. As a principle, the complex decisions on the use or interventions in the aquatic systems within the river basin district limits should take place in an integrated and co-coordinated approach as part of the RBMP. The process includes all RBMP plan development phases for Timis-Bega basin from planning and analysis phases to the assessment and the identification of respective programs of measures intended to achieve the defined environmental objectives for the respective river basin. The central administrative tool of the WFD is the River Basin Management Plan, around which all other elements are set. The river basin becomes the basic unit for all water planning and management interventions according with the physical and hydrological boundaries, but not necessary with its political and administrative limits.

Assessment of uncertainties in soil erosion and sediment yield estimates at ungauged basins: an application to the Garra River basin, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swarnkar, Somil; Malini, Anshu; Tripathi, Shivam; Sinha, Rajiv

2018-04-01

High soil erosion and excessive sediment load are serious problems in several Himalayan river basins. To apply mitigation procedures, precise estimation of soil erosion and sediment yield with associated uncertainties are needed. Here, the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) and the sediment delivery ratio (SDR) equations are used to estimate the spatial pattern of soil erosion (SE) and sediment yield (SY) in the Garra River basin, a small Himalayan tributary of the River Ganga. A methodology is proposed for quantifying and propagating uncertainties in SE, SDR and SY estimates. Expressions for uncertainty propagation are derived by first-order uncertainty analysis, making the method viable even for large river basins. The methodology is applied to investigate the relative importance of different RUSLE factors in estimating the magnitude and uncertainties in SE over two distinct morphoclimatic regimes of the Garra River basin, namely the upper mountainous region and the lower alluvial plains. Our results suggest that average SE in the basin is very high (23 ± 4.7 t ha-1 yr-1) with higher values in the upper mountainous region (92 ± 15.2 t ha-1 yr-1) compared to the lower alluvial plains (19.3 ± 4 t ha-1 yr-1). Furthermore, the topographic steepness (LS) and crop practice (CP) factors exhibit higher uncertainties than other RUSLE factors. The annual average SY is estimated at two locations in the basin - Nanak Sagar Dam (NSD) for the period 1962-2008 and Husepur gauging station (HGS) for 1987-2002. The SY at NSD and HGS are estimated to be 6.9 ± 1.2 × 105 t yr-1 and 6.7 ± 1.4 × 106 t yr-1, respectively, and the estimated 90 % interval contains the observed values of 6.4 × 105 t yr-1 and 7.2 × 106 t yr-1, respectively. The study demonstrated the usefulness of the proposed methodology for quantifying uncertainty in SE and SY estimates at ungauged basins.

Carbon storage and late Holocene chronostratigraphy of a Mississippi River deltaic marsh, St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Markewich, H. W.

1998-01-01

Today, the causes, results, and time scale(s) of climate change, past and potential, are the focus of much research, news coverage, and pundit speculation. Many of the US government scientific agencies have some funds earmarked for research into past and (or) future climate change (National Science and Technology Council, 1997). The Mississippi Basin Carbon Project (MBCP) is part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) effort in global change research . The project is motivated by the need to increase our understanding of the role of terrestrial carbon in the global carbon cycle, particularly in the temperate latitudes of North America. The global land area between 30 O and 60 O N is thought to be a large sink for atmospheric CO2 (IPCC, 1996). The identity of this sink is unknown, but is in part the soil and sediment that makes up the upper several meters of the Earth's surface. The MBCP focuses on the Mississippi River basin, the third largest river system in the world (fig. 1), that drains an area of 3.3 x 10 6 km 2 (1.27 x 10 6 mi 2 ). The Mississippi River basin includes more than 40 percent of the land surface, and is the home of more than one-third of the population, of the conterminous United States. Because climate, vegetation, and land use vary greatly within the Mississippi River basin, the primary terrestrial sinks for carbon need to be identified and quantified for representative parts of the basin. The primary goal of the MBCP is to quantify the interactive effects of land-use, erosion, sedimentation, and soil development on carbon storage and nutrient cycles within the Mississippi River basin. The project includes spatial analysis of a wide variety of geographic data, estimation of whole-basin and sub-basin carbon and sediment budgets, development and implementation of terrestrial carbon-cycle models, and site-specific field studies of relevant processes. Areas can be studied and compared, and estimates can be made for whole-basin carbon storage and flux.

Observability of global rivers with future SWOT observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fisher, Colby; Pan, Ming; Wood, Eric

2017-04-01

The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission is designed to provide global observations of water surface elevation and slope from which river discharge can be estimated using a data assimilation system. This mission will provide increased spatial and temporal coverage compared to current altimeters, with an expected accuracy for water level elevations of 10 cm on rivers greater than 100 m wide. Within the 21-day repeat cycle, a river reach will be observed 2-4 times on average. Due to the relationship between the basin orientation and the orbit, these observations are not evenly distributed in time, which will impact the derived discharge values. There is, then, a need for a better understanding of how the mission will observe global river basins. In this study, we investigate how SWOT will observe global river basins and how the temporal and spatial sampling impacts the discharge estimated from assimilation. SWOT observations can be assimilated using the Inverse Streamflow Routing (ISR) model of Pan and Wood [2013] with a fixed interval Kalman smoother. Previous work has shown that the ISR assimilation method can be used to reproduce the spatial and temporal dynamics of discharge within many global basins: however, this performance was strongly impacted by the spatial and temporal availability of discharge observations. In this study, we apply the ISR method to 32 global basins with different geometries and crossing patterns for the future orbit, assimilating theoretical SWOT-retrieved "gauges". Results show that the model performance varies significantly across basins and is driven by the orientation, flow distance, and travel time in each. Based on these properties, we quantify the "observability" of each basin and relate this to the performance of the assimilation. Applying this metric globally to a large variety of basins we can gain a better understanding of the impact that SWOT observations may have across basin scales. By determining the availability of SWOT observations in this manner, hydrologic data assimilation approaches like ISR can be optimized to provide useful discharge estimates in sparsely gauged regions where spatially and temporally consistent discharge records are most valuable. Pan, M; Wood, E F 2013 Inverse streamflow routing, HESS 17(11):4577-4588

Institutional arrangements for beneficial regional cooperation on water, energy and food priority issues in the Eastern Nile Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Saidi, Mohammad; Hefny, Amr

2018-07-01

Research on water cooperation in the Eastern Nile Basin has focused on expanding policy and diplomacy tools for a better allocation of transboundary water resources confined to the river. Regional cooperation on water and related sectors such as energy and land expands the bargaining and areas for mutual gain, and thus enhances cooperation perspectives. This paper looks at the contribution and the potential benefits of a regional cooperation approach to addressing the underlying challenges of water diplomacy, such as complexity and distrust. It also promotes the understanding of river basins as a "resource basin" of integrated and linked resource-use issues, not always related to the river flow. The paper provides an analysis of priority issues for water-energy-food nexus in regional cooperation in the Eastern Nile Basin. This basin represents an illustrative case for regional cooperation and increased integration due to multiple comparative advantages inherent in the uneven endowments of water, energy and arable land resources, and to varying levels of economic and technological advancement among the three riparian countries: Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. The paper also analyzes institutional arrangements on a regional scale, and elaborates on the inherent trade-offs associated with them.

Estimated water use and availability in the Pawtuxet and Quinebaug River basins, Rhode Island, 1995-99

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wild, Emily C.; Nimiroski, Mark T.

2007-01-01

Water availability became a concern in Rhode Island during a drought in 1999, and an investigation was needed to assess demands on the hydrologic system from withdrawals during periods of little to no precipitation. The low water levels during the drought prompted the U.S. Geological Survey and the Rhode Island Water Resources Board to begin a series of studies on water use and availability in each drainage area in Rhode Island for 1995–99. The study area for this report, which includes the Pawtuxet River Basin in central Rhode Island (231.6 square miles) and the Quinebaug River Basin in western Rhode Island (60.97 square miles), was delineated as the surface-water drainage areas of these basins. During the study period from 1995 through 1999, two major water suppliers withdrew an average of 71.86 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) from the Pawtuxet River Basin; of this amount, about 35.98 Mgal/d of potable water were exported to other basins in Rhode Island. The estimated water withdrawals from minor water suppliers were 0.026 Mgal/d in the Pawtuxet River Basin and 0.003 Mgal/d in the Quinebaug River Basin. Total self-supply withdrawals were 2.173 Mgal/d in the Pawtuxet River Basin and 0.360 Mgal/d in the Quinebaug River Basin, which has no public water supply. Total water use averaged 18.07 Mgal/d in the Pawtuxet River Basin and 0.363 Mgal/d in the Quinebaug River Basin. Total return flow in the Pawtuxet River Basin was 30.64 Mgal/d, which included about 12.28 Mgal/d that were imported from other basins in Rhode Island. Total return flow was 0.283 Mgal/d in the Quinebaug River Basin. During times of little to no recharge in the form of precipitation, the surface- and ground-water flows are from storage primarily in the stratified sand and gravel deposits; water also flows through the till deposits, but at a slower rate. The ground water discharging to the streams during times of little to no recharge from precipitation is referred to as base flow. The PART program, a computerized hydrograph-separation application, was used to analyze the data collected at two selected index stream-gaging stations to determine water availability on the basis of the 75th, 50th, and 25th percentiles of the total base flow; the base flow for the 7-day, 10-year low-flow scenario; and the base flow for the Aquatic Base Flow scenario for both stations. The index stream-gaging stations used in the analysis were the Branch River at Forestdale, Rhode Island (period of record 1957–1999) and the Nooseneck River at Nooseneck, Rhode Island (period of record 1964–1980). A regression equation was used to estimate unknown base-flow contributions from sand and gravel deposits at the two stations. The base-flow contributions from sand and gravel deposits and till deposits at the index stations were computed for June, July, August, and September within the periods of record, and divided by the area of each type of surficial deposit at each index station. These months were selected because they define a period when there is usually an increased demand for water and little to no precipitation. The base flows at the stream-gaging station Branch River at Forestdale, Rhode Island were lowest in August at the 75th, 50th, and 25th percentiles (29.67, 21.48, and 13.30 Mgal/d, respectively). The base flows at the stream-gaging station Nooseneck River at Nooseneck, Rhode Island were lowest in September at the 75th percentile (3.551 Mgal/d) and lowest in August at the 50th and 25th percentiles (2.554 and 1.811 Mgal/d). The base flows per unit area for the index stations were multiplied by the areas of sand and gravel and till in the studyarea subbasins to determine the amount of available water for each scenario. The water availability in the Pawtuxet River Basin at the 50th percentile ranged from 126.5 Mgal/d in August to 204.7 Mgal/d in June, and the total gross water availability for the 7-day, 10-year low-flow scenario at the 50th percentile ranged from 112.2 Mgal/d in August to 190.4 Mgal/d in June. The Scituate Reservoir safe yield was 83 Mgal/d in all scenarios. Water availability in the Quinebaug River Basin ranged from 13.94 Mgal/d in August to 30.53 Mgal/d in June at the 50th percentile. The total gross water availability for the 7-day, 10-year low-flow scenario at the 50th percentile ranged from 14.26 Mgal/d in August to 42.69 Mgal/d in June. Because water withdrawals and use are greater during the summer than other times of the year, water availability in June, July, August, and September was compared to water withdrawals in the basin and subbasins. The ratios of water withdrawn to water available were calculated for the 75th, 50th, and 25th percentiles for the subbasins; the closer the ratio is to 1, the closer the withdrawals are to the estimated water available, and the less net water is available. Withdrawals in July were higher than in the other summer months in both basins. In the Pawtuxet River Basin, the ratios were close to 1 in July for the estimated gross yield (from sand and gravel and from till and from the Scituate Reservoir safe yield), 7-day, 10-year low-flow scenario, and Aquatic Base Flow scenario at the 75th percentile and in August for all three scenarios at the 50th and 25th percentiles. In the Quinebaug River Basin, the ratios were close to 1 in August for the estimated gross yield; 7-day, 10-year low-flow scenario; and Aquatic Base Flow scenario. A long-term water budget was calculated for 1941 through 1999 to identify and assess the basin and subbasin inflow and outflows for the Pawtuxet and Quinebaug River Basins. The water withdrawals and return flows used in the budget were from 1995 through 1999. Inflow was assumed to be equal to outflow; total inflows and outflows were 574.9 Mgal/d in the Pawtuxet River Basin and 148.4 Mgal/d in the Quinebaug River Basin. Precipitation and return flow were 95 and 5 percent of the estimated inflows to the Pawtuxet River Basin, respectively. Precipitation was 100 percent of the estimated inflow to the Quinebaug River Basin; return flow was less than 1 percent of the inflow. Evapotranspiration, streamflow, and water withdrawals were 46, 41, and 13 percent, respectively, of the estimated outflows in the Pawtuxet River Basin. Evapotranspiration and streamflow were 49 and 51 percent, respectively, of the estimated outflows in the Quinebaug River Basin. Water withdrawals were less than 1 percent of outflows in the Quinebaug River Basin. 

Contrasting fish assemblages in free-flowing and impounded tributaries to the Upper Delaware River: Implications for conserving biodiversity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Baldigo, Barry P.; Delucia, Mari-Beth; Keller, Walter D.; Schuler, George E.; Apse, Colin D.; Moberg, Tara

2015-01-01

The Neversink River and the Beaver Kill in southeastern New York are major tributaries to the Delaware River, the longest undammed river east of the Mississippi. While the Beaver Kill is free flowing for its entire length, the Neversink River is subdivided by the Neversink Reservoir, which likely affects the diversity of local fish assemblages and health of aquatic ecosystems. The reservoir is an important part of the New York City waster-supply system that provides drinking water to more than 9 million people. Fish population and community data from recent quantitative surveys at comparable sites in both basins were assessed to characterize the differences between free-flowing and impounded rivers and the extent of reservoir effects to improve our capacity to define ecosystems responses that two modified flow-release programs (implemented in 2007 and 2011) should produce in the Neversink River. In general, the continuum of changes in fish assemblages which normally occur between headwaters and mouth was relatively uninterrupted in the Beaver Kill, but disrupted by the mid-basin impoundment in the Neversink River. Fish assemblages were also adversely affected at several acidified sites in the upper Neversink River, but not at most sites assessed herein. The reservoir clearly excluded diadromous species from the upper sub-basin, but it also substantially reduced community richness, diversity, and biomass at several mid-basin sites immediately downstream from the impoundment. There results will aid future attempts to determine if fish assemblages respond to more natural, yet highly regulated, flow regimes in the Neversink River. More important, knowledge gained from this study can help optimize use of valuable water resources while promoting species of special concern, such as American eel (Anguilla rostrata) and conserving biodiversity in Catskill Mountain streams.

Transport of branched tetraether lipids from the Tagus River basin to the coastal ocean of the Portuguese margin: Consequences for the interpretation of the MBT'/CBT paleothermometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zell, Claudia; Kim, Jung-Hyun; Balinsha, Maria; Dorhout, Denise; Santos Fernandez, Cten; Baas, Marianne; Sinninghe Damsté, Jaap S.

2014-05-01

Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs), which are transported from soil to marine sediment by rivers, have been used to reconstruct the mean annual air temperature(MAAT) and soil pH of the drainage basin using the methylation index of branched tetraethers(MBT, recently refined as MBT') and cyclization index of branched tetraethers (CBT) from coastal marine sediment records. In this study we are tracing the brGDGTs from source to sink in the Tagus River basin, the longest river system on the Iberian Peninsula, by determining their concentration and distribution in soils, river suspended particulate matter (SPM), riverbank sediments, marine SPM, and marine surface sediments. The concentrations of brGDGTs in river SPM were substantially higher and their distributions were different compared to those of the drainage basin soils. This indicates that brGDGTs are mainly produced in the river itself. In the marine environment, the brGDGT concentrations rapidly decreased with increasing distance from the Tagus estuary. At the same time, the brGDGT distributions in marine sediments also changed,indicating that marine in-situ production also takes place. These results show that there are various problems that complicate the use of the MBT'/CBT for paleoreconstructions using coastal marine sediments in the vicinity of a river. However, if the majority of brGDGTs are produced in the river, it might be possible to reconstruct the environmental (temperature and pH) conditions of the river water using appropriate aquatic calibrations, provided that marine core locations are chosen in such a way that the brGDGTs in their sediments are predominantly derived from riverine in-situ production.

Transport of branched tetraether lipids from the Tagus River basin to the coastal ocean of the Portuguese margin: consequences for the interpretation of the MBT'/CBT paleothermometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zell, C.; Kim, J.-H.; Balsinha, M.; Dorhout, D.; Fernandes, C.; Baas, M.; Sinninghe Damsté, J. S.

2014-03-01

Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs), which are transported from soil to marine sediment by rivers, have been used to reconstruct the mean annual air temperature (MAAT) and soil pH of the drainage basin using the methylation index of branched tetraethers (MBT, recently refined as MBT') and cyclization index of branched tetraethers (CBT) from coastal marine sediment records. In this study we are tracing the brGDGTs from source to sink in the Tagus River basin, the longest river system on the Iberian Peninsula, by determining their concentration and distribution in soils, river suspended particulate matter (SPM), riverbank sediments, marine SPM, and marine surface sediments. The concentrations of brGDGTs in river SPM were substantially higher and their distributions were different compared to those of the drainage basin soils. This indicates that brGDGTs are mainly produced in the river itself. In the marine environment, the brGDGT concentrations rapidly decreased with increasing distance from the Tagus estuary. At the same time, the brGDGT distributions in marine sediments also changed, indicating that marine in-situ production also takes place. These results show that there are various problems that complicate the use of the MBT'/CBT for paleoreconstructions using coastal marine sediments in the vicinity of a river. However, if the majority of brGDGTs are produced in the river, it might be possible to reconstruct the environmental (temperature and pH) conditions of the river water using appropriate aquatic calibrations, provided that marine core locations are chosen in such a way that the brGDGTs in their sediments are predominantly derived from riverine in-situ production.

Transport of branched tetraether lipids from the Tagus River basin to the coastal ocean of the Portuguese margin: consequences for the interpretation of the MBT'/CBT paleothermometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zell, C.; Kim, J.-H.; Balsinha, M.; Dorhout, D.; Fernandes, C.; Baas, M.; Sinninghe Damsté, J. S.

2014-10-01

Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs), which are thought to be transported from soil to marine sediment by rivers, have been used to reconstruct the mean annual air temperature (MAAT) and soil pH of the drainage basin using the methylation index of branched tetraethers (MBT, recently refined as MBT') and cyclization index of branched tetraethers (CBT) from coastal marine sediment records. In this study, we trace the brGDGTs from source to sink in the Tagus River basin, the longest river system on the Iberian Peninsula, by determining their concentration and distribution in soils, river suspended particulate matter (SPM), riverbank sediments, marine SPM, and marine surface sediments. The concentrations of brGDGTs in river SPM were substantially higher and their distributions were different compared to those of the drainage basin soils. This indicates that brGDGTs are mainly produced in the river itself. In the marine environment, the brGDGT concentrations rapidly decreased with increasing distance from the Tagus estuary. At the same time, the brGDGT distributions in marine sediments also changed, indicating that marine in situ production also takes place. These results show that there are various problems that complicate the use of the MBT'/CBT for paleoreconstructions using coastal marine sediments in the vicinity of a river. However, if the majority of brGDGTs are produced in the river, it might be possible to reconstruct the environmental (temperature and pH) conditions of the river water using appropriate aquatic calibrations, provided that marine core locations are chosen in such a way that the brGDGTs in their sediments are predominantly derived from riverine in situ production.

Effect of Drought on Streamflow and Stream-Water Quality in Colorado, July through September 2002

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chafin, Daniel T.; Druliner, A. Douglas

2007-01-01

During 2002, Colorado experienced the State's worst drought since 1977. In 2003, the U.S. Geological Survey entered into cooperative agreement with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to evaluate the general effects of drought on the water quality of streams in Colorado during summer 2002 by analyzing a water-quality data set obtained during summer 2002 in cooperation with a variety of State and local governments. Water samples were collected at 148 stream sites in Colorado and were measured or analyzed for field properties, major ions, nutrients, organic carbon, bacteria, and dissolved and total recoverable metals. Mean annual streamflow was analyzed at 134 sites in Colorado, and mean summer (July-September) streamflow for 2002 was determined for 146 sites for water years 1978-2002. Mean annual streamflow for 2002 had an average percentile of 29.4 and mean summer streamflow for 2002 had an average percentile of 7.6 relative to 1978-2002. These results indicate that streamflow in Colorado was substantially less than median streamflow for the period and that the effect of drought on streamflow was greater during summer 2002 than during water year 2002 (October 1, 2001, through September 30, 2002). Few measured constituent concentrations or values were elevated or depressed on a widespread basis during summer 2002. Specific conductance was elevated (in the upper quartile relative to historical data) in five of the seven basins that had sufficient data for characterization, indicating that specific conductance likely was affected by drought in those basins. Chloride concentrations were elevated in three of five basins with sufficient data and indicate that chloride concentration generally was affected by drought in those basins. Sulfate concentration was elevated in four of six basins with sufficient data. The widespread elevation of specific conductance and concentrations of chloride and sulfate indicates that salinity generally was affected by drought in Colorado streams during July-September 2002, likely because streamflow at most sites was dominated by base flow of ground water, which usually has substantially greater salinity compared to runoff from precipitation. Total-recoverable iron and manganese concentrations were depressed (in the lower quartile of historical data) in the Arkansas River Basin, which likely was due to reduced land-surface washoff of sediment containing oxyhydroxides of these metals. Of the 246 water samples collected at 148 sites during the summer of 2002, constituents in 115 exceeded Colorado water-quality standards. Constituents that exceeded water-quality standards were pH (all 9.0 standard unit exceedances; 9 samples), chloride (1 sample), sulfate (9 samples), dissolved ammonia (10 samples), dissolved nitrite nitrogen (3 samples), E. coli (Escherichia coli) bacteria (34 samples, 20 in Arkansas River Basin), fecal-coliform bacteria (18 samples, all in Arkansas River Basin), dissolved copper (1 sample), dissolved iron (3 samples), total-recoverable iron (3 samples), dissolved manganese (13 samples), dissolved selenium (10 samples), and dissolved zinc (1 sample). Of these 115 exceedances, historical data were sufficient to conclude that 21 probably were affected by drought, that 39 probably were not affected by drought, and that 55 were of indeterminate nature. Specific conductance indicates that the San Juan River Basin (average percentile 95.2) experienced the greatest effects of drought on water quality during summer 2002 compared to other basins in Colorado, followed by the Upper Colorado (90.0) and Dolores River (85.7) Basins. The South Platte River Basin (70.9) experienced the least effect of drought, and the Yampa and White River Basin group (73.7) had the second smallest effect. The Gunnison River (82.1) and Arkansas River (81.2) Basins had intermediate drought effects. The Rio Grande had insufficient data to rank the relative effect of drought on salinity.

Surface-water salinity in the Gunnison River Basin, Colorado, water years 1989 through 2007

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schaffrath, Keelin R.

2012-01-01

Elevated levels of dissolved solids in water (salinity) can result in numerous and costly issues for agricultural, industrial, and municipal water users. The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-320) authorized planning and construction of salinity-control projects in the Colorado River Basin. One of the first projects was the Lower Gunnison Unit, a project to mitigate salinity in the Lower Gunnison and Uncompahgre River Basins. In cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a study to quantify changes in salinity in the Gunnison River Basin. Trends in salinity concentration and load during the period water years (WY) 1989 through 2004 (1989-2004) were determined for 15 selected streamflow-gaging stations in the Gunnison River Basin. Additionally, trends in salinity concentration and load during the period WY1989 through 2007 (1989-2007) were determined for 5 of the 15 sites for which sufficient data were available. Trend results also were used to identify regions in the Lower Gunnison River Basin (downstream from the Gunnison Tunnel) where the largest changes in salinity loads occur. Additional sources of salinity, including residential development (urbanization), changes in land cover, and natural sources, were estimated within the context of the trend results. The trend results and salinity loads estimated from trends testing also were compared to USBR and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) estimates of off-farm and on-farm salinity reduction from salinity-control projects in the basin. Finally, salinity from six additional sites in basins that are not affected by irrigated agriculture or urbanization was monitored from WY 2008 to 2010 to quantify what portion of salinity may be from nonagricultural or natural sources. In the Upper Gunnison area, which refers to Gunnison River Basin above the site located on the Gunnison River below the Gunnison Tunnel, estimated mean annual salinity load was 110,000 tons during WY 1989-2004. Analysis of both study periods (WY 1989-2004 and WY 1989-2007) showed an initial decrease in salinity load with a minimum in 1997. The net change over either study period was only significant during WY 1989-2007. Salinity load significantly decreased at the Gunnison River near Delta by 179,000 tons during WY 1989-2004. Just downstream, the Uncompahgre River enters the Gunnison River where there also was a highly significant decrease in salinity load of 55,500 tons. The site that is located at the mouth of the study area is the Gunnison River near Grand Junction where the decrease was the largest. Salinity loads decreased by 247,000 tons during WY 1989-2004 at this site though the decrease attenuated by 2007 and the net change was a decrease of 207,000 tons. The trend results presented in this study indicate that the effect of urbanization on salinity loads is difficult to discern from the effects of irrigated agriculture and that natural sources contribute a fraction of the total salinity load for the entire basin. Based on the calculated yields and geology, 23-63 percent of the estimated annual salinity load was from natural sources at the Gunnison River near Grand Junction during WY 1989-2007. The largest changes in salinity load occurred at the Gunnison River near Grand Junction as well as the two sites located in Delta: the Gunnison River at Delta and the Uncompahgre River at Delta. Those three sites, especially the two sites at Delta, were the most affected by irrigated agriculture, which was observed in the estimated mean annual loads. Irrigated acreage, especially acreage underlain by Mancos Shale, is the target of salinity-control projects intended to decrease salinity loads. The NRCS and the USBR have done the majority of salinity control work in the Lower Gunnison area of the Gunnison River Basin, and the focus has been in the Uncompahgre River Basin and in portions of the Lower Gunnison River Basin (downstream from the Gunnison Tunnel). According to the estimates from the USBR and NRCS, salinity-control projects may be responsible for a reduction of 117,300 tons of salinity as of 2004 and 142,000 tons as of 2007 at the Gunnison River near Grand Junction, Colo. (streamflow-gaging station 09152500). USBR and NRCS estimates account for all but 130,000 tons in 2004 and 65,000 tons in 2007 of salinity load reduction. The additional reduction could be a reduction in natural salt loading to the streams because of land-cover changes during the study period. It is possible also that the USBR and NRCS have underestimated changes in salinity loads as a result of the implementation of salinity-control projects.

Streamflow and nutrient data for the Yazoo River below Steele Bayou near Long Lake, Mississippi, 1996-2000

USGS Publications Warehouse

Runner, Michael S.; Turnipseed, D. Phil; Coupe, Richard H.

2002-01-01

Increased nutrient loading to the Gulf of Mexico from off-continent flux has been identified as contributing to the increase in the areal extent of the low dissolved-oxygen zone that develops annually off the Louisiana and Texas coast. The proximity of the Yazoo River Basin in northwestern Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico, and the intensive agricultural activities in the basin have led to speculation that the Yazoo River Basin contributes a disproportionate amount of nitrogen and phosphorus to the Mississippi River and ultimately to the Gulf of Mexico. An empirical measurement of the flux of nitrogen and phosphorus from the Yazoo Basin has not been possible due to the hydrology of the lower Yazoo River Basin. Streamflow for the Yazoo River below Steele Bayou is affected by backwater from the Mississippi River. Flow at the gage is non-uniform and varying, with bi-directional and reverse flows possible. Streamflow was computed by using remote sensing and acoustic and conventional discharge and velocity measurement techniques. Streamflow from the Yazoo River for the 1996-2000 period accounted for 2.8 percent of the flow of the Mississippi River for the same period. Water samples from the Yazoo River were collected from February 1996 through December 2000 and were analyzed for total nitrogen, nitrate, total phosphorus, and orthophosphorus as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program. These data were used to compute annual loads of nitrogen and phosphorus discharged from the Yazoo River for the period 1996-2000. Annual loads of nitrogen and phosphorus were calculated by two methods. The first method used multivariate regression and the second method multiplied the mean annual concentration by the total annual flow. Load estimates based on the product of the mean annual concentration and the total annual flow were within the 95 percent confidence interval for the load calculated by multivariate regression in 10 of 20 cases. The Yazoo River loads, compared to average annual loads in the Mississippi River, indicated that the Yazoo River was contributing 1.4 percent of the total nitrogen load, 0.7 percent of the nitrate load, 3.4 percent of the total phosphorus load, and 1.6 percent of the orthophosphorus load during 1996 - 2000. The total nitrogen, nitrate, and orthophosphorus loads in the Yazoo River Basin were less than expected, whereas the total phosphorus load was slightly higher than expected based on discharge.

Susquehanna River Basin Flood Control Review Study

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-08-01

22 Archeological and Historial Resources 25 Biological Resources 25 Social -Economic History 28 Contemporary Social -Economic Setting 29 Development and... social needs of the people. The study was initiated in 1963 with the formation of the Susquehanna River Basin Coordinating Committee consisting of...the basin. Social -Economic History The early history of the Susquehanna River Basin was influenced by the Susquehanna River as a source of

Spatial distribution and output characteristics of nonpoint source pollution in the Dongjiang River basin in south China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rong, Q. Q.; Su, M. R.; Yang, Z. F.; Cai, Y. P.; Yue, W. C.; Dang, Z.

2018-02-01

In this research, the Dongjiang River basin was taken as the study area to analyze the spatial distribution and output characteristics of nonpoint source pollution, based on the export coefficient model. The results showed that the annual total nitrogen and phosphorus (i.e. TN and TP) loads from the Dongjiang River basin were 67916114.6 and 7215279.707 kg, respectively. Residents, forestland and pig were the main contributors for the TN load in the Dongjiang River basin, while residents, forestland and rainfed croplands were the three largest contributors for the TP load. The NPS pollution had a significant spatial variation in this area. The pollution loads overall decreased from the northeast to the southwest part of the basin. Also, the pollution loads from the gentle slope area were larger than those from steep slope areas. Among the ten tributary watersheds in the Dongjiang River basin, the TN and TP loads from the Hanxi River watershed were the largest. On the contrary, the Gongzhuang River watershed contributed least to the total pollution loads of the Dongjiang River basin. For the average pollution load intensities, Hanxi River watershed was still the largest. However, the smallest average TN and TP load intensities were in the Xinfeng River watershed.

Sediment Microbial Enzyme Activity as an Indicator of Nutrient Limitation in the Great Rivers of the Upper Mississippi Basin

EPA Science Inventory

We compared extracellular enzyme activity (EEA) of microbial assemblages in river sediments at 447 sites along the Upper Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio Rivers with sediment and water chemistry, atmospheric deposition of nitrogen and sulfate, and catchment land uses. The sites re...

LONG-TERM CHANGES IN WATERSHED NUTRIENT INPUTS AND RIVERINE EXPORTS IN THE NEUSE RIVER, NORTH CAROLINA. (U915590)

EPA Science Inventory

We compared patterns of historical watershed nutrient inputs with in-river nutrient loads for the Neuse River, NC. Basin-wide sources of both nitrogen and phosphorus have increased substantially during the past century, marked by a sharp increase in the last 10 years resulting...

Metal concentrations in aquatic environments of Puebla River basin, Mexico: natural and industrial influences.

PubMed

Morales-García, S S; Rodríguez-Espinosa, P F; Shruti, V C; Jonathan, M P; Martínez-Tavera, E

2017-01-01

The rapid urban expansion and presence of volcanoes in the premises of Puebla River basin in central Mexico exert significant influences over its aquatic environments. Twenty surface sediment samples from Puebla River basin consisting of R. Alseseca, R. Atoyac, and Valsequillo dam were collected during September 2009 and analyzed for major (Al, Fe, Mg, Ba, Ca, and K) and trace elements (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sr, V, and Zn) in order to identify the metal concentrations and their enrichment. R. Atoyac sediments presented higher concentrations of Ba (1193.8 μg g -1 ) and Pb (27.1 μg g -1 ) in comparison with the local reference sample values. All the metal concentrations except Sr for R. Alseseca sediments were within the range of local reference sample values indicating no significant external influence, whereas Valsequillo dam sediments had elevated concentrations of all the metals suggesting both natural and external influences in the study region. The magnitude of metal contamination was assessed using several indices such as geoaccumulation index (I geo ), enrichment factor (EF), degree of contamination (C d ), and pollution load index (PLI). The results suggest that As, Pb, and Zn were predominantly enriched in the Puebla River basin sediments. Comparing with sediment quality guidelines and ecotoxicological values, it is revealed that Cd, Cr, Cu, and Ni have possible harmful effects on the biological community. The present study provides an outlook of metal enrichment in Puebla River basin sediments, highlighting the necessity to conserve this river ecosystem for the near future.

Modeling surface water dynamics in the Amazon Basin using MOSART-Inundation v1.0: Impacts of geomorphological parameters and river flow representation

DOE PAGES

Luo, Xiangyu; Li, Hong -Yi; Leung, L. Ruby; ...

2017-03-23

In the Amazon Basin, floodplain inundation is a key component of surface water dynamics and plays an important role in water, energy and carbon cycles. The Model for Scale Adaptive River Transport (MOSART) was extended with a macroscale inundation scheme for representing floodplain inundation. The extended model, named MOSART-Inundation, was used to simulate surface hydrology of the entire Amazon Basin. Previous hydrologic modeling studies in the Amazon Basin identified and addressed a few challenges in simulating surface hydrology of this basin, including uncertainties of floodplain topography and channel geometry, and the representation of river flow in reaches with mild slopes.more » This study further addressed four aspects of these challenges. First, the spatial variability of vegetation-caused biases embedded in the HydroSHEDS digital elevation model (DEM) data was explicitly addressed. A vegetation height map of about 1 km resolution and a land cover dataset of about 90 m resolution were used in a DEM correction procedure that resulted in an average elevation reduction of 13.2 m for the entire basin and led to evident changes in the floodplain topography. Second, basin-wide empirical formulae for channel cross-sectional dimensions were refined for various subregions to improve the representation of spatial variability in channel geometry. Third, the channel Manning roughness coefficient was allowed to vary with the channel depth, as the effect of riverbed resistance on river flow generally declines with increasing river size. Lastly, backwater effects were accounted for to better represent river flow in mild-slope reaches. The model was evaluated against in situ streamflow records and remotely sensed Envisat altimetry data and Global Inundation Extent from Multi-Satellites (GIEMS) inundation data. In a sensitivity study, seven simulations were compared to evaluate the impacts of the five modeling aspects addressed in this study. The comparisons showed that representing floodplain inundation could significantly improve the simulated streamflow and river stages. Refining floodplain topography, channel geometry and Manning roughness coefficients, as well as accounting for backwater effects had notable impacts on the simulated surface water dynamics in the Amazon Basin. As a result, the understanding obtained in this study could be helpful in improving modeling of surface hydrology in basins with evident inundation, especially at regional to continental scales.« less

Modeling surface water dynamics in the Amazon Basin using MOSART-Inundation v1.0: Impacts of geomorphological parameters and river flow representation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Luo, Xiangyu; Li, Hong -Yi; Leung, L. Ruby

In the Amazon Basin, floodplain inundation is a key component of surface water dynamics and plays an important role in water, energy and carbon cycles. The Model for Scale Adaptive River Transport (MOSART) was extended with a macroscale inundation scheme for representing floodplain inundation. The extended model, named MOSART-Inundation, was used to simulate surface hydrology of the entire Amazon Basin. Previous hydrologic modeling studies in the Amazon Basin identified and addressed a few challenges in simulating surface hydrology of this basin, including uncertainties of floodplain topography and channel geometry, and the representation of river flow in reaches with mild slopes.more » This study further addressed four aspects of these challenges. First, the spatial variability of vegetation-caused biases embedded in the HydroSHEDS digital elevation model (DEM) data was explicitly addressed. A vegetation height map of about 1 km resolution and a land cover dataset of about 90 m resolution were used in a DEM correction procedure that resulted in an average elevation reduction of 13.2 m for the entire basin and led to evident changes in the floodplain topography. Second, basin-wide empirical formulae for channel cross-sectional dimensions were refined for various subregions to improve the representation of spatial variability in channel geometry. Third, the channel Manning roughness coefficient was allowed to vary with the channel depth, as the effect of riverbed resistance on river flow generally declines with increasing river size. Lastly, backwater effects were accounted for to better represent river flow in mild-slope reaches. The model was evaluated against in situ streamflow records and remotely sensed Envisat altimetry data and Global Inundation Extent from Multi-Satellites (GIEMS) inundation data. In a sensitivity study, seven simulations were compared to evaluate the impacts of the five modeling aspects addressed in this study. The comparisons showed that representing floodplain inundation could significantly improve the simulated streamflow and river stages. Refining floodplain topography, channel geometry and Manning roughness coefficients, as well as accounting for backwater effects had notable impacts on the simulated surface water dynamics in the Amazon Basin. As a result, the understanding obtained in this study could be helpful in improving modeling of surface hydrology in basins with evident inundation, especially at regional to continental scales.« less

Oil shale resources in the Eocene Green River Formation, Greater Green River Basin, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2011-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed a comprehensive assessment of in-place oil in oil shales in the Eocene Green River in the Greater Green River Basin, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah. This CD-ROM includes reports, data, and an ArcGIS project describing the assessment. A database was compiled that includes about 47,000 Fischer assays from 186 core holes and 240 rotary drill holes. Most of the oil yield data were analyzed by the former U.S. Bureau of Mines oil shale laboratory in Laramie, Wyoming, and some analyses were made by private laboratories. Location data for 971 Wyoming oil-shale drill holes are listed in a spreadsheet and included in the CD-ROM. Total in-place resources for the three assessed units in the Green River Formation are: (1) Tipton Shale Member, 362,816 million barrels of oil (MMBO), (2) Wilkins Peak Member, 704,991 MMBO, and (3) LaClede Bed of the Laney Member, 377,184 MMBO, for a total of 1.44 trillion barrels of oil in place. This compares with estimated in-place resources for the Piceance Basin of Colorado of 1.53 trillion barrels and estimated in-place resources for the Uinta Basin of Utah and Colorado of 1.32 trillion barrels.

The effect of the 2011 flood on agricultural chemical and sediment movement in the lower Mississippi River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Welch, H.; Coupe, R.; Aulenbach, B.

2012-04-01

Extreme hydrologic events, such as floods, can overwhelm a surface water system's ability to process chemicals and can move large amounts of material downstream to larger surface water bodies. The Mississippi River is the 3rd largest River in the world behind the Amazon in South America and the Congo in Africa. The Mississippi-Atchafalaya River basin grows much of the country's corn, soybean, rice, cotton, pigs, and chickens. This is large-scale modern day agriculture with large inputs of nutrients to increase yields and large applied amounts of crop protection chemicals, such as pesticides. The basin drains approximately 41% of the conterminous United States and is the largest contributor of nutrients to the Gulf of Mexico each spring. The amount of water and nutrients discharged from the Mississippi River has been related to the size of the low dissolved oxygen area that forms off of the coast of Louisiana and Texas each summer. From March through April 2011, the upper Mississippi River basin received more than five times more precipitation than normal, which combined with snow melt from the Missouri River basin, created a historic flood event that lasted from April through July. The U.S. Geological Survey, as part of the National Stream Quality Accounting Network (NASQAN), collected samples from six sites located in the lower Mississippi-Atchafalaya River basin, as well as, samples from the three flow-diversion structures or floodways: the Birds Point-New Madrid in Missouri and the Morganza and Bonnet Carré in Louisiana, from April through July. Samples were analyzed for nutrients, pesticides, suspended sediments, and particle size; results were used to determine the water quality of the river during the 2011 flood. Monthly loads for nitrate, phosphorus, pesticides (atrazine, glyphosate, fluometuron, and metolachlor), and sediment were calculated to quantify the movement of agricultural chemicals and sediment into the Gulf of Mexico. Nutrient loads were compared to historic loads to assess the effect of the flood on the zone of hypoxia that formed in the Gulf of Mexico during the spring of 2011.

Temporal and Spatial Variation of Water Yield Modulus in the Yangtze River Basin in Recent 60 Years

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Xiaoqing; Weng, Baisha; Qin, Tianling

2018-01-01

The Yangtze River Basin is the largest river basin of Asia and the third largest river basin of the world, the gross water resources amount ranks first in the river basins of the country, and it occupies an important position in the national water resources strategic layout. Under the influence of climate change and human activities, the water cycle has changed. The temporal and spatial distribution of precipitation in the basin is more uneven and the floods are frequent. In order to explore the water yield condition in the Yangtze River Basin, we selected the Water Yield Modulus (WYM) as the evaluation index, then analyzed the temporal and spatial evolution characteristics of the WYM in the Yangtze River Basin by using the climate tendency method and the M-K trend test method. The results showed that the average WYM of the Yangtze River Basin in 1956-2015 are between 103,600 and 1,262,900 m3/km2, with an average value of 562,300 m3/km2, which is greater than the national average value of 295,000 m3/km2. The minimum value appeared in the northwestern part of the Tongtian River district, the maximum value appeared in the northeastern of Dongting Lake district. The rate of change in 1956-2015 is between -0.68/a and 0.79/a, it showed a downward trend in the western part but not significantly, an upward trend in the eastern part reached a significance level of α=0.01. The minimum value appeared in the Tongtian River district, the largest value appeared in the Hangjia Lake district, and the average tendency rate is 0.04/a in the whole basin.

Dynamic reorganization of river basins.

PubMed

Willett, Sean D; McCoy, Scott W; Perron, J Taylor; Goren, Liran; Chen, Chia-Yu

2014-03-07

River networks evolve as migrating drainage divides reshape river basins and change network topology by capture of river channels. We demonstrate that a characteristic metric of river network geometry gauges the horizontal motion of drainage divides. Assessing this metric throughout a landscape maps the dynamic states of entire river networks, revealing diverse conditions: Drainage divides in the Loess Plateau of China appear stationary; the young topography of Taiwan has migrating divides driving adjustment of major basins; and rivers draining the ancient landscape of the southeastern United States are reorganizing in response to escarpment retreat and coastal advance. The ability to measure the dynamic reorganization of river basins presents opportunities to examine landscape-scale interactions among tectonics, erosion, and ecology.

Hydrologic analysis of Mojave River Basin, California, using electric analog model

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hardt, W.F.

1971-01-01

The water needs of the Mojave River basin will increase because of population and industrial growth. The Mojave Water Agency is responsible for providing sufficient water of good quality for the full economic development of the area. The U.S. Geological Survey suggested an electric analog model of the basin as a predictive tool to aid management. About 1,375 square miles of the alluvial basin was simulated by a passive resistor-capacitor network. The Mojave River, the main source of recharge, was simulated by subdividing the river into 13 reaches, depending on intermittent or perennial flow and on phreatophytes. The water loss to the aquifer was based on records at five gaging stations. The aquifer system depends on river recharge to maintain the water table as most of the ground-water pumping and development is adjacent to the river. The accuracy and reliability of the model was assessed by comparing the water-level changes computed by the model for the period 1930-63 with the changes determined from field data for the same period. The model was used to predict the effects on the physical system by determining basin-wide water-level changes from 1930-2000 under different pumping rates and extremes in flow of the Mojave River. Future pumping was based on the 1960-63 rate, on an increase of 20 percent from this rate, and on population projections to 2000 in the Barstow area. For future predictions, the Mojave River was modeled as average flow based on 1931-65 records and also as high flow, 1937-46, and low flow, 1947-65. Other model runs included water-level change 1930-63 assuming aquifer depletion only and no recharge, effects of a well field pumping 10,000 acre-feet in 4 months north of Victorville and southeast of Yermo, and effects of importing 10,000, 35,000, and 50,800 acre-feet of water per year from the California Water Project into the Mojave River for conveyance downstream.

Sediment-phosphorus dynamics can shift aquatic ecology and cause downstream legacy effects after wildfire in large river systems.

PubMed

Emelko, Monica B; Stone, Micheal; Silins, Uldis; Allin, Don; Collins, Adrian L; Williams, Chris H S; Martens, Amanda M; Bladon, Kevin D

2016-03-01

Global increases in the occurrence of large, severe wildfires in forested watersheds threaten drinking water supplies and aquatic ecology. Wildfire effects on water quality, particularly nutrient levels and forms, can be significant. The longevity and downstream propagation of these effects as well as the geochemical mechanisms regulating them remain largely undocumented at larger river basin scales. Here, phosphorus (P) speciation and sorption behavior of suspended sediment were examined in two river basins impacted by a severe wildfire in southern Alberta, Canada. Fine-grained suspended sediments (<125 μm) were sampled continuously during ice-free conditions over a two-year period (2009-2010), 6 and 7 years after the wildfire. Suspended sediment samples were collected from upstream reference (unburned) river reaches, multiple tributaries within the burned areas, and from reaches downstream of the burned areas, in the Crowsnest and Castle River basins. Total particulate phosphorus (TPP) and particulate phosphorus forms (nonapatite inorganic P, apatite P, organic P), and the equilibrium phosphorus concentration (EPC0 ) of suspended sediment were assessed. Concentrations of TPP and the EPC0 were significantly higher downstream of wildfire-impacted areas compared to reference (unburned) upstream river reaches. Sediments from the burned tributary inputs contained higher levels of bioavailable particulate P (NAIP) - these effects were also observed downstream at larger river basin scales. The release of bioavailable P from postfire, P-enriched fine sediment is a key mechanism causing these effects in gravel-bed rivers at larger basin scales. Wildfire-associated increases in NAIP and the EPC0 persisted 6 and 7 years after wildfire. Accordingly, this work demonstrated that fine sediment in gravel-bed rivers is a significant, long-term source of in-stream bioavailable P that contributes to a legacy of wildfire impacts on downstream water quality, aquatic ecology, and drinking water treatability. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Distribution of U-Th nuclides in the riverine and coastal environments of the tropical southwest coast of India.

PubMed

Balakrishna, K; Shankar, R; Sarin, M M; Manjunatha, B R

2001-01-01

A reconnaissance study has been made on the distribution of 238U, 234U, 232Th and 230Th in soils, water, suspended particulate matter (SPM) and bottom sediments in the Kali river basin around Kaiga, its estuarine region and the adjacent Arabian Sea to obtain the baseline data of U-Th series nuclides in view of the commissioning of nuclear power reactors at Kaiga, near Karwar, on the southwest coast of India. Drainage basin soils developed over greywackes (the dominant litho-unit upstream) are lower in 238U/Al and 232Th/Al ratios by factors of 3-5 in comparison with those developed over tonalitic gneisses (the dominant litho-unit downstream). The dominance of the former type of soils is reflected in the composition of river-bottom sediments derived from the upstream drainage basin during the monsoon. The 232Th in bottom sediments tends to increase towards the estuarine and coastal areas, presumably due to deposition of heavy minerals and onshore transport of coastal sediments into the estuary. The dissolved U in the Kali river is low (0.001-0.02 microg/l) when compared to the major Indian rivers as the Kali river flows through U-poor greywackes. Thus, the input of dissolved U to the Kali estuary is dominated by sea water. Although there is some evidence for the removal of dissolved U at low salinity during estuarine mixing, its behaviour is conservative in the lower estuary (at higher salinities). The removal rate of dissolved U from the Kali river basin is similar to that reported from other tropical river basins. The U flux from all the west-flowing rivers of Peninsular India is estimated at 26.3 x 10(6) g/yr to the Arabian Sea which is about 2% of the flux from the Himalayan rivers to the Bay of Bengal.

Isopach map of the interval from surface elevation to the top of the Pennsylvanian and Permian Minnelusa Formation and equivalents, Powder River basin, Wyoming and Montana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Crysdale, B.L.

1990-01-01

This map is one in a series of U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies (MF) maps showing computer-generated structure contours, isopachs, and cross sections of selected formations in the Powder River basin, Wyoming and Montana. The map and cross sections were constructed from information stored in a U.S. Geological Survey Evolution of Sedimentary Basins data base. This data base contains picks of geologic formation and (or) unit tops and bases determined from electric resistivity and gamma-ray logs of 8,592 wells penetrating Tertiary and older rocks in the Powder River basin. Well completion cards (scout tickets) were reviewed and compared with copies of all logs, and formation or unit contacts determined by N. M. Denson, D.L. Macke, R. R. Schumann and others. This isopach map is based on information from 1,480 of these wells that penetrate the Minnelusa Formation and equivalents.

Map showing contours on the top of the Pennsylvanian and Permian Minnelusa Formation and equivalents, Powder River basin, Wyoming and Montana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Crysdale, B.L.

1990-01-01

This map is one in a series of U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies (MF) maps showing computer-generated structure contours, isopachs, and cross sections of selected formations in the Powder River basin, Wyoming and Montana. The map and cross sections were constructed from information stored in a U.S. Geological Survey Evolution of Sedimentary Basins data base. This data base contains picks of geologic formation and (or) unit tops and bases determined from electric resistivity and gamma-ray logs of 8,592 wells penetrating Tertiary and older rocks in the Powder River basin. Well completion cards (scout tickets) were reviewed and compared with copies of all logs, and formation or unit contacts determined by N. M. Denson, D.L. Macke, R. R. Schumann and others. This isopach map is based on information from 1,480 of these wells that penetrate the Minnelusa Formation and equivalents.

77 FR 16558 - Yakima River Basin Conservation Advisory Group Charter Renewal

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-21

... on the structure and implementation of the Yakima River Basin Water Conservation Program. The basin... water conservation measures in the Yakima River basin. Improvements in the efficiency of water delivery and use will result in improved streamflows for fish and wildlife and improve the reliability of water...

Documentation of input datasets for the soil-water balance groundwater recharge model of the Upper Colorado River Basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tillman, Fred D.

2015-01-01

The Colorado River and its tributaries supply water to more than 35 million people in the United States and 3 million people in Mexico, irrigating more than 4.5 million acres of farmland, and generating about 12 billion kilowatt hours of hydroelectric power annually. The Upper Colorado River Basin, encompassing more than 110,000 square miles (mi2), contains the headwaters of the Colorado River (also known as the River) and is an important source of snowmelt runoff to the River. Groundwater discharge also is an important source of water in the River and its tributaries, with estimates ranging from 21 to 58 percent of streamflow in the upper basin. Planning for the sustainable management of the Colorado River in future climates requires an understanding of the Upper Colorado River Basin groundwater system. This report documents input datasets for a Soil-Water Balance groundwater recharge model that was developed for the Upper Colorado River Basin.

First evidence of grass carp recruitment in the Great Lakes Basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chapman, Duane C.; Davis, J. Jeremiah; Jenkins, Jill A.; Kocovsky, Patrick M.; Miner, Jeffrey G.; Farver, John; Jackson, P. Ryan

2013-01-01

We use aging techniques, ploidy analysis, and otolith microchemistry to assess whether four grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella captured from the Sandusky River, Ohio were the result of natural reproduction within the Lake Erie Basin. All four fish were of age 1 +. Multiple lines of evidence indicate that these fish were not aquaculture-reared and that they were most likely the result of successful reproduction in the Sandusky River. First, at least two of the fish were diploid; diploid grass carp cannot legally be released in the Great Lakes Basin. Second, strontium:calcium (Sr:Ca) ratios were elevated in all four grass carp from the Sandusky River, with elevated Sr:Ca ratios throughout the otolith transect, compared to grass carp from Missouri and Arkansas ponds. This reflects the high Sr:Ca ratio of the Sandusky River, and indicates that these fish lived in a high-strontium environment throughout their entire lives. Third, Sandusky River fish were higher in Sr:Ca ratio variability than fish from ponds, reflecting the high but spatially and temporally variable strontium concentrations of southwestern Lake Erie tributaries, and not the stable environment of pond aquaculture. Fourth, Sr:Ca ratios in the grass carp from the Sandusky River were lower in their 2011 growth increment (a high water year) than the 2012 growth increment (a low water year), reflecting the observed inverse relationship between discharge and strontium concentration in these rivers. We conclude that these four grass carp captured from the Sandusky River are most likely the result of natural reproduction within the Lake Erie Basin.

Estimated withdrawals and use of freshwater in Vermont, 1990

USGS Publications Warehouse

Horn, M.A.; Medalie, Laura

1996-01-01

Estimated freshwater withdrawals during 1990 in Vermont totaled about 632 million gallons per day. The largest withdrawals were for thermoelectric- power generation (82 percent), industrial use (7 percent), and public supply (6 percent). Most withdrawals, 587 million gallons per day, were made from surface-water sources as compared to 44.9 million gallons per day from ground-water sources. The largest withdrawals were in the Upper Connecticut-Mascomo River Basin (525 million gallons per day). About 17,700 million gallons per day were used instream for hydroelectric-poser generation, the largest of which were in the Upper Connecticut-Mascoma and Otter River Basins. Other information describing water-use patters is shown in tables, bar graphs, pie charts, maps, and accompanying text. The data are aggregated by river basin (hydrologic cataloging unit), and all amounts are reports in million gallons per day.

Chloride control and monitoring program in the Wichita River Basin, Texas, 1996-2009

USGS Publications Warehouse

Haynie, M.M.; Burke, G.F.; Baldys, Stanley

2011-01-01

Water resources of the Wichita River Basin in north-central Texas are vital to the water users in Wichita Falls, Tex., and surrounding areas. The Wichita River Basin includes three major forks of the Wichita River upstream from Lake Kemp, approximately 50 miles southwest of Wichita Falls, Tex. The main stem of the Wichita River is formed by the confluence of the North Wichita River and Middle Fork Wichita River upstream from Truscott Brine Lake. The confluence of the South Wichita River with the Wichita River is northwest of Seymour, Tex. (fig. 1). Waters from the Wichita River Basin, which is part of the Red River Basin, are characterized by high concentrations of chloride and other salinity-related constituents from salt springs and seeps (hereinafter salt springs) in the upper reaches of the basin. These salt springs have their origins in the Permian Period when the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma areas were covered by a broad shallow sea. Over geologic time, evaporation of the shallow seas resulted in the formation of salt deposits, which today are part of the geologic formations underlying the area. Groundwater in these formations is characterized by high chloride concentrations from these salt deposits, and some of this groundwater is discharged by the salt springs into the Wichita River.

Status and distribution of chinook salmon and steelhead in the interior Columbia River basin and portions of the Klamath River basin [Chapter 12

Treesearch

Russell F. Thurow; Danny C. Lee; Bruce E. Rieman

2000-01-01

This chapter summarizes information on presence, absence, current status, and probable historical distribution of steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss and stream-type (age-1 migrant) and ocean type (age-0 migrant) chinook salmon O. tshawytscha in the interior Columbia River basin and portions of the Klamath River basin. Data were compiled from existing sources and via surveys...

Distribution and status of redband trout in the interior Columbia river basin and portions of the Klamath river and great basins

Treesearch

Russell F. Thurow; Bruce E. Rieman; Danny C. Lee; Philip J. Howell; Raymon D. Perkinson

2007-01-01

We summarized existing knowledge (circa 1996) of the potential historical range and the current distribution and status of non-anadromous interior redband trout Oncorhynchus mykiss ssp. in the U.S. portion of the interior Columbia River Basin and portions of the Klamath River and Great Basins (ICRB). We estimated that the potential historical range included 5,458...

Quantifying the extent of river fragmentation by hydropower dams in the Sarapiquí River Basin, Costa Rica

USGS Publications Warehouse

Anderson, Elizabeth P.; Pringle, Catherine M.; Freeman, Mary C.

2008-01-01

Costa Rica has recently experienced a rapid proliferation of dams for hydropower on rivers draining its northern Caribbean slope. In the Sarapiquí River Basin, eight hydropower plants were built between 1990 and 1999 and more projects are either under construction or proposed. The majority of these dams are small (<15 m tall) and operate as water diversion projects.While the potential environmental effects of individual projects are evaluated prior to dam construction, there is a need for consideration of the basin-scale ecological consequences of hydropower development. This study was a first attempt to quantify the extent of river fragmentation by dams in the Sarapiquí River Basin.Using simple spatial analyses, the length of river upstream from dams and the length of de-watered reaches downstream from dams was measured. Results indicated that there are currently 306.8 km of river (9.4% of the network) upstream from eight existing dams in the Sarapiquí River Basin and 30.6 km of rivers (0.9% of the network) with significantly reduced flow downstream from dams. Rivers upstream from dams primarily drain two life zones: Premontane Rain Forest (107.9 km) and Lower Montane Rain Forest (168.2 km).Simple spatial analyses can be used as a predictive or planning tool for considering the effects of future dams in a basin-scale context. In the Sarapiquí River Basin, we recommend that future dam projects be constructed on already dammed rivers to minimize additional river fragmentation and to protect remaining riverine connectivity.

Studying the impact of climate change on flooding in 12 river basins using CCSM4 output

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thiele-Eich, I.; Hopson, T. M.; Gilleland, E.; Lamarque, J.; Hu, A.

2011-12-01

The goal of this study is to analyze the impact of climate change on flood frequency changes in twelve large river basins by assessing the changes in upper catchment precipitation as well as the impact of sea-level rise at the river mouths. Using the recently released model output of the CCSM4 for upper catchment precipitation in twelve large river basins as well as the sea-level rise anomalies at the respective river mouths, we assess the impact of climate change on the return periods of flooding in the individual basins. Upper catchment precipitation, discharge as well as annual mean thermosteric sea-level rise are taken from the four CCSM4 1° 20th Century ensemble members as well as from six CCSM4 1° ensemble members for the RCP scenarios RCP8.5, 6.0, 4.5 and 2.6. In a next step, return levels are compared from both 20th century and future model simulations for time slices at 2030, 2050, 2070 and 2090. It can be seen that what is e.g. a 20 year flood in present-day climate has a return period of ~15/10 years (RCP 2.6/8.5) in 2070. This effect strengthens as time progresses in the 21st century. Especially in low-lying countries such as Bangladesh, changes in sea-level rise can be expected to influence present-day flood characteristics. Sea-level rise anomalies for the 21st century are taken from CCSM4 model output at each of the river mouths. The backwater effect of sea-level rise can be estimated by referring to the geometry of the river channel and calculating an effective additional discharge both at the river mouth and inland. Judging from our work, the increase in effective discharge due to sea-level rise cannot be neglected when discussing flooding in the respective river basins. Impact of sea-level rise on changes in return levels will be investigated further. To blend both precipitation and sea-level effects together, we use extreme-value theory to calculate how the tails of the current river discharge distribution in both the lower and middle reaches of the river basins will be impacted by changing climate.

75 FR 11554 - Yakima River Basin Conservation Advisory Group Charter Renewal; Notice of Charter Renewal

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-11

... the reliability of water supplies for irrigation. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Dawn Wiedmeier... River Basin Water Conservation Program. In consultation with the State, the Yakama Nation, Yakima River... nonstructural cost-effective water conservation measures in the Yakima River basin. Improvements in the...

River flow availability for environmental flow allocation downstream of hydropower facilities in the Kafue Basin of Zambia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalumba, Mulenga; Nyirenda, Edwin

2017-12-01

The Government of the Republic Zambia (GRZ) will install a new hydropower station Kafue Gorge Lower downstream of the existing Kafue Gorge Station (KGS) and plans to start operating the Itezhi-Tezhi (ITT) hydropower facility in the Kafue Basin. The Basin has significant biodiversity hot spots such as the Luangwa National park and Kafue Flats. It is described as a Man-Biosphere reserve and the National Park is a designated World Heritage Site hosting a variety of wildlife species. All these natural reserves demand special protection, and environmental flow requirements (e-flows) have been identified as a necessary need to preserve these ecosystems. Implementation of e-flows is therefore a priority as Zambia considers to install more hydropower facilities. However before allocation of e-flows, it is necessary to first assess the river flow available for allocation at existing hydropower stations in the Kafue Basin. The river flow availability in the basin was checked by assessing the variability in low and high flows since the timing, frequency and duration of extreme droughts and floods (caused by low and high flows) are all important hydrological characteristics of a flow regime that affects e-flows. The river flows for a 41 year monthly time series data (1973-2014) were used to extract independent low and high flows using the Water Engineering Time Series Processing Tool (WETSPRO). The low and high flows were used to construct cumulative frequency distribution curves that were compared and analysed to show their variation over a long period. A water balance of each hydropower station was used to check the river flow allocation aspect by comparing the calculated water balance outflow (river flow) with the observed river flow, the hydropower and consumptive water rights downstream of each hydropower station. In drought periods about 50-100 m3/s of riverflow is available or discharged at both ITT and KGS stations while as in extreme flood events about 1300-1500 m3/s of riverflow is available. There is river flow available in the wet and dry seasons for e-flow allocation at ITT. On average per month 25 m3/s is allocated for e-flows at ITT for downstream purposes. On the other hand, it may be impossible to implement e-flows at KGS with the limited available outflow (river flow). The available river flow from ITT plays a very vital role in satisfying the current hydropower generating capacity at KGS. Therefore, the operations of KGS heavily depends on the available outflow (river flow) from ITT.

Water quality of groundwater and stream base flow in the Marcellus Shale Gas Field of the Monongahela River Basin, West Virginia, 2011-12

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chambers, Douglas B.; Kozar, Mark D.; Messinger, Terence; Mulder, Michon L.; Pelak, Adam J.; White , Jeremy S.

2015-01-01

This study provides a baseline of water-quality conditions in the Monongahela River Basin in West Virginia during the early phases of development of the Marcellus Shale gas field. Although not all inclusive, the results of this study provide a set of reliable water-quality data against which future data sets can be compared and the effects of shale-gas development may be determined.

Selected elements and organic chemicals in bed sediment and fish tissue of the Tualatin River basin, Oregon, 1992-96

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bonn, Bernadine A.

1999-01-01

This report describes the results of a reconnaissance survey of elements and organic compounds found in bed sediment and fish tissue in streams of the Tualatin River Basin. The basin is in northwestern Oregon to the west of the Portland metropolitan area (fig. 1). The Tualatin River flows for about 80 miles, draining an area of about 712 square miles, before it enters the Willamette River. Land use in the basin changes from mostly forested in the headwaters, to mixed forest and agriculture, to predominately urban. The basin supports a growing population of more than 350,000 people, most of whom live in lower parts of the basin. Water quality in the Tualatin River and its tributaries is expected to be affected by the increasing urbanization of the basin.

California GAMA Special Study: Importance of River Water Recharge to Selected Groundwater Basins

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Visser, Ate; Moran, Jean E.; Singleton, Michael J.

River recharge represents 63%, 86% and 46% of modern groundwater in the Mojave Desert, Owens Valley, and San Joaquin Valley, respectively. In pre-modern groundwater, river recharge represents a lower fraction: 36%, 46%, and 24% respectively. The importance of river water recharge in the San Joaquin valley has nearly doubled and is likely the result of a total increase of recharge of 40%, caused by river water irrigation return flows. This emphasizes the importance of recharge of river water via irrigation for renewal of groundwater resources. Mountain front recharge and local precipitation contribute to recharge of desert groundwater basins in partmore » as the result of geological features focusing scarce precipitation promoting infiltration. River water recharges groundwater systems under lower temperatures and with larger water table fluctuations than local precipitation recharge. Surface storage is limited in time and volume, as evidenced by cold river recharge temperatures resulting from fast recharge, compared to the large capacity for subsurface storage. Groundwater banking of seasonal surface water flows therefore appears to be a natural and promising method for increasing the resilience of water supply systems. The distinct isotopic and noble gas signatures of river water recharge, compared to local precipitation recharge, reflecting the source and mechanism of recharge, are valuable constraints for numerical flow models.« less

Source and fate of inorganic solutes in the Gibbon River, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA: I. Low-flow discharge and major solute chemistry

USGS Publications Warehouse

McCleskey, R. Blaine; Nordstrom, D. Kirk; Susong, David D.; Ball, James W.; Holloway, JoAnn M.

2010-01-01

The Gibbon River in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) is an important natural resource and habitat for fisheries and wildlife. However, the Gibbon River differs from most other mountain rivers because its chemistry is affected by several geothermal sources including Norris Geyser Basin, Chocolate Pots, Gibbon Geyser Basin, Beryl Spring, and Terrace Spring. Norris Geyser Basin is one of the most dynamic geothermal areas in YNP, and the water discharging from Norris is much more acidic (pH 3) than other geothermal basins in the upper-Madison drainage (Gibbon and Firehole Rivers). Water samples and discharge data were obtained from the Gibbon River and its major tributaries near Norris Geyser Basin under the low-flow conditions of September 2006. Surface inflows from Norris Geyser Basin were sampled to identify point sources and to quantify solute loading to the Gibbon River. The source and fate of the major solutes (Ca, Mg, Na, K, SiO2, Cl, F, HCO3, SO4, NO3, and NH4) in the Gibbon River were determined in this study and these results may provide an important link in understanding the health of the ecosystem and the behavior of many trace solutes. Norris Geyser Basin is the primary source of Na, K, Cl, SO4, and N loads (35–58%) in the Gibbon River. The largest source of HCO3 and F is in the lower Gibbon River reach. Most of the Ca and Mg originate in the Gibbon River upstream from Norris Geyser Basin. All the major solutes behave conservatively except for NH4, which decreased substantially downstream from Gibbon Geyser Basin, and SiO2, small amounts of which precipitated on mixing of thermal drainage with the river. As much as 9–14% of the river discharge at the gage is from thermal flows during this period.

Movement and spawning of American shad transported above dams on the Roanoke River, North Carolina and Virginia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Harris, Julianne E.; Hightower, Joseph E.

2011-01-01

American shad Alosa sapidissima are in decline throughout much of their native range as a result of overfishing, pollution, and habitat alteration in coastal rivers where they spawn. One approach to restoration in regulated rivers is to provide access to historical spawning habitat above dams through a trap-and-transport program. We examined the initial survival, movement patterns, spawning, and downstream passage of sonic-tagged adult American shad transported to reservoir and riverine habitats upstream of hydroelectric dams on the Roanoke River, North Carolina and Virginia, during 2007–2009. Average survival to release in 2007–2008 was 85%, but survival decreased with increasing water temperature. Some tagged fish released in reservoirs migrated upstream to rivers; however, most meandered back and forth within the reservoir. A higher percentage of fish migrated through a smaller (8,215-ha) than a larger (20,234-ha) reservoir, suggesting that the population-level effects of transport may depend on upper basin characteristics. Transported American shad spent little time in upper basin rivers but were there when temperatures were appropriate for spawning. No American shad eggs were collected during weekly plankton sampling in upper basin rivers. The estimated initial survival of sonic-tagged American shad after downstream passage through each dam was 71–100%; however, only 1% of the detected fish migrated downstream through all three dams and many were relocated just upstream of a dam late in the season. Although adult American shad were successfully transported to upstream habitats in the Roanoke River basin, under present conditions transported individuals may have reduced effective fecundity and postspawning survival compared with nontransported fish that spawn in the lower Roanoke River.

Movement Patterns of American Shad Transported Upstream of Dams on The Roanoke River, North Carolina and Virginia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Harris, Julianne E.; Hightower, J.E.

2011-01-01

American shad Alosa sapidissima are in decline throughout much of their native range as a result of overfishing, pollution, and habitat alteration in coastal rivers where they spawn. One approach to restoration in regulated rivers is to provide access to historical spawning habitat above dams through a trap-and-transport program. We examined the initial survival, movement patterns, spawning, and downstream passage of sonic-tagged adult American shad transported to reservoir and riverine habitats upstream of hydroelectric dams on the Roanoke River, North Carolina and Virginia, during 2007–2009. Average survival to release in 2007–2008 was 85%, but survival decreased with increasing water temperature. Some tagged fish released in reservoirs migrated upstream to rivers; however, most meandered back and forth within the reservoir. A higher percentage of fish migrated through a smaller (8,215-ha) than a larger (20,234-ha) reservoir, suggesting that the population-level effects of transport may depend on upper basin characteristics. Transported American shad spent little time in upper basin rivers but were there when temperatures were appropriate for spawning. No American shad eggs were collected during weekly plankton sampling in upper basin rivers. The estimated initial survival of sonic-tagged American shad after downstream passage through each dam was 71–100%; however, only 1% of the detected fish migrated downstream through all three dams and many were relocated just upstream of a dam late in the season. Although adult American shad were successfully transported to upstream habitats in the Roanoke River basin, under present conditions transported individuals may have reduced effective fecundity and postspawning survival compared with nontransported fish that spawn in the lower Roanoke River.

Composite measures of watershed health from a water quality perspective.

PubMed

Mallya, Ganeshchandra; Hantush, Mohamed; Govindaraju, Rao S

2018-05-15

Water quality data at gaging stations are typically compared with established federal, state, or local water quality standards to determine if violations (concentrations of specific constituents falling outside acceptable limits) have occurred. Based on the frequency and severity of water quality violations, risk metrics such as reliability, resilience, and vulnerability (R-R-V) are computed for assessing water quality-based watershed health. In this study, a modified methodology for computing R-R-V measures is presented, and a new composite watershed health index is proposed. Risk-based assessments for different water quality parameters are carried out using identified national sampling stations within the Upper Mississippi River Basin, the Maumee River Basin, and the Ohio River Basin. The distributional properties of risk measures with respect to water quality parameters are reported. Scaling behaviors of risk measures using stream order, specifically for the watershed health (WH) index, suggest that WH values increased with stream order for suspended sediment concentration, nitrogen, and orthophosphate in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. Spatial distribution of risk measures enable identification of locations exhibiting poor watershed health with respect to the chosen numerical standard, and the role of land use characteristics within the watershed. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environmental setting and water-quality issues of the Mobile River Basin, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, Gregory C.; Kidd, Robert E.; Journey, Celeste A.; Zappia, Humbert; Atkins, J. Brian

2002-01-01

The Mobile River Basin is one of over 50 river basins and aquifer systems being investigated as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. This basin is the sixth largest river basin in the United States, and fourth largest in terms of streamflow, encompassing parts of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Almost two-thirds of the 44,000-square-mile basin is located in Alabama. Extensive water resources of the Mobile River Basin are influenced by an array of natural and cultural factors. These factors impart unique and variable qualities to the streams, rivers, and aquifers providing abundant habitat to sustain the diverse aquatic life in the basin. Data from Federal, State, and local agencies provide a description of the environmental setting of the Mobile River Basin. Environmental data include natural factors such as physiography, geology, soils, climate, hydrology, ecoregions, and aquatic ecology, and human factors such as reservoirs, land use and population change, water use, and water-quality issues. Characterization of the environmental setting is useful for understanding the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of surface and ground water in the Mobile River Basin and the possible implications of that environmental setting for water quality. The Mobile River Basin encompasses parts of five physiographic provinces. Fifty-six percent of the basin lies within the East Gulf section of the Coastal Plain Physiographic Province. The remaining northeastern part of the basin lies, from west to east, within the Cumberland Plateau section of the Appalachian Plateaus Physiographic Province, the Valley and Ridge Physiographic Province, the Piedmont Physiographic Province, and the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province. Based on the 1991 land-use data, about 70 percent of the basin is forested, while agriculture, including livestock (poultry, cattle, and swine), row crops (cotton, corn, soybeans, sorghum, and wheat), and pasture land accounts for about 26 percent of the study unit. Agricultural land use is concentrated along the Black Prairie Belt district of the Coastal Plain. Urban areas account for only 3 percent of the total land use; however, the areal extent of the metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) may indicate more urban influences. The MSAs include urban areas outside of the city boundaries and can include adjacent counties. Seven MSAs are delineated in the Mobile River Basin, including Montgomery, Mobile, Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Gadsden, Anniston, and Atlanta. The total population for the Mobile River Basin was about 3,673,100 in 1990. State water-quality agencies have identified numerous causes and sources of water-body impairment in the Mobile River Basin. In 1996, organic enrichment, dissolved oxygen depletion, elevated nutrient concentrations, and siltation were the most frequently cited causes of impairment, affecting the greatest number of river miles. Bacteria, acidic pH, and elevated metal concentrations also were identified as causes of impairment. The sources for impairment varied among river basins, were largely a function of land use, and were attributed primarily to municipal and industrial sources, mining, and agricultural activities.

Modeling and analysis of Soil Erosion processes by the River Basins model: The Case Study of the Krivacki Potok Watershed, Montenegro

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vujacic, Dusko; Barovic, Goran; Mijanovic, Dragica; Spalevic, Velibor; Curovic, Milic; Tanaskovic, Vjekoslav; Djurovic, Nevenka

2016-04-01

The objective of this research was to study soil erosion processes in one of Northern Montenegrin watersheds, the Krivacki Potok Watershed of the Polimlje River Basin, using modeling techniques: the River Basins computer-graphic model, based on the analytical Erosion Potential Method (EPM) of Gavrilovic for calculation of runoff and soil loss. Our findings indicate a low potential of soil erosion risk, with 554 m³ yr-1 of annual sediment yield; an area-specific sediment yield of 180 m³km-2 yr-1. The calculation outcomes were validated for the entire 57 River Basins of Polimlje, through measurements of lake sediment deposition at the Potpec hydropower plant dam. According to our analysis, the Krivacki Potok drainage basin is with the relatively low sediment discharge; according to the erosion type, it is mixed erosion. The value of the Z coefficient was calculated on 0.297, what indicates that the river basin belongs to 4th destruction category (of five). The calculated peak discharge from the river basin was 73 m3s-1 for the incidence of 100 years and there is a possibility for large flood waves to appear in the studied river basin. Using the adequate computer-graphic and analytical modeling tools, we improved the knowledge on the soil erosion processes of the river basins of this part of Montenegro. The computer-graphic River Basins model of Spalevic, which is based on the EPM analytical method of Gavrilovic, is highly recommended for soil erosion modelling in other river basins of the Southeastern Europe. This is because of its reliable detection and appropriate classification of the areas affected by the soil loss caused by soil erosion, at the same time taking into consideration interactions between the various environmental elements such as Physical-Geographical Features, Climate, Geological, Pedological characteristics, including the analysis of Land Use, all calculated at the catchment scale.

Mass-movement deposits in the lacustrine Eocene Green River Formation, Piceance Basin, western Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, Ronald C.; Birdwell, Justin E.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Mercier, Tracey J.

2015-01-01

The Eocene Green River Formation was deposited in two large Eocene saline lakes, Lake Uinta in the Uinta and Piceance Basins and Lake Gosiute in the Greater Green River Basin. Here we will discuss mass-movement deposits in just the Piceance Basin part of Lake Uinta.

Beyond water, beyond boundaries: spaces of water management in the Krishna river basin, South India.

PubMed

Venot, Jean-Philippe; Bharati, Luna; Giordano, Mark; Molle, François

2011-01-01

As demand and competition for water resources increase, the river basin has become the primary unit for water management and planning. While appealing in principle, practical implementation of river basin management and allocation has often been problematic. This paper examines the case of the Krishna basin in South India. It highlights that conflicts over basin water are embedded in a broad reality of planning and development where multiple scales of decisionmaking and non-water issues are at play. While this defines the river basin as a disputed "space of dependence", the river basin has yet to acquire a social reality. It is not yet a "space of engagement" in and for which multiple actors take actions. This explains the endurance of an interstate dispute over the sharing of the Krishna waters and sets limits to what can be achieved through further basin water allocation and adjudication mechanisms – tribunals – that are too narrowly defined. There is a need to extend the domain of negotiation from that of a single river basin to multiple scales and to non-water sectors. Institutional arrangements for basin management need to internalise the political spaces of the Indian polity: the states and the panchayats. This re-scaling process is more likely to shape the river basin as a space of engagement in which partial agreements can be iteratively renegotiated, and constitute a promising alternative to the current interstate stalemate.

From Shoestring Rills to Dendritic River Networks: Documenting the Evolution of River Basins Towards Geometric Similarity Through Divide Migration, Stream Capture and Lateral Branching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beeson, H. W.; McCoy, S. W.; Willett, S.

2016-12-01

Erosional river networks dissect much of Earth's surface into drainage basins. Global scaling laws such as Hack's Law suggest that river basins trend toward a particular scale-invariant shape. While erosional instabilities arising from competition between advective and diffusive processes can explain why headwaters branch, the erosional mechanics linking larger scale network branching with evolution towards a characteristic river basin shape remain poorly constrained. We map river steepness and a proxy for the steady-state elevation of river networks, χ, in simulated and real landscapes with a large range in spatial scale (102 -106 m) but with similar inclined, planar surfaces at the time of incipient network formation. We document that the evolution from narrow rill-like networks to dendritic, leaf-shaped river basins follows from drainage area differences between catchments. These serve as instabilities that grow, leading to divide migration, stream capture, lateral branching and network reorganization. As Horton hypothesized, incipient networks formed down gradient on an inclined, planar surface have an unequal distribution of drainage area and nonuniformity in response times such that larger basins erode more rapidly and branch laterally via capture of adjacent streams with lower erosion rates. Positive feedback owing to increase in drainage area furthers the process of branching at the expense of neighboring rivers. We show that drainage area exchange and the degree of network reorganization has a significant effect on river steepness in the Dragon's Back Pressure Ridge, CA, the Sierra Nevada, CA, and the Rocky Mountain High Plains, USA. Similarly, metrics of basin shape reveal that basins are evolving from narrow basins towards more common leaf shapes. Our results suggest that divide migration and stream capture driven by erosional disequilibrium could be fundamental processes by which river basins reach their characteristic geometry and dendritic form.

Quality and petrographic characteristics of Paleocene coals from the Hanna basin, Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pierce, B.S.

1996-01-01

Coal beds from the Ferris and Hanna Formations, in the Hanna basin, south-central Wyoming, exhibit distinct differences in ash yield, sulfur content, and petrographic and palynologic constituents. These differences are interpreted to be controlled by tectonic changes of the Hanna basin and adjoining uplifts during evolutionary development, which, in turn, controlled mire chemistry and sedimentation. These conditions created two very different settings under which the peats developed during deposition of the Ferris and the Hanna Formations. In addition, there appears to be a geographic (latitudinal) and/or climatic control on the coal characteristics manifested by major differences of Paleocene coals in the Hanna basin compared to those in the Raton basin in Colorado and New Mexico and the Powder River basin in Wyoming.Coal beds from the Ferris and Hanna Formations, in the Hanna basin, south-central Wyoming, exhibit distinct differences in ash yield, sulfur content, and petrographic and palynologic constituents. These differences are interpreted to be controlled by tectonic changes of the Hanna basin and adjoining uplifts during evolutionary development, which, in turn, controlled mire chemistry and sedimentation. These conditions created two very different settings under which the peats developed during deposition of the Ferris and the Hanna Formations. In addition, there appears to be a geographic (latitudinal) and/or climatic control on the coal characteristics manifested by major differences of Paleocene coals in the Hanna basin compared to those in the Raton basin in Colorado and New Mexico and the Powder River basin in Wyoming.

Water-quality characteristics, trends, and nutrient and sediment loads of streams in the Treyburn development area, North Carolina, 1988–2009

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fine, Jason M.; Harned, Douglas A.; Oblinger, Carolyn J.

2013-01-01

Streamflow and water-quality data, including concentrations of nutrients, metals, and pesticides, were collected from October 1988 through September 2009 at six sites in the Treyburn development study area. A review of water-quality data for streams in and near a 5,400-acre planned, mixed-use development in the Falls Lake watershed in the upper Neuse River Basin of North Carolina indicated only small-scale changes in water quality since the previous assessment of data collected from 1988 to 1998. Loads and yields were estimated for sediment and nutrients, and temporal trends were assessed for specific conductance, pH, and concentrations of dissolved oxygen, suspended sediment, and nutrients. Water-quality conditions for the Little River tributary and Mountain Creek may reflect development within these basins. The nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations at the Treyburn sites are low compared to sites nationally. The herbicides atrazine, metolachlor, prometon, and simazine were detected frequently at Mountain Creek and Little River tributary but concentrations are low compared to sites nationally. Little River tributary had the lowest median suspended-sediment yield over the 1988–2009 study period, whereas Flat River tributary had the largest median yield. The yields estimated for suspended sediment and nutrients were low compared to yields estimated for other basins in the Southeastern United States. Recent increasing trends were detected in total nitrogen concentration and suspended-sediment concentrations for Mountain Creek, and an increasing trend was detected in specific conductance for Little River tributary. Decreasing trends were detected in dissolved nitrite plus nitrate nitrogen, total ammonia plus organic nitrogen, sediment, and specific conductance for Flat River tributary. Water chemical concentrations, loads, yields, and trends for the Treyburn study sites reflect some effects of upstream development. These measures of water quality are generally low, however, compared to regional and national averages.

77 FR 45653 - Yakima River Basin Conservation Advisory Group; Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-01

... 4 p.m. ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Bureau of Reclamation, Yakima Field Office, 1917... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Yakima River Basin Conservation Advisory Group...: Notice of public meeting. SUMMARY: As required by the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Yakima River...

Evaluation of genetic population structure of smallmouth bass in the Susquehanna River basin, Pennsylvania

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schall, Megan K.; Bartron, Meredith L.; Wertz, Timothy; Niles, Jonathan M.; Shaw, Cassidy H.; Wagner, Tyler

2017-01-01

The Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu was introduced into the Susquehanna River basin, Pennsylvania, nearly 150 years ago. Since introduction, it has become an economically and ecologically important species that supports popular recreational fisheries. It is also one of the most abundant top predators in the system. Currently, there is no information on the level of genetic diversity or genetic structuring that may have occurred since introduction. An understanding of genetic diversity is important for the delineation of management units and investigation of gene flow at various management scales. The goals of this research were to investigate population genetic structure of Smallmouth Bass at sites within the Susquehanna River basin and to assess genetic differentiation relative to Smallmouth Bass at an out-of-basin site (Allegheny River, Pennsylvania) located within the species’ native range. During spring 2015, fin clips (n = 1,034) were collected from adults at 11 river sites and 13 tributary sites in the Susquehanna River basin and at one site on the Allegheny River. Fin clips were genotyped at 12 polymorphic microsatellite loci. Based on our results, adults sampled throughout the Susquehanna River basin did not represent separate genetic populations. There were only subtle differences in genetic diversity among sites (mean pairwise genetic differentiation index FST = 0.012), and there was an overall lack of population differentiation (K = 3 admixed populations). The greatest genetic differentiation was observed between fish collected from the out-of-basin site and those from the Susquehanna River basin sites. Knowledge that separate genetic populations of Smallmouth Bass do not exist in the Susquehanna River basin is valuable information for fisheries management in addition to providing baseline genetic data on an introduced sport fish population.

Questa baseline and pre-mining ground-water quality investigation. 21. Hydrology and water balance of the Red River basin, New Mexico 1930-2004

USGS Publications Warehouse

Naus, Cheryl A.; McAda, Douglas P.; Myers, Nathan C.

2006-01-01

A study of the hydrology of the Red River Basin of northern New Mexico, including development of a pre- mining water balance, contributes to a greater understanding of processes affecting the flow and chemistry of water in the Red River and its alluvial aquifer. Estimates of mean annual precipitation for the Red River Basin ranged from 22.32 to 25.19 inches. Estimates of evapotranspiration for the Red River Basin ranged from 15.02 to 22.45 inches or 63.23 to 94.49 percent of mean annual precipitation. Mean annual yield from the Red River Basin estimated using regression equations ranged from 45.26 to 51.57 cubic feet per second. Mean annual yield from the Red River Basin estimated by subtracting evapotranspiration from mean annual precipitation ranged from 55.58 to 93.15 cubic feet per second. In comparison, naturalized 1930-2004 mean annual streamflow at the Red River near Questa gage was 48.9 cubic feet per second. Although estimates developed using regression equations appear to be a good representation of yield from the Red River Basin as a whole, the methods that consider evapotranspiration may more accurately represent yield from smaller basins that have a substantial amount of sparsely vegetated scar area. Hydrograph separation using the HYSEP computer program indicated that subsurface flow for 1930-2004 ranged from 76 to 94 percent of streamflow for individual years with a mean of 87 percent of streamflow. By using a chloride mass-balance method, ground-water recharge was estimated to range from 7 to 17 percent of mean annual precipitation for water samples from wells in Capulin Canyon and the Hansen, Hottentot, La Bobita, and Straight Creek Basins and was 21 percent of mean annual precipitation for water samples from the Red River. Comparisons of mean annual basin yield and measured streamflow indicate that streamflow does not consistently increase as cumulative estimated mean annual basin yield increases. Comparisons of estimated mean annual yield and measured streamflow profiles indicates that, in general, the river is gaining ground water from the alluvium in the reach from the town of Red River to between Hottentot and Straight Creeks, and from Columbine Creek to near Thunder Bridge. The river is losing water to the alluvium from upstream of the mill area to Columbine Creek. Interpretations of ground- and surface-water interactions based on comparisons of mean annual basin yield and measured streamflow are supported further with water-level data from piezometers, wells, and the Red River.

78 FR 32295 - Commission Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-29

... SUSQUEHANNA RIVER BASIN COMMISSION Commission Meeting AGENCY: Susquehanna River Basin Commission. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Susquehanna River Basin Commission will hold its regular business meeting on... business meeting are contained in the Supplementary Information section of this notice. DATES: June 20...

78 FR 69517 - Commission Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-19

... SUSQUEHANNA RIVER BASIN COMMISSION Commission Meeting AGENCY: Susquehanna River Basin Commission. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Susquehanna River Basin Commission will hold its regular business meeting on... meeting are contained in the Supplementary Information section of this notice. DATES: December 12, 2013...

78 FR 12412 - Commission Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-22

... SUSQUEHANNA RIVER BASIN COMMISSION Commission Meeting AGENCY: Susquehanna River Basin Commission. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Susquehanna River Basin Commission will hold its regular business meeting on... business meeting are contained in the Supplementary Information section of this notice. DATES: March 21...

77 FR 52106 - Commission Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-28

... SUSQUEHANNA RIVER BASIN COMMISSION Commission Meeting AGENCY: Susquehanna River Basin Commission. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Susquehanna River Basin Commission will hold its regular business meeting on... business meeting are contained in the Supplementary Information section of this notice. DATES: September 20...

77 FR 70204 - Commission Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-23

... SUSQUEHANNA RIVER BASIN COMMISSION Commission Meeting AGENCY: Susquehanna River Basin Commission. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Susquehanna River Basin Commission will hold its regular business meeting on... meeting are contained in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice. DATES: December 14, 2012...

78 FR 52601 - Commission Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-23

... SUSQUEHANNA RIVER BASIN COMMISSION Commission Meeting AGENCY: Susquehanna River Basin Commission. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Susquehanna River Basin Commission will hold its regular business meeting on... meeting are contained in the Supplementary Information section of this notice. DATES: September 19, 2013...

Zinc and Its Isotopes in the Loire River Basin, France

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Millot, R.; Desaulty, A. M.; Bourrain, X.

2014-12-01

The contribution of human activities such as industries, agriculture and domestic inputs, becomes more and more significant in the chemical composition of the dissolved load of rivers. Human factors act as a supplementary key process. Therefore the mass-balance for the budget of catchments and river basins include anthropogenic disturbances. The Loire River in central France is approximately 1010 km long and drains an area of 117,800 km2. In the upper basin, the bedrock is old plutonic rock overlain by much younger volcanic rocks. The intermediate basin includes three major tributaries flowing into the Loire River from the left bank: the Cher, the Indre and the Vienne rivers; the main stream flows westward and its valley stretches toward the Atlantic Ocean. Here, the Loire River drains the sedimentary series of the Paris Basin, mainly carbonate deposits. The lower Loire basin drains pre-Mesozoic basement of the Armorican Massif and its overlying Mesozoic to Cenozoic sedimentary deposits. The Loire River is one of the main European riverine inputs to the Atlantic ocean. Here we are reporting concentration and isotope data for Zn in river waters and suspended sediments from the Loire River Basin. In addition, we also report concentration and isotope data for the different industrial sources within the Loire Basin, as well as data for biota samples such as mussels and oysters from the Bay of Biscay and North Brittany. These organisms are known to be natural accumulators of metal pollutants. Zinc isotopic compositions are rather homogeneous in river waters with δ66Zn values ranging from 0.21 to 0.39‰. This range of variation is very different from anthropogenic signature (industrial and/or agriculture release) that displays δ66Zn values between 0.02 to 0.14‰. This result is in agreement with a geogenic origin and the low Zn concentrations in the Loire River Basin (from 0.8 to 6 µg/L).

Surface-water-quality assessment of the upper Illinois River Basin in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin; results of investigations through April 1992

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schmidt, Arthur R.; Blanchard, Stephen F.

1997-01-01

A water-quality assessment of the upper Illinois River Basin (10,949 square miles) was conducted during water years 1987-91. This assessment involved interpretation of available data; 4 years of intensive data collection, including monthly sample collection at eight fixed-monitoring stations in the basin; and synoptic studies of selected water-quality constituents at many sites. The number of exceedances of water-quality criteria for chromium, copper, lead, mercury, silver, and zinc in water was essentially the same at similar stations between 1978-86 and 1987-90. For water and sediment, a large signature for many trace inorganic constituents was observed from the Chicago metropolitan area, mainly from the Des Plaines River Basin and continuing down the Illinois River. Loads of trace inorganic constituents in water were 2-13 times greater from the Chicago metropolitan area than from rural areas in the upper Illinois River Basin. Concentrations of cadmium, mercury, nickel, selenium, and zinc appeared to be relatively enriched in biota in the upper Illinois River Basin compared to other river basins. Biota from some urban sites were enriched with respect to several elements. For example, relatively large concentrations of cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, and nickel were observed in biota from sites in the Chicago River in the metropolitan area and the Calumet River. Results of pesticide sampling in 1988 and 1989 identified the pesticides bromacil, diazinon, malathion, prometon, and simazine as urban related and alachlor, atrazine, cyanazine, metolachlor, and metribuzin as agricultural related. Phenol concentrations never exceeded general-use and secondary-contact water-quality standards of 100 and 300 micrograms per liter, respectively. Pentachlorophenol concentrations observed at the Illinois River at Marseilles, Ill., between 1981 and 1992 decreased beginning in 1987. A breakdown product of the organochlorine pesticide dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT), p,p'-DDE was the most commonly detected organic compound in biota in both 1989 and 1990. In the nine fish-fillet samples collected in 1989, exceedances of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) fish tissue concentrations were noted for p,p'-DDE in all nine fillets and for dieldrin in five of the nine fillets. Nutrient concentrations in water in the study area generally were larger than concentrations typically found in natural waters. The Des Plaines River Basin contributed approximately 41 percent of the total nitrogen load to the upper Illinois River Basin, whereas the Kankakee River and Iroquois River Basins contributed about 34 and 14 percent of the total load, respectively. Dissolved-oxygen concentrations measured during a 1988 synoptic sampling exceeded State water-quality standards at 76 percent of the sampled sites. Bacteria densities greater than water-quality standards were observed at all of the fixed-monitoring stations, but densities greater than water-quality criteria and standards were observed more often at stations in the Des Plaines River Basin. Results from the analysis of changes in water quality following changes in wastewater-treatment practices indicated that current monitoring programs, although sufficient for their intended purposes, are not suitable for this type of retrospective assessment in large-scale water-quality assessments. Changes were not indicated in fish-community structure and population following changes in wastewater-treatment practices. A strong relation between the quality of the fish community and overall water-quality conditions was observed, although USEPA acute criteria for the protection of freshwater aquatic life were rarely exceeded. Analyses of fish-community data clearly showed that water quality in the urbanized parts of the study area were degraded relative to those in agricultural areas. Total chromium in streambed sediments and total recoverable sodium in water were highly correlated

[Ecological risk assessment of typical karst basin based on land use change: A case study of Lijiang River basin, Southern China].

PubMed

Hu, Jin Long; Zhou, Zhi Xiang; Teng, Ming Jun; Luo, Nan

2017-06-18

Taking Lijiang River basin as study area, and based on the remote sensing images of 1973, 1986, 2000 and 2013, the land-use data were extracted, the ecological risk index was constructed, and the characteristics of spatiotemporal variation of ecological risk were analyzed by "3S" technique. The results showed that land use structure of Lijiang River basin was under relatively reasonable state and it was constantly optimizing during 1973-2013. Overall, the ecological risk of Lijiang River basin was maintained at a low level. Lowest and lower ecological risk region was dominant in Lijiang River basin, but the area of highest ecological risk expanded quickly. The spatial distribution of ecological risk was basically stable and showed an obvious ring structure, which gra-dually decreased from the axis of Xingan County Town-Lingchuan County Town-Guilin City-Yangshuo County Town to other regions. Region with lowest ecological risk mainly distributed in natural mountain forest area of the north and mid-eastern parts of Lijiang River basin, and region with highe-st ecological risk concentrated in Guilin City. The ecological risk distribution of Lijiang River basin presented significant slope and altitude differences, and it decreased with increasing slope and altitude. During the study period, the area of low ecological risk converted to high ecological risk gra-dually decreased and vice versa. On the whole, the ecological risk tended to decline rapidly in the Lijiang River basin.

Proceedings of the Colorado River Basin Science and Resource Management Symposium, November 18-20, 2008, Scottsdale, Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Melis, Theodore S.; Hamill, John F.; Bennett, Glenn E.; Coggins,, Lewis G.; Grams, Paul E.; Kennedy, Theodore A.; Kubly, Dennis M.; Ralston, Barbara E.

2010-01-01

Since the 1980s, four major science and restoration programs have been developed for the Colorado River Basin to address primarily the conservation of native fish and other wildlife pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (ESA): (1) Recovery Implementation Program for Endangered Fish Species in the Upper Colorado River Basin (commonly called the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program) (1988); (2) San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program (1992); (3) Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program (1997); and (4) Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program (2005). Today, these four programs, the efforts of which span the length of the Colorado River, have an increasingly important influence on water management and resource conservation in the basin. The four efforts involve scores of State, Federal, and local agencies; Native American Tribes; and diverse stakeholder representatives. The programs have many commonalities, including similar and overlapping goals and objectives; comparable resources and threats to those resources; and common monitoring, research, and restoration strategies. In spite of their commonalities, until recently there had been no formal opportunity for information exchange among the programs. To address this situation, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) worked in coordination with the four programs and numerous Federal and State agencies to organize the first Colorado River Basin Science and Resource Management Symposium, which took place in Scottsdale, AZ, in November 2008. The symposium's primary purpose was to promote an exchange of information on research and management activities related to the restoration and conservation of the Colorado River and its major tributaries. A total of 283 managers, scientists, and stakeholders attended the 3-day symposium, which included 87 presentations and 27 posters. The symposium featured plenary talks by experts on a variety of topics, including overviews of the four restoration programs, water-management actions aimed at restoring native fish habitat, climate change, assessments of the status of native and nonnative fish populations, and Native American perspectives. Intermixed with plenary talks were four concurrent technical sessions that addressed the following important topics: (1) effects of dam and reservoir operations on downstream physical and biological resources; (2) native fish propagation and genetic management and associated challenges in co-managing native and nonnative fish in the Colorado River; (3) monitoring program design, case studies, and links to management; and (4) riparian system restoration, monitoring, and exotic species control efforts.

Wetlands systems in southern Thailand: The essential resources for sustainable regional development

Treesearch

Rotchanatch Darnsawasdi; Prassert Chitpong

2000-01-01

Parts of Southern Thailand are inundated by water for months annually resulting in various wetlands including, among others, Tapi River Basin, Pak Panang River Basin, Songkhla Lake Basin, Pangnga Bay, Pattani River Basin, and Narathiwas Peat Swamp. Most wetlands perform functions such as flood retention, water filtration, bird and wildlife habitat,and tree growth....

Characteristics and trends of streamflow and dissolved solids in the upper Colorado River Basin, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

Liebermann, Timothy D.; Mueller, David K.; Kircher, James E.; Choquette, Anne F.

1989-01-01

Annual and monthly concentrations and loads of dissolved solids and major constituents were estimated for 70 streamflow-gaging stations in the Upper Colorado River Basin. Trends in streamflow, dissolved-solids concentrations, and dissolved-solids loads were identified. Nonparametric trend-analysis techniques were used to determine step trends resulting from human activities upstream and long-term monotonic trends. Results were compared with physical characteristics of the basin and historical water-resource development in the basin to determine source areas of dissolved solids and possible cause of trends. Mean annual dissolved-solids concentration increases from less than 100 milligrams per liter in the headwater streams to more than 500 milligrams per liter in the outflow from the Upper Colorado River Basin. All the major tributaries that have high concentrations of dissolved solids are downstream from extensive areas of irrigated agriculture. However, irrigation predated the period of record for most sites and was not a factor in many identified trends. Significant annual trends were identified for 30 sites. Most of these trends were related to transbasin exports, changes in land use, salinity-control practices, or reservoir development. The primary factor affecting streamflow and dissolved-solids concentration and load has been the construction of large reservoirs. Reservoirs have decreased the seasonal and annual variability of streamflow and dissolved solids in streams that drain the Gunnison and San Juan River basins. Fontenelle and Flaming Gorge Reservoirs have increased the dissolved-solids load in the Green River because of dissolution of mineral salts from the bank material. The largest trends occurred downstream from Lake Powell. However, the period of record since the completion of filling was too short to estimate the long-term effects of that reservoir.

Nutrient delivery to Lake Winnipeg from the Red-Assiniboine River Basin – A binational application of the SPARROW model

USGS Publications Warehouse

Benoy, Glenn A.; Jenkinson, R. Wayne; Robertson, Dale M.; Saad, David A.

2016-01-01

Excessive phosphorus (TP) and nitrogen (TN) inputs from the Red–Assiniboine River Basin (RARB) have been linked to eutrophication of Lake Winnipeg; therefore, it is important for the management of water resources to understand where and from what sources these nutrients originate. The RARB straddles the Canada–United States border and includes portions of two provinces and three states. This study represents the first binationally focused application of SPAtially Referenced Regressions on Watershed attributes (SPARROW) models to estimate loads and sources of TP and TN by jurisdiction and basin at multiple spatial scales. Major hurdles overcome to develop these models included: (1) harmonization of geospatial data sets, particularly construction of a contiguous stream network; and (2) use of novel calibration steps to accommodate limitations in spatial variability across the model extent and in the number of calibration sites. Using nutrient inputs for a 2002 base year, a RARB TP SPARROW model was calibrated that included inputs from agriculture, forests and wetlands, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and stream channels, and a TN model was calibrated that included inputs from agriculture, WWTPs and atmospheric deposition. At the RARB outlet, downstream from Winnipeg, Manitoba, the majority of the delivered TP and TN came from the Red River Basin (90%), followed by the Upper Assiniboine River and Souris River basins. Agriculture was the single most important TP and TN source for each major basin, province and state. In general, stream channels (historically deposited nutrients and from bank erosion) were the second most important source of TP. Performance metrics for the RARB SPARROW model are similarly robust compared to other, larger US SPARROW models making it a potentially useful tool to address questions of where nutrients originate and their relative contributions to loads delivered to Lake Winnipeg.

Drought assessment in the Dongliao River basin: traditional approaches vs. generalized drought assessment index based on water resources systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weng, B. S.; Yan, D. H.; Wang, H.; Liu, J. H.; Yang, Z. Y.; Qin, T. L.; Yin, J.

2015-08-01

Drought is firstly a resource issue, and with its development it evolves into a disaster issue. Drought events usually occur in a determinate but a random manner. Drought has become one of the major factors to affect sustainable socioeconomic development. In this paper, we propose the generalized drought assessment index (GDAI) based on water resources systems for assessing drought events. The GDAI considers water supply and water demand using a distributed hydrological model. We demonstrate the use of the proposed index in the Dongliao River basin in northeastern China. The results simulated by the GDAI are compared to observed drought disaster records in the Dongliao River basin. In addition, the temporal distribution of drought events and the spatial distribution of drought frequency from the GDAI are compared with the traditional approaches in general (i.e., standard precipitation index, Palmer drought severity index and rate of water deficit index). Then, generalized drought times, generalized drought duration, and generalized drought severity were calculated by theory of runs. Application of said runs at various drought levels (i.e., mild drought, moderate drought, severe drought, and extreme drought) during the period 1960-2010 shows that the centers of gravity of them all distribute in the middle reaches of Dongliao River basin, and change with time. The proposed methodology may help water managers in water-stressed regions to quantify the impact of drought, and consequently, to make decisions for coping with drought.

PAHs and PCBs deposited in surficial sediments along a rural to urban transect in a mid-Atlantic coastal river basin (USA).

PubMed

Foster, Gregory D; Cui, Vickie

2008-10-01

PAHs and PCBs were measured in river sediments along a 226 km longitudinal transect that spanned rural to urban land use settings through Valley and Ridge, Piedmont Plateau and Coastal Plain physiographic provinces in the Potomac River basin (mid-Atlantic USA). A gradient in PAH concentrations was found in river bed sediments along the upstream transect in the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers that correlated with population densities in the nearby sub-basins. Sediment PAH concentrations halved per each approximately 40 km of transect distance upstream (i.e., the half-concentration distance) from the urban center (Washington, DC) of the Potomac River basin in direct proportion to population density. The PAH molecular composition was consistent across all geologic provinces, revealing a dominant pyrogenic source. Fluoranthene to perylene ratios served as useful markers for urban inputs, with a ratio > 2.4 observed in sediments near urban structures such as roadways, bridges and sewer outfalls. PCBs in sediments were not well correlated with population densities along the river basin transect, but the highest concentrations were found in the urban Coastal Plain region near Washington, DC and in the Shenandoah River near a known industrial Superfund site. PAHs were moderately correlated with sediment total organic carbon (TOC) in the Shenandoah River and Coastal Plain Potomac River regions, but TOC was poorly correlated with PCB concentrations throughout the entire basin. Although both PAHs and PCBs are widely recognized as urban-derived contaminants, their concentration profiles and geochemistry in river sediments were uniquely different throughout the upper Potomac River basin.

Applicability of GLDAS in the Yarlung Zangbo River Basin under Climate Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, L.; Hong, Z.; Linglei, Z.; Yun, D.

2017-12-01

The change of runoff has a great influence on global water cycle, and migration or transformation of biogenic matters. As the Tibet's most important economic region, the Yarlung Zangbo River basin is extremely sensitive and fragile to the global climate change. But the river is a typical lack-data basin, where the quantity of available runoff data is extremely limited and the spatial and temporal resolutions are very low. This study Chooses middle reaches of Yarlung Zangbo River basin as the study area, 4 models of Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) and the water balance equation are used to calculate surface runoff of Nuxia hydrological station from year of 2009 to 2013. Through the analysis of hydrological elements change, the impact of climate factors to surface runoff is discussed. At last, Statistical method is used to compare correlation and error between the 4 models results and in situ runoff observation. The Broke ranking method is applied to evaluate data quality and applicability of the 4 models in the Yarlung Zangbo River basin. The results reveal that the total runoff calculated from 4 models all have similar change cycle around 12 months, and the values all tend to have slight increase as in situ runoff data during research period. Moreover, it can conclude that the runoff time series show obvious period and mutation characters. During study period, monthly mean precipitation and temperature both have obvious seasonal variability, and the variation trend is relatively consistent. Through the analysis of the runoff affecting factors, it shows that the changes of precipitation and temperature are the most direct factors affecting runoff of the Yarlung Zangbo River. Correlation between precipitations, temperature with runoff of Nuxia hydrological station is good, and the correlation coefficients are in the range of 0.727 to 0.924.It shows that climate change controls basin runoff change to some extent. At last, runoff estimated from GLDAS-CLM can better represent runoff of the Yarlung Zangbo River basin than other 3 models with a total ranking score of 2.00. This paper carries out a helpful attempt on hydrological study in lack-data basin. And in the matter of medium and long terms, large and medium scales, the result is benefit to deepen cognition and comprehend on runoff characteristics.

Water quality of the Flint River basin, Alabama and Tennessee, 1999-2000

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hoos, Anne B.; Garrett, Jerry W.; Knight, Rodney R.

2002-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey monitored eight stream sites in the Flint River Basin during the period January 1999 through May 2000, to characterize patterns in the occurrence of pesticides, fecal-indicator bacteria, and nutrients in relation to season and streamflow conditions and to land-use patterns. This study is part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program, which was designed to assess water quality as it relates to various land uses. Every water sample collected from the Flint River Basin had detectable levels of at least two pesticides; 64 percent of the samples contained mixtures of at least five pesticides. In general, pesticides detected most frequently and at highest concentrations in streams corresponded to the pesticides with the highest rates of use in the watersheds. Detections of fluometuron, norflurazon, and atrazine were more frequent (by a margin of 15 percent or more) in samples from the Flint River when compared with the frequencies of pesticide detections at 62 agricultural stream sites across the Nation. Detections of fluometuron in the Flint River were more frequent even when compared with a cotton-cultivation subset of the 62 sites. For most pesticides, maximum concentrations did not exceed criteria to protect aquatic life; however, maximum concentrations of atrazine, cyanazine, and malathion exceeded aquaticlife criteria in at least one sample. Concentrations near or exceeding the aquatic-life criteria occurred only during the spring and summer (April-July), and generally occurred during storm flows. Less than 5 percent of the estimated mass of pesticides applied annually to agricultural areas in the Flint River Basin was transported to the stream at the monitoring points on the Flint River near Brownsboro, Alabama, and on Hester Creek near Plevna, Alabama. The pesticides with the highest ratios (greater than 3 percent) of the amount transported instream to the amount applied?atrazine, metolachlor, fluometuron, and norflurazon?are preemergent herbicides applied to the soil before the crops have emerged, which increases the probability of transport in surface runoff. Concentrations of the fecal-bacteria indicator Escherichia coli (E. coli) in the Flint River and Hester Creek exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency criterion for recreation in almost all storm samples, and in many samples collected up to 6 days following a storm. Concentrations in the Flint River were strongly correlated with sample turbidity, suggesting that turbidity might be useful as a surrogate for estimating E. coli concentrations. Concentrations of the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus in samples from the Flint River generally exceeded thresholds indicating eutrophic potential, whereas concentrations in samples from Hester Creek were generally below the thresholds. When compared with nutrient data from a set of 24 agricultural basins across the southeastern region of the United States, concentrations in the Flint River and Hester Creek were slightly above the regional median. Base-flow concentrations of certain pesticides, nutrients, and E. coli were compared to land-use information for eight sites in the Flint River Basin. The highest base-flow concentrations of aldicarb sulfoxide, fluometuron, and phosphorus were found in the tributaries with the greatest density of cotton acreage in the watershed. Similarly, high base-flow concentrations of total nitrogen were correlated with a high percentage of cultivated land in the watershed. Lack of information about distribution of stream access by livestock weakened the analysis of correlation between livestock and base-flow concentrations of E. coli and nutrients. Input of dissolved and suspended chemicals from the Flint River during storms influences water quality in the reach of the Tennessee River from which the City of Huntsville, Alabama, withdraws about 40 percent of its drinking water. During the storm of April 2-5, 2000, concentrations of several pesticides were

Updated estimates of long-term average dissolved-solids loading in streams and rivers of the Upper Colorado River Basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tillman, Fred D.; Anning, David W.

2014-01-01

The Colorado River and its tributaries supply water to more than 35 million people in the United States and 3 million people in Mexico, irrigating over 4.5 million acres of farmland, and annually generating about 12 billion kilowatt hours of hydroelectric power. The Upper Colorado River Basin, part of the Colorado River Basin, encompasses more than 110,000 mi2 and is the source of much of more than 9 million tons of dissolved solids that annually flows past the Hoover Dam. High dissolved-solids concentrations in the river are the cause of substantial economic damages to users, primarily in reduced agricultural crop yields and corrosion, with damages estimated to be greater than 300 million dollars annually. In 1974, the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act created the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program to investigate and implement a broad range of salinity control measures. A 2009 study by the U.S. Geological Survey, supported by the Salinity Control Program, used the Spatially Referenced Regressions on Watershed Attributes surface-water quality model to examine dissolved-solids supply and transport within the Upper Colorado River Basin. Dissolved-solids loads developed for 218 monitoring sites were used to calibrate the 2009 Upper Colorado River Basin Spatially Referenced Regressions on Watershed Attributes dissolved-solids model. This study updates and develops new dissolved-solids loading estimates for 323 Upper Colorado River Basin monitoring sites using streamflow and dissolved-solids concentration data through 2012, to support a planned Spatially Referenced Regressions on Watershed Attributes modeling effort that will investigate the contributions to dissolved-solids loads from irrigation and rangeland practices.

77 FR 10034 - Public Hearing; Correction

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-21

... SUSQUEHANNA RIVER BASIN COMMISSION Public Hearing; Correction AGENCY: Susquehanna River Basin Commission. ACTION: Notice; correction. SUMMARY: The Susquehanna River Basin Commission published a document in the Federal Register of January 23, 2012, concerning a public hearing to be held on February 16...

77 FR 28420 - Commission Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-14

... SUSQUEHANNA RIVER BASIN COMMISSION Commission Meeting AGENCY: Susquehanna River Basin Commission. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Susquehanna River Basin Commission will hold its regular business meeting on... meeting are contained in the Supplementary Information section of this notice. DATES: June 7, 2012, at 9...

Determination of Soil Erosion Risk in the Mustafakemalpasa River Basin, Turkey, Using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation, Geographic Information System, and Remote Sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ozsoy, Gokhan; Aksoy, Ertugrul; Dirim, M. Sabri; Tumsavas, Zeynal

2012-10-01

Sediment transport from steep slopes and agricultural lands into the Uluabat Lake (a RAMSAR site) by the Mustafakemalpasa (MKP) River is a serious problem within the river basin. Predictive erosion models are useful tools for evaluating soil erosion and establishing soil erosion management plans. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) function is a commonly used erosion model for this purpose in Turkey and the rest of the world. This research integrates the RUSLE within a geographic information system environment to investigate the spatial distribution of annual soil loss potential in the MKP River Basin. The rainfall erosivity factor was developed from local annual precipitation data using a modified Fournier index: The topographic factor was developed from a digital elevation model; the K factor was determined from a combination of the soil map and the geological map; and the land cover factor was generated from Landsat-7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM) images. According to the model, the total soil loss potential of the MKP River Basin from erosion by water was 11,296,063 Mg year-1 with an average soil loss of 11.2 Mg year-1. The RUSLE produces only local erosion values and cannot be used to estimate the sediment yield for a watershed. To estimate the sediment yield, sediment-delivery ratio equations were used and compared with the sediment-monitoring reports of the Dolluk stream gauging station on the MKP River, which collected data for >41 years (1964-2005). This station observes the overall efficiency of the sediment yield coming from the Orhaneli and Emet Rivers. The measured sediment in the Emet and Orhaneli sub-basins is 1,082,010 Mg year-1 and was estimated to be 1,640,947 Mg year-1 for the same two sub-basins. The measured sediment yield of the gauge station is 127.6 Mg km-2 year-1 but was estimated to be 170.2 Mg km-2 year-1. The close match between the sediment amounts estimated using the RUSLE-geographic information system (GIS) combination and the measured values from the Dolluk sediment gauge station shows that the potential soil erosion risk of the MKP River Basin can be estimated correctly and reliably using the RUSLE function generated in a GIS environment.

Evaluating GCM land surface hydrology parameterizations by computing river discharges using a runoff routing model: Application to the Mississippi basin

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liston, G. E.; Sud, Y. C.; Wood, E. F.

1994-01-01

To relate general circulation model (GCM) hydrologic output to readily available river hydrographic data, a runoff routing scheme that routes gridded runoffs through regional- or continental-scale river drainage basins is developed. By following the basin overland flow paths, the routing model generates river discharge hydrographs that can be compared to observed river discharges, thus allowing an analysis of the GCM representation of monthly, seasonal, and annual water balances over large regions. The runoff routing model consists of two linear reservoirs, a surface reservoir and a groundwater reservoir, which store and transport water. The water transport mechanisms operating within these two reservoirs are differentiated by their time scales; the groundwater reservoir transports water much more slowly than the surface reservior. The groundwater reservior feeds the corresponding surface store, and the surface stores are connected via the river network. The routing model is implemented over the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) Continental-Scale International Project Mississippi River basin on a rectangular grid of 2 deg X 2.5 deg. Two land surface hydrology parameterizations provide the gridded runoff data required to run the runoff routing scheme: the variable infiltration capacity model, and the soil moisture component of the simple biosphere model. These parameterizations are driven with 4 deg X 5 deg gridded climatological potential evapotranspiration and 1979 First Global Atmospheric Research Program (GARP) Global Experiment precipitation. These investigations have quantified the importance of physically realistic soil moisture holding capacities, evaporation parameters, and runoff mechanisms in land surface hydrology formulations.

Estimation of total nitrogen and total phosphorus in streams of the Middle Columbia River Basin (Oregon, Washington, and Idaho) using SPARROW models, with emphasis on the Yakima River Basin, Washington

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, Henry M.; Black, Robert W.; Wise, Daniel R.

2013-01-01

The watershed model SPARROW (Spatially Related Regressions on Watershed attributes) was used to predict total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) loads and yields for the Middle Columbia River Basin in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. The new models build on recently published models for the entire Pacific Northwest, and provide revised load predictions for the arid interior of the region by restricting the modeling domain and recalibrating the models. Results from the new TN and TP models are provided for the entire region, and discussed with special emphasis on the Yakima River Basin, Washington. In most catchments of the Yakima River Basin, the TN and TP in streams is from natural sources, specifically nitrogen fixation in forests (TN) and weathering and erosion of geologic materials (TP). The natural nutrient sources are overshadowed by anthropogenic sources of TN and TP in highly agricultural and urbanized catchments; downstream of the city of Yakima, most of the load in the Yakima River is derived from anthropogenic sources. Yields of TN and TP from catchments with nearly uniform land use were compared with other yield values and export coefficients published in the scientific literature, and generally were in agreement. The median yield of TN was greatest in catchments dominated by agricultural land and smallest in catchments dominated by grass and scrub land. The median yield of TP was greatest in catchments dominated by forest land, but the largest yields (90th percentile) of TP were from agricultural catchments. As with TN, the smallest TP yields were from catchments dominated by grass and scrub land.

Occurrence and transport of nutrients in the Missouri River Basin, April through September 2011: Chapter G in 2011 floods of the central United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kalkhoff, Stephen J.

2013-01-01

Heavy snow and early spring rainfall generated substantial amounts of runoff and flooding in the upper part of the Missouri River Basin in 2011. Spring runoff in the upper and middle parts of the basin exceeded the storage capacity of the Missouri River reservoirs and unprecedented amounts of water were released into the lower parts of the basin resulting in record floods from June through September on the Missouri River in Iowa and Nebraska and extending into Kansas and Missouri. Runoff from the Missouri River Basin in April through September 2011 was 8,440,000 hectare meters (68,400,000 acre feet) and was only exceeded during flooding in 1993 when runoff was 11,200,000 hectare meters (90,700,000 acre feet). Nitrate and total phosphorus concentrations in the Missouri River and selected tributaries in April through September, 2011 generally were within the expected range of concentrations measured during the last 30 years. Substantial discharge from the upper and middle parts of the Missouri River Basin resulted in nitrate concentrations decreasing in the lower Missouri River beginning in June. Concentrations of nitrate in water entering the Mississippi River from the Missouri River were less in 2011 than in 1993, but total phosphorus concentrations entering the Mississippi River were substantially greater in 2011 than in 1993. The Missouri River transported an estimated 79,600 megagrams of nitrate and 38,000 megagrams of total phosphorus to the Mississippi River from April through September 2011. The nitrate flux in 2011 was less than 20 percent of the combined total from the Upper Mississippi and Missouri River Basins. In contrast, the total phosphorus flux of 38,000 megagrams from the Missouri River constituted about 39 percent of the combined total from the Upper Mississippi and Missouri River Basins during April through September 2011. Substantially more nitrate but less total phosphorus was transported from the Missouri River Basin during the historic 1993 than during the 2011 flood. Greater runoff from the lower part of the basin contributed to the greater nitrate transport in 1993. In addition to the differing amounts of runoff and the source of flood waters, changes in land use, and management practices are additional factors that may have contributed to the difference in nitrate and total phosphorus flux between the 1993 and 2011 floods.

New vitrinite reflectance data for the Wind River Basin, Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pawlewicz, Mark J.; Finn, Thomas M.

2013-01-01

The Wind River Basin is a large Laramide (Late Cretaceous through Eocene) structural and sedimentary basin that encompasses about 7,400 square miles in central Wyoming. The basin is bounded by the Washakie Range and Owl Creek and southern Bighorn Mountains on the north, the Casper arch on the east and northeast, and the Granite Mountains on the south, and Wind River Range on the west. The purpose of this report is to present new vitrinite reflectance data collected mainly from Cretaceous marine shales in the Wind River Basin to better characterize their thermal maturity and hydrocarbon potential.

Understanding the Impacts of Climate Change in the Tana River Basin, Kenya

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muthuwatta, Lal; Sood, Aditya; McCartney, Matthew; Sandeepana Silva, Nishchitha; Opere, Alfred

2018-06-01

In the Tana River Basin in Kenya, six Regional Circulation Models (RCMs) simulating two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) (i.e., 4.5 and 8.5) were used as input to the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model to determine the possible implications for the hydrology and water resources of the basin. Four hydrological characteristics - water yield, groundwater recharge, base flow and flow regulation - were determined and mapped throughout the basin for three 30-year time periods: 2020-2049, 2040-2069 and 2070-2099. Results were compared with a baseline period, 1983-2011. All four hydrological characteristics show steady increases under both RCPs for the entire basin but with considerable spatial heterogeneity and greater increases under RCP 8.5 than RCP 4.5. The results have important implications for the way water resources in the basin are managed. It is imperative that water managers and policy makers take into account the additional challenges imposed by climate change in operating built infrastructure.

Assimilation of Terrestrial Water Storage from GRACE in a Snow-Dominated Basin

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Forman, Barton A.; Reichle, R. H.; Rodell, M.

2011-01-01

Terrestrial water storage (TWS) information derived from Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) measurements is assimilated into a land surface model over the Mackenzie River basin located in northwest Canada. Assimilation is conducted using an ensemble Kalman smoother (EnKS). Model estimates with and without assimilation are compared against independent observational data sets of snow water equivalent (SWE) and runoff. For SWE, modest improvements in mean difference (MD) and root mean squared difference (RMSD) are achieved as a result of the assimilation. No significant differences in temporal correlations of SWE resulted. Runoff statistics of MD remain relatively unchanged while RMSD statistics, in general, are improved in most of the sub-basins. Temporal correlations are degraded within the most upstream sub-basin, but are, in general, improved at the downstream locations, which are more representative of an integrated basin response. GRACE assimilation using an EnKS offers improvements in hydrologic state/flux estimation, though comparisons with observed runoff would be enhanced by the use of river routing and lake storage routines within the prognostic land surface model. Further, GRACE hydrology products would benefit from the inclusion of better constrained models of post-glacial rebound, which significantly affects GRACE estimates of interannual hydrologic variability in the Mackenzie River basin.

Socio-Hydrologic Modeling: Characterizing the Dynamics of Coupled Human-Water Systems Using Natural Science Methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sivapalan, M.; Elshafei, Y.; Srinivasan, V.

2014-12-01

A challenging research puzzle in the research on sustainable water management in the Anthropocene is why some societies successfully recover from "ecological destruction" to transition to "successful adaptation" over decadal timescales, while others fail. We present a conceptual modeling framework to understand and characterize these transitions. In this way, we aim to capture the potential drivers of the desired shift towards achieving sustainability of socio-hydrological systems. This is done through a synthesis of detailed socio-hydrological analyses of four river basins in three continents, carried out using different quantitative socio-hydrologic models: Murrumbidgee River Basin in eastern Australia, Lake Toolibin Catchment in Western Australia, Tarim River Basin in Western China and Kissimmee River Basin, in south-east United States. The case studies are analysed using either place-based models designed specifically to mimic observed long-term socio-hydrologic trends, or generic conceptual models with foundations in diverse strands of literature including sustainability science and resilience theory. A comparative analysis of the four case studies reveals a commonality in the building blocks employed to model these socio-hydrologic systems; including water balance, economic, environmental and human-feedback components. Each model reveals varying interpretations of a common organising principle that could explain the shift between productive (socio-economic) and restorative (environmental) forces that was evident in each of these systems observed over a long time frame. The emergent principle is related to the essential drivers of the human feedback component and rests with a general formulation of human well-being, as reflected by both their economic and environmental well-being. It is envisaged that the understanding of the system drivers gained from such a comparative study would enable more targeted water management strategies that can be administered in developing basins to achieve overall sustainability.

Denudation rates of the Southern Espinhaço Range, Minas Gerais, Brazil, determined by in situ-produced cosmogenic beryllium-10

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barreto, Helen N.; Varajão, César A. C.; Braucher, Régis; Bourlès, Didier L.; Salgado, André A. R.; Varajão, Angélica F. D. C.

2013-06-01

To investigate denudation rates in the southern part of the Espinhaço Range (central-eastern Brazil) and to understand how this important resistant and residual relief has evolved in the past 1.38 My, cosmogenic 10Be concentrations produced in situ were measured in alluvial sediments from the three main regional basins, whose substratum is composed primarily of quartzites. The long-term denudation rates (up to 1.38 My) estimated from these measurements were compared with those that affect the western (São Francisco River) and eastern (Doce and Jequitinhonha Rivers) basins, which face the West San Francisco craton and the Atlantic, respectively. Denudation rates were measured in 27 samples collected in catchments of different sizes (6-970 km2) and were compared with geomorphic parameters. The mean denudation rates determined in the northern part are low and similar to those determined in the southern part, despite slightly different geomorphic parameter values (catchment relief and mean slope). For the southern catchments, the values are 4.91 ± 1.01 m My- 1 and 3.65 ± 1.26 m My- 1 for the Doce and São Francisco River basins, respectively; for the northern catchments, they are 4.40 ± 1.06 m My- 1 and 3.96 ± 0.91 m My- 1 for the Jequitinhonha and São Francisco River basins, respectively. These low values of denudation rates suggest no direct correlation if plotted against geomorphic parameters such as the catchment area, maximum elevation, catchment relief, average relief and mean slope gradients. These values show that the regional landscape evolves slowly and is strongly controlled by resistant lithology, with similar erosional rates in the three studied basins.

Integrated Hydro-geomorphological Monitoring System of the Upper Bussento river basin (Cilento and Vallo Diano Geopark, S-Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guida, D.; Cuomo, A.; Longobardi, A.; Villani, P.; Guida, M.; Guadagnuolo, D.; Cestari, A.; Siervo, V.; Benevento, G.; Sorvino, S.; Doto, R.; Verrone, M.; De Vita, A.; Aloia, A.; Positano, P.

2012-04-01

The Mediterranean river ecosystem functionings are supported by river-aquifer interactions. The assessment of their ecological services requires interdisciplinary scientific approaches, integrate monitoring systems and inter-institutional planning and management. This poster illustrates the Hydro-geomorphological Monitoring System build-up in the Upper Bussento river basin by the University of Salerno, in agreement with the local Basin Autorities and in extension to the other river basins located in the Cilento and Vallo Diano National Park (southern Italy), recently accepted in the European Geopark Network. The Monitoring System is based on a hierarchical Hydro-geomorphological Model (HGM), improved in a multiscale, nested and object-oriented Hydro-geomorphological Informative System (HGIS, Figure 1). Hydro-objects are topologically linked and functionally bounded by Hydro-elements at various levels of homogeneity (Table 1). Spatial Hydro-geomorpho-system, HG-complex and HG-unit support respectively areal Hydro-objects, as basin, sector and catchment and linear Hydro-objects, as river, segment, reach and section. Runoff initiation points, springs, disappearing points, junctions, gaining and water losing points complete the Hydro-systems. An automatic procedure use the Pfafstetter coding to hierarchically divide a terrain into arbitrarily small hydro-geomorphological units (basin, interfluve, headwater and no-contribution areas, each with a unique label with hierarchical topological properties. To obtain a hierarchy of hydro-geomorphological units, the method is then applied recursively on each basin and interbasin, and labels of the subdivided regions are appended to the existing label of the original region. The monitoring stations are ranked consequently in main, secondary, temporary and random and located progressively at the points or sections representative for the hydro-geomorphological responses by validation control and modeling calibration. The datasets are organized into a relational geodatabase supporting tracer testings, space-time analysis and hydrological modeling. At the moment, three main station for hourly streamflow measurements are located at the terminal sections of the main basin and the two main sub-basin; secondary stations for weekly discharge measurements are located along the Upper Bussento river segment, upstream and downstream of each river reach or tributary catchments or karst spring inflow. Temporary stations are located in the representative sections of the catchments to detect stream flow losses into alluvial beds or experimental parcels in the bare karst and forested sandstone headwaters. Streamflow measurements are combined with geochemical survey and water sampling for Radon activity concentration measurements. Results of measurement campains in Radon space-time distribution within the basin are given in other contribution of same EGU session. Monitoring results confirm the hourly, daily, weekly and monthly hydrological data and validate outcomes of semi-distributed hydrological models based on previously time series, allowing both academic consultants and institutional subject to extend the Integrated Hydro-geomorphological Monitoring System to the surrounding drainage areas of the Cilento and Vallo di Diano Geopark. Keywords: River-aquifer interaction, Upper Bussento river basin, monitoring system, hydro-geomorphology, semi-distributed hydrological model. Table 1: Comparative, hierarchical Hydro-morpho-climate entities Hierarchy levelArea (Km2) Scale Orography Entity Climate Entity Morfological Entity Areal Drainage Entity Linear Drainage Entity VIII 106 1:15E6 Orogen Macroscale α Morphological Region Hydrological Region VII 105 1:10E6 Chain Sistem Macroscale β Morphological Province Hydrological Province VI 104 1:5E5 Chain Mesoscale α Morphological Sistem Basin River V 103 1:2,5E5Chain Segment Mesoscale β Morphological Sub-systemSub-Basin Torrent IV 100 1:1,0E5Orographic Group Mesoscale γ Morphological Complex Basin Sector Mid Order Channel/ Segment III 10 1: 5E4 Orographic System Microscale αMorphological Unit Watershed Low Order Channel/ Reach II 1 1:2,5E3Orographic ComplexMicroscale βMorphological ComponentCatchment Transient Channel/ Pool I 10-2 1:5E3 Orographic Unit Microscale γMorphological Element Hollow Zero Order Channel PIC

Heavy metal distribution and water quality characterization of water bodies in Louisiana's Lake Pontchartrain Basin, USA.

PubMed

Zhang, Zengqiang; Wang, Jim J; Ali, Amjad; DeLaune, Ronald D

2016-11-01

The seasonal variation in physico-chemical properties, anions, and the heavy metal (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) concentration was evaluated in water from nine different rivers in Lake Pontchartrain Basin, Louisiana, USA. The water quality parameters were compared with toxicity reference values (TRV), US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) drinking/aquatic life protection, and WHO standards. Among physico-chemical properties, pH, DO, and turbidity were high during spring, while, EC, temperature, and DOC were high during summer and vice versa. The anion study revealed that the concentrations of F - , Cl - , and NO 3 - were higher during summer and Br - and SO 4 - were higher during spring. Our research findings showed anion concentration decreased in the order of Cl -  > SO 4 -  > NO 3 -  > Br -  > F - , in accordance with the global mean anion concentration. The dissolved heavy metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb) except Zn were higher during spring than summer. None of the rivers showed any Cd pollution for both seasons. Co showed higher concentrations in Amite River, Mississippi River, Industrial Canal, and Lacombe Bayou during summer. The Cr concentration was higher than WHO drinking water standards, implicating water unsuitability for drinking purposes in all the rivers associated with the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Cu showed no pollution risk for the study area. Mn and Co were similar to concentration in Lacombe Bayou, Liberty Bayou, Blind River, and Industrial Canal. Mn levels were greater than WHO standards for the Tickfaw River, Tangipahoa River, and Blind River in both seasons. Blind River, Tangipahoa River, Tickfaw River, and Amite River will require more monitoring for determining possible Mn pollution. Ni content in river water during both seasons showed low pollution risk. Liberty Bayou and Industrial Canal concentrations were closer to the WHO regulatory standards, indicating possible risk of Pb pollution in these water bodies. The Zn content was near the USEPA aquatic life standards in summer for all water bodies. None of the rivers showed any risk associated with Cd, Co, Cu, and Ni levels but medium to higher risk to aquatic life from Cr and Zn for both seasons for most of the rivers. Metal fractionation revealed the decreasing order of inert > labile > organic. The high inert fraction in the rivers under study reflects the major contribution of natural sources in Lake Pontchartrain Basin. The labile and organic forms of Cd, Cu, Ni, and Zn pose potential higher risk to the aquatic life in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin.

Hydrogeologic Framework and Occurrence and Movement of Ground Water in the Upper Humboldt River Basin, Northeastern Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Plume, Russell W.

2009-01-01

The upper Humboldt River basin encompasses 4,364 square miles in northeastern Nevada, and it comprises the headwaters area of the Humboldt River. Nearly all flow of the river originates in this area. The upper Humboldt River basin consists of several structural basins, in places greater than 5,000 feet deep, in which basin-fill deposits of Tertiary and Quaternary age and volcanic rocks of Tertiary age have accumulated. The bedrock of each structural basin and adjacent mountains is composed of carbonate and clastic sedimentary rocks of Paleozoic age and crystalline rocks of Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic age. The permeability of bedrock generally is very low except for carbonate rocks, which can be very permeable where circulating ground water has widened fractures through geologic time. The principal aquifers in the upper Humboldt River basin occur within the water-bearing strata of the extensive older basin-fill deposits and the thinner, younger basin-fill deposits that underlie stream flood plains. Ground water in these aquifers moves from recharge areas along mountain fronts to discharge areas along stream flood plains, the largest of which is the Humboldt River flood plain. The river gains flow from ground-water seepage to its channel from a few miles west of Wells, Nevada, to the west boundary of the study area. Water levels in the upper Humboldt River basin fluctuate annually in response to the spring snowmelt and to the distribution of streamflow diverted for irrigation of crops and meadows. Water levels also have responded to extended periods (several years) of above or below average precipitation. As a result of infiltration from the South Fork Reservoir during the past 20 years, ground-water levels in basin-fill deposits have risen over an area as much as one mile beyond the reservoir and possibly even farther away in Paleozoic bedrock.

An ECOMAG-based Regional Hydrological Model for the Mackenzie River basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Motovilov, Yury; Kalugin, Andrey; Gelfan, Alexander

2017-04-01

A physically-based distributed model of runoff generation has been developed for the Mackenzie River basin (the catchment area is 1 660 000 km2). The model is based on the ECOMAG (ECOlogical Model for Applied Geophysics) hydrological modeling platform and describes processes of interception of rainfall/snowfall by the canopy, snow accumulation and melt, soil freezing and thawing, water infiltration into unfrozen and frozen soil, evapotranspiration, thermal and water regime of soil, overland, subsurface and ground flow, flow routing through a channel network accounting for flow regulation by lakes and reservoirs. The governing model's equations are derived from integration of the basic hydro- and thermodynamics equations of water and heat vertical transfer in snowpack, frozen/unfrozen soil, horizontal water flow under and over catchment slopes, etc. The Mackenzie basin's schematization was performed on the basis of the global DEM data (1-km resolution) from the HYDRO1K database of the U.S. Geological Survey. Most of the model parameters are physically meaningful and derived through the global datasets of the basin characteristics: FAO/IIASA Harmonized World Soil Database, USGS EROS Global Land Cover Characteristics project, etc. The 0.5ox0.5o WATCH reanalysis daily precipitation, air temperature and air humidity data were used as the model input for the period of 1971-2002. The daily discharge data provided by the Water Survey of Canada for 10 streamflow gauges, which are located at the Mackenzie River and the main tributaries (Peel River, Great Bear River, Liard River, Slave River and Athabasca River), were used for calibration (1991-2001) and validation (1971-1990) of the model. The gauges' catchment areas vary from 70600 km2 (Peel River above Fort Mopherson) to 1 660 000 km2 (Mackenzie River at Arctic Red River). The model demonstrated satisfactory performance in terms of Nash-and Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE(daily)0.60 and NSE(monthly)0.70) and percent bias (PBIAS15%) for 8 gauges of 10. Weaker results were obtained for Great Bear River at outlet of Great Bear Lake and Peace River at Peace Point. Possibilities of a model approach for the construction of mean annual hydrological fields (maps) using meteorological data for the large river basins are shown. Spatial fields of the 32-year mean annual runoff and evaporation (1971-2002) for the Mackenzie River basin were simulated by the distributed model and the corresponding maps were compared with that provided by Hydrological Atlas of Canada (1972) for 30-year period (1941-1970). Analysis of fields conformity is made and possible sources of errors are discussed.

An integrated fuzzy-based advanced eutrophication simulation model to develop the best management scenarios for a river basin.

PubMed

Srinivas, Rallapalli; Singh, Ajit Pratap

2018-03-01

Assessment of water quality status of a river with respect to its discharge has become prerequisite to sustainable river basin management. The present paper develops an integrated model for simulating and evaluating strategies for water quality management in a river basin management by controlling point source pollutant loadings and operations of multi-purpose projects. Water Quality Analysis and Simulation Program (WASP version 8.0) has been used for modeling the transport of pollutant loadings and their impact on water quality in the river. The study presents a novel approach of integrating fuzzy set theory with an "advanced eutrophication" model to simulate the transmission and distribution of several interrelated water quality variables and their bio-physiochemical processes in an effective manner in the Ganges river basin, India. After calibration, simulated values are compared with the observed values to validate the model's robustness. Fuzzy technique of order preference by similarity to ideal solution (F-TOPSIS) has been used to incorporate the uncertainty associated with the water quality simulation results. The model also simulates five different scenarios for pollution reduction, to determine the maximum pollutant loadings during monsoon and dry periods. The final results clearly indicate how modeled reduction in the rate of wastewater discharge has reduced impacts of pollutants in the downstream. Scenarios suggesting a river discharge rate of 1500 m 3 /s during the lean period, in addition to 25 and 50% reduction in the load rate, are found to be the most effective option to restore quality of river Ganges. Thus, the model serves as an important hydrologic tool to the policy makers by suggesting appropriate remediation action plans.

Monitoring of urban and rural basins: water quality of Mourão basin.

PubMed

Passig, F H; Lima, S B; Carvalho, K Q; Halmeman, M C R; Souza, P C; Gusmão, L K

2015-12-01

The Mourão River basin is located on the central western region of the Paraná State - Brazil, between coordinates 23º 44' - 24º 25 South latitude and 52º 12' - 52º 30' West longitude, between 270 and 820 m above sea level, and 1,648.21 km2 drainage area. Water quality was evaluated by monitoring physical, chemical and microbiological parameters. Monthly samplings were performed for a year at five sites in the basin for analysis of: pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, total nitrogen, ammoniacal nitrogen, nitrite, nitrate, total phosphorus, turbidity, total solids, volatile solids and fecal coliforms. The results of the evaluated parameters showed higher values than the limits set by CONAMA Resolution 357 from 2005 for Class 2 in some samples. The Water Quality Index (WQI) indicated that 72% of samples had average quality and 28% had good quality for the Mourão River basin. Higher values of WQI were observed after rainfall period with median of 75 compared to the dry period with median of 62. The source of the Mourão River is contaminated with fecal coliforms, evidencing the real need to treat sewage in rural areas.

Water Quality Outlet Works Prototype Tests, Warm Springs Dam Dry Creek, Russian River Basin Sonoma County, California

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-03-01

34.4* TECHNICAL REPORT HL-89-4 WATER QUALITY OUTLET WORKS PROTOTYPE TESTS, WARM SPRINGS DAM DRY CREEK, RUSSIAN RIVER BASIN AD-A207 058 SONOMA COUNTY , CALIFORNIA...Clawflcation) [7 Water Quality Outlet Works Prototype Tests, Warm Springs Dam, Dry Creek, Russian River Basin, Sonoma County , California 12. PERSONAL...Cointogobvil Be,,pesso Figur 1. iciniyama Pealm WATER QUALITY OUTLET WORKS PROTOTYPE TESTS WARM SPRINGS DAM, DRY CREEK, RUSSIAN RIVER BASIN SONOMA COUNTY , CALIFORNIA

National Program for Inspection of Non-Federal Dams. Chase Pond Dam (NH 00255), NHWRB Number 253.02, Merrimack River Basin, Wilmot, New Hampshire. Phase I Inspection Report.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-03-01

STANDAROS-1963-A L ~.°.. o...... 1....MERRIMACK RIVER BASIN -!. WILMOT , NEW HAMPSHIRE ’,- CHASE POND DAM NH 00255 NHWRB NO. 253.02 r PHASE I...Continue on fewsorsp side #0 .o..oemay and Ientify by black Muthot) - DAMS, NSPECTION, PAM S’AFETY, Merrimack River Basin. * Wilmot , New Hampshire...MERRIMACK RIVER BASIN R WILMOT , NEW HAMPSHIRE - - PHASE I INSPECTION REPORT NATIONAL DAM INSPECTION PROGRAM :: : I

The Thames Science Plan: Suggested Hydrologic Investigations to Support Nutrient-Related Water-Quality Improvements in the Thames River Basin, Connecticut

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-01-01

Nutrient- Related Water-Quality Improvements in the Thames River Basin, Connecticut Open-File Report 2005-1208 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S...Investigations to Support Nutrient- Related Water-Quality Improvements in the Thames River Basin, Connecticut 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM...Suggested Hydrologic Investigations to Support Nutrient- Related Water-Quality Improvements in the Thames River Basin, Connecticut By Elaine C. Todd

Flood of May 23, 2004, in the Turkey and Maquoketa River basins, northeast Iowa

USGS Publications Warehouse

Eash, David A.

2006-01-01

Severe flooding occurred on May 23, 2004, in the Turkey River Basin in Clayton County and in the Maquoketa River Basin in Delaware County following intense thunderstorms over northeast Iowa. Rain gages at Postville and Waucoma, Iowa, recorded 72-hour rainfall of 6.32 and 6.55 inches, respectively, on May 23. Unofficial rainfall totals of 8 to 10 inches were reported in the Turkey River Basin. The peak discharge on May 23 at the Turkey River at Garber streamflow-gaging station was 66,700 cubic feet per second (recurrence interval greater than 500 years) and is the largest flood on record in the Turkey River Basin. The timing of flood crests on the Turkey and Volga Rivers, and local tributaries, coincided to produce a record flood on the lower part of the Turkey River. Three large floods have occurred at the Turkey River at Garber gaging station in a 13-year period. Peak discharges of the floods of June 1991 and May 1999 were 49,900 cubic feet per second (recurrence interval about 150 years) and 53,900 cubic feet per second (recurrence interval about 220 years), respectively. The peak discharge on May 23 at the Maquoketa River at Manchester gaging station was 26,000 cubic feet per second (recurrence interval about 100 years) and is the largest known flood in the upper part of the Maquoketa River Basin.

Geographical origin of Amazonian freshwater fishes fingerprinted by ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios on fish otoliths and scales.

PubMed

Pouilly, Marc; Point, David; Sondag, Francis; Henry, Manuel; Santos, Roberto V

2014-08-19

Calcified structures such as otoliths and scales grow continuously throughout the lifetime of fishes. The geochemical variations present in these biogenic structures are particularly relevant for studying fish migration and origin. In order to investigate the potential of the (87)Sr/(86)Sr ratio as a precise biogeochemical tag in Amazonian fishes, we compared this ratio between the water and fish otoliths and scales of two commercial fish species, Hoplias malabaricus and Schizodon fasciatus, from three major drainage basins of the Amazon: the Madeira, Solimões, and Tapajós rivers, displaying contrasted (87)Sr/(86)Sr ratios. A comparison of the (87)Sr/(86)Sr ratios between the otoliths and scales of the same individuals revealed similar values and were very close to the Sr isotopic composition of the local river where they were captured. This indicates, first, the absence of Sr isotopic fractionation during biological uptake and incorporation into calcified structures and, second, that scales may represent an interesting nonlethal alternative for (87)Sr/(86)Sr ratio measurements in comparison to otoliths. Considering the wide range of (87)Sr/(86)Sr variations that exist across Amazonian rivers, we used variations of (87)Sr/(86)Sr to discriminate fish origin at the basin level, as well as at the sub-basin level between the river and savannah lakes of the Beni River (Madeira basin).

Comparative water quality of lightly-and moderately-impacted streams in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains, USA

Treesearch

Katie Price; David S. Leigh

2006-01-01

For less-developed regions like the Blue Ridge Mountains. data are limited that link basin-scale land use with stream quality. Two pairs of lightly-impacted (90-100% forested) and moderately-impacted (7&80% forested) sub-basins of the upper Little Tennessee River basin in the southern Blue Ridge were identified for comparison. The pairs contain physically similar...

Long-term accumulation and transport of anthropogenic phosphorus in three river basins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Powers, Stephen M.; Bruulsema, Thomas W.; Burt, Tim P.; Chan, Neng Iong; Elser, James J.; Haygarth, Philip M.; Howden, Nicholas J. K.; Jarvie, Helen P.; Lyu, Yang; Peterson, Heidi M.; Sharpley, Andrew N.; Shen, Jianbo; Worrall, Fred; Zhang, Fusuo

2016-05-01

Global food production depends on phosphorus. Phosphorus is broadly applied as fertilizer, but excess phosphorus contributes to eutrophication of surface water bodies and coastal ecosystems. Here we present an analysis of phosphorus fluxes in three large river basins, including published data on fertilizer, harvested crops, sewage, food waste and river fluxes. Our analyses reveal that the magnitude of phosphorus accumulation has varied greatly over the past 30-70 years in mixed agricultural-urban landscapes of the Thames Basin, UK, the Yangtze Basin, China, and the rural Maumee Basin, USA. Fluxes of phosphorus in fertilizer, harvested crops, food waste and sewage dominate over the river fluxes. Since the late 1990s, net exports from the Thames and Maumee Basins have exceeded inputs, suggesting net mobilization of the phosphorus pool accumulated in earlier decades. In contrast, the Yangtze Basin has consistently accumulated phosphorus since 1980. Infrastructure modifications such as sewage treatment and dams may explain more recent declines in total phosphorus fluxes from the Thames and Yangtze Rivers. We conclude that human-dominated river basins may undergo a prolonged but finite accumulation phase when phosphorus inputs exceed agricultural demand, and this accumulated phosphorus may continue to mobilize long after inputs decline.

Local and Long-Distance Effects of Land Use Change on Nutrient Levels in Streams and Rivers of the Conterminous United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, R. A.; Alexander, R. B.; Schwarz, G. E.

2003-12-01

Determining the effects of land use change (e.g. urbanization, deforestation) on water quality at large spatial scales has been difficult because water quality measurements in large rivers with heterogeneous basins show the integrated effects of multiple factors. Moreover, the observed effects of land use changes on water quality in small homogeneous stream basins may not be indicative of downstream effects (including effects on such ecologically relevant characteristics as nutrient levels and elemental ratios) because of loss processes occurring during downstream transport in river channels. In this study we used the USGS SPARROW (Spatially-Referenced Regression on Watersheds) models of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) in streams and rivers of the conterminous US to examine the effects of various aspects of land use change on nutrient concentrations and flux from the pre-development era to the present. The models were calibrated with data from 370 long-term monitoring stations representing a wide range of basin sizes, land use/cover classes, climates, and physiographies. The non-linear formulation for each model includes 20+ statistically estimated parameters relating to land use/cover characteristics and other environmental variables such as temperature, soil conditions, hill slope, and the hydraulic characteristics of 2200 large lakes and reservoirs. Model predictions are available for 62,000 river/stream channel nodes. Model predictions of pre-development water quality compare favorably with nutrient data from 63 undeveloped (reference) sites. Error statistics are available for predictions at all nodes. Model simulations were chosen to compare the effects of selected aspects of land use change on nutrient levels at large and small basin scales, lacustrine and coastal receiving waters, and among the major US geographic regions.

Modeling multidecadal surface water inundation dynamics and key drivers on large river basin scale using multiple time series of Earth-observation and river flow data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heimhuber, V.; Tulbure, M. G.; Broich, M.

2017-02-01

Periodically inundated floodplain areas are hot spots of biodiversity and provide a broad range of ecosystem services but have suffered alarming declines in recent history. Despite their importance, their long-term surface water (SW) dynamics and hydroclimatic drivers remain poorly quantified on continental scales. In this study, we used a 26 year time series of Landsat-derived SW maps in combination with river flow data from 68 gauges and spatial time series of rainfall, evapotranspiration and soil moisture to statistically model SW dynamics as a function of key drivers across Australia's Murray-Darling Basin (˜1 million km2). We fitted generalized additive models for 18,521 individual modeling units made up of 10 × 10 km grid cells, each split into floodplain, floodplain-lake, and nonfloodplain area. Average goodness of fit of models was high across floodplains and floodplain-lakes (r2 > 0.65), which were primarily driven by river flow, and was lower for nonfloodplain areas (r2 > 0.24), which were primarily driven by rainfall. Local climate conditions were more relevant for SW dynamics in the northern compared to the southern basin and had the highest influence in the least regulated and most extended floodplains. We further applied the models of two contrasting floodplain areas to predict SW extents of cloud-affected time steps in the Landsat series during the large 2010 floods with high validated accuracy (r2 > 0.97). Our framework is applicable to other complex river basins across the world and enables a more detailed quantification of large floods and drivers of SW dynamics compared to existing methods.

Investigating the evolutionary history of irrigated agricultural technology in the Heihe River Basin, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, S.; Wei, Y.; Zhao, Y.; Zheng, H.

2017-12-01

Human's innovative abilities do not only enable rapid expansion of civilization, but also lead to enormous modifications on the natural environment. Technology, while a key factor embedded in socioeconomic developments, its impacts have been rarely appropriately considered in river basin management. This research aims to examine the evolutionary history of irrigated agricultural technology in the Heihe River Basin, China, and how its characteristics interacted with the river basin environment. It adopts a content analysis approach to collect and summarize quantitative technological information in the Heihe River Basin across a time span of more than 2000 years from the Han Dynasty (206 BC) to 2015. Two Chinese academic research databases: Wan Fang Data and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were chosen as data sources. The results show that irrigated agricultural technologies in Heihe River Basin have shifted from focusing on developing new farming tools and cultivation methods to adapting modernized, water-saving irrigation methods and water diversion infrastructures. In additions, the center of irrigated agricultural technology in the Heihe river basin has moved from downstream to middle stream since the Ming Dynasty (1368AD) as a result of degraded natural environment. The developing trend of technology in the Heihe River Basin thus coincides with the change of societal focus from agricultural production efficiency to the human-water balance and environmental remediation. This research demonstrates that irrigated agricultural technologies had a twisted evolutionary history in the Heihe River Basin, influenced by a diverse range of environmental and socioeconomic factors. It provides insights into the fact that technology exhibits a co-evolutionary characteristic with the social development history in the region, pointing towards the urgent need to maintain the balance between human and environment.

Combined top-down and bottom-up climate change impact assessment for the hydrological system in the Vu Gia- Thu Bon River Basin.

PubMed

Tra, Tran Van; Thinh, Nguyen Xuan; Greiving, Stefan

2018-07-15

Vu Gia- Thu Bon (VGTB) River Basin, located in the Central Coastal zone of Viet Nam currently faces water shortage. Climate change is expected to exacerbate the challenge. Therefore, there is a need to study the impacts of climate change on water shortage in the river basin. The study adopts a combined top-down and bottom-up climate change impact assessment to address the impacts of climate change on water shortage in the VGTB River Basin. A MIKE BASIN water balance model for the river basin was established to simulate the response of the hydrological system. Simulations were performed through parametrically varying temperature and precipitation to determine the vulnerability space of water shortage. General Circulation Models (GCMs) were then utilized to provide climate projections for the river basin. The output from GCMs was then mapped onto the vulnerability space determined earlier. In total, 9 out of 55 water demand nodes in the simulation are expected to face problematic conditions as future climate changes. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Drainage divides, Massachusetts; Blackstone and Thames River basins

USGS Publications Warehouse

Krejmas, Bruce E.; Wandle, S. William

1982-01-01

Drainage boundaries for selected subbasins of the Blackstone and Thames River basins in eastern Hampden, eastern Hampshire, western Norfolk, southern Middlesex, and southern Worcester Counties, Massachusetts, are delineated on 12 topographic quadrangle maps at a scale of 1:24,000. Drainage basins are shown for all U.S. Geological Survey data-collection sites and for mouths of major rivers. Drainage basins are shown for the outlets of lakes or ponds and for streams where the drainage area is greater than 3 square miles. Successive sites along watercourses are indicated where the intervening area is at least 6 miles on tributary streams or 15 square miles along the Blackstone River, French River, or Quinebaug River. (USGS)

Coalbed Methane Extraction and Soil Suitability Concerns in the Powder River Basin, Montana and Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2006-01-01

The Powder River Basin is located in northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana. It is an area of approximately 55,000 square kilometers. Extraction of methane gas from the coal seams that underlie the Powder River Basin began in Wyoming in the late 1980s and in Montana in the late 1990s. About 100-200 barrels of co-produced water per day are being extracted from each active well in the Powder River Basin, which comes to over 1.5 million barrels of water per day for all the active coalbed methane wells in the Basin. Lab testing indicates that Powder River Basin co-produced water is potable but is high in sodium and other salts, especially in the western and northern parts of the Powder River Basin. Common water management strategies include discharge of co-produced water into drainages, stock ponds, evaporation ponds, or infiltration ponds; treatment to remove sodium; or application of the water directly on the land surface via irrigation equipment or atomizers. Problems may arise because much of the Powder River Basin contains soils with high amounts of swelling clays. As part of the USGS Rocky Mountain Geographic Science Center's hyperspectral research program, researchers are investigating whether hyperspectral remote sensing data can be beneficial in locating areas of swelling clays. Using detailed hyperspectral data collected over parts of the Powder River Basin and applying our knowledge of how the clays of interest reflect energy, we will attempt to identify and map areas of swelling clays. If successful, such information will be useful to resource and land managers.

Where and why hyporheic exchange is important: Inferences from a parsimonious, physically-based river network model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gomez-Velez, J. D.; Harvey, J. W.

2014-12-01

Hyporheic exchange has been hypothesized to have basin-scale consequences; however, predictions throughout river networks are limited by available geomorphic and hydrogeologic data as well as models that can analyze and aggregate hyporheic exchange flows across large spatial scales. We developed a parsimonious but physically-based model of hyporheic flow for application in large river basins: Networks with EXchange and Subsurface Storage (NEXSS). At the core of NEXSS is a characterization of the channel geometry, geomorphic features, and related hydraulic drivers based on scaling equations from the literature and readily accessible information such as river discharge, bankfull width, median grain size, sinuosity, channel slope, and regional groundwater gradients. Multi-scale hyporheic flow is computed based on combining simple but powerful analytical and numerical expressions that have been previously published. We applied NEXSS across a broad range of geomorphic diversity in river reaches and synthetic river networks. NEXSS demonstrates that vertical exchange beneath submerged bedforms dominates hyporheic fluxes and turnover rates along the river corridor. Moreover, the hyporheic zone's potential for biogeochemical transformations is comparable across stream orders, but the abundance of lower-order channels results in a considerably higher cumulative effect for low-order streams. Thus, vertical exchange beneath submerged bedforms has more potential for biogeochemical transformations than lateral exchange beneath banks, although lateral exchange through meanders may be important in large rivers. These results have implications for predicting outcomes of river and basin management practices.

Designation of River Klina-Skenderaj Inputs, in the Absence of Measurements (Monitoring)-Kosova

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osmanaj, Lavdim; Karahoda, Dafina

2009-11-01

The territory of Republic of Kosova is divided in four catchment basins, such as: Basin of river Drini i Bardhë, river Ibri, river Morava of Binca and river Lepenci. [1]The river Klina is left part of the Drini i Bardhë basin.The inputs are designated by the following authors:a) GIANDOTT - VISSENTINb) GA VRILOVICc) THE METHOD OF TYPICALHYDROGRAMAs a result of this studies derive the following parameters: the surface of basin F=77.75km2, width of main flow L=22.00km', width of basin Wb=68.00km', highest quota of the basin Hqb=1750m.l.m, highest quota of inflow Hi=600.00m.l.m, average difference of height D=303.5m, maximal water input: Qmax100 years=112.00 m3/s, an average produce of Alluvium W=980.76m3/s, specific produce of Alluvium Gyears=35270.57 m3/s, secondary conveyance of Alluvium Qa=14.70 m3/s.

Modeling Surface Water Dynamics in the Amazon Basin Using Mosart-Inundation-v1.0: Impacts of Geomorphological Parameters and River Flow Representation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Luo, Xiangyu; Li, Hong-Yi; Leung, Ruby; Tesfa, Teklu K.; Getirana, Augusto; Papa, Fabrice; Hess, Laura L.

2017-01-01

Surface water dynamics play an important role in water, energy and carbon cycles of the Amazon Basin. A macro-scale inundation scheme was integrated with a surface-water transport model and the extended model was applied in this vast basin. We addressed the challenges of improving basin-wide geomorphological parameters and river flow representation for 15 large-scale applications. Vegetation-caused biases embedded in the HydroSHEDS DEM data were alleviated by using a vegetation height map of about 1-km resolution and a land cover dataset of about 90-m resolution. The average elevation deduction from the DEM correction was about 13.2 m for the entire basin. Basin-wide empirical formulae for channel cross-sectional geometry were adjusted based on local information for the major portion of the basin, which could significantly reduce the cross-sectional area for the channels of some subregions. The Manning roughness coefficient of the channel 20 varied with the channel depth to reflect the general rule that the relative importance of riverbed resistance in river flow declined with the increase of river size. The entire basin was discretized into 5395 subbasins (with an average area of 1091.7 km2), which were used as computation units. The model was driven by runoff estimates of 14 years (1994 2007) generated by the ISBA land surface model. The simulated results were evaluated against in situ streamflow records, and remotely sensed Envisat altimetry data and GIEMS inundation data. The hydrographs were reproduced fairly well for the majority of 25 13 major stream gauges. For the 11 subbasins containing or close to 11 of the 13 gauges, the timing of river stage fluctuations was captured; for most of the 11 subbasins, the magnitude of river stage fluctuations was represented well. The inundation estimates were comparable to the GIEMS observations. Sensitivity analyses demonstrated that refining floodplain topography, channel morphology and Manning roughness coefficients, as well as accounting for backwater effects could evidently affect local and upstream inundation, which consequently affected flood waves and inundation of the downstream 30 area. It was also shown that the river stage was sensitive to local channel morphology and Manning roughness coefficients, as well as backwater effects. The understanding obtained in this study could be helpful to improving modeling of surface hydrology in basins with evident inundation, especially at regional or larger scales.

Climate change on the Colorado River: a method to search for robust management strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keefe, R.; Fischbach, J. R.

2010-12-01

The Colorado River is a principal source of water for the seven Basin States, providing approximately 16.5 maf per year to users in the southwestern United States and Mexico. Though the dynamics of the river ensure Upper Basin users a reliable supply of water, the three Lower Basin states (California, Nevada, and Arizona) are in danger of delivery interruptions as Upper Basin demand increases and climate change threatens to reduce future streamflows. In light of the recent drought and uncertain effects of climate change on Colorado River flows, we evaluate the performance of a suite of policies modeled after the shortage sharing agreement adopted in December 2007 by the Department of the Interior. We build on the current literature by using a simplified model of the Lower Colorado River to consider future streamflow scenarios given climate change uncertainty. We also generate different scenarios of parametric consumptive use growth in the Upper Basin and evaluate alternate management strategies in light of these uncertainties. Uncertainty associated with climate change is represented with a multi-model ensemble from the literature, using a nearest neighbor perturbation to increase the size of the ensemble. We use Robust Decision Making to compare near-term or long-term management strategies across an ensemble of plausible future scenarios with the goal of identifying one or more approaches that are robust to alternate assumptions about the future. This method entails using search algorithms to quantitatively identify vulnerabilities that may threaten a given strategy (including the current operating policy) and characterize key tradeoffs between strategies under different scenarios.

Coal-bed gas resources of the Rocky Mountain region

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, C.J.; Nuccio, V.F.; Flores, R.M.; Johnson, R.C.; Roberts, S.B.; Collett, T.S.

2001-01-01

The Rocky Mountain region contains several sedimentary provinces with extensive coal deposits and significant accumulations of coal-bed gas. This summary includes coal-bed gas resources in the Powder River Basin (Wyoming and Montana), Wind River Basin (Wyoming), Southwest Wyoming (Greater Green River Basin of Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah), Uinta-Piceance Basin (Colorado and Utah), Raton Basin (Colorado and New Mexico), and San Juan Basin (Colorado and New Mexico). Other provinces in the Rocky Mountain region may contain significant coal-bed gas resources, but these resource estimates are not available at this time.

Temporal and spatial variation of hydrological condition in the Ziwu River Basin of the Han River in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ziyan; Liu, Dengfeng; Huang, Qiang; Bai, Tao; Zhou, Shuai; Lin, Mu

2018-06-01

The middle route of South-To-North Water Diversion in China transfers water from the Han River and Han-To-Wei Water Diversion project of Shaanxi Province will transfer water from the Ziwu River, which is a tributary of the Han River. In order to gain a better understanding of future changes in the hydrological conditions within the Ziwu River basin, a Mann-Kendall (M-K) trend analysis is coupled with a persistence analysis using the rescaled range analysis (R/S) method. The future change in the hydrological characteristics of the Ziwu River basin is obtained by analysing the change of meteorological factors. The results show that, the future precipitation and potential evaporation are seasonal, and the spatial variation is significant. The proportion of basin area where the spring, summer, autumn and winter precipitation is predicted to continue increase is 0.00, 100.00, 19.00 and 16.00 %, meanwhile, the proportion of basin area that will continue to decrease in the future respectively will be 100.00, 0.00, 81.00 and 74.00 %.The future potential evapotranspiration of the four seasons in the basin shows a decreasing trend. The future water supply situation in the spring and autumn of the Ziwu River basin will degrade, and the future water supply situation in the summer and winter will improve. In addition, the areas with the same water supply situation are relatively concentrated. The results will provide scientific basis for the planning and management of river basin water resources and socio-hydrological processes analysis.

Comparison of 2008-2009 water years and historical water-quality data, upper Gunnison River Basin, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Solberg, Patricia A.; Moore, Bryan; Blacklock, Ty D.

2012-01-01

Population growth and changes in land use have the potential to affect water quality and quantity in the upper Gunnison River Basin. In 1995, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, City of Gunnison, Colorado River Water Conservation District, Crested Butte South Metropolitan District, Gunnison County, Hinsdale County, Mount Crested Butte Water and Sanitation District, National Park Service, Town of Crested Butte, U.S. Forest Service, Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District, and Western State College, established a water-quality monitoring program in the upper Gunnison River Basin to characterize current water-quality conditions and to assess the effects of increased urban development and other land-use changes on water quality. The monitoring network has evolved into two groups of sites: (1) sites that are considered long term and (2) sites that are considered rotational. Data from the long-term sites assist in defining temporal changes in water quality (how conditions may change over time). The rotational sites assist in the spatial definition of water-quality conditions (how conditions differ throughout the basin) and address local and short-term concerns. Biannual summaries of the water-quality data from the monitoring network provide a point of reference for stakeholder discussions regarding the location and purpose of water-quality monitoring sites in the upper Gunnison River Basin. This report compares and summarizes the data collected during water years 2008 and 2009 to the historical data available at these sites. The introduction provides a map of the sampling sites, definitions of terms, and a one-page summary of selected water-quality conditions at the network sites. The remainder of the report is organized around the data collected at individual sites. Data collected during water years 2008 and 2009 are compared to historical data, State water-quality standards, and Federal water-quality guidelines. A seasonal Kendall test for trend analysis is completed when there is sufficient data (typically >5 years) at the station. Data were collected following USGS protocols.

Environmental and hydrologic overview of the Yukon River basin, Alaska and Canada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brabets, Timothy P.; Wang, Bronwen; Meade, Robert H.

2000-01-01

The Yukon River, located in northwestern Canada and central Alaska, drains an area of more than 330,000 square miles, making it the fourth largest drainage basin in North America. Approximately 126,000 people live in this basin and 10 percent of these people maintain a subsistence lifestyle, depending on the basin's fish and game resources. Twenty ecoregions compose the Yukon River Basin, which indicates the large diversity of natural features of the watershed, such as climate, soils, permafrost, and geology. Although the annual mean discharge of the Yukon River near its mouth is more than 200,000 cubic feet per second, most of the flow occurs in the summer months from snowmelt, rainfall, and glacial melt. Eight major rivers flow into the Yukon River. Two of these rivers, the Tanana River and the White River, are glacier-fed rivers and together account for 29 percent of the total water flow of the Yukon. Two others, the Porcupine River and the Koyukuk River, are underlain by continuous permafrost and drain larger areas than the Tanana and the White, but together contribute only 22 percent of the total water flow in the Yukon. At its mouth, the Yukon River transports about 60 million tons of suspended sediment annually into the Bering Sea. However, an estimated 20 million tons annually is deposited on flood plains and in braided reaches of the river. The waters of the main stem of the Yukon River and its tributaries are predominantly calcium magnesium bicarbonate waters with specific conductances generally less than 400 microsiemens per centimeter. Water quality of the Yukon River Basin varies temporally between summer and winter. Water quality also varies spatially among ecoregions

Water-quality assessment of the upper Snake River basin, Idaho and western Wyoming; summary of aquatic biological data for surface water through 1992

USGS Publications Warehouse

Maret, Terry R.

1995-01-01

The 35,800-square-mile upper Snake River Basin in eastern Idaho and western Wyoming was one of 20 areas selected for water-quality study under the National Water-Quality Assessment Program. As part of the initial phase of the study, data were compiled to describe the current (1992) and historical aquatic biological conditions of surface water in the basin. This description of natural and human environmental factors that affect aquatic life provides the framework for evaluating the status and trends of aquatic biological conditions in streams of the basins. Water resource development and stream alterations, irrigated agriculture, grazing, aquaculture, and species introductions have affected stream biota in the upper Snake River Basin. Cumulative effects of these activities have greatly altered cold-water habitat and aquatic life in the middle Snake River reach (Milner Dam to King Hill). Most of the aquatic Species of Special Concern in the basin , consisting of eight native mollusks and three native fish species, are in this reach of the Snake River. Selected long-term studies, including comprehensive monitoring on Rock Creek, have shown reduced pollutant loadings as a result of implementing practice on cropland; however, aquatic life remains affected by agricultural land use. Community level biological data are lacking for most of the streams in the basin, especially for large river. Aquatic life used to assess water quality of the basin includes primarily macroinvertebrate and fish communities. At least 26 different macroinvertebrate and fish community metrics have been utilized to assess water quality of the basin. Eight species of macroinvertebrates and fish are recognized as Species of Special Concern. The native fish faunas of the basin are composed primarily of cold-water species representing 5 families and 26 species. An additional 13 fish species have been introduced to the basin. Concentrations of synthetic organic compounds and trace-element contaminants in whole fish collected in the basin during 1970-90 generally did not exceed National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering concentration guidelines or the 1980-81 geometric mean concentrations from samples collected as part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Contaminant Biomonitoring Program. Currently, there are no State fish consumption advisories on any streams in the basin, The organochlorine compounds DDT and PCB's were the most frequently detected fish tissue contaminant. Selected long-term data on DDT, its metabolites, and PCB's indicate decreasing concentrations of these compounds. Arsenic, mercury, and selenium were slightly elevated compared with nationwide baseline concentrations and may indicate bioaccumularion in the food chain. Concentrations of most other trace elements in fish tissue were below levels of concerns for the protection of humans and wildlife.

Klamath River Basin Hydrologic Conditions Prior to the September 2002 Die-Off of Salmon and Steelhead

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lynch, Dennis D.; Risley, John C.

2003-05-27

This report characterizes streamflow and water temperature conditions during the period leading up to the die-off and compares them to historical conditions in the Klamath River. This report is not an exploration of the causative mechanism of the die-off; rather, it is intended to provide detailed documentation of these conditions to be used by those examining the cause(s) of the die-off and to provide information that can contribute to decisions about future water management in the Klamath Basin.

New insights into hydrologic sources and sinks in the Nile Basin: A multi-source satellite data analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Senay, G. B.; Velpuri, N. M.; Bohms, S.; Demissie, Y.; Gebremichael, M.

2014-12-01

The Nile River is the longest in the world with a length of 6,800 km. However, the contrast between the length of the river or the size of the basin and the comparatively small volume of basin runoff generated is a unique feature of the Nile Basin. Due to non-availability of in-situ hydrologic data, we do not clearly understand the spatial distribution of hydrologic sources and sinks and how much they control input-output dynamics? In this study, we integrated satellite-derived precipitation, and modeled evapotranspiration data (2000-2012) to describe spatial variability of hydrologic sources and sinks in the Nile Basin. We also used long-term gridded runoff and river discharge data (1869-1984) to understand the discrepancy in the observed and expected flow along the Nile River. Results indicate that over 2000-2012 period, 4 out of 11 countries (Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda) in the Nile basin showed a positive water balance while three downstream countries (South Sudan, Sudan, and Egypt) showed a negative balance. The top three countries that contribute most to the flow are Ethiopia, Tanzania and Kenya. The study revealed that ~85% of the runoff generated in the Equatorial region is lost in an inter-station basin that includes the Sudd wetlands in South Sudan; this proportion is higher than the reported loss of 50% at the Sudd wetlands alone. The loss in runoff and flow volume at different sections of the river tend to be more than what can be explained by evaporation losses, suggesting a potential recharge to deeper aquifers that are not connected to the Nile channel systems. On the other hand, we also found that the expected average annual Nile flow at Aswan is larger (97 km3) than the reported amount (84 km3). Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mass deviation in storage data analysis showed that at annual time-scales, the Nile Basin shows storage change is substantial while over longer-time periods, it is minimal (<1% of basin precipitation). Due to the large variations of the reported Nile flow at different locations and time periods, the study recommends increased hydro-meteorological instrumentation of the basin. This study improves our understanding of the spatial dynamics of water sources and sinks in the Nile basin and identified emerging hydrologic questions that require further attention.

Remote sensing based deforestation analysis in Mahanadi and Brahmaputra river basin in India since 1985.

PubMed

Behera, M D; Tripathi, P; Das, P; Srivastava, S K; Roy, P S; Joshi, C; Behera, P R; Deka, J; Kumar, P; Khan, M L; Tripathi, O P; Dash, T; Krishnamurthy, Y V N

2018-01-15

Land use and land cover (LULC) change has been recognized as a key driver of global climate change by influencing land surface processes. Being in constant change, river basins are always subjected to LULC changes, especially decline in forest cover to give way for agricultural expansion, urbanization, industrialization etc. We used on-screen digital interpretation technique to derive LULC maps from Landsat images at three decadal intervals i.e., 1985, 1995 and 2005 of two major river basins of India. Rain-fed, Mahanadi river basin (MRB) attributed to 55% agricultural area wherein glacier-fed, Brahmaputra river basin (BRB) had only 16% area under agricultural land. Though conversion of forest land for agricultural activities was the major LULC changes in both the basins, the rate was higher for BRB than MRB. While water body increased in MRB could be primarily attributed to creation of reservoirs and aquaculture farms; snow and ice melting attributed to creation of more water bodies in BRB. Scrub land acted as an intermediate class for forest conversion to barren land in BRB, while direct conversion of scrub land to waste land and crop land was seen in MRB. While habitation contributed primarily to LULC changes in BRB, the proximity zones around habitat and other socio-economic drivers contributed to LULC change in MRB. Comparing the predicted result with actual LULC of 2005, we obtained >97% modelling accuracy; therefore it is expected that the Dyna-CLUE model has very well predicted the LULC for the year 2025. The predicted LULC of 2025 and corresponding LULC changes in these two basins acting as early warning, and with the past 2-decadal change analysis this study is believed to help the land use planners for improved regional planning to create balanced ecosystem, especially in a changing climate. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Distribution, stock composition and timing, and tagging response of wild Chinook Salmon returning to a large, free-flowing river basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Eiler, John H.; Masuda, Michele; Spencer, Ted R.; Driscoll, Richard J.; Schreck, Carl B.

2014-01-01

Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha returns to the Yukon River basin have declined dramatically since the late 1990s, and detailed information on the spawning distribution, stock structure, and stock timing is needed to better manage the run and facilitate conservation efforts. A total of 2,860 fish were radio-tagged in the lower basin during 2002–2004 and tracked upriver. Fish traveled to spawning areas throughout the basin, ranging from several hundred to over 3,000 km from the tagging site. Similar distribution patterns were observed across years, suggesting that the major components of the run were identified. Daily and seasonal composition estimates were calculated for the component stocks. The run was dominated by two regional components comprising over 70% of the return. Substantially fewer fish returned to other areas, ranging from 2% to 9% of the return, but their collective contribution was appreciable. Most regional components consisted of several principal stocks and a number of small, spatially isolated populations. Regional and stock composition estimates were similar across years even though differences in run abundance were reported, suggesting that the differences in abundance were not related to regional or stock-specific variability. Run timing was relatively compressed compared with that in rivers in the southern portion of the species’ range. Most stocks passed through the lower river over a 6-week period, ranging in duration from 16 to 38 d. Run timing was similar for middle- and upper-basin stocks, limiting the use of timing information for management. The lower-basin stocks were primarily later-run fish. Although differences were observed, there was general agreement between our composition and timing estimates and those from other assessment projects within the basin, suggesting that the telemetry-based estimates provided a plausible approximation of the return. However, the short duration of the run, complex stock structure, and similar stock timing complicate management of Yukon River returns.

Fish communities of the Buffalo River Basin and nearby basins of Arkansas and their relation to selected environmental factors, 2001-2002

USGS Publications Warehouse

Petersen, James C.

2004-01-01

The Buffalo River lies in north-central Arkansas and is a tributary of the White River. Most of the length of the Buffalo River lies within the boundaries of Buffalo National River, a unit of the National Park Service; the upper 24 river kilometers lie within the boundary of the Ozark National Forest. Much of the upper and extreme lower parts of the basin on the south side of the Buffalo River is within the Ozark National Forest. During the summers of 2001 and 2002, fish communities were sampled at 52 sites in the study area that included the Buffalo River Basin and selected smaller nearby basins within the White River Basin in north-central Arkansas. Water quality (including nutrient and bacteria concentrations) and several other environmental factors (such as stream size, land use, substrate size, and riparian shading) also were measured. A total of 56 species of fish were collected from sites within the Buffalo River Basin in 2001 and 2002. All 56 species also were collected from within the boundaries of Buffalo National River. Twenty-two species were collected from headwater sites on tributaries of the Buffalo River; 27 species were collected from sites within or immediately adjacent to the Ozark National Forest. The list of species collected from Buffalo National River is similar to the list of species reported by previous investigators. Species richness at sites on the mainstem of the Buffalo River generally increased in a downstream direction. The number of species collected (both years combined) increased from 17 at the most upstream site to 38 near the mouth of the Buffalo River. In 2001 and 2002, a total of 53 species of fish were collected from sites outside the Buffalo River Basin. Several fish community metrics varied among sites in different site categories (mainstem, large tributary, small tributary, headwater, and developed out-of-basin sites). Median relative abundances of stonerollers ranged from about 25 to 55 percent and were highest at headwater and developed out-of-basin sites and lowest at mainstem sites. The relative abundances at the headwater and developed out-of-basin sites were significantly different from the relative abundances at the mainstem sites. Percentages of individuals of algivorous/herbivorous, invertivorous, and piscivorous species at headwater sites were significantly lower than values at mainstem and developed out-of-basin sites. Percentages of individuals of invertivorous species at mainstem sites were significantly higher than values at small tributary, headwater, and developed out-of-basin sites. Percentages of top carnivores at mainstem sites were significantly higher than values at tributary and headwater sites. The numbers of darter, sculpin, plus madtom species at mainstem, large tributary, and developed out-of-basin sites were significantly higher than values at other sites, and the values at small tributary sites and headwater sites were each significantly different from values at the other four types of sites. The number of lithophilic spawning species at large tributary sites was not significantly different from values at mainstem and developed out-of-basin sites, but values for small tributary and headwater sites each were significantly different from values for all other categories. Index of biotic integrity scores varied among the site categories. Scores for mainstem sites were significantly larger than all but large tributary site scores. Scores for headwater sites were significantly smaller than mainstem and large tributary site scores. Several analyses of the data described in this report suggest that drainage area is the most important single factor influencing fish communities of the Buffalo River Basin and nearby basins. Species richness increases with increasing drainage area and some species are restricted to smaller streams while other species are more common in larger streams. Some community metrics also are related to land use and related factors

Water quality in the Great and Little Miami River Basins, Ohio and Indiana, 1999-2001

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rowe, Gary L.; Reutter, David C.; Runkle, Donna L.; Hambrook, Julie A.; Janosy, Stephanie D.; Hwang, Lee H.

2004-01-01

This report contains the major findings of a 1999?2001 assessment of water quality in the Great and Little Miami River Basins. It is one of a series of reports by the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program that present major findings in 51 major river basins and aquifer systems across the Nation. In these reports, water quality is discussed in terms of local, State, and regional issues. Conditions in a particular basin or aquifer system are compared to conditions found elsewhere and to selected national benchmarks, such as those for drinking-water quality and the protection of aquatic organisms. This report is intended for individuals working with water-resource issues in Federal, State, or local agencies, universities, public interest groups, or in the private sector. The information will be useful in addressing a number of current issues, such as the effects of agricultural and urban land use on water quality, human health, drinking water, source-water protection, hypoxia and excessive growth of algae and plants, pesticide registration, and monitoring and sampling strategies. This report is also for individuals who wish to know more about the quality of streams and ground water in areas near where they live and how that water quality compares to the quality of water in other areas across the Nation. The water-quality conditions in the Great and Little Miami River Basins summarized in this report are discussed in detail in other reports that can be accessed from (http://oh.water.usgs.gov/miam/intro.html). Detailed technical information, data and analyses, collection and analytical methodology, models, graphs, and maps that support the findings presented in this report, in addition to reports in this series from other basins, can be accessed from the national NAWQA Web site (http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa).

Sediment quality in the north coastal basin of Massachusetts, 2003

USGS Publications Warehouse

Breault, Robert F.; Ashman, Mary S.; Heath, Douglas

2004-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, completed a reconnaissance-level study of bottom-sediment quality in selected lakes, rivers, and estuaries in the North Coastal Basin of Massachusetts. Bottom-sediment grab samples were collected from 20 sites in the North River, Lake Quannapowitt, Saugus River, Mill River, Shute Brook, Sea Plane Basin, Pines River, and Bear Creek. The samples were tested for various types of potentially harmful contaminants? including 33 elements, 17 polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 22 organochlorine pesticides, and 7 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) mixtures (Aroclors)?to benthic organisms (bottom-dwelling) and humans. The results were compared among sampling sites, to background concentrations, and to concen-trations measured in other urban rivers, and sediment-quality guidelines were used to predict toxicity at the sampling sites to benthic organisms and humans. Because there are no standards for human toxicity for aquatic sediment, standards for contaminated upland soil were used. Contaminant concentrations measured in sediment collected from the North Coastal Basin generally were equal to or greater than concentrations in sediment from uncontaminated rivers throughout New England. Contaminants in North Coastal Basin sediment with elevated concentrations (above back-ground levels) included arsenic, chromium, copper, lead, nickel, and zinc, some of the PAHs, dichlorodiphenyltrichloro-ethane (DDT) and its metabolites, and dieldrin. No PCBs were measured above the detection limits. Measured concentrations of arsenic, chromium, and lead were also generally greater than those measured in other urban rivers throughout the conter-minous United States. With one exception (arsenic), local con-centrations measured in sediment samples collected from the North Coastal Basin were lower than concentrations measured in sediment collected from two of three urban rivers draining to Boston Harbor. The probable toxicity to benthic organisms ranged from about 33 to 91 percent across the study area. Of the elements analyzed, antimony, arsenic, beryllium, and lead exceeded the soil standards for risk to human health. Of the PAHs analyzed, four also exceeded soil standards. Organochlorine pesticide concentrations, however, were not high enough relative to the soil standards to pose a risk to human health. Some trace element and some organic compound concentrations in bottom sediment may be toxic to aquatic organisms and may pose a risk to human health.

Hydrologic reconnaissance of the Unalakleet River basin, Alaska, 1982-83

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sloan, C.E.; Kernodle, D.R.; Huntsinger, Ronald

1986-01-01

The Unalakleet River, Alaska, from its headwaters to the confluence of the Chiroskey River has been designated as a wild river and is included in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Yearly low flow, which occurs during the winter, is sustained by groundwater discharge; there are few lakes in the basin and the cold climate prevents winter runoff. The amount of winter streamflow was greatest in the lower parts of streams with the exception of the South River and was apparently proportional to the amount of unfrozen alluvium upstream from the measuring sites. Unit discharge in late winter ranged from nearly zero at the mouth of the South River to 0.24 cu ft/sec/sq mi in the Unalakleet River main stem below Tenmile River. Summer runoff at the time of the reconnaissance may have been slightly higher than normal owing to recent rains. Unit runoff ranged from a low of 1.0 cu ft/sec/sq mi at the South River, to a high value of 2.4 cu ft/sec/sq mi at the North Fork Unalakleet River. Flood marks were present in the basin well above streambank levels but suitable sections to measure the maximum evident flood by slope-area methods were not found. Flood peaks were calculated for the Unalakleet River and its tributaries using basin characteristics. Calculated unit runoff for the 50-year flood ranged from about 17 to 45 cu ft/sec/sq mi. Water quality was good throughout the basin, and an abundant and diversified community of benthic invertebrates was found in samples collected during the summer reconnaissance. Permafrost underlies most of the basin, but groundwater can be found in unfrozen alluvium in the stream valleys, most abundantly in the lower part of the main tributaries and along the main stem of the Unalakleet River. Groundwater sustains river flow through the winter; an estimate of its quantity can be found through low-flow measurements. Groundwater quality in the basin appears to be satisfactory for most uses. Currently, little groundwater is used within the basin. The water supply for Unalakleet is obtained from a well and gallery in a small valley north of the airport, outside the Unalakleet River basin. (Author 's abstract)

Comparative water-quality assessment of the Hai He River basin in the People's Republic of China and three similar basins in the United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Domagalski, Joseph L.; Xinquan, Zhou; Chao, Lin; Deguo, Zhi; Chi, Fan Lan; Kaitai, Xu; Ying, Lu; Luo, Yang; Shide, Liu; Dewen, Liu; Yong, Guo; Qi, Tian; Jing, Liu; Weidong, Yu; Shedlock, Robert; Knifong, Donna

2001-01-01

Ground-water quality with respect to nitrate, major inorganic constituents, pesticides, stable isotopes, and tritium was assessed in the agricultural Tangshan region in the Hai He River basin of the People's Republic of China and compared with three similar regions in the United States: the Delmarva Peninsula of the States of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, and the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys of the State of California. These four regions are considered similar with respect to size, land use, or climate. Median nitrate concentrations were found to be similar in the four regions in most instances, and those median concentrations were below the American nitrate drinking water standard of 10 milligrams per liter, however, higher concentrations, and a greater range of concentration, were evident for the Tangshan region.

Ecosystem Resilience to Drought and Temperature Anomalies in the Mekong River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Na-U-Dom, T.; García, M.; Mo, X.

2017-05-01

Climate change is leading to an increasing in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, which significantly affect ecosystems stability. In this study, ecological stability metrics in response to wet/dry events and warm/cold events on vegetation greenness were assessed using an auto-regressive model of NDVI in the Mekong River basin (around 759,000 km2) where large ecological and climatic gradients exist. Gridded temperature, and the Global Standard Precipitation Evaporation Index (SPEI) and antecedent NDVI were used as model predictors. The forest in north Laos was more resilient to the temperate and wet/dry anomalies events than other regions in the basin. Drought reduced green biomass in north Laos, northeast Thailand and Myanmar, but in these tropical climate regions’ the vegetation biomass was also more responsive by higher temperatures. Vegetation in northeast Thailand, Cambodia and the Mekong delta were less sensitive to the temperature anomalies effect compared to other part of Mekong River basin. The map of resistance and resilience metrics can help to determine the most vulnerable regions to extreme events for policy makers.

Potential impact of climate change to the future streamflow of Yellow River Basin based on CMIP5 data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Xiaoli; Zheng, Weifei; Ren, Liliang; Zhang, Mengru; Wang, Yuqian; Liu, Yi; Yuan, Fei; Jiang, Shanhu

2018-02-01

The Yellow River Basin (YRB) is the largest river basin in northern China, which has suffering water scarcity and drought hazard for many years. Therefore, assessments the potential impacts of climate change on the future streamflow in this basin is very important for local policy and planning on food security. In this study, based on the observations of 101 meteorological stations in YRB, equidistant CDF matching (EDCDFm) statistical downscaling approach was applied to eight climate models under two emissions scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) from phase five of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). Variable infiltration capacity (VIC) model with 0.25° × 0.25° spatial resolution was developed based on downscaled fields for simulating streamflow in the future period over YRB. The results show that with the global warming trend, the annual streamflow will reduced about 10 % during the period of 2021-2050, compared to the base period of 1961-1990 in YRB. There should be suitable water resources planning to meet the demands of growing populations and future climate changing in this region.

Spatial and temporal patterns of debris flow deposition in the Oregon Coast Range, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

May, Christine L.; Gresswell, Robert E.

2004-01-01

Patterns of debris-flow occurrence were investigated in 125 headwater basins in the Oregon Coast Range. Time since the previous debris-flows was established using dendrochronology, and recurrence interval estimates ranged from 98 to 357 years. Tributary basins with larger drainage areas had a greater abundance of potential landslide source areas and a greater frequency of scouring events compared to smaller basins. The flux rate of material delivered to the confluence with a larger river influenced the development of small-scale debris-flow fans. Fans at the mouths of tributary basins with smaller drainage areas had a higher likelihood of being eroded by the mainstem river in the interval between debris-flows, compared to bigger basins that had larger, more persistent fans. Valley floor width of the receiving channel also influenced fan development because it limited the space available to accommodate fan formation. Of 63 recent debris-flows, 52% delivered sediment and wood directly to the mainstem river, 30% were deposited on an existing fan before reaching the mainstem, and 18% were deposited within the confines of the tributary valley before reaching the confluence. Spatial variation in the location of past and present depositional surfaces indicated that sequential debris-flow deposits did not consistently form in the same place. Instead of being spatially deterministic, results of this study suggest that temporally variable and stochastic factors may be important for predicting the runout length of debris-flows.

Oil shale and nahcolite resources of the Piceance Basin, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2010-01-01

This report presents an in-place assessment of the oil shale and nahcolite resources of the Green River Formation in the Piceance Basin of western Colorado. The Piceance Basin is one of three large structural and sedimentary basins that contain vast amounts of oil shale resources in the Green River Formation of Eocene age. The other two basins, the Uinta Basin of eastern Utah and westernmost Colorado, and the Greater Green River Basin of southwest Wyoming, northwestern Colorado, and northeastern Utah also contain large resources of oil shale in the Green River Formation, and these two basins will be assessed separately. Estimated in-place oil is about 1.5 trillion barrels, based on Fischer a ssay results from boreholes drilled to evaluate oil shale, making it the largest oil shale deposit in the world. The estimated in-place nahcolite resource is about 43.3 billion short tons.

Clay mineralogy of surface sediments as a tool for deciphering river contributions to the Cariaco Basin (Venezuela)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bout-Roumazeilles, V.; Riboulleau, A.; du Châtelet, E. Armynot; Lorenzoni, L.; Tribovillard, N.; Murray, R. W.; Müller-Karger, F.; Astor, Y. M.

2013-02-01

The mineralogical composition of 95 surface sediment samples from the Cariaco Basin continental shelf and Orinoco delta was investigated in order to constrain the clay-mineral main provenance and distribution within the Cariaco Basin. The spatial variability of the data set was studied using a geo-statistical approach that allows drawing representative clay-mineral distribution maps. These maps are used to identify present-day dominant sources for each clay-mineral species in agreement with the geological characteristics of the main river watersheds emptying into the basin. This approach allows (1) identifying the most distinctive clay-mineral species/ratios that determine particle provenance, (2) evaluating the respective contribution of local rivers, and (3) confirming the minimal present-day influence of the Orinoco plume on the Cariaco Basin sedimentation. The Tuy, Unare, and Neveri Rivers are the main sources of clay particles to the Cariaco Basin sedimentation. At present, the Tuy River is the main contributor of illite to the western part of the southern Cariaco Basin continental shelf. The Unare River plume, carrying smectite and kaolinite, has a wide westward propagation, whereas the Neveri River contribution is less extended, providing kaolinite and illite toward the eastern Cariaco Basin. The Manzanares, Araya, Tortuga, and Margarita areas are secondary sources of local influence. These insights shed light on the origin of present-day terrigenous sediments of the Cariaco Basin and help to propose alternative explanations for the temporal variability of clay mineralogy observed in previously published studies.

A Project for Developing an Original Methodology Intended for Determination of the River Basin/Sub-Basin Boundaries and Codes in Western Mediterranean Basin in Turkey with Perspective of European Union Directives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gökgöz, Türkay; Ozulu, Murat; Erdoǧan, Mustafa; Seyrek, Kemal

2016-04-01

From the view of integrated river basin management, basin/sub-basin boundaries should be determined and encoded systematically with sufficient accuracy and precision. Today basin/sub-basin boundaries are mostly derived from digital elevation models (DEM) in geographic information systems (GIS). The accuracy and precision of the basin/sub-basin boundaries depend primarily on the accuracy and resolution of the DEMs. In this regard, in Turkey, a survey was made for the first time within the scope of this project to identify current situation, problems and needs in General Directorates of State Hydraulic Works, Water Management, Forestry, Meteorology, Combating Desertification and Erosion, which are the major institutions with responsibility and authority. Another factor that determines the accuracy and precision of basin/sub-basin boundaries is the flow accumulation threshold value to be determined at a certain stage according to a specific methodology in deriving the basin/sub-basin boundaries from DEM. Generally, in Turkey, either the default value given by GIS tool is used directly without any geomorphological, hydrological and cartographic bases or it is determined by trial and error. Although there is a system of catchments and rivers network at 1:250,000 scale and a proper method has already been developed on systematic coding of the basin by the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works, it is stated that a new system of catchments, rivers network and coding at larger scale (i.e. 1:25,000) is needed. In short, the basin/sub-basin boundaries and codes are not available currently at the required accuracy and precision for the fulfilment of the obligations described in European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive (WFD). In this case, it is clear that there is not yet any methodology to obtain such products. However, a series of projects should be completed such that the basin/sub-basin boundaries and codes are the fundamental data infrastructure. This task must be accomplished by the end of the negotiation process with the EU. For these reasons this subject is chosen as primary and important goal in this project issue and it is aimed to develop an original methodology for determining the boundaries and codes of the drainage basins/sub-basins at required accuracy and precision for the fulfilment of obligations described in the WFD. In Turkey, existing highest accuracy and reliable elevation and hydrography data will be used for the first time, in this project. Along with the widely known and used flow accumulation threshold approaches, the approach developed by Gökgöz et al. (2006) will be used as well. The practicability and suitability of the encoding method developed by the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works and the Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe will be verified respectively. The resulting drainage network, basin/sub-basin boundaries and codes will be compared to CCM2 (Catchment Characterisation and Modelling), ECRINS1.5 (European Catchments and Rivers Network System) and Catchments and Rivers Network System of General Directorates of State Hydraulic Works. This project is being supported by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, under the project number TUBITAK-115Y411.

A Noninvasive Tool to Assess the Distribution of Pacific Lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) in the Columbia River Basin

PubMed Central

Young, Michael K.; McKelvey, Kevin S.; Schwartz, Michael K.

2017-01-01

The Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) is an anadromous fish once abundant throughout coastal basins of western North America that has suffered dramatic declines in the last century due primarily to human activities. Here, we describe the development of an environmental DNA (eDNA) assay to detect Pacific lamprey in the Columbia River basin. The eDNA assay successfully amplified tissue derived DNA of Pacific lamprey collected from 12 locations throughout the Columbia River basin. The assay amplifies DNA from other Entosphenus species found outside of the Columbia River basin, but is species-specific within this basin. As a result, the assay presented here may be useful for detecting Entosphenus spp. in geographic range beyond the Columbia River Basin. The assay did not amplify tissue or synthetically derived DNA of 14 commonly sympatric non-target species, including lampreys of the genus Lampetra, which are morphologically similar to Pacific lamprey in the freshwater larval stage. PMID:28068358

Human activities and its Responses to Glacier Melt Water Over Tarim River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Hai; Zhou, Shenbei; Bai, Minghao

2017-04-01

Tarim River Basin lies in the south area of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the north-west area of China. It is the longest inland river of China. Being far away from ocean and embraced by high mountains, Tarim River Basin is the typical arid region in the world. The intensity of human activities increased rapidly in Tarim River Basin since 1980's and water resources lacking is the major issue restricting the development of social economy. The glacier melt water plays an important role for the regional social and economic development, and it accounts for 40% of mountain-pass runoff. It is a fragile mutual-dependent relationship between local sustainable development and runoff. Under the background of global change glacier melt water process has also changed especially in the arid and semi-arid region. Due to climate change, glacier in Tarim River Basin has melted in an observed way since 1980s, together with increasing trend of annual rainfall and virgin flow in mountain basins. Correspondingly, human activity gets more frequent since 1970s, resulting into the obvious fragile mutual-dependent relationship between basin runoff and water use amount. Through an analysis of meteorological, hydrological and geographical observation data from 1985 to 2015, this thesis make a multi-factor variance analysis of population, cultivation area, industrial development and runoff in upstream and mid-stream of Tarim River under changing conditions. Furthermore, the regulation function of natural factors and water demand management factors on relationship between runoff and water using amount are discussed, including temperature, rainfall, and evaporation, water conservation technology and soil-water exploitation administrative institutions. It concludes that: first, increase in glacier runoff, rainfall amount, and virgin flow haven't notably relieved ecological issue in Tarim River Basin, and even has promoted water use behaviour in different flowing areas and noticeably reduced the influence on water demand management. Second, water demand management factors positively relate to ecological improvement in Tarim River Basin. Third, after a further prediction on glacier melt with fuzzy neural network, it finds that the weaker adjustment influence of glacier runoff would put Tarim River Basin into a much weaker mutual-dependent relationship. The research believes that if short-term activity of society has wrongly adapted to runoff increase from faster glacier melt, it would put social development and ecological recovery of Tarim River Basin into a higher vulnerable way. Key words: Tarim River Basin, Changing Condition, Glacier Melt, mutual-dependent vulnerability

Hydrological Cycle in the Heihe River Basin and Its Implication for Water Resource Management in Inland River Basins (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, X.; Cheng, G.; Tian, W.; Zhang, Y.; Zhou, J.; Pan, X.; Ge, Y.; Hu, X.

2013-12-01

Inland river basins take about 11.4% of the land area of the world and most of them are distributed over arid regions. Understanding the hydrological cycle of inland river basin is important for water resource management in water scarcity regions. This paper illustrated hydrological cycle of a typical inland river basin in China, the Heihe River Basin (HRB). First, water balance in upper, middle and lower reaches of the HRB was conceptualized by analyzing dominant hydrological processes in different parts of the river basin. Then, we used a modeling approach to study the water cycle in the HRB. In the upper reaches, we used the GBHM-SHAW, a distributed hydrological model with a new frozen soil parameterization. In the middle and lower reaches, we used the GWSiB, a three-dimensionally coupled land surface-groundwater model. Modeling results were compared with water balance observations in different landscapes and cross-validated with other results to ensure the reliability. The results show that the hydrological cycle in HRB has some distinctive characteristics. Mountainous area generates almost all of the runoff for the whole river basin. High-elevation zones have much larger runoff/precipitation ratio. Cryospheric hydrology plays an important role. Although snow melting and glacier runoff take less than 25% of total runoff, these processes regulate inter-annual variation of runoff and thus provide stable water resource for oases downstream. Forest area contributes almost no runoff but it smoothes runoff and reduces floods by storing water in soil and releasing it out slowly. In the middle reaches, artificial hydrological cycle is much more dominated than natural one. River water and groundwater, recharged by runoff from mountainous area, is the water resource to support the agriculture and nurture the riparian ecosystem. Precipitation, approximately 150 mm in average, is only a supplement to agriculture use but sufficient to sustain desert vegetation. Water resources are redistributed by very developed and extensive irrigation system. Irrigation water balance is complex because of strong interactions among surface, ground, river and irrigation water. Lower reaches is an extremely arid environment. Water availability in lower reaches has a great impact on the evolution of natural ecosystem and vice versa the landscape change reshapes the hydrological cycle. After the water resource reallocation project implemented in 2000, the water delivered to lower reaches has increased by 36%. Of all the available water resource, about 10% is used to sustain a terminal lake and other water bodies, 20% is used for irrigation to support very rapidly increased farmlands, 40-50% is used to nurture the natural oasis, and other water is lost due to evaporation. The features of hydrological cycle in the HRB is very typical for inland river basins in China's arid region. In this region, air temperature is rising and precipitation is most likely to increase. Accelerating glacier retreat will also produce more water. However, water demand increases more rapidly due to quickly developing economy and growing population. Therefore, how to turn our understanding of hydrological cycle in this environmental fragile region into more rational water resource management is a grand challenge.

Research on monitoring system of water resources in Shiyang River Basin based on Multi-agent

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, T. H.; Yin, Z.; Song, Y. Z.

2012-11-01

The Shiyang River Basin is the most populous, economy relatively develop, the highest degree of development and utilization of water resources, water conflicts the most prominent, ecological environment problems of the worst hit areas in Hexi inland river basin in Gansu province. the contradiction between people and water is aggravated constantly in the basin. This text combines multi-Agent technology with monitoring system of water resource, the establishment of a management center, telemetry Agent Federation, as well as the communication network between the composition of the Shiyang River Basin water resources monitoring system. By taking advantage of multi-agent system intelligence and communications coordination to improve the timeliness of the basin water resources monitoring.

Micro and Macroscale Drivers of Nutrient Concentrations in Urban Streams in South, Central and North America.

PubMed

Loiselle, Steven A; Gasparini Fernandes Cunha, Davi; Shupe, Scott; Valiente, Elsa; Rocha, Luciana; Heasley, Eleanore; Belmont, Patricia Pérez; Baruch, Avinoam

Global metrics of land cover and land use provide a fundamental basis to examine the spatial variability of human-induced impacts on freshwater ecosystems. However, microscale processes and site specific conditions related to bank vegetation, pollution sources, adjacent land use and water uses can have important influences on ecosystem conditions, in particular in smaller tributary rivers. Compared to larger order rivers, these low-order streams and rivers are more numerous, yet often under-monitored. The present study explored the relationship of nutrient concentrations in 150 streams in 57 hydrological basins in South, Central and North America (Buenos Aires, Curitiba, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City and Vancouver) with macroscale information available from global datasets and microscale data acquired by trained citizen scientists. Average sub-basin phosphate (P-PO4) concentrations were found to be well correlated with sub-basin attributes on both macro and microscales, while the relationships between sub-basin attributes and nitrate (N-NO3) concentrations were limited. A phosphate threshold for eutrophic conditions (>0.1 mg L-1 P-PO4) was exceeded in basins where microscale point source discharge points (eg. residential, industrial, urban/road) were identified in more than 86% of stream reaches monitored by citizen scientists. The presence of bankside vegetation covaried (rho = -0.53) with lower phosphate concentrations in the ecosystems studied. Macroscale information on nutrient loading allowed for a strong separation between basins with and without eutrophic conditions. Most importantly, the combination of macroscale and microscale information acquired increased our ability to explain sub-basin variability of P-PO4 concentrations. The identification of microscale point sources and bank vegetation conditions by citizen scientists provided important information that local authorities could use to improve their management of lower order river ecosystems.

Natural factors and mining activity bearings on the water quality of the Choapa basin, North Central Chile: insights on the role of mafic volcanic rocks in the buffering of the acid drainage process.

PubMed

Parra, Amparo; Oyarzún, Jorge; Maturana, Hugo; Kretschmer, Nicole; Meza, Francisco; Oyarzún, Ricardo

2011-10-01

This contribution analyzes water chemical data for the Choapa basin, North Central Chile, for the period 1980-2004. The parameters considered are As, Cu Fe, pH, EC, SO₄⁻², Cl⁻¹, and HCO[Formula: see text], from samples taken in nine monitoring stations throughout the basin. Results show rather moderate contents of As, Cu, and Fe, with the exception of the Cuncumén River and the Aucó creek, explained by the influence of the huge porphyry copper deposit of Los Pelambres and by the presence of mining operations, respectively. When compared against results obtained in previous researches at the neighboring Elqui river basin, which host the El Indio Au-Cu-As district, a much reduced grade of pollution is recognized for the Choapa basin. Considering the effect of acid rock drainage (ARD)-related Cu contents on the fine fraction of the sediments of both river basins, the differences recorded are even more striking. Although the Los Pelambres porphyry copper deposit, on the headwaters of the Choapa river basin, is between one and two orders of magnitude bigger than El Indio, stream water and sediments of the former exhibit significantly lower copper contents than those of the latter. A main factor which may explain these results is the smaller degree of H( + )-metasomatism on the host rocks of the Los Pelambres deposit, where mafic andesitic volcanic rocks presenting propylitic hydrothermal alteration are dominant. This fact contrast with the highly altered host rocks of El Indio district, where most of them have lost their potential to neutralize ARD.

Micro and Macroscale Drivers of Nutrient Concentrations in Urban Streams in South, Central and North America

PubMed Central

Loiselle, Steven A.; Gasparini Fernandes Cunha, Davi; Shupe, Scott; Valiente, Elsa; Rocha, Luciana; Heasley, Eleanore; Belmont, Patricia Pérez; Baruch, Avinoam

2016-01-01

Global metrics of land cover and land use provide a fundamental basis to examine the spatial variability of human-induced impacts on freshwater ecosystems. However, microscale processes and site specific conditions related to bank vegetation, pollution sources, adjacent land use and water uses can have important influences on ecosystem conditions, in particular in smaller tributary rivers. Compared to larger order rivers, these low-order streams and rivers are more numerous, yet often under-monitored. The present study explored the relationship of nutrient concentrations in 150 streams in 57 hydrological basins in South, Central and North America (Buenos Aires, Curitiba, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City and Vancouver) with macroscale information available from global datasets and microscale data acquired by trained citizen scientists. Average sub-basin phosphate (P-PO4) concentrations were found to be well correlated with sub-basin attributes on both macro and microscales, while the relationships between sub-basin attributes and nitrate (N-NO3) concentrations were limited. A phosphate threshold for eutrophic conditions (>0.1 mg L-1 P-PO4) was exceeded in basins where microscale point source discharge points (eg. residential, industrial, urban/road) were identified in more than 86% of stream reaches monitored by citizen scientists. The presence of bankside vegetation covaried (rho = –0.53) with lower phosphate concentrations in the ecosystems studied. Macroscale information on nutrient loading allowed for a strong separation between basins with and without eutrophic conditions. Most importantly, the combination of macroscale and microscale information acquired increased our ability to explain sub-basin variability of P-PO4 concentrations. The identification of microscale point sources and bank vegetation conditions by citizen scientists provided important information that local authorities could use to improve their management of lower order river ecosystems. PMID:27662192

Assessing changes in extreme river flow regulation from non-stationarity in hydrological scaling laws

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodríguez, Estiven; Salazar, Juan Fernando; Villegas, Juan Camilo; Mercado-Bettín, Daniel

2018-07-01

Extreme flows are key components of river flow regimes that affect manifold hydrological, geomorphological and ecological processes with societal relevance. One fundamental characteristic of extreme flows in river basins is that they exhibit scaling properties which can be identified through scaling (power) laws. Understanding the physical mechanisms behind such scaling laws is a continuing challenge in hydrology, with potential implications for the prediction of river flow regimes in a changing environment and ungauged basins. After highlighting that the scaling properties are sensitive to environmental change, we develop a physical interpretation of how temporal changes in scaling exponents relate to the capacity of river basins to regulate extreme river flows. Regulation is defined here as the basins' capacity to either dampen high flows or to enhance low flows. Further, we use this framework to infer temporal changes in the regulation capacity of five large basins in tropical South America. Our results indicate that, during the last few decades, the Amazon river basin has been reducing its capacity to enhance low flows, likely as a consequence of pronounced environmental change in its south and south-eastern sub-basins. The proposed framework is widely applicable to different basins, and provides foundations for using scaling laws as empirical tools for inferring temporal changes of hydrological regulation, particularly relevant for identifying and managing hydrological consequences of environmental change.

Water quality in select regions of Cauvery Delta River basin, southern India, with emphasis on monsoonal variation.

PubMed

Solaraj, Govindaraj; Dhanakumar, Selvaraj; Murthy, Kuppuraj Rutharvel; Mohanraj, Rangaswamy

2010-07-01

Delta regions of the Cauvery River basin are one of the significant areas of rice production in India. In spite of large-scale utilization of the river basin for irrigation and drinking purposes, the lack of appropriate water management has seemingly deteriorated the water quality due to increasing anthropogenic activities. To assess the extent of deterioration, physicochemical characteristics of surface water were analyzed monthly in select regions of Cauvery Delta River basin, India, during July 2007 to December 2007. Total dissolved solids, chemical oxygen demand, and phosphate recorded maximum levels of 1,638, 96, and 0.43 mg/l, respectively, exceeding the permissible levels at certain sampling stations. Monsoonal rains in Cauvery River basin and the subsequent increase in river flow rate influences certain parameters like dissolved solids, phosphate, and dissolved oxygen. Agricultural runoff from watershed, sewage, and industrial effluents are suspected as probable factors of water pollution.

The critical role of the routing scheme in simulating peak river discharge in global hydrological models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, F.; Veldkamp, T.; Frieler, K.; Schewe, J.; Ostberg, S.; Willner, S. N.; Schauberger, B.; Gosling, S.; Mueller Schmied, H.; Portmann, F. T.; Leng, G.; Huang, M.; Liu, X.; Tang, Q.; Hanasaki, N.; Biemans, H.; Gerten, D.; Satoh, Y.; Pokhrel, Y. N.; Stacke, T.; Ciais, P.; Chang, J.; Ducharne, A.; Guimberteau, M.; Wada, Y.; Kim, H.; Yamazaki, D.

2017-12-01

Global hydrological models (GHMs) have been applied to assess global flood hazards, but their capacity to capture the timing and amplitude of peak river discharge—which is crucial in flood simulations—has traditionally not been the focus of examination. Here we evaluate to what degree the choice of river routing scheme affects simulations of peak discharge and may help to provide better agreement with observations. To this end we use runoff and discharge simulations of nine GHMs forced by observational climate data (1971-2010) within the ISIMIP2a project. The runoff simulations were used as input for the global river routing model CaMa-Flood. The simulated daily discharge was compared to the discharge generated by each GHM using its native river routing scheme. For each GHM both versions of simulated discharge were compared to monthly and daily discharge observations from 1701 GRDC stations as a benchmark. CaMa-Flood routing shows a general reduction of peak river discharge and a delay of about two to three weeks in its occurrence, likely induced by the buffering capacity of floodplain reservoirs. For a majority of river basins, discharge produced by CaMa-Flood resulted in a better agreement with observations. In particular, maximum daily discharge was adjusted, with a multi-model averaged reduction in bias over about 2/3 of the analysed basin area. The increase in agreement was obtained in both managed and near-natural basins. Overall, this study demonstrates the importance of routing scheme choice in peak discharge simulation, where CaMa-Flood routing accounts for floodplain storage and backwater effects that are not represented in most GHMs. Our study provides important hints that an explicit parameterisation of these processes may be essential in future impact studies.

Characteristics of Atmospheric River Families in California's Russian River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fish, M. A.; Wilson, A. M.; Ralph, F. M.

2017-12-01

Previous studies have shown the importance of antecedent conditions and storm duration on atmospheric river (AR) impacts in California's Russian River basin. This study concludes that successive ARs, or families of ARs, produce an enhanced streamflow response compared to individual storms. This amplifies the impacts of these storms, which contribute to 50% of the annual precipitation in the Russian River basin. Using the Modern Era Retrospective - analysis for Research and Applications 2 dataset and 228 AR events from November 2004 - April 2017 affecting Bodega Bay, CA (BBY), this study identified favorable characteristics for families vs single ARs and their associated impacts. It was found that 111 AR events ( 50%) occurred within 5 days of one another with 44 events ( 40%) occurring within 24 hours. Using the winter of 2017, which had a multitude of successive ARs in Northern California, this study evaluates the applicability of family composites using case study comparisons. The results of this study show large divergences of family composites from the overall AR pattern, depending on the time interval between events. A composite of all AR events show Bodega Bay generally south of the jet exit region, SW-NE tilt of 500mb heights and a more northerly subtropical high. ARs occurring on the same day have faster southerly winds, a weaker low off the coast and a southerly moisture plume extending along the CA coast. Comparatively ARs that occur the following day, feature a more zonal pattern with faster winds north of BBY, a deeper low off the coast and a moisture plume southwest of the Russian River watershed.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in surface sediment of typical estuaries and the spatial distribution in Haihe river basin.

PubMed

Liu, Jing L; Zhang, Jing; Liu, Feng; Zhang, Lu L

2014-05-01

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with carcinogenic and mutagenic characteristics have been detected in many estuaries and bays around the world. To detect the contaminated level in typical estuaries in Haihe river basin, China, a comprehensive survey of 16 PAHs in surface sediment has been conducted and an ecological risk assessment has been taken. It showed that Haihe river estuary had the highest concentration, ranging from 92.91 to 15886.00 ng g(-1). And Luan river estuary has the lowest polluted level, ranging from 39.55 to 328.10 ng g(-1). PAHs in sediment were dominated by low and mid molecular weight PAHs in all the sampling sites. Most of the sampling sites in all sampling seasons indicated a rarely happened ecological risk of ΣPAHs, while the S6 in Haihe river estuary was in an occasionally anticipated risk. To illustrate the spatial distribution pattern of PAHs in surface sediment in Haihe river basin, the results were compared with previous research of the research team. Based on data of the comparison, it had been revealed that Haihe river had the most serious PAHs pollution, with an average concentration of 5884.86 ng g(-1), and showed the highest contamination level in all four ecological units. The ΣPAHs concentration showed in a rank of reservoir > estuary > rural area > city.

COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN SALMON AND STEELHEAD: Federal Agencies’ Recovery Responsibilities, Expenditures and Actions

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-07-01

Monthly. Caspian Tern Working Group Developing a plan to reduce smolt predation by Caspian terns nesting in the Columbia River estuary. As needed...Environment and Public Works, U.S. SenateJuly 2002 COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN SALMON AND STEELHEAD Federal Agencies’ Recovery Responsibilities... COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN SALMON AND STEELHEAD: Federal Agencies Recovery Responsibilities, Expenditures and Actions Contract Number Grant Number Program

Distribution, status, and likely future trends of bull trout within the interior Columbia River and Klamath River basins

Treesearch

Bruce E. Rieman; Danny C. Lee; Russell F. Thurow

1997-01-01

We summarized existing knowledge regarding the distribution and status of bull trout Salvelinus confluentus across 4,462 subwatersheds of the interior Columbia River basin in Oregon, Washington. Idaho, Montana, and Nevada and of the Klamath River basin in Oregon, a region that represents about 20% of the species' global range. We used classification trees and the...

Simulation of streamflow in small drainage basins in the southern Yampa River basin, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Parker, R.S.; Norris, J.M.

1989-01-01

Coal mining operations in northwestern Colorado commonly are located in areas that have minimal available water-resource information. Drainage-basin models can be a method for extending water-resource information to include periods for which there are no records or to transfer the information to areas that have no streamflow-gaging stations. To evaluate the magnitude and variability of the components of the water balance in the small drainage basins monitored, and to provide some method for transfer of hydrologic data, the U.S. Geological Survey 's Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System was used for small drainage basins in the southern Yampa River basin to simulate daily mean streamflow using daily precipitation and air-temperature data. The study area was divided into three hydrologic regions, and in each of these regions, three drainage basins were monitored. Two of the drainage basins in each region were used to calibrate the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System. The model was not calibrated for the third drainage basin in each region; instead, parameter values were transferred from the model that was calibrated for the two drainage basins. For all of the drainage basins except one, period of record used for calibration and verification included water years 1976-81. Simulated annual volumes of streamflow for drainage basins used in calibration compared well with observed values; individual hydrographs indicated timing differences between the observed and simulated daily mean streamflow. Observed and simulated annual average streamflows compared well for the periods of record, but values of simulated high and low streamflows were different than observed values. Similar results were obtained when calibrated model parameter values were transferred to drainage basins that were uncalibrated. (USGS)

Are calanco landforms similar to river basins?

PubMed

Caraballo-Arias, N A; Ferro, V

2017-12-15

In the past badlands have been often considered as ideal field laboratories for studying landscape evolution because of their geometrical similarity to larger fluvial systems. For a given hydrological process, no scientific proof exists that badlands can be considered a model of river basin prototypes. In this paper the measurements carried out on 45 Sicilian calanchi, a type of badlands that appears as a small-scale hydrographic unit, are used to establish their morphological similarity with river systems whose data are available in the literature. At first the geomorphological similarity is studied by identifying the dimensionless groups, which can assume the same value or a scaled one in a fixed ratio, representing drainage basin shape, stream network and relief properties. Then, for each property, the dimensionless groups are calculated for the investigated calanchi and the river basins and their corresponding scale ratio is evaluated. The applicability of Hack's, Horton's and Melton's laws for establishing similarity criteria is also tested. The developed analysis allows to conclude that a quantitative morphological similarity between calanco landforms and river basins can be established using commonly applied dimensionless groups. In particular, the analysis showed that i) calanchi and river basins have a geometrically similar shape respect to the parameters Rf and Re with a scale factor close to 1, ii) calanchi and river basins are similar respect to the bifurcation and length ratios (λ=1), iii) for the investigated calanchi the Melton number assumes values less than that (0.694) corresponding to the river case and a scale ratio ranging from 0.52 and 0.78 can be used, iv) calanchi and river basins have similar mean relief ratio values (λ=1.13) and v) calanchi present active geomorphic processes and therefore fall in a more juvenile stage with respect to river basins. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Precipitation and temperature changes in the major Chinese river basins during 1957-2013 and links to sea surface temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Qing; Prange, Matthias; Merkel, Ute

2016-05-01

The variation characteristics of precipitation and temperature in the three major Chinese river basins (Yellow River, Yangtze River and Pearl River) in the period of 1957-2013 were analyzed on an annual and seasonal basis, as well as their links to sea surface temperature (SST) variations in the tropical Pacific and Indian Ocean on both interannual and decadal time scales. Annual mean temperature of the three river basins increased significantly overall since 1957, with an average warming rate of about 0.19 °C/10a, but the warming was characterized by a staircase form with steps around 1987 and 1998. The significant increase of annual mean temperature could mostly be attributed to the remarkable warming trend in spring, autumn and winter. Warming rates in the northern basins were generally much higher than in the southern basins. However, both the annual precipitation and seasonal mean precipitation of the three river basins showed little change in the study area average, but distinct interannual variations since 1957 and clear regional differences. An overall warming-wetting tendency was found in the northwestern and southeastern river basins in 1957-2013, while the central regions tended to become warmer and drier. Results from a Maximum Covariance Analysis (MCA) showed that the interannual variations of seasonal mean precipitation and surface air temperature over the three river basins were both associated with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) since 1957. ENSO SST patterns affected precipitation and surface air temperature variability throughout the year, but with very different response patterns in the different seasons. For instance, temperature in most of the river basins was positively correlated with central-eastern equatorial Pacific SST in winter and spring, but negatively correlated in summer and autumn. On the decadal time scale, the seasonal mean precipitation and surface air temperature variations were strongly associated with the Pacific Quasi-Decadal Oscillation.

Changing sediment budget of the Mekong: Cumulative threats and management strategies for a large river basin.

PubMed

Kondolf, G Mathias; Schmitt, Rafael J P; Carling, Paul; Darby, Steve; Arias, Mauricio; Bizzi, Simone; Castelletti, Andrea; Cochrane, Thomas A; Gibson, Stanford; Kummu, Matti; Oeurng, Chantha; Rubin, Zan; Wild, Thomas

2018-06-01

Two decades after the construction of the first major dam, the Mekong basin and its six riparian countries have seen rapid economic growth and development of the river system. Hydropower dams, aggregate mines, flood-control dykes, and groundwater-irrigated agriculture have all provided short-term economic benefits throughout the basin. However, it is becoming evident that anthropic changes are significantly affecting the natural functioning of the river and its floodplains. We now ask if these changes are risking major adverse impacts for the 70 million people living in the Mekong Basin. Many livelihoods in the basin depend on ecosystem services that will be strongly impacted by alterations of the sediment transport processes that drive river and delta morpho-dynamics, which underpin a sustainable future for the Mekong basin and Delta. Drawing upon ongoing and recently published research, we provide an overview of key drivers of change (hydropower development, sand mining, dyking and water infrastructures, climate change, and accelerated subsidence from pumping) for the Mekong's sediment budget, and their likely individual and cumulative impacts on the river system. Our results quantify the degree to which the Mekong delta, which receives the impacts from the entire connected river basin, is increasingly vulnerable in the face of declining sediment loads, rising seas and subsiding land. Without concerted action, it is likely that nearly half of the Delta's land surface will be below sea level by 2100, with the remaining areas impacted by salinization and frequent flooding. The threat to the Delta can be understood only in the context of processes in the entire river basin. The Mekong River case can serve to raise awareness of how the connected functions of river systems in general depend on undisturbed sediment transport, thereby informing planning for other large river basins currently embarking on rapid economic development. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Understanding Socio-Hydrology System in the Kissimmee River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, X.; Wang, D.; Tian, F.; Sivapalan, M.

2014-12-01

This study is to develop a conceptual socio-hydrology model for the Kissimmee River Basin. The Kissimmee River located in Florida was channelized in mid-20 century for flood protection. However, the environmental issues caused by channelization led Floridians to conduct a restoration project recently, focusing on wetland recovery. As a complex coupled human-water system, Kissimmee River Basin shows the typical socio-hydrology interactions. Hypothetically, the major reason to drive the system from channelization to restoration is that the community sensitivity towards the environment has changed from controlling to restoring. The model developed in this study includes 5 components: water balance, flood risk, wetland area, crop land area, and community sensitivity. Furthermore, urban population and rural population in the basin have different community sensitivities towards the hydrologic system. The urban population, who live further away from the river are more sensitive to wetland restoration; while the rural population, who live closer to the river are more sensitive to flood protection. The power dynamics between the two groups and its impact on management decision making is described in the model. The model is calibrated based on the observed watershed outflow, wetland area and crop land area. The results show that the overall focus of community sensitivity has changed from flood protection to wetland restoration in the past 60 years in Kissimmee River Basin, which confirms the study hypothesis. There are two main reasons for the community sensitivity change. Firstly, people's flood memory is fading because of the effective flood protection, while the continuously shrinking wetland and the decreasing bird and fish population draw more and more attention. Secondly, in the last 60 years, the urban population in Florida drastically increased compared with a much slower increase of rural population. As a result, the community sensitivity of urban population towards wetland restoration has more weight than the rural population's towards flood protection.

Development of a time-stepping sediment budget model for assessing land use impacts in large river basins.

PubMed

Wilkinson, S N; Dougall, C; Kinsey-Henderson, A E; Searle, R D; Ellis, R J; Bartley, R

2014-01-15

The use of river basin modelling to guide mitigation of non-point source pollution of wetlands, estuaries and coastal waters has become widespread. To assess and simulate the impacts of alternate land use or climate scenarios on river washload requires modelling techniques that represent sediment sources and transport at the time scales of system response. Building on the mean-annual SedNet model, we propose a new D-SedNet model which constructs daily budgets of fine sediment sources, transport and deposition for each link in a river network. Erosion rates (hillslope, gully and streambank erosion) and fine sediment sinks (floodplains and reservoirs) are disaggregated from mean annual rates based on daily rainfall and runoff. The model is evaluated in the Burdekin basin in tropical Australia, where policy targets have been set for reducing sediment and nutrient loads to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) lagoon from grazing and cropping land. D-SedNet predicted annual loads with similar performance to that of a sediment rating curve calibrated to monitored suspended sediment concentrations. Relative to a 22-year reference load time series at the basin outlet derived from a dynamic general additive model based on monitoring data, D-SedNet had a median absolute error of 68% compared with 112% for the rating curve. RMS error was slightly higher for D-SedNet than for the rating curve due to large relative errors on small loads in several drought years. This accuracy is similar to existing agricultural system models used in arable or humid environments. Predicted river loads were sensitive to ground vegetation cover. We conclude that the river network sediment budget model provides some capacity for predicting load time-series independent of monitoring data in ungauged basins, and for evaluating the impact of land management on river sediment load time-series, which is challenging across large regions in data-poor environments. © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hydrogeologic framework and selected components of the groundwater budget for the upper Umatilla River Basin, Oregon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Herrera, Nora B.; Ely, Kate; Mehta, Smita; Stonewall, Adam J.; Risley, John C.; Hinkle, Stephen R.; Conlon, Terrence D.

2017-05-31

Executive SummaryThis report presents a summary of the hydrogeology of the upper Umatilla River Basin, Oregon, based on characterization of the hydrogeologic framework, horizontal and vertical directions of groundwater flow, trends in groundwater levels, and components of the groundwater budget. The conceptual model of the groundwater flow system integrates available data and information on the groundwater resources of the upper Umatilla River Basin and provides insights regarding key hydrologic processes, such as the interaction between the groundwater and surface water systems and the hydrologic budget.The conceptual groundwater model developed for the study area divides the groundwater flow system into five hydrogeologic units: a sedimentary unit, three Columbia River basalt units, and a basement rock unit. The sedimentary unit, which is not widely used as a source of groundwater in the upper basin, is present primarily in the lowlands and consists of conglomerate, loess, silt and sand deposits, and recent alluvium. The Columbia River Basalt Group is a series of Miocene flood basalts that are present throughout the study area. The basalt is uplifted in the southeastern half of the study area, and either underlies the sedimentary unit, or is exposed at the surface. The interflow zones of the flood basalts are the primary aquifers in the study area. Beneath the flood basalts are basement rocks composed of Paleogene to Pre-Tertiary sedimentary, volcanic, igneous, and metamorphic rocks that are not used as a source of groundwater in the upper Umatilla River Basin.The major components of the groundwater budget in the upper Umatilla River Basin are (1) groundwater recharge, (2) groundwater discharge to surface water and wells, (3) subsurface flow into and out of the basin, and (4) changes in groundwater storage.Recharge from precipitation occurs primarily in the upland areas of the Blue Mountains. Mean annual recharge from infiltration of precipitation for the upper Umatilla River Basin during 1951–2010 is about 9.6 inches per year (in/yr). Annual recharge from precipitation for water year 2010 ranged from 3 in. in the lowland area to about 30 in. in the Blue Mountains. Using Kahle and others (2011) data and methods from the Columbia Plateau regional model, average annual recharge from irrigation is estimated to be about 2.2 in/yr for the 13 square miles of irrigated land in the upper Umatilla River Basin.Groundwater discharges to streams throughout the year and is a large component of annual streamflow in the upper Umatilla River Basin. Upward vertical hydraulic gradients near the Umatilla River indicate the potential for groundwater discharge. Groundwater discharge to the Umatilla River generally occurs in the upper part of the basin, upstream from the main stem.Groundwater development in the upper Umatilla River Basin began sometime after 1950 (Davies-Smith and others, 1988; Gonthier and Bolke, 1991). By water year 2010, groundwater use in the upper Umatilla River Basin was approximately 11,214 acre-feet (acre-ft). Total groundwater withdrawals for the study area were estimated at 7,575 acre-ft for irrigation, 3,173 acre-ft for municipal use, and 466 acre-ft for domestic use.Total groundwater flow into or from the study area depends locally on geology and hydraulic head distribution. Estimates of subsurface flow were calculated using the U.S. Geological Survey Columbia Plateau regional groundwater flow model. Net flux values range from 25,000 to 27,700 acre-ft per year and indicate that groundwater is moving out of the upper Umatilla River Basin into the lower Umatilla River Basin.Water level changes depend on storage changes within an aquifer, and storage changes depend on the storage properties of the aquifer, as well as recharge to or discharge from the aquifer. Groundwater level data in the upper Umatilla River Basin are mostly available from wells in Columbia River basalt units, which indicate areas of long-term water level declines in the Grande Ronde basalt unit near Pendleton and Athena, Oregon. Groundwater levels in the Wanapum basalt unit do not show long-term declines in the upper Umatilla River Basin. Because of pumping, some areas in the upper Umatilla River Basin have shown a decrease, or reversal, in the upward vertical head gradient.Key data needs are improvement of the spatial and temporal distribution of water-level data collection and continued monitoring of streamflow gaging sites. Additionally, refinement of recharge estimates would enhance understanding of the processes that provide the groundwater resources in the upper Umatilla River Basin.

Floods of 1950 in the Red River of the North and Winnipeg River basins

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

1952-01-01

The floods of April-July 1950 in the Red River of the North and Winnipeg River Basins were the largest that have occurred in several decades and caused the greatest damage that the flooded area has ever sustained. Five lives were lost in the United States, owing to causes directly connected with the floods. The dual peaks--on upper river and tributaries, one in April and the other in May--of nearly the same size and" the large lake-like body of flood-water ponded between Grand Forks and Winnipeg were notable features of the flood in the Red River of the North Basin. The flood in the Winnipeg River Basin was characterized by the unusually large volume of runoff and the lateness of cresting on the Lake of the Woods.The floods were caused by a combination of causes: high antecedent soil moisture, high antecedent runoff, heavy snowfall, delayed breakup, and heavy precipitation during breakup. Mid-March snow-surveys, made in the area by hydrographers of the United States and Canadian services, showed that the snow pack north of Fargo, N. Dak., had an unusually high water content and a runoff potential increasing from west to east. A narrow band, extending from near Grand Forks, N. Dak., east-northeastward across the basin, had a water content of 5 inches or higher. April 15 marked the beginning of rapid melting throughout the basins; most of the snow was turned into water by the end of the first melt period on April 24. A return of winter-like conditions until May 10 brought more snow and set the stage for second flood crests.The records of stage and discharge collected on the Red River of the North at Grand Forks, N. Dak., since 1882 show that the important 1897 flood slightly exceeded the 1950 flood in both stage and discharge. Records collected by the Geological Survey and Corps of Engineers on the Red River of the North show that the 1950 flood stages exceeded any previously known from just below the mouth of Turtle River to the international boundary. Records for streams tributary to the Red River of the North between Fargo and the Roseau River show, in general, that the 1950 flood events exceeded those of any known past floods. In the storage basins of the Winnipeg River, Lake of the Woods and Rainy Lake reached a stage comparable to that of 1916; and the Winnipeg River discharge at Slave Falls exceeded the highest previously recorded, maximum, which occurred in 1927. Records of floods on the Red River at Winnipeg show that the 1950 flood did not reach as high a stage as those of 1826, 1852, and 1861. The total tabulated damage to Winnipeg, the largest urban center in the area reported on, was about $20,000,000 in the city, and $12,000,000 in surrounding suburbs. The fight against flooding in Greater Winnipeg began on April 21 in the area adjacent to the municipal hospitals and was considered ended with the reopening of Norwood Bridge on June 1. About 80, 000 people were evacuated from their homes in Greater Winnipeg during the flood, and plans were ready to evacuate a greater number had the water risen higher.This report contains records of stage and discharge for the flood period at 70 stream-gaging stations, 21 records of mean daily discharge at stream-gaging stations, 11 records of stage at river-height gages, and 7 records of storage or elevation of reservoirs or lakes. A summary table shows crest stages and discharges at 129 points for the 1950 event compared with the highest known past stages and discharges. Also included is a discussion of concurrent meteorology and of past floods on main streams and tributaries.

Nitrogen and phosphorus in streams of the Great Miami River Basin, Ohio, 1998-2000

USGS Publications Warehouse

Reutter, David C.

2003-01-01

Sources and loads of nitrogen and phosphorus in streams of the Great Miami River Basin were evaluated as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment program. Water samples were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey from October 1998 through September 2000 (water years 1999 and 2000) at five locations in Ohio on a routine schedule and additionally during selected high streamflows. Stillwater River near Union, Great Miami River near Vandalia, and Mad River near Eagle City were selected to represent predominantly agricultural areas upstream from the Dayton metropolitan area. Holes Creek near Kettering is in the Dayton metropolitan area and was selected to represent an urban area in the Great Miami River Basin. Great Miami River at Hamilton is downstream from the Dayton and Hamilton-Middletown metropolitan areas and was selected to represent mixed agricultural and urban land uses of the Great Miami River Basin. Inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus to streams from point and nonpoint sources were estimated for the three agricultural basins and for the Great Miami River Basin as a whole. Nutrient inputs from point sources were computed from the facilities that discharge one-half million gallons or more per day into streams of the Great Miami River Basin. Nonpoint-source inputs estimated in this report are atmospheric deposition and commercial-fertilizer and manure applications. Loads of ammonia, nitrate, total nitrogen, orthophosphate, and total phosphorus from the five sites were computed with the ESTIMATOR program. The computations show nitrate to be the primary component of instream nitrogen loads, and particulate phosphorus to be the primary component of instream phosphorus loads. The Mad River contributed the smallest loads of total nitrogen and total phosphorus to the study area upstream from Dayton, whereas the Upper Great Miami River (upstream from Vandalia) contributed the largest loads of total nitrogen and total phosphorus to the Great Miami River Basin upstream from Dayton. An evaluation of monthly mean loads shows that nutrient loads were highest during winter 1999 and lowest during the drought of summer and autumn 1999. During the 1999 drought, point sources were the primary contributors of nitrogen and phosphorus loads to most of the study area. Nonpoint sources, however, were the primary contributors of nitrogen and phosphorus loads during months of high streamflow. Nonpoint sources were also the primary contributors of nitrogen loads to the Mad River during the 1999 drought, owing to unusually large amounts of ground-water discharge to the stream. The Stillwater River Basin had the highest nutrient yields in the study area during months of high streamflow; however, the Mad River Basin had the highest yields of all nutrients except ammonia during the months of the 1999 drought. The high wet-weather yields in the Stillwater River Basin were caused by agricultural runoff, whereas high yields in the Mad River Basin during drought resulted from the large, sustained contribution of ground water to streamflow throughout the year. In the basins upstream from Dayton, an estimated 19 to 25 percent of the nonpoint source of nitrogen and 4 to 5 percent of the nonpoint source of phosphorus that was deposited or applied to the land was transported into streams.

Sources and loads of nutrients in the South Platte River, Colorado and Nebraska, 1994-95

USGS Publications Warehouse

Litke, D.W.

1996-01-01

The South Platte River Basin was one of 20 river basins selected in 1991 for investigation as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water- Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. Nationwide, nutrients have been identified as one of the primary nationwide water-quality concerns and are of particular interest in the South Platte River Basin where nutrient concentrations are large compared to concentrations in other NAWQA river basins. This report presents estimates of the magnitude of nutrient-source inputs to the South Platte River Basin, describes nutrient concen- trations and loads in the South Platte River during different seasons, and presents comparisons of nutrient inputs to instream nutrient loads. Annual nutrient inputs to the basin were estimated to be 306,000 tons of nitrogen and 41,000 tons of phosphorus. The principal nutrient sources were wastewater-treatment plants, fertilizer and manure applications, and atmospheric deposition. To characterize nutrient concentrations and loads in the South Platte River during different seasons, five nutrient synoptic samplings were conducted during 1994 and 1995. Upstream from Denver, Colorado, during April 1994 and January 1995, total nitrogen concentrations were less than 2 milligrams per liter (mg/L), and total phosphorus concentrations were less than 0.2 mg/L. The water in the river at this point was derived mostly from forested land in the mountains west of Denver. Total nutrient concentrations increased through the Denver metropolitan area, and concentration peaks occurred just downstream from each of Denver's largest wastewater-treatment plants with maximum concentrations of 13.6 mg/L total nitrogen and 2.4 mg/L total phosphorus. Nutrient concen- concentrations generally decreased downstream from Denver. Upstream from Denver during April 1994 and January 1995, total nitrogen loads were less than 1,000 pounds per day (lb/d), and total phosphorus loads were less than 125 lb/d. Total nutrient loads increased through the Denver metropolitan area, and load peaks occurred just downstream from each of Denver's largest wastewater-treatment plants, with a maximum load of 14,000 lb/d total nitrogen and 2,300 lb/d total phosphorus. In April 1994, nutrient loads generally decreased from Henderson, Colorado, to North Platte, Nebraska. In January 1995, however, nutrient loads increased from Henderson to Kersey, Colorado (maximum loads of 31,000 lb/d total nitrogen and 3,000 lb/d total phosphorus), and then decreased from Kersey to North Platte. Seasonal nutrient loads primarily were dependent on streamflow. Total nitrogen loads were largest in June 1994 and January 1995 when streamflows also were largest. During June, streamflow was large, but nitrogen concentrations were small, which indicated that snowmelt runoff diluted the available supply of nitrogen. Total phosphorus loads were largest in June, when streamflow and phosphorus concentrations were large, which indicated an additional source of phosphorus during snowmelt runoff. Streamflow along the South Platte River was smallest in April and August 1994, and nutrient loads also were smallest during these months. The downstream pattern for nutrient loads did not vary much by season. Loads were large at Henderson, decreased between Henderson and Kersey, and usually were largest at Kersey. The magnitude of the decrease in loads between Henderson and Kersey varied between synoptics and was dependent on the amount of water removed by irrigation ditches. Nutrient loads leaving the basin were very small compared to the estimated total nutrient inputs to the basin. Streamflow balances indicated that the South Platte River is a gaining river throughout much of its length; streamflow-balance residuals were as large as 15 cubic feet per second per mile. Nutrient-load balances indicated that increases in river nitrate loads were, in some places, due to nitrification and, elsewhere, were due to the influx of nitrate-enriched ground water to

Comparative facies formation in selected coal beds of the Powder River Basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stanton, R.W.; Moore, Timothy A.; Warwick, Peter D.; Crowley, S.S.; Flores, Romeo M.; Flores, Romeo M.; Warwick, Peter D.; Moore, Timothy A.; Glass, Gary; Smith, Archie; Nichols, Douglas J.; Wolfe, Jack A.; Stanton, Ronald W.; Weaver, Jean

1989-01-01

Petrologic studies of thick coal beds [Warwick, 1985; Moore, 1986; Moore and others, 1986; Moore and others, 1987; Warwick and Stanton, in press], which build on sedimentological interpretations [Flores, this volume] of associated units, provide data to interpret and contrast the varieties of peat formation in the Powder River Basin. Detailed analyses of the composition of coal beds lead to more complete interpretations regarding the depositional environment on a regional and local scale. Our efforts in the Powder River Basin [areas A-D in fig. 1 of Flores, this volume] have resulted in a series of site-specific studies that interpret the types of peat formation from the arrangement of different facies which comprise the coal beds and from the spatial form of the coal beds.Our approach was to use a combination of megascopic criteria for facies sampling, and where only core was available, to analyze many interval samples to discriminate facies by their maceral composition. Coal beds in the Powder River Basin are composed of laterally continuous, compositional subunits of the bed (facies) that can be discerned most easily in weathered highwall exposures, less readily in fresh highwalls, and very poorly in fresh-cut core surfaces. In general, very low ash ( 

Modeled effects of irrigation on surface climate in the Heihe River Basin, Northwest China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xuezhen; Xiong, Zhe; Tang, Qiuhong

2017-08-01

In Northwest China, water originates from the mountain area and is largely used for irrigation agriculture in the middle reaches. This study investigates the local and remote impact of irrigation on regional climate in the Heihe River Basin, the second largest inland river basin in Northwest China. An irrigation scheme was developed and incorporated into the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with the Noah-MP land surface scheme (WRF/Noah-MP). The effects of irrigation is assessed by comparing the model simulations with and without consideration of irrigation (hereafter, IRRG and NATU simulations, respectively) for five growth seasons (May to September) from 2009 to 2013. As consequences of irrigation, daily mean temperature decreased by 1.7°C and humidity increased by 2.3 g kg-1 (corresponding to 38.5%) over irrigated area. The temperature and humidity of IRRG simulation matched well with the observations, whereas NATU simulation overestimated temperature and underestimated humidity over irrigated area. The effects on temperature and humidity are generally small outside the irrigated area. The cooling and wetting effects have opposing impacts on convective precipitation, resulting in a negligible change in localized precipitation over irrigated area. However, irrigation may induce water vapor convergence and enhance precipitation remotely in the southeastern portion of the Heihe River Basin.

Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends (BEST) Program: Environmental contaminants, health indicators, and reproductive biomarkers in fish from the Mobile, Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint, Savannah, and Pee Dee River Basins

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hinck, Jo Ellen; Blazer, Vicki; Denslow, Nancy D.; Echols, Kathy R.; Gale, Robert W.; May, Tom W.; Claunch, Rachael; Wieser, Carla; Anderson, Patrick J.; Coyle, James J.; Gross, Timothy S.; Tillitt, Donald E.

2007-01-01

Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) and common carp (Cyprinus carpio) were collected from 13 sites in 4 river basins in the southeastern United States to document spatial trends in accumulative contaminants, health indicators, and reproductive biomarkers. Organochlorine residues, 2,3,7,8- tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin-like activity (TCDD-EQ), and elemental contaminants were measured in composite samples of whole fish, grouped by species and gender, from each site. Fish were field-examined for external and internal anomalies, selected organs were weighed to compute somatic indices, and tissue and fluid samples were preserved for fish health and reproductive biomarker analyses. Mercury concentrations in bass samples from all sites exceeded toxicity thresholds for mammals [>0.1 micrograms per gram wet weight (ug/g ww)], fish (>0.2 ug/g ww), and birds (>0.3 ug/g ww) and were greatest (>0.5 ug/g ww) in samples from the Alabama River at Eureka Landing, Alabama; the Mobile River at Bucks, Alabama; the Apalachicola River at Blountstown, Florida; the Savannah River at Sylvania, Georgia; and the Pee Dee River at Bucksport, South Carolina. Selenium concentrations were relatively high (>0.75 ug/g ww) in fish from the Tombigbee River at Lavaca, Alabama; the Mobile River at Bucks; and the Chattahoochee River at Omaha, Georgia compared to those from other sites. Concentrations of 2,2-bis (p-chlorophenyl)- 1,1-dichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE) were high in fish from the Chattahoochee River at Omaha and the Mobile River near Bucks, which was near a 2,2-bis (p-chlorophenyl)-1,1- dichloroethylene (DDT) formulating facility that historically discharged into the lower Mobile River. Toxaphene concentrations in fish from the Flint River near Albany, Georgia (60-100 nanograms per gram (ng/g) ww) may pose a risk to fish. Concentrations of other formerly used (total chlordanes, dieldrin, endrin, aldrin, mirex, and hexachlorobenzene) and currently used (pentachlorobenzene, pentachloroanisole, dacthal, endosulfan, y-HCH, and methoxychlor) organochlorine residues generally were low or did not exceed toxicity thresholds. Total polychlorinated biphenyls concentrations in samples from the Coosa River at Childersburg, Alabama; the Apalachicola River at Omaha; the Apalachicola River at Blountstown; and the Pee Dee River at Bucksport were >480 ng/g ww and may be a risk to piscivorous wildlife. Dioxin-like activity as measured by TCDD-EQ was greatest [>10 picograms per gram (pg/g)] in male fish from the Coosa River at Childersburg and the Mobile River at Bucks. Hepatic ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase activity generally was greatest in carp from the Mobile River Basin [means >10 picomols per minute per milligram of protein (pmol/min/mg)] and in bass from the Tombigbee River at Lavaca and Pee Dee River at Pee Dee, South Carolina (means >65 pmol/min/mg). Altered biomarkers were noted in fish from all basins. The field necropsy and histopathological examination determined that fish from the Mobile River Basin generally were in poorer health than those from the other basins. In bass, health assessment index scores were correlated with mercury and p,p'-DDE concentrations. High health assessment index scores in Mobile River Basin fish were widespread and caused primarily by parasitic infestations, which were most severe in fish from the Tombigbee River at Lavaca and the Alabama River at Eureka Landing. Tumors were present in few fish (n = 5; 0.01%). Ovarian tumors of the same origin (smooth muscle) were present in two older carp from the Chattahoochee River near Omaha, Georgia and may be contaminant related. Reproductive biomarkers including gonadosomatic index, vitellogenin concentrations, and steroid hormone concentrations were anomalous in fish from various sites but were not consistently related to any particular chemical contaminant. Intersex gonads were identified in 47 male bass (42%) representing 12 sites and may indicate exposure to endocrine disrupting comp

Hack's relation and optimal channel networks: The elongation of river basins as a consequence of energy minimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ijjasz-Vasquez, Ede J.; Bras, Rafael L.; Rodriguez-Iturbe, Ignacio

1993-08-01

As pointed by Hack (1957), river basins tend to become longer and narrower as their size increases. This work shows that this property may be partially regarded as the consequence of competition and minimization of energy expenditure in river basins.

18 CFR 701.209 - River basin commissions and field committees.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false River basin commissions and field committees. 701.209 Section 701.209 Conservation of Power and Water Resources WATER... field committees. (a) River basin commissions established pursuant to Title II of the Water Resources...

18 CFR 701.209 - River basin commissions and field committees.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 2 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false River basin commissions and field committees. 701.209 Section 701.209 Conservation of Power and Water Resources WATER... field committees. (a) River basin commissions established pursuant to Title II of the Water Resources...

18 CFR 701.209 - River basin commissions and field committees.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 2 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false River basin commissions and field committees. 701.209 Section 701.209 Conservation of Power and Water Resources WATER... field committees. (a) River basin commissions established pursuant to Title II of the Water Resources...

18 CFR 701.209 - River basin commissions and field committees.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 2 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false River basin commissions and field committees. 701.209 Section 701.209 Conservation of Power and Water Resources WATER... field committees. (a) River basin commissions established pursuant to Title II of the Water Resources...

18 CFR 701.209 - River basin commissions and field committees.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 2 2013-04-01 2012-04-01 true River basin commissions and field committees. 701.209 Section 701.209 Conservation of Power and Water Resources WATER... field committees. (a) River basin commissions established pursuant to Title II of the Water Resources...

Source apportionment of heavy metals and their ecological risk in a tropical river basin system.

PubMed

Kumar, Balwant; Singh, Umesh Kumar

2018-06-27

Surface water and sediment samples were collected from Ajay River basin to appraise the behavior of heavy metals with surrounding environments and their inter-elemental relationships. Parameters like pH and organic carbon are having a minimal role in heavy metal distribution while some elements like Fe and Cu showed great affinity for organic matter based on linear regression analysis (LRA). Ficklin diagram justified that river basin is not contaminated through acidic pollutants. The river basin is highly enriched with Cu, Cd, Pb, and Ni which were much higher than world average values, average shale standard, effect range low (ERL), and threshold effect level (TEL). PCA and LRA verified that Cu, Cd, Pb, and Ni were mainly derived from anthropogenic inputs, and others like Fe, Mn, Zn, and Co came from geogenic sources. Pollution indices revealed that river basin is moderately to highly contaminated by Cu, Cd, and Ni. Furthermore, Ajay River basin is under strong potential ecological risk based on the obtained value of risk index and probable effect level/effect range median quotient index. However, river basin is strongly influenced by lithological properties, diversified hydrogeological settings, mineralization and mobilization of subsurface materials, and urban and industrial effluents which are controlling the heavy metals.

Challenges of river basin management: Current status of, and prospects for, the River Danube from a river engineering perspective.

PubMed

Habersack, Helmut; Hein, Thomas; Stanica, Adrian; Liska, Igor; Mair, Raimund; Jäger, Elisabeth; Hauer, Christoph; Bradley, Chris

2016-02-01

In the Danube River Basin multiple pressures affect the river system as a consequence of river engineering works, altering both the river hydrodynamics and morphodynamics. The main objective of this paper is to identify the effects of hydropower development, flood protection and engineering works for navigation on the Danube and to examine specific impacts of these developments on sediment transport and river morphology. Whereas impoundments are characterised by deposition and an excess of sediment with remobilisation of fine sediments during severe floods, the remaining five free flowing sections of the Danube are experiencing river bed erosion of the order of several centimetres per year. Besides the effect of interruption of the sediment continuum, river bed degradation is caused by an increase in the sediment transport capacity following an increase in slope, a reduction of river bed width due to canalisation, prohibition of bank erosion by riprap or regressive erosion following base level lowering by flood protection measures and sediment dredging. As a consequence, the groundwater table is lowered, side-arms are disconnected, instream structures are lost and habitat quality deteriorates affecting the ecological status of valuable floodplains. The lack of sediments, together with cutting off meanders, leads also to erosion of the bed of main arms in the Danube Delta and coastal erosion. This paper details the causes and effects of river engineering measures and hydromorphological changes for the Danube. It highlights the importance of adopting a basin-wide holistic approach to river management and demonstrates that past management in the basin has been characterised by a lack of integration. To-date insufficient attention has been paid to the wide-ranging impacts of river engineering works throughout the basin: from the basin headwaters to the Danube Delta, on the Black Sea coast. This highlights the importance of new initiatives that seek to advance knowledge exchange and knowledge transfer within the basin to reach the goal of integrated basin management. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessment of in-place oil shale resources of the Green River Formation, Greater Green River Basin in Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, R.C.; Mercier, T.J.; Brownfield, M.E.

2011-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently (2011) completed an assessment of in-place oil shale resources, regardless of grade, in the Eocene Green River Formation of the Greater Green River Basin in southwestern Wyoming, northwestern Colorado, and northeastern Utah. Green River Formation oil shale also is present in the Piceance Basin of western Colorado and in the Uinta Basin of eastern Utah and western Colorado, and the results of these assessments are published separately. No attempt was made to estimate the amount of oil that is economically recoverable because there has not yet been an economic method developed to recover the oil from Green River Formation oil shale.

Review of rare earth element concentrations in oil shales of the Eocene Green River Formation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Birdwell, Justin E.

2012-01-01

Concentrations of the lanthanide series or rare earth elements and yttrium were determined for lacustrine oil shale samples from the Eocene Green River Formation in the Piceance Basin of Colorado and the Uinta Basin of Utah. Unprocessed oil shale, post-pyrolysis (spent) shale, and leached shale samples were examined to determine if oil-shale processing to generate oil or the remediation of retorted shale affects rare earth element concentrations. Results for unprocessed Green River oil shale samples were compared to data published in the literature on reference materials, such as chondritic meteorites, the North American shale composite, marine oil shale samples from two sites in northern Tibet, and mined rare earth element ores from the United States and China. The Green River oil shales had lower rare earth element concentrations (66.3 to 141.3 micrograms per gram, μg g-1) than are typical of material in the upper crust (approximately 170 μg g-1) and were also lower in rare earth elements relative to the North American shale composite (approximately 165 μg g-1). Adjusting for dilution of rare earth elements by organic matter does not account for the total difference between the oil shales and other crustal rocks. Europium anomalies for Green River oil shales from the Piceance Basin were slightly lower than those reported for the North American shale composite and upper crust. When compared to ores currently mined for rare earth elements, the concentrations in Green River oil shales are several orders of magnitude lower. Retorting Green River oil shales led to a slight enrichment of rare earth elements due to removal of organic matter. When concentrations in spent and leached samples were normalized to an original rock basis, concentrations were comparable to those of the raw shale, indicating that rare earth elements are conserved in processed oil shales.

The influence of reservoirs, climate, land use and hydrologic conditions on loads and chemical quality of dissolved organic carbon in the Colorado River

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miller, Matthew P.

2012-01-01

Longitudinal patterns in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) loads and chemical quality were identified in the Colorado River from the headwaters in the Rocky Mountains to the United States-Mexico border from 1994 to 2011. Watershed- and reach-scale climate, land use, river discharge and hydrologic modification conditions that contribute to patterns in DOC were also identified. Principal components analysis (PCA) identified site-specific precipitation and reach-scale discharge as being correlated with sites in the upper basin, where there were increases in DOC load from the upstream to downstream direction. In the lower basin, where DOC load decreased from upstream to downstream, sites were correlated with site-specific temperature and reach-scale population, urban land use and hydrologic modification. In the reaches containing Lakes Powell and Mead, the two largest reservoirs in the United States, DOC quantity decreased, terrestrially derived aromatic DOC was degraded and/or autochthonous less aromatic DOC was produced. Taken together, these results suggest that longitudinal patterns in the relatively unregulated upper basin are influenced by watershed inputs of water and DOC, whereas DOC patterns in the lower basin are reflective of a balance between watershed contribution of water and DOC to the river and loss of water and DOC due to hydrologic modification and/or biogeochemical processes. These findings suggest that alteration of constituent fluxes in rivers that are highly regulated may overshadow watershed processes that would control fluxes in comparable unregulated rivers. Further, these results provide a foundation for detailed assessments of factors controlling the transport and chemical quality of DOC in the Colorado River.

Hydrogeology of the West Branch Delaware River basin, Delaware County, New York

USGS Publications Warehouse

Reynolds, Richard J.

2013-01-01

In 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, began a study of the hydrogeology of the West Branch Delaware River (Cannonsville Reservoir) watershed. There has been recent interest by energy companies in developing the natural gas reserves that are trapped within the Marcellus Shale, which is part of the Hamilton Group of Devonian age that underlies all the West Branch Delaware River Basin. Knowing the extent and thickness of stratified-drift (sand and gravel) aquifers within this basin can help State and Federal regulatory agencies evaluate any effects on these aquifers that gas-well drilling might produce. This report describes the hydrogeology of the 455-square-mile basin in the southwestern Catskill Mountain region of southeastern New York and includes a detailed surficial geologic map of the basin. Analysis of surficial geologic data indicates that the most widespread surficial geologic unit within the basin is till, which is present as deposits of ablation till in major stream valleys and as thick deposits of lodgment till that fill upland basins. Till and colluvium (remobilized till) cover about 89 percent of the West Branch Delaware River Basin, whereas stratified drift (outwash and ice-contact deposits) and alluvium account for 8.9 percent. The Cannonsville Reservoir occupies about 1.9 percent of the basin area. Large areas of outwash and ice-contact deposits occupy the West Branch Delaware River valley along its entire length. These deposits form a stratified-drift aquifer that ranges in thickness from 40 to 50 feet (ft) in the upper West Branch Delaware River valley, from 70 to 140 ft in the middle West Branch Delaware River valley, and from 60 to 70 ft in the lower West Branch Delaware River valley. The gas-bearing Marcellus Shale underlies the entire West Branch Delaware River Basin and ranges in thickness from 600 to 650 ft along the northern divide of the basin to 750 ft thick along the southern divide. The depth to the top of the Marcellus Shale ranges from 3,240 ft along the northern basin divide to 4,150 ft along the southern basin divide. Yields of wells completed in the aquifer are as high as 500 gallons per minute (gal/min). Springs from fractured sandstone bedrock are an important source of domestic and small municipal water supplies in the West Branch Delaware River Basin and elsewhere in Delaware County. The average yield of 178 springs in Delaware County is 8.5 gal/min with a median yield of 3 gal/min. An analysis of two low-flow statistics indicates that groundwater contributions from fractured bedrock compose a significant part of the base flow of the West Branch Delaware River and its tributaries.

River Networks and Human Activities: Global Fractal Analysis Using Nightlight Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCurley, K. 4553; Fang, Y.; Ceola, S.; Paik, K.; McGrath, G. S.; Montanari, A.; Rao, P. S.; Jawitz, J. W.

2016-12-01

River networks hold an important historical role in affecting human population distribution. In this study, we link the geomorphological structure of river networks to the pattern of human activities at a global scale. We use nightlights as a valuable proxy for the presence of human settlements and economic activity, and we employ HydroSHEDS as the main data source on river networks. We test the hypotheses that, analogous to Horton's laws, human activities (magnitude of nightlights) also show scaling relationship with stream order, and that the intensity of human activities decrease as the distance from the basin outlet increase. Our results demonstrate that the distribution of human activities shows a fractal structure, with power-law scaling between human activities and stream order. This relationship is robust among global river basins. Human activities are more concentrated in larger order basins, but show large variation in equivalent order basins, with higher population density emergent in the basins connected with high-order rivers. For all global river basins longer than 400km, the average intensity of human activities decrease as the distance to the outlets increases, albeit with signatures of large cities at varied distances. The power spectrum of human width (area) function is found to exhibit power law scaling, with a scaling exponent that indicates enrichment of low frequency variation. The universal fractal structure of human activities may reflect an optimum arrangement for humans in river basins to better utilize the water resources, ecological assets, and geographic advantages. The generalized patterns of human activities could be applied to better understand hydrologic and biogeochemical responses in river basins, and to advance catchment management.

A systematic overview of the coincidences of river sinuosity changes and tectonically active structures in the Pannonian Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrovszki, Judit; Székely, Balázs; Timár, Gábor

2012-12-01

As tectonic movements change the valley slope (low-gradient reaches of valleys, in sedimentary basins), the alluvial rivers, as sensitive indicators, respond to these changes, by varying their courses to accommodate this forcing. In our study sinuosity values, a commonly used characteristic parameter to detect river pattern changes, were studied for the major rivers in the Pannonian Basin in order to reveal neotectonic influence on their planform shape. Our study area comprises the entire Pannonian Basin (330,000 km2) located in eastern Central-Europe, bounded by the Alps, Carpathians and Dinarides. The studied rivers were mostly in their natural meandering state before the main river regulations of the 19th century. The last quasi-natural, non-regulated river planforms were surveyed somewhat earlier, during the Second Military Survey of the Habsburg Empire. Using the digitized river sections of that survey, the sinuosities of the rivers were calculated with different sample section sizes ranging from 5 km to 80 km. Depending on the bank-full discharge, also a 'most representative' section size is given, which can be connected to the neotectonic activity. In total, the meandering reaches of 28 rivers were studied; their combined length is 7406 km. The places where the river sinuosity changed were compared to the structural lines of the "Atlas of the present-day geodynamics of the Pannonian Basin" (Horváth et al., 2006). 36 junctions along 26 structural lines were identified where the fault lines of this neotectonic map crossed the rivers. Across these points the mean sinuosity changed. Depending on the direction of the relative vertical movements, the sinuosity values increased or decreased. There were some points, where the sinuosity changed in an opposite way. Along these sections, the rivers belong to the range of unorganized meandering or there are lithological margins. Assuming that the rivers indicate on-going faulting accurately, some places were found, where positioning of the faults of the neotectonic map could be improved according to the sinuosity jumps. However, some significant sinuosity changes cannot be correlated to known faults. In these cases other factors may play a role (e.g., hydrological changes, increase of sediment discharge also can modify sinuosity). In order to clarify the origin of these changes seismic sections and other geodynamical information should be analyzed to prove or disprove tectonic relationship if hydrological reasons can be excluded.

Reproductive Ecology of Yakima River Hatchery and Wild Spring Chinook; Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project Monitoring and Evaluation, 2001-2002 Annual Report.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Knudsen, Curtis M.

2003-05-01

This report is intended to satisfy two concurrent needs: (1) provide a contract deliverable from Oncorh Consulting to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), with emphasis on identification of salient results of value to ongoing Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project (YKFP) planning, and (2) summarize results of research that have broader scientific relevance. This is the second in a series of reports that address reproductive ecological research and monitoring of spring chinook in the Yakima River basin. In addition to within-year comparisons, between-year comparisons will be made to determine if traits of the wild Naches basin control population, the naturallymore » spawning population in the upper Yakima River and the hatchery control population are diverging over time. This annual report summarizes data collected between April 1, 2002 and March 31, 2003. In the future, these data will be compared to previous years to identify general trends and make preliminary comparisons. Supplementation success in the Yakima Klickitat Fishery Project's (YKFP) spring chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) program is defined as increasing natural production and harvest opportunities, while keeping adverse ecological interactions and genetic impacts within acceptable bounds (Busack et al. 1997). Within this context demographics, phenotypic traits, and reproductive ecology have significance because they directly affect natural productivity. In addition, significant changes in locally adapted traits due to hatchery influence, i.e. domestication, would likely be maladaptive resulting in reduced population productivity and fitness (Taylor 1991; Hard 1995). Thus, there is a need to study demographic and phenotypic traits in the YKFP in order to understand hatchery and wild population productivity, reproductive ecology, and the effects of domestication (Busack et al. 1997). Tracking trends in these traits over time is also a critical aspect of domestication monitoring (Busack et al. 2002) to determine whether trait changes have a genetic component and, if so, are they within acceptable limits. Each chapter of this report deals with monitoring phenotypic and demographic traits of Yakima River basin spring chinook comparing hatchery and wild returns in 2002; the second year of adult hatchery returns. The first chapter deals specifically with adult traits of American River, Naches basin (excluding the American River), and upper Yakima River spring chinook, excluding gametes. The second chapter examines the gametic traits and progeny produced by upper Yakima River wild and hatchery origin fish. In the third chapter, we describe work begun initially in 2002 to characterize and compare redds of naturally spawning wild and hatchery fish in the upper Yakima River.« less

Modeling of soil erosion and sediment transport in the East River Basin in southern China

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wu, Yping; Chen, Ji

2012-01-01

Soil erosion is a major global environmental problem that has caused many issues involving land degradation, sedimentation of waterways, ecological degradation, and nonpoint source pollution. Therefore, it is significant to understand the processes of soil erosion and sediment transport along rivers, and this can help identify the erosion prone areas and find potential measures to alleviate the environmental effects. In this study, we investigated soil erosion and identified the most seriously eroded areas in the East River Basin in southern China using a physically-based model, Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). We also introduced a classical sediment transport method (Zhang) into SWAT and compared it with the built-in Bagnold method in simulating sediment transport process along the river. The derived spatial soil erosion map and land use based erosion levels can explicitly illustrate the identification and prioritization of the critical soil erosion areas in this basin. Our results also indicate that erosion is quite sensitive to soil properties and slope. Comparison of Bagnold and Zhang methods shows that the latter can give an overall better performance especially in tracking the peak and low sediment concentrations along the river. We also found that the East River is mainly characterized by sediment deposition in most of the segments and at most times of a year. Overall, the results presented in this paper can provide decision support for watershed managers about where the best management practices (conservation measures) can be implemented effectively and at low cost. The methods we used in this study can also be of interest in sediment modeling for other basins worldwide.

Using remotely sensed imagery to estimate potential annual pollutant loads in river basins.

PubMed

He, Bin; Oki, Kazuo; Wang, Yi; Oki, Taikan

2009-01-01

Land cover changes around river basins have caused serious environmental degradation in global surface water areas, in which the direct monitoring and numerical modeling is inherently difficult. Prediction of pollutant loads is therefore crucial to river environmental management under the impact of climate change and intensified human activities. This research analyzed the relationship between land cover types estimated from NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) imagery and the potential annual pollutant loads of river basins in Japan. Then an empirical approach, which estimates annual pollutant loads directly from satellite imagery and hydrological data, was investigated. Six water quality indicators were examined, including total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), suspended sediment (SS), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), and Dissolved Oxygen (DO). The pollutant loads of TN, TP, SS, BOD, COD, and DO were then estimated for 30 river basins in Japan. Results show that the proposed simulation technique can be used to predict the pollutant loads of river basins in Japan. These results may be useful in establishing total maximum annual pollutant loads and developing best management strategies for surface water pollution at river basin scale.

Substantial inorganic carbon sink in closed drainage basins globally

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yu; Zhang, Chengqi; Wang, Naiang; Han, Qin; Zhang, Xinzhong; Liu, Yuan; Xu, Lingmei; Ye, Wangting

2017-07-01

Arid and semi-arid ecosystems are increasingly recognized as important carbon storage sites. In these regions, extensive sequestration of dissolved inorganic carbon can occur in the terminal lakes of endorheic basins--basins that do not drain to external bodies of water. However, the global magnitude of this dissolved inorganic carbon sink is uncertain. Here we present isotopic, radiocarbon, and chemical analyses of groundwater, river water, and sediments from the terminal region of the endorheic Shiyang River drainage basin, in arid northwest China. We estimate that 0.13 Pg of dissolved inorganic carbon was stored in the basin during the mid-Holocene. Pollen-based reconstructions of basin-scale productivity suggest that the mid-Holocene dissolved inorganic carbon sink was two orders of magnitude smaller than terrestrial productivity in the basin. We use estimates of dissolved inorganic carbon storage based on sedimentary data from 11 terminal lakes of endorheic basins around the world as the basis for a global extrapolation of the sequestration of dissolved organic carbon in endorheic basins. We estimate that 0.152 Pg of dissolved inorganic carbon is buried per year today, compared to about 0.211 Pg C yr-1 during the mid-Holocene. We conclude that endorheic basins represent an important carbon sink on the global scale, with a magnitude similar to deep ocean carbon burial.

Evolution of Holocene tidal systems along the Dutch coast: effects of rivers, coastal boundary conditions, eco-engineering species, inherited relief and human interference

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haas, T. D.; Pierik, H. J.; van der Spek, A.; Cohen, K.; van Maanen, B.; Kleinhans, M. G.

2016-12-01

Estuaries and tidal basins are partly enclosed coastal bodies of water with a free connection to the open sea at their tidal inlet and with no to marginal riverine input (tidal basins) or substantial riverine input (estuaries). Their tidal inlets can only remain open over Holocene timescales when (1) the formation of accommodation space exceeds infilling or (2) the inlet system is in dynamic equilibrium (sediment input equals output). Physical and numerical modelling suggest that estuaries and tidal basins develop toward a dynamic equilibrium under constant boundary conditions and remain open over long timescales, whereas many natural estuaries and tidal basins have filled up and were closed off or became deltas during the Holocene. This raises the question if and how tidal inlets can remain open over long timescales? And what is the effect of river inflow and sediment supply thereon? Here we compare the Holocene evolution of tidal systems along the Dutch coast to empirically identify the most important factors that control their long-term evolution. Along the coast of the Netherlands estuaries and tidal basins were formed during the middle Holocene driven by rapid relative sea-level rise and during the late Holocene driven by natural and human-induced subsidence in coastal plain peatlands. During the Holocene tidal inlets connected to rivers (estuaries) were able to persist and attain dynamic equilibrium while tidal basins without or with a very marginal riverine inflow were unstable and closed off under abundant sediment supply. There are many examples of long-lived tidal inlets that rapidly closed off after upstream river avulsion leading to a decrease and finally loss of riverine input. Long-term net import of sediment from the sea into Dutch tidal basins is favoured by strong, flood-dominated, tidal asymmetry along the Dutch coast, the shallow sand-rich floor of the North Sea and the abundance of mud in the coastal area supplied by the Rhine and Meuse rivers. While sandy tidal basins may obtain dynamic equilibrium and remain open over long timescales, we hypothesize that an abundance of mud and eco-engineering species often culminates in continuous basin filling with fine sediment and the growth of intertidal and supratidal areas, eventually resulting in closure of the basin.

Simulating floods in the Amazon River Basin: Impacts of new river geomorphic and dynamic flow parameterizations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coe, M. T.; Costa, M. H.; Howard, E. A.

2006-12-01

In this paper we analyze the hydrology of the Amazon River system for the latter half of the 20th century with our recently completed model of terrestrial hydrology (Terrestrial Hydrology Model with Biogeochemistry, THMB). We evaluate the simulated hydrology of the Central Amazon basin against limited observations of river discharge, floodplain inundation, and water height and analyze the spatial and temporal variability of the hydrology for the period 1939-1998. We compare the simulated discharge and floodplain inundated area to the simulations by Coe et al., 2002 using a previous version of this model. The new model simulates the discharge and flooded area in better agreement with the observations than the previous model. The coefficient of correlation between the simulated and observed discharge for the greater than 27000 monthly observations of discharge at 120 sites throughout the Brazilian Amazon is 0.9874 compared to 0.9744 for the previous model. The coefficient of correlation between the simulated monthly flooded area and the satellite-based estimates by Sippel et al., 1998 exceeds 0.7 for 8 of the 12 mainstem reaches. The seasonal and inter-annual variability of the water height and the river slope compares favorably to the satellite altimetric measurements of height reported by Birkett et al., 2002.

Geographic Information System and Geoportal «River basins of the European Russia»

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yermolaev, O. P.; Mukharamova, S. S.; Maltsev, K. A.; Ivanov, M. A.; Ermolaeva, P. O.; Gayazov, A. I.; Mozzherin, V. V.; Kharchenko, S. V.; Marinina, O. A.; Lisetskii, F. N.

2018-01-01

Geographic Information System (GIS) and Geoportal with open access «River basins of the European Russia» were implemented. GIS and Geoportal are based on the map of basins of small rivers of the European Russia with information about natural and anthropogenic characteristics, namely geomorphometry of basins relief; climatic parameters, representing averages, variation, seasonal variation, extreme values of temperature and precipitation; land cover types; soil characteristics; type and subtype of landscape; population density. The GIS includes results of spatial analysis and modelling, in particular, assessment of anthropogenic impact on river basins; evaluation of water runoff and sediment runoff; climatic, geomorphological and landscape zoning for the European part of Russia.

18 CFR 706.413 - Submission of statements by River Basin Commission Chairmen.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... Financial Interests § 706.413 Submission of statements by River Basin Commission Chairmen. A statement of employment and financial interest is not required under this part from Chairmen of River Basin Commissions created by the President pursuant to Title II of the U.S. Water Resources Planning Act. The Commission...

Rivers Run Through It: Discovering the Interior Columbia River Basin.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Shelley; Wojtanik, Brenda Lincoln; Rieben, Elizabeth

1998-01-01

Explores the Columbia River Basin, its ecosystems, and challenges faced by natural resource managers. By studying the basin's complexity, students can learn about common scientific concepts such as the power of water and effects of rain shadows. Students can also explore social-scientific issues such as conflicts between protecting salmon runs and…

Landscape Based Modeling of Nonpoint Source Nitrogen Loading in the Neuse River Basin, North Carolina

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Garten, C.T.

2001-01-11

The objective of this research was to arrive at a quantitative and qualitative assessment of nonpoint sources of potential excess N under different land use/land cover (LULC) categories in the Neuse River Basin on a seasonal time scale. This assessment is being supplied to EPA's Landscape Characterization Branch, National Exposure Research Laboratory, in Research Triangle Park, NC, for inclusion in a hydrologic model to predict seasonal fluxes of N from the terrestrial landscape to surface receiving waters and groundwater in the Neuse River Basin. The analysis was performed in the following five steps: (1) development of a conceptual model tomore » predict potential excess N on land, (2) a literature review to parameterize N fluxes under LULC categories found in the Neuse River Basin, (3) acquisition of high resolution (15-m pixel) LULC data from EPA's Landscape Characterization Branch, National Exposure Research Laboratory, in Research Triangle Park, NC, (4) acquisition of a soil N inventory map for the Neuse River Basin, (5) calculations of potential excess N on a seasonal basis for the entire Neuse River Basin.« less

Digital Earth system based river basin data integration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xin; Li, Wanqing; Lin, Chao

2014-12-01

Digital Earth is an integrated approach to build scientific infrastructure. The Digital Earth systems provide a three-dimensional visualization and integration platform for river basin data which include the management data, in situ observation data, remote sensing observation data and model output data. This paper studies the Digital Earth system based river basin data integration technology. Firstly, the construction of the Digital Earth based three-dimensional river basin data integration environment is discussed. Then the river basin management data integration technology is presented which is realized by general database access interface, web service and ActiveX control. Thirdly, the in situ data stored in database tables as records integration is realized with three-dimensional model of the corresponding observation apparatus display in the Digital Earth system by a same ID code. In the next two parts, the remote sensing data and the model output data integration technologies are discussed in detail. The application in the Digital Zhang River basin System of China shows that the method can effectively improve the using efficiency and visualization effect of the data.

Modeling the contribution of point sources and non-point sources to Thachin River water pollution.

PubMed

Schaffner, Monika; Bader, Hans-Peter; Scheidegger, Ruth

2009-08-15

Major rivers in developing and emerging countries suffer increasingly of severe degradation of water quality. The current study uses a mathematical Material Flow Analysis (MMFA) as a complementary approach to address the degradation of river water quality due to nutrient pollution in the Thachin River Basin in Central Thailand. This paper gives an overview of the origins and flow paths of the various point- and non-point pollution sources in the Thachin River Basin (in terms of nitrogen and phosphorus) and quantifies their relative importance within the system. The key parameters influencing the main nutrient flows are determined and possible mitigation measures discussed. The results show that aquaculture (as a point source) and rice farming (as a non-point source) are the key nutrient sources in the Thachin River Basin. Other point sources such as pig farms, households and industries, which were previously cited as the most relevant pollution sources in terms of organic pollution, play less significant roles in comparison. This order of importance shifts when considering the model results for the provincial level. Crosschecks with secondary data and field studies confirm the plausibility of our simulations. Specific nutrient loads for the pollution sources are derived; these can be used for a first broad quantification of nutrient pollution in comparable river basins. Based on an identification of the sensitive model parameters, possible mitigation scenarios are determined and their potential to reduce the nutrient load evaluated. A comparison of simulated nutrient loads with measured nutrient concentrations shows that nutrient retention in the river system may be significant. Sedimentation in the slow flowing surface water network as well as nitrogen emission to the air from the warm oxygen deficient waters are certainly partly responsible, but also wetlands along the river banks could play an important role as nutrient sinks.

Modelling Atmospheric Rivers and the Potential for Southeast Texas Flooding: A Case Study of the Maya Express and the March 2016 Sabine River Flood

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McIntosh, J.; Lander, K.

2016-12-01

For three days in March of 2016, southeast Texas was inundated with up to 19 inches of rainfall, swelling the Sabine River to record flood stages. This event was attributed to an atmospheric river (AR), regionally known as the "Maya Express," which carried moisture from the Gulf of Mexico into the Sabine River Basin. Studies by the NOAA/NWS Climate Prediction Center have shown that ARs are occurring more frequently due to the intensification of El Niño that increases the available moisture in the atmosphere. In this study, we analyzed the hydrological and meteorological setup of the event on the Sabine River to characterize the flood threat associated with AR rainfall and simulated how an equivalent AR event would impact an urban basin in Houston, Texas. Our primary data sources included WSR-88D radar-based rainfall estimates and observed data at USGS river gauges. Furthermore, the land surface parameters evaluated included land cover, soil types, basin topology, model-derived soil moisture states, and topography. The spatial distribution of precipitation from the storm was then translated west over the Houston and used to force a hydrologic model to assess the impact of an event comparable to the March 2016 event on Houston's San Jacinto River Basin. The results indicate that AR precipitation poses a flood risk to urbanized areas in southeast Texas because of the low lying topography, impervious pavement, and limited flood control. Due to this hydrologic setup, intense AR rainfall can yield a rapid urban runoff response that overwhelms the river system, potentially endangering the lives and property of millions of people in the Houston area. Ultimately, if the frequency of AR development increases, regional flood potential may increase. Given the consequences established in this study, more research should be conducted in order to better predict the rate of recurrence and effects of Maya Express generated precipitation.

Potential relationships between the river discharge and the precipitation in the Jinsha River basin, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Gaoxu; Zeng, Xiaofan; Zhao, Na; He, Qifang; Bai, Yiran; Zhang, Ruoyu

2018-02-01

The relationships between the river discharge and the precipitation in the Jinsha River basin are discussed in this study. In addition, the future precipitation trend from 2011-2050 and its potential influence on the river discharge are analysed by applying the CCLM-modelled precipitation. According to the observed river discharge and precipitation, the annual river discharge at the two main hydrological stations displays good correlations with the annual precipitation in the Jinsha River basin. The predicted future precipitation tends to change similarly as the change that occurred during the observation period, whereas the monthly distributions over a year could be more uneven, which is unfavourable for water resources management.

Data-driven modeling of background and mine-related acidity and metals in river basins

USGS Publications Warehouse

Friedel, Michael J

2013-01-01

A novel application of self-organizing map (SOM) and multivariate statistical techniques is used to model the nonlinear interaction among basin mineral-resources, mining activity, and surface-water quality. First, the SOM is trained using sparse measurements from 228 sample sites in the Animas River Basin, Colorado. The model performance is validated by comparing stochastic predictions of basin-alteration assemblages and mining activity at 104 independent sites. The SOM correctly predicts (>98%) the predominant type of basin hydrothermal alteration and presence (or absence) of mining activity. Second, application of the Davies–Bouldin criteria to k-means clustering of SOM neurons identified ten unique environmental groups. Median statistics of these groups define a nonlinear water-quality response along the spatiotemporal hydrothermal alteration-mining gradient. These results reveal that it is possible to differentiate among the continuum between inputs of background and mine-related acidity and metals, and it provides a basis for future research and empirical model development.

Water - Essential Resource of the Southern Flint River Basin, Georgia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Warner, Debbie; Norton, Virgil

2004-01-01

Introduction Abundant water resources of the Flint River Basin have played a major role in the history and development of southwestern Georgia. The Flint River-along with its tributaries, wetlands, and swamps-and the productive aquifers of the river basin are essential components of the area's diverse ecosystems. These resources also are necessary for sustained agricultural, industrial, and municipal activities. Increasing, and in some cases conflicting, demand for water makes careful monitoring and wise planning and management of southwestern Georgia's water resources critical to the ecological and economic future of the area. This poster presents the major issues associated with increasing competition for water resources in the southern Flint River Basin.

Testing conceptual and physically based soil hydrology schemes against observations for the Amazon Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guimberteau, M.; Ducharne, A.; Ciais, P.; Boisier, J. P.; Peng, S.; De Weirdt, M.; Verbeeck, H.

2014-06-01

This study analyzes the performance of the two soil hydrology schemes of the land surface model ORCHIDEE in estimating Amazonian hydrology and phenology for five major sub-basins (Xingu, Tapajós, Madeira, Solimões and Negro), during the 29-year period 1980-2008. A simple 2-layer scheme with a bucket topped by an evaporative layer is compared to an 11-layer diffusion scheme. The soil schemes are coupled with a river routing module and a process model of plant physiology, phenology and carbon dynamics. The simulated water budget and vegetation functioning components are compared with several data sets at sub-basin scale. The use of the 11-layer soil diffusion scheme does not significantly change the Amazonian water budget simulation when compared to the 2-layer soil scheme (+3.1 and -3.0% in evapotranspiration and river discharge, respectively). However, the higher water-holding capacity of the soil and the physically based representation of runoff and drainage in the 11-layer soil diffusion scheme result in more dynamic soil water storage variation and improved simulation of the total terrestrial water storage when compared to GRACE satellite estimates. The greater soil water storage within the 11-layer scheme also results in increased dry-season evapotranspiration (+0.5 mm d-1, +17%) and improves river discharge simulation in the southeastern sub-basins such as the Xingu. Evapotranspiration over this sub-basin is sustained during the whole dry season with the 11-layer soil diffusion scheme, whereas the 2-layer scheme limits it after only 2 dry months. Lower plant drought stress simulated by the 11-layer soil diffusion scheme leads to better simulation of the seasonal cycle of photosynthesis (GPP) when compared to a GPP data-driven model based on eddy covariance and satellite greenness measurements. A dry-season length between 4 and 7 months over the entire Amazon Basin is found to be critical in distinguishing differences in hydrological feedbacks between the soil and the vegetation cover simulated by the two soil schemes. On average, the multilayer soil diffusion scheme provides little improvement in simulated hydrology over the wet tropical Amazonian sub-basins, but a more significant improvement is found over the drier sub-basins. The use of a multilayer soil diffusion scheme might become critical for assessments of future hydrological changes, especially in southern regions of the Amazon Basin where longer dry seasons and more severe droughts are expected in the next century.

Nutrient mass balance and trends, Mobile River Basin, Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi

USGS Publications Warehouse

Harned, D.A.; Atkins, J.B.; Harvill, J.S.

2004-01-01

A nutrient mass balance - accounting for nutrient inputs from atmospheric deposition, fertilizer, crop nitrogen fixation, and point source effluents; and nutrient outputs, including crop harvest and storage - was calculated for 18 subbasins in the Mobile River Basin, and trends (1970 to 1997) were evaluated as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. Agricultural nonpoint nitrogen and phosphorus sources and urban nonpoint nitrogen sources are the most important factors associated with nutrients in this system. More than 30 percent of nitrogen yield in two basins and phosphorus yield in eight basins can be attributed to urban point source nutrient inputs. The total nitrogen yield (1.3 tons per square mile per year) for the Tombigbee River, which drains a greater percentage of agricultural (row crop) land use, was larger than the total nitrogen yield (0.99 tons per square mile per year) for the Alabama River. Decreasing trends of total nitrogen concentrations in the Tombigbee and Alabama Rivers indicate that a reduction occurred from 1975 to 1997 in the nitrogen contributions to Mobile Bay from the Mobile River. Nitrogen concentrations also decreased (1980 to 1995) in the Black Warrior River, one of the major tributaries to the Tombigbee River. Total phosphorus concentrations increased from 1970 to 1996 at three urban influenced sites on the Etowah River in Georgia. Multiple regression analysis indicates a distinct association between water quality in the streams of the Mobile River drainage basin and agricultural activities in the basin.

A history of early geologic research in the Deep River Triassic Basin, North Carolina

USGS Publications Warehouse

Clark, T.W.

1998-01-01

The Deep River Triassic basin has one of the longest recorded histories of geologic research in North Carolina. A quick perusal of nineteenth century geologic literature in North Carolina reveals the Deep River basin has received a tremendous amount of attention, second only, perhaps, to the gold deposits of the Carolina slate belt. While these early researchers' primary interests were coal deposits, many other important discoveries, observations, and hypotheses resulted from their investigations. This article highlights many of the important advances made by these early geo-explorers by trying to include information from every major geologic investigation made in the Deep River basin from 1820 to 1955. This article also provides as thorough a consolidated history as is possible to preserve the exploration history of the Deep River basin for future investigators.

Mapping Water Vulnerability of the Yangtze River Basin: 1994-2013.

PubMed

Sun, Fengyun; Kuang, Wenhui; Xiang, Weining; Che, Yue

2016-11-01

A holistic understanding of the magnitude and long-term trend of water vulnerability is essential for making management decisions in a given river basin. Existing procedures to assess the spatiotemporal dynamic of water vulnerability in complex mega-scale river basins are inadequate; a new method named ensemble hydrologic assessment was proposed in this study, which allows collection of data and knowledge about many aspects of water resources to be synthesized in a useful way for vulnerability assessment. The objective of this study is to illustrate the practical utility of such an integrated approach in examining water vulnerability in the Yangtze River Basin. Overall, the results demonstrated that the ensemble hydrologic assessment model could largely explain the spatiotemporal evolution of water vulnerability. This paper improves understanding of the status and trends of water resources in the Yangtze River Basin.

Water Quality in the Santa Ana Basin, California, 1999-2001

USGS Publications Warehouse

Belitz, Kenneth; Hamlin, Scott N.; Burton, Carmen A.; Kent, Robert; Fay, Ronald G.; Johnson, Tyler D.

2004-01-01

This report contains the major findings of a 1999-2001 assessment of water quality in the Santa Ana River Basin. It is one of a series of reports by the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program that present major findings in 51 major river basins and aquifer systems across the Nation. In these reports, water quality is discussed in terms of local, State, and regional issues. Conditions in a particular basin or aquifer system are compared to conditions found elsewhere and to selected national benchmarks, such as those for drinking-water quality and the protection of aquatic organisms. This report is intended for individuals working with water-resource issues in Federal, State, or local agencies, universities, public interest groups, or in the private sector. The information will be useful in addressing a number of current issues, such as the effects of agricultural and urban land use on water quality, human health, drinking water, source-water protection, hypoxia and excessive growth of algae and plants, pesticide registration, and monitoring and sampling strategies. This report is also for individuals who wish to know more about the quality of streams and ground water in areas near where they live and how that water quality compares to other areas across the Nation. The water-quality conditions in the Santa Ana River Basin summarized in this report are discussed in detail in other reports that can be accessed from http://ca.water.usgs.gov/ sana_nawqa/. Detailed technical information, data and analyses, collection and analytical methodology, models, graphs, and maps that support the findings presented in this report in addition to other reports in this series from other basins can be accessed from the national NAWQA Web site (http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa).

Hydrological effects of cropland and climatic changes in arid and semi-arid river basins: A case study from the Yellow River basin, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Huazhen; Zhang, Qiang; Singh, Vijay P.; Shi, Peijun; Sun, Peng

2017-06-01

The Yellow River basin is a typical semi-arid river basin in northern China. Serious water shortages have negative impacts on regional socioeconomic development. Recent years have witnessed changes in streamflow processes due to increasing human activities, such as agricultural activities and construction of dams and water reservoirs, and climatic changes, e.g. precipitation and temperature. This study attempts to investigate factors potentially driving changes in different streamflow components defined by different quantiles. The data used were daily streamflow data for the 1959-2005 period from 5 hydrological stations, daily precipitation and temperature data from 77 meteorological stations and data pertaining to cropland and large reservoirs. Results indicate a general decrease in streamflow across the Yellow River basin. Moreover significant decreasing streamflow has been observed in the middle and lower Yellow River basin with change points during the mid-1980s till the mid-1990s. The changes of cropland affect the streamflow components and also the cumulative effects on streamflow variations. Recent years have witnessed moderate cropland variations which result in moderate streamflow changes. Further, precipitation also plays a critical role in changes of streamflow components and human activities, i.e. cropland changes, temperature changes and building of water reservoirs, tend to have increasing impacts on hydrological processes across the Yellow River basin. This study provides a theoretical framework for the study of the hydrological effects of human activities and climatic changes on basins over the globe.

Comparison of different methods for estimating snowcover in forested, mountainous basins using LANDSAT (ERTS) images. [Washington and Santiam River, Oregon

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meier, M. J.; Evans, W. E.

1975-01-01

Snow-covered areas on LANDSAT (ERTS) images of the Santiam River basin, Oregon, and other basins in Washington were measured using several operators and methods. Seven methods were used: (1) Snowline tracing followed by measurement with planimeter, (2) mean snowline altitudes determined from many locations, (3) estimates in 2.5 x 2.5 km boxes of snow-covered area with reference to snow-free images, (4) single radiance-threshold level for entire basin, (5) radiance-threshold setting locally edited by reference to altitude contours and other images, (6) two-band color-sensitive extraction locally edited as in (5), and (7) digital (spectral) pattern recognition techniques. The seven methods are compared in regard to speed of measurement, precision, the ability to recognize snow in deep shadow or in trees, relative cost, and whether useful supplemental data are produced.

Regional water table (2016) in the Mojave River and Morongo groundwater basins, southwestern Mojave Desert, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dick, Meghan; Kjos, Adam

2017-12-07

From January to April 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Mojave Water Agency, and other local water districts made approximately 1,200 water-level measurements in about 645 wells located within 15 separate groundwater basins, collectively referred to as the Mojave River and Morongo groundwater basins. These data document recent conditions and, when compared with older data, changes in groundwater levels. A water-level contour map was drawn using data measured in 2016 that shows the elevation of the water table and general direction of groundwater movement for most of the groundwater basins. Historical water-level data stored in the USGS National Water Information System (https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/) database were used in conjunction with data collected for this study to construct 37 hydrographs to show long-term (1930–2016) and short-term (1990–2016) water-level changes in the study area.

Quality of surface water in the Suwannee River Basin, Florida, August 1968 through December 1977

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hull, Robert W.; Dysart, Joel E.; Mann, William B.

1981-01-01

In the 9,950-square mile area of the Suwannee River basin in Florida and Georgia, 17 surface-water stations on 9 streams and several springs were sampled for selected water-quality properties and constituents from August 1968 through December 1977. Analyses from these samples indicate that: (1) the water quality of tributary wetlands controls the water quality of the upper Suwannee River headwaters; (2) groundwater substantially affects the water quality of the Suwannee River basin streams below these headquarters; (3) the water quality of the Suwannee River, and many of its tributaries, is determined by several factors and is not simply related to discharge; and (4) development in the Suwannee River basin has had observable effects on the quality of surface waters. 

1997 flood tracking chart for the Red River of the North basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wiche, G.J.; Martin, C.R.; Albright, L.L.; Wald, Geraldine B.

1997-01-01

The flood tracking chart for the Red River of the North Basin can be used by local citizens and emergency response personnel to determine the latest river stage. By comparing the current stage (water-surface elevation above some datum) and predicted flood crest to the recorded peak stages of previous floods, emergency response personnel and residents can make informed decisions concerning the threat to life and property. The flood tracking chart shows a map of the basin with the location of major real-time streamflow-gaging stations in the basin. Click on a station in the map or in the list below the map. Streamflow and stage information for the last 7 days, current stage relative to recorded peak stages, and streamflow for the previous 18 months are provided in graphic form, along with information such as station location and length of record. The National Weather Service has direct access to all information collected by the USGS for use in their forecasting models and routinely broadcasts the forecast information to the news media and on shortwave radio. The radio frequencies are 162.400 MHz (megahertz) in Petersburg, N. Dak., and Detroit Lakes, Minn.; 162.425 MHz in Webster, N. Dak., and Bemidji, Minn.; 162.450 MHz in Roosevelt, Minn.; 162.475 MHz in Grand Forks and Amenia, N. Dak.; and 162.550 MHz in Thief River Falls, Minn. To use the flood tracking chart for a particular property, determine the approximate elevation of the threatened property and the elevation of the gaging station that is closest to the threatened property. For example, most people in Grand Forks, N. Dak., probably will use the Red River of the North at Grand Forks station. Record the flood elevation for the gaging station. Compare the flood elevation to the elevation of the property to immediately know if the property has an impending threat of flooding. One must be cautioned by the fact that the surface of flowing water is not flat but has a slope. Therefore, the water-surface elevation near a threatened property might not be the same as the river stages at the gaging stations. The network of river-gaging stations in the Red River of the North Basin is operated by the USGS in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the North Dakota State Water Commission, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the Southeast Cass Water Resources District, the Cass County Joint Water Resource District, the Red River Joint Water Resource Board, and the Red River Watershed Management Board. For more information about USGS programs in North Dakota, contact the District Chief, U.S. Geological Survey, North Dakota District, at (701) 250-7400.

Reconstruction of Long-Term Discharge Data in a Snow Dominant Region considering Uncertainty in Snow Measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, S.

2016-12-01

This study to improve the accuracy of discharge simulation at the head water of the Tone River Basin (Yagisawa Dam Basin; 167 km2 and Naramata Dam Basin; 67 km2), Japan, where the river discharge is governed by the snowmelt and thus much uncertainty was originated in our previous study (Kim et al, 2011). To decrease the uncertainty in our hydrological modeling and simulation, snowmelt amounts are estimated rigorously using an improved degree-day method. The degree-day method, which is the simplest method to estimate snowmelt, is adopted with an improved degree-day factor estimation method. The degree-day factor for the target area is estimated using the observed temperature and the observed river discharge of the snowmelt season. Using long-term observed data, the unique relationship between the degree-day factor and temperature are extracted, and the estimated degree-day factor as a function of temperature is applied for the winter season discharge simulation. Rainfall-runoff simulation for the rest of season is done by the kinematic wave model based on the stage-discharge relationship, considering surface-subsurface flow generation. Finally, long-term (1979-2008) simulation output for the dam inflow is reconstructed and compared with the observed one. ( Kim, S., Tachikawa, Y., Nakakita, E., Yorozu, K. and Shiiba, M. 2011. Climate change impact on river flow of the Tone river basin, Japan, Annual Journal of Hydraulic Engneering, JSCE, 55:S_85-S_90.)

Assessing and forecasting the impacts of global change on Mediterranean rivers. The SCARCE Consolider project on Iberian basins.

PubMed

Navarro-Ortega, Alícia; Acuña, Vicenç; Batalla, Ramon J; Blasco, Julián; Conde, Carlos; Elorza, Francisco J; Elosegi, Arturo; Francés, Félix; La-Roca, Francesc; Muñoz, Isabel; Petrovic, Mira; Picó, Yolanda; Sabater, Sergi; Sanchez-Vila, Xavier; Schuhmacher, Marta; Barceló, Damià

2012-05-01

The Consolider-Ingenio 2010 project SCARCE, with the full title "Assessing and predicting effects on water quantity and quality in Iberian Rivers caused by global change" aims to examine and predict the relevance of global change on water availability, water quality, and ecosystem services in Mediterranean river basins of the Iberian Peninsula, as well as their socio-economic impacts. Starting in December 2009, it brought together a multidisciplinary team of 11 partner Spanish institutions, as well as the active involvement of water authorities, river basin managers, and other relevant agents as stakeholders. The study areas are the Llobregat, Ebro, Jucar, and Guadalquivir river basins. These basins have been included in previous studies and projects, the majority of whom considered some of the aspects included in SCARCE but individually. Historical data will be used as a starting point of the project but also to obtain longer time series. The main added value of SCARCE project is the inclusion of scientific disciplines ranging from hydrology, geomorphology, ecology, chemistry, and ecotoxicology, to engineering, modeling, and economy, in an unprecedented effort in the Mediterranean area. The project performs data mining, field, and lab research as well as modeling and upscaling of the findings to apply them to the entire river basin. Scales ranging from the laboratory to river basins are addressed with the potential to help improve river basin management. The project emphasizes, thus, linking basic research and management practices in a single framework. In fact, one of the main objectives of SCARCE is to act as a bridge between the scientific and the management and to transform research results on management keys and tools for improving the River Basin Management Plans. Here, we outline the general structure of the project and the activities conducted within the ten Work Packages of SCARCE.

Annual estimates of water and solute export from 42 tributaries to the Yukon River

USGS Publications Warehouse

Frederick Zanden,; Suzanne P. Anderson,; Striegl, Robert G.

2012-01-01

Annual export of 11 major and trace solutes for the Yukon River is found to be accurately determined based on summing 42 tributary contributions. These findings provide the first published estimates of tributary specific distribution of solutes within the Yukon River basin. First, we show that annual discharge of the Yukon River can be computed by summing calculated annual discharges from 42 tributaries. Annual discharge for the tributaries is calculated from the basin area and average annual precipitation over that area using a previously published regional regression equation. Based on tributary inputs, we estimate an average annual discharge for the Yukon River of 210 km3 year–1. This value is within 1% of the average measured annual discharge at the U.S. Geological Survey gaging station near the river terminus at Pilot Station, AK, for water years 2001 through 2005. Next, annual loads for 11 solutes are determined by combining annual discharge with point measurements of solute concentrations in tributary river water. Based on the sum of solutes in tributary water, we find that the Yukon River discharges approximately 33 million metric tons of dissolved solids each year at Pilot Station. Discharged solutes are dominated by cations calcium and magnesium (5.65 × 109 and 1.42 × 109 g year–1) and anions bicarbonate and sulphate (17.3 × 109 and 5.40 × 109 g year–1). These loads compare well with loads calculated independently at the three continuous gaging stations along the Yukon River. These findings show how annual solute yields vary throughout a major subarctic river basin and that accurate estimates of total river export can be determined from calculated tributary contributions.

Glacial history and runoff components of the Tlikakila River Basin, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brabets, Timothy P.; March, Rod S.; Trabant, Dennis C.

2004-01-01

The Tlikakila River is located in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve and drains an area of 1,610 square kilometers (622 square miles). Runoff from the Tlikakila River Basin accounts for about one half of the total inflow to Lake Clark. Glaciers occupy about one third of the basin and affect the runoff characteristics of the Tlikakila River. As part of a cooperative study with the National Park Service, glacier changes and runoff characteristics in the Tlikakila River Basin were studied in water years 2001 and 2002. Based on analyses of remote sensing data and on airborne laser profiling, most glaciers in the Tlikakila River Basin have retreated and thinned from 1957 to the present. Volume loss from 1957-2001 from the Tanaina Glacier, the largest glacier in the Tlikakila River Basin, was estimated to be 6.1 x 109 cubic meters or 1.4 x 108 cubic meters per year. For the 2001 water year, mass balance measurements made on the three largest glaciers in the Tlikakila River BasinTanaina, Glacier Fork, and North Forkall indicate a negative mass balance. Runoff measured near the mouth of the Tlikakila River for water year 2001 was 1.70 meters. Of this total, 0.18 meters (11 percent) was from glacier ice melt, 1.27 meters (75 percent) was from snowmelt, 0.24 meters (14 percent) was from rainfall runoff, and 0.01 meters (1 percent) was from ground water. Although ground water is a small component of runoff, it provides a critical source of warm water for fish survival in the lower reaches of the Tlikakila River.

Detailed measured sections, cross sections, and paleogeographic reconstructions of the upper cretaceous and lower tertiary nonmarine interval, Wind River Basin, Wyoming: Chapter 10 in Petroleum systems and geologic assessment of oil and gas resources in the Wind River Basin Province, Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, Ronald C.

2007-01-01

Detailed measured sections and regional stratigraphic cross sections are used to reconstruct facies maps and interpret paleogeographic settings for the interval from the base of Upper Cretaceous Mesaverde Formation to top of lower member of the Paleocene Fort Union Formation in the Wind River Basin, Wyoming. The Mesaverde Formation spans the time during which the Upper Cretaceous seaway retreated eastward out of central Wyoming in Campanian time and the initial stages of the Lewis transgression in earliest Maastrichtian time. This retreat stalled for a considerable period of time during deposition of the lower part of the Mesaverde, creating a thick buildup of marginal marine sandstones and coaly coastal plain deposits across the western part of the basin. The Lewis sea transgressed into the northeast part of Wind River Basin, beginning in early Maastrichtian time during deposition of the Teapot Sandstone Member of the Mesaverde Formation. The Meeteetse Formation, which overlies the Teapot, was deposited in a poorly-drained coastal plain setting southwest of the Lewis seaway. The Lewis seaway, at maximum transgression, covered much of the northeast half of the Wind River Basin area but was clearly deflected around the present site of the Wind River Range, southwest of the basin, providing the first direct evidence of Laramide uplift on that range. Uplift of the Wind River Range continued during deposition of the overlying Maastrichtian Lance Formation. The Granite Mountains south of the basin also became a positive feature during this time. A rapidly subsiding trough during the Maastrichtian time formed near the presentday trough of the Wind River Basin in which more than 6,000 feet of Lance was deposited. The development of this trough appears to have begun before the adjacent Owl Creek Mountains to the north started to rise; however, a muddy facies in the upper part of Lance in the deep subsurface, just to the south, might be interpreted to indicate that the Cretaceous Cody Shale was being eroded off a rising Owl Creek Mountains in latest Cretaceous time. The Paleocene Fort Union Formation unconformably overlies older units but with only slight angular discordance around much of the margins of the Wind River Basin. Pre-Fort Union erosion was most pronounced toward the Wind River Range to the southwest, where the Fort Union ultimately overlies strata as old as the upper part of the Cretaceous Cody Shale. The unconformity appears to die out toward the basin center. Coal-forming mires developed throughout the western part of the basin near the beginning of the Paleocene. River systems entering the basin from the Wind River Range to the southwest and the Granite Mountains to the south produced areas of sandy fluvial deposition along mountain fronts. A major river system appears to have entered the basin from about the same spot along the Wind River Range throughout much of the Paleocene, probably because it became incised and could not migrate laterally. The muddy floodplain facies that developed along the deep basin trough during latest Cretaceous time, expanded during the early part of the Paleocene. Coal-forming mires that characterize part of the lower Fort Union Formation reached maximum extent near the beginning of the late Paleocene and just prior to the initial transgression of Lake Waltman. From the time of initial flooding, Lake Waltman expanded rapidly, drowning the coal-forming mires in the central part of the basin and spreading to near basin margins. Outcrop studies along the south margin of the basin document that once maximum transgression was reached, the lake was rapidly pushed basinward and replaced by fluvial environments.

Statistical downscaling of GCM simulations to streamflow using relevance vector machine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghosh, Subimal; Mujumdar, P. P.

2008-01-01

General circulation models (GCMs), the climate models often used in assessing the impact of climate change, operate on a coarse scale and thus the simulation results obtained from GCMs are not particularly useful in a comparatively smaller river basin scale hydrology. The article presents a methodology of statistical downscaling based on sparse Bayesian learning and Relevance Vector Machine (RVM) to model streamflow at river basin scale for monsoon period (June, July, August, September) using GCM simulated climatic variables. NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data have been used for training the model to establish a statistical relationship between streamflow and climatic variables. The relationship thus obtained is used to project the future streamflow from GCM simulations. The statistical methodology involves principal component analysis, fuzzy clustering and RVM. Different kernel functions are used for comparison purpose. The model is applied to Mahanadi river basin in India. The results obtained using RVM are compared with those of state-of-the-art Support Vector Machine (SVM) to present the advantages of RVMs over SVMs. A decreasing trend is observed for monsoon streamflow of Mahanadi due to high surface warming in future, with the CCSR/NIES GCM and B2 scenario.

Studies on water resources carrying capacity in Tuhai river basin based on ecological footprint

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Chengshuai; Xu, Lirong; Fu, Xin

2017-05-01

In this paper, the method of the water ecological footprint (WEF) was used to evaluate water resources carrying capacity and water resources sustainability of Tuhai River Basin in Shandong Province. The results show that: (1) The WEF had a downward trend in overall volatility in Tuhai River Basin from 2003 to 2011. Agricultural water occupies high proportion, which was a major contributor to the WEF, and about 86.9% of agricultural WEF was used for farmland irrigation; (2) The water resources carrying capacity had a downward trend in general, which was mostly affected by some natural factors in this basin such as hydrology and meteorology in Tuhai River Basin; (3) Based on analysis of water resources ecological deficit, it can be concluded that the water resources utilization mode was in an unhealthy pattern and it was necessary to improve the utilization efficiency of water resources in Tuhai River Basin; (4) In view of water resources utilization problems in the studied area, well irrigation should be greatly developed at the head of Yellow River Irrigation Area(YRIA), however, water from Yellow River should be utilized for irrigation as much as possible, combined with agricultural water-saving measures and controlled exploiting groundwater at the tail of YRIA. Therefore, the combined usage of surface water and ground water of YRIA is an important way to realize agricultural water saving and sustainable utilization of water resources in Tuhai River Basin.

Sr-Nd isotopes constrain on the deposit history of the basins in the Gulf of Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Y.; Jiang, S.

2015-12-01

The Brazos-Trinity Basin IV and Ursa Basin are situated on the northern slope of the Gulf of Mexico. The Ursa basin lies in the center of late Pleistocene Mississippi River deposition, received the sediment deposition during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2- 4. The Brazos-Trinity Basin IV belongs to a part of the Brazos-Trinity fan, it recorded the turbidite deposition and hemiplegic deposition during MIS1- 5. The Sr and Nd isotopic composition of the detrital composition of the sediment in both basins indicates the change of the sediment provenance during the basin-filled process. In the Ursa basin, The difference of 87Sr/86Sr ratio and ɛNd of the detrital component between MIS1,2 (87Sr/86Sr ~ 0.7219 - 0.7321, ɛNd ~ -12 - -13.4) and MIS3,4(87Sr/86Sr ~ 0.7310 - 0.7354, ɛNd ~ -16 - -17.9) is suggested to be related with the provenance change of the detrital particles since LGM. The addition of detrital particle from Appalachians with less radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr and positive ɛNd altered the character of the sediment of the Mississippi River during the last glaciation and deglaciation. In the Brazos-Trinity Basin IV, the narrow range of 87Sr/86Sr and ɛNd indicate that the sediment source of Brazos-Trinity Basin IV had not changed obviously during MIS5e to MIS2, mostly from coastal rivers such as Brazos River, Trinity River and Sabine River. The pre-fan with 87Sr/86Sr ~0.735 and ɛNd ~ -14.5 to -16.9, which is very similar to the deep sediment in the Ursa Basin with 87Sr/86Sr ~0.733 to 0.735 and ɛNd ~ -16 to -18. It is suggested that sediments of the pre-fan of the Brazos-Trinity Basin IV were supplied from the ancestral Mississippi River Delta during the low sea level (MIS 6). During the MIS5, the discharge of Mississippi River is thought switched to its present course, ~300 km to the east.

Determination of soil erosion risk in the Mustafakemalpasa River Basin, Turkey, using the revised universal soil loss equation, geographic information system, and remote sensing.

PubMed

Ozsoy, Gokhan; Aksoy, Ertugrul; Dirim, M Sabri; Tumsavas, Zeynal

2012-10-01

Sediment transport from steep slopes and agricultural lands into the Uluabat Lake (a RAMSAR site) by the Mustafakemalpasa (MKP) River is a serious problem within the river basin. Predictive erosion models are useful tools for evaluating soil erosion and establishing soil erosion management plans. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) function is a commonly used erosion model for this purpose in Turkey and the rest of the world. This research integrates the RUSLE within a geographic information system environment to investigate the spatial distribution of annual soil loss potential in the MKP River Basin. The rainfall erosivity factor was developed from local annual precipitation data using a modified Fournier index: The topographic factor was developed from a digital elevation model; the K factor was determined from a combination of the soil map and the geological map; and the land cover factor was generated from Landsat-7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM) images. According to the model, the total soil loss potential of the MKP River Basin from erosion by water was 11,296,063 Mg year(-1) with an average soil loss of 11.2 Mg year(-1). The RUSLE produces only local erosion values and cannot be used to estimate the sediment yield for a watershed. To estimate the sediment yield, sediment-delivery ratio equations were used and compared with the sediment-monitoring reports of the Dolluk stream gauging station on the MKP River, which collected data for >41 years (1964-2005). This station observes the overall efficiency of the sediment yield coming from the Orhaneli and Emet Rivers. The measured sediment in the Emet and Orhaneli sub-basins is 1,082,010 Mg year(-1) and was estimated to be 1,640,947 Mg year(-1) for the same two sub-basins. The measured sediment yield of the gauge station is 127.6 Mg km(-2) year(-1) but was estimated to be 170.2 Mg km(-2) year(-1). The close match between the sediment amounts estimated using the RUSLE-geographic information system (GIS) combination and the measured values from the Dolluk sediment gauge station shows that the potential soil erosion risk of the MKP River Basin can be estimated correctly and reliably using the RUSLE function generated in a GIS environment.

Review of waterpower withdrawals in Weiser River Basin, Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Colbert, Jesse Lane; Young, Loyd L.

1964-01-01

The Weiser River basin is primarily agricultural and is supported by extensive irrigation. The Geological Survey has initiated withdrawals, or has made powersite classifications of lands having value for reservoir sites and for waterpower production. These withdrawals have been examined to see if they should continue in force or if it is in the public interest to restore them. The 1960 report, "Upper Snake River Basin," by the U.S. bureau of Reclamation, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers included recommendations conooming potential water resource-development sites in Water River basin. That report furnished much of the information for this review.

Annual dissolved nitrite plus nitrate and total phosphorous loads for the Susquehanna, St. Lawrence, Mississippi-Atchafalaya, and Columbia River basins, 1968-2004

USGS Publications Warehouse

Aulenbach, Brent T.

2006-01-01

Annual stream-water loads were calculated near the outlet of four of the larger river basins (Susquehanna, St. Lawrence, Mississippi-Atchafalaya, and Columbia) in the United States for dissolved nitrite plus nitrate (NO2 + NO3) and total phosphorus using LOADEST load estimation software. Loads were estimated for the period 1968-2004; although loads estimated for individual river basins and chemical constituent combinations typically were for shorter time periods due to limitations in data availability. Stream discharge and water-quality data for load estimates were obtained from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) with additional stream discharge data for the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The loads were estimated to support national assessments of changes in stream nutrient loads that are periodically conducted by Federal agencies (for example, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) and other water- and land-resource organizations. Data, methods, and results of load estimates are summarized herein; including World Wide Web links to electronic ASCII text files containing the raw data. The load estimates are compared to dissolved NO2 + NO3 loads for three of the large river basins from 1971 to 1998 that the USGS provided during 2001 to The H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment (The Heinz Center) for a report The Heinz Center published during 2002. Differences in the load estimates are the result of using the most up-to-date monitoring data since the 2001 analysis, differences in how concentrations less than the reporting limit were handled by the load estimation models, and some errors and exclusions in the 2001 analysis datasets (which resulted in some inaccurate load estimates).

The Geomorphometrics of the Rio Grande Rift: The role of tectonics, climate, and erosional processes in forming the Rio Grande river

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berry, M. A.; van Wijk, J.; Emry, E.; Axen, G. J.; Coblentz, D. D.

2016-12-01

Geomorphometrics provides a powerful tool for quantifying the topographic fabric of a landscape and can help with correlating surface features with underlying dynamic processes. Here we use a suite of geomorphometric metrics (including the topographic power spectra, fabric orientation/organization) to compare and contrast the geomorphology of two of the world's major rifts, the Rio Grande Rift (RGR) in western US and the East Africa Rift (EAR). The motivation for this study is the observation of fundamental differences between the characteristics of the intra-rift river drainage for the two rifts. The RGR consists of a series of NS trending rift basins, connected by accommodation or transfer zones. The Rio Grande river developed in the late Neogene, and follows these rift segments from the San Luis basin in Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico. Before the river system formed, basins are thought to have formed internally draining systems, characterized by shallow playa lakes. This is in contrast with lakes in the Tanganyika and Malawi rifts of the East African Rift that are deep and have existed for >5 My. We investigate the role of climate, tectonics and erosional processes in the formation of the through-going Rio Grande river. This occurred around the time of a slowing down of rift opening ( 10 Ma), but also climatic changes in the southwestern U.S. have been described for the late Neogene. To model our hypothesis, a tectonics and surface transport code TISC (Transport, Isostasy, Surface Transport, Climate) was used to evaluate the dynamics of a series of proto-rift basins and their connecting accommodation zones. Basin infill and drainage system development are studied as a result of varying sediment budgets, climate variables, and rift opening rate.

Alternative methods to determine headwater benefits

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bao, Y.S.; Perlack, R.D.; Sale, M.J.

1997-11-10

In 1992, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) began using a Flow Duration Analysis (FDA) methodology to assess headwater benefits in river basins where use of the Headwater Benefits Energy Gains (HWBEG) model may not result in significant improvements in modeling accuracy. The purpose of this study is to validate the accuracy and appropriateness of the FDA method for determining energy gains in less complex basins. This report presents the results of Oak Ridge National Laboratory`s (ORNL`s) validation of the FDA method. The validation is based on a comparison of energy gains using the FDA method with energy gains calculatedmore » using the MWBEG model. Comparisons of energy gains are made on a daily and monthly basis for a complex river basin (the Alabama River Basin) and a basin that is considered relatively simple hydrologically (the Stanislaus River Basin). In addition to validating the FDA method, ORNL was asked to suggest refinements and improvements to the FDA method. Refinements and improvements to the FDA method were carried out using the James River Basin as a test case.« less

An appraisal of the ground-water resources of the Juniata River Basin, Pennsylvania

USGS Publications Warehouse

Seaber, Paul R.; Hollyday, Este F.

1966-01-01

This report describes the availability, quantity, quality, variability, and cost of development of the ground-water resources in the Juniata River basin, one of the larger sub-basins of the Susquehanna River basin. The report has been prepared for and under specifications established by the Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army, and the Public Health Service, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.A comprehensive study of the water and related land resources of the Susquehanna River basin was authorized by the Congress of the United States in October 1961, and the task of preparing a report and of coordinating the work being done by others in support of the study was assigned to the Corps of Engineers. The comprehensive study is being conducted by several Federal departments and independent agencies in cooperation with the States of New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. The Public Health Service under its authority in the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (P. L. 660) initiated a comprehensive water quality control program for the Chesapeake drainage basin, which includes the Susquehanna River basin.

Influence of urban area on the water quality of the Campo River basin, Paraná State, Brazil.

PubMed

Carvalho, K Q; Lima, S B; Passig, F H; Gusmão, L K; Souza, D C; Kreutz, C; Belini, A D; Arantes, E J

2015-12-01

The Campo River basin is located on the third plateau of the Paraná State or trap plateau of Paraná, at the middle portion between the rivers Ivaí and Piquiri, southern Brazil, between the coordinates 23° 53 and 24° 10' South Latitude and 52° 15' and 52° 31' West Longitude. The basin has 384 Km² area, being 247 km² in the municipality of Campo Mourão and 137 km² in the municipality of Peabiru, in Paraná State. The Campo River is a left bank tributary of the Mourão River, which flows into the Ivaí River. The objective of this study was to monitor water quality in the Km 119 River and the Campo River, tributaries of the Mourão River, with monthly collection of water samples to determine pH, temperature, turbidity, biochemical oxygen demand, dissolved oxygen, fecal coliforms, total solids, total nitrogen, ammoniacal nitrogen, nitrite, nitrate and total phosphorus. The results obtained were compared with the indices established by the environmental legislation and applied in the determination of the Water Quality Index (WQI) used by the Water Institute of Paraná State, regulating environmental agency. Poor water quality in these rivers presents a worrying scenario for the region, since this river is the main source of water supply for the public system. Results of organic matter, fecal coliforms and total phosphorus were higher than the limits established by Resolution CONAMA 357/2005 to river class 2, specially at downstream of the Km 119 River and the Campo River, due to the significant influence of the urban anthropic activity by the lack of tertiary treatment and also rural by the lack of basic sanitation in this area. Results of WQI of Km 119 River and do Campo River indicated that water quality can be classified as average in 71% and good in 29% of the sites evaluated.

Spatial variability of induced ground-water recharge beneath the Russian River, California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosenberry, D. O.; Hatch, C. E.; Cox, M. H.; Zamora, C.; Cloud, A.; Constantz, J. E.; Seymour, D.

2004-12-01

The Sonoma County Water Agency extracts water from the alluvial aquifer adjacent to and beneath the Russian River via large-volume Ranney-type collector wells. To aid in this extraction, the stage of the river is increased approximately 3 meters by an inflatable dam. In addition, raising the dam allows water to be diverted into infiltration basins that are located adjacent to the river. Removal of aquifer water induces large fluxes from surface water to ground water through the beds of the infiltration basins and the river. Total extraction during maximum summer withdrawals via five collector wells indicates an average flux from surface water to ground water through the riverbed and infiltration basins of 153 cm/d. Measurements of flux using in-river and in-pond piezometers, diurnal sediment-temperature data, and seepage meters, indicate that actual seepage fluxes are spatially variable and large seepage fluxes are concentrated in specific locations, some of which may not be intuitive. For example, we expected greatest induced seepage fluxes to occur above laterals that extend beneath the river and deliver water to a collector well. Seepage flux along a transverse transect of the riverbed that was located above laterals from one of the collector wells averaged 10 cm/d. At the same time, seepage flux along a transect that was 500 m upstream, and farther from the influence of the collector-well system, averaged 40 cm/d. Seepage fluxes from the central portion of one of the recharge basins averaged 3 cm/d whereas seepage fluxes near the margin of that infiltration basin averaged 250 cm/d. Seepage fluxes derived from in-stream-piezometer Darcy calculations were surprisingly consistent with seepage fluxes derived from seepage-meter measurements. Seepage fluxes derived from temperature measurements were slightly less comparable to the piezometer and seepage-meter measurements. The 121 cm/d average of all seepage-flux measurements was similar to the spatially-integrated rate (153 cm/d) based on the volume of water extracted from the river by the pumping wells divided by the affected area of the riverbed and the flooded infiltration ponds.

Adaptation of Arabidopsis thaliana to the Yangtze River basin.

PubMed

Zou, Yu-Pan; Hou, Xing-Hui; Wu, Qiong; Chen, Jia-Fu; Li, Zi-Wen; Han, Ting-Shen; Niu, Xiao-Min; Yang, Li; Xu, Yong-Chao; Zhang, Jie; Zhang, Fu-Min; Tan, Dunyan; Tian, Zhixi; Gu, Hongya; Guo, Ya-Long

2017-12-28

Organisms need to adapt to keep pace with a changing environment. Examining recent range expansion aids our understanding of how organisms evolve to overcome environmental constraints. However, how organisms adapt to climate changes is a crucial biological question that is still largely unanswered. The plant Arabidopsis thaliana is an excellent system to study this fundamental question. Its origin is in the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa, but it has spread to the Far East, including the most south-eastern edge of its native habitats, the Yangtze River basin, where the climate is very different. We sequenced 118 A. thaliana strains from the region surrounding the Yangtze River basin. We found that the Yangtze River basin population is a unique population and diverged about 61,409 years ago, with gene flows occurring at two different time points, followed by a population dispersion into the Yangtze River basin in the last few thousands of years. Positive selection analyses revealed that biological regulation processes, such as flowering time, immune and defense response processes could be correlated with the adaptation event. In particular, we found that the flowering time gene SVP has contributed to A. thaliana adaptation to the Yangtze River basin based on genetic mapping. A. thaliana adapted to the Yangtze River basin habitat by promoting the onset of flowering, a finding that sheds light on how a species can adapt to locales with very different climates.

Water quality in Indiana: trends in concentrations of selected nutrients, metals, and ions in streams, 2000-10

USGS Publications Warehouse

Risch, Martin R.; Bunch, Aubrey R.; Vecchia, Aldo V.; Martin, Jeffrey D.; Baker, Nancy T.

2014-01-01

Statistically significant trends were identified that included 167 downward trends and 83 upward trends. The Kankakee River Basin had the most significant upward trends while the most significant downward trends were in the Whitewater River Basin, the Lake Michigan Basin, and the Patoka River Basin. For most constituents, a majority of sites had significant downward trends. Two streams in the Lake Michigan Basin have shown substantial decreases in most constituents. The West Fork White River near Indianapolis, Indiana, showed increases in nitrate and phosphorus and the Kankakee River Basin showed increases in copper, zinc, chloride, sulfate, and hardness. Upward trends in nutrients were identified at a few sites, but most nutrient trends were downward. Upward trends in metals corresponded with relatively small concentration increases while downward trends involved considerably larger concentration changes. Downward trends in chloride, sulfate, and suspended solids were observed statewide, but upward trends in hardness were observed in the northern half of Indiana.

Eco-hydrological Responses to Soil and Water Conservation in the Jinghe River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, H.; Jia, Y.; Qiu, Y.

2011-12-01

The Jinghe River Basin is one of the most serious soil erosion areas in the Loess Plateau. Many measures of soil and water conservation were applied in the basin. Terrestrial ecosystem model BIOME-BGC and distributed hydrological model WEP-L were used to build eco-hydrological model and verified by field observation and literature values. The model was applied in the Jinghe River Basin to analyze eco-hydrological responses under the scenarios of vegetation type change due to soil and water conservation polices. Four scenarios were set under the measures of conversion of cropland to forest, forestation on bare land, forestation on slope wasteland and planting grass on bare land. Analysis results show that the soil and water conservation has significant effects on runoff and the carbon cycle in the Jinghe River Basin: the average annual runoff would decrease and the average annual NPP and carbon storage would increase. Key words: soil and water conservation; conversion of cropland to forest; eco-hydrology response; the Jinghe River Basin

Assessment of ecological conditions and potential effects of water produced from coalbed natural gas development on biological communities in streams of the Powder River structural basin, Wyoming and Montana, 2005-08

USGS Publications Warehouse

Peterson, David A.; Clark, Melanie L.; Foster, Katharine; Wright, Peter R.; Boughton, Gregory K.

2010-01-01

Ongoing development of coalbed natural gas in the Powder River structural basin in Wyoming and Montana led to formation of an interagency task group to address concerns about the effects of the resulting production water on biological communities in streams of the area. The interagency task group developed a monitoring plan and conducted sampling of macroinvertebrate, algal, and fish communities at 47 sites during 2005-08 to document current ecological conditions and determine existing and potential effects of water produced from coalbed natural gas development on biological communities. Macroinvertebrate, algal, and fish community composition varied between drainage basins, among sites within drainage basins, and by year. Macroinvertebrate communities of the main-stem Tongue River were characterized by higher taxa richness and higher abundance of Ephemeroptera, for example, compared to macroinvertebrate communities in plains tributaries of the Tongue River and the main-stem Powder River. Fish communities of the Tongue River were characterized by higher taxa richness and abundance of introduced species compared to the Powder River where native species were dominant. Macroinvertebrate community metric values from sites in the middle reach of the main-stem Powder River, from below Willow Creek to below Crazy Woman Creek, differed from metric values in the upper and lower reaches of the Powder River. Metrics indicative of communitywide differences included measures of taxa richness, relative abundance, feeding mode, and tolerance. Some of the variation in the macroinvertebrate communities could be explained by variation in environmental variables, including physical (turbidity, embeddedness, bed substrate size, and streamflow) and chemical (alkalinity and specific conductance) variables. Of these environmental variables, alkalinity was the best indicator of coalbed natural gas development because of the sodiumbicarbonate signature of the production water. Algal samples from the main-stem Powder River generally confirmed the pattern observed in the macroinvertebrate communities. Algal communities at sites in the middle reach of the Powder River commonly were characterized by dominance by a single taxon and by low biovolume of algae compared to other sites. In contrast to the macroinvertebrate and algal communities, species richness of fish communities was highest in the middle reach of the Powder River. Although a few significant differences in fish metrics were determined along the main-stem Powder River, the differences did not correspond to the pattern observed for the macroinvertebrate and algae communities. Differences in biological communities were noted between years, potentially due to the effects of drought. Macroinvertebrate community metrics, such as Diptera taxa richness, were significantly different in the severe drought year of 2006 from metric values in 2005 and 2007-08. Waterquality data collected during the study indicated that, with few exceptions, water-quality constituents generally did not exceed State or Federal acute and chronic criteria for the protection of aquatic life.

Climate Projections and Drought: Verification for the Colorado River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santos, N. I.; Piechota, T. C.; Miller, W. P.; Ahmad, S.

2017-12-01

The Colorado River Basin has experienced the driest 17 year period (2000-2016) in over 100 years of historical record keeping. While the Colorado River reservoir system began the current drought at near 100% capacity, reservoir storage has fallen to just above 50% during the drought. Even though federal and state water agencies have worked together to mitigate the impact of the drought and have collaboratively sponsored conservation programs and drought contingency plans, the 17-years of observed data beg the question as to whether the most recent climate projections would have been able to project the current drought's severity. The objective of this study is to analyze observations and ensemble projections (e.g. temperature, precipitation, streamflow) from the CMIP3 and CMIP5 archive in the Colorado River Basin and compare metrics related to skill scores, the Palmer Drought Severity Index, and water supply sustainability index. Furthermore, a sub-ensemble of CMIP3/CMIP5 projections, developed using a teleconnection replication verification technique developed by the author, will also be compared to the observed record to assist in further validating the technique as a usable process to increase skill in climatological projections. In the end, this study will assist to better inform water resource managers about the ability of climate ensembles to project hydroclimatic variability and the appearance of decadal drought periods.

Study of Basin Recession Characteristics and Groundwater Storage Properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yen-Bo, Chen; Cheng-Haw, Lee

2017-04-01

Stream flow and groundwater storage are freshwater resources that human live on.In this study, we discuss southern area basin recession characteristics and Kao-Ping River basin groundwater storage, and hope to supply reference to Taiwan water resource management. The first part of this study is about recession characteristics. We apply Brutsaert (2008) low flow analysis model to establish two recession data pieces sifting models, including low flow steady period model and normal condition model. Within individual event analysis, group event analysis and southern area basin recession assessment, stream flow and base flow recession characteristics are parameterized. The second part of this study is about groundwater storage. Among main basin in southern Taiwan, there are sufficient stream flow and precipitation gaging station data about Kao-Ping River basin and extensive drainage data, and data about different hydrological characteristics between upstream and downstream area. Therefore, this study focuses on Kao-Ping River basin and accesses groundwater storage properties. Taking residue of groundwater volume in dry season into consideration, we use base flow hydrograph to access periodical property of groundwater storage, in order to establish hydrological period conceptual model. With groundwater storage and precipitation accumulative linearity quantified by hydrological period conceptual model, their periodical changing and alternation trend properties in each drainage areas of Kao-Ping River basin have been estimated. Results of this study showed that the recession time of stream flow is related to initial flow rate of the recession events. The recession time index is lower when the flow is stream flow, not base flow, and the recession time index is higher in low flow steady flow period than in normal recession condition. By applying hydrological period conceptual model, groundwater storage could explicitly be analyzed and compared with precipitation, by only using stream flow data. Keywords: stream flow, base flow, recession characteristics, groundwater storage

Fluvial geomorphic elements in modern sedimentary basins and their potential preservation in the rock record: A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weissmann, G. S.; Hartley, A. J.; Scuderi, L. A.; Nichols, G. J.; Owen, A.; Wright, S.; Felicia, A. L.; Holland, F.; Anaya, F. M. L.

2015-12-01

Since tectonic subsidence in sedimentary basins provides the potential for long-term facies preservation into the sedimentary record, analysis of geomorphic elements in modern continental sedimentary basins is required to understand facies relationships in sedimentary rocks. We use a database of over 700 modern sedimentary basins to characterize the fluvial geomorphology of sedimentary basins. Geomorphic elements were delineated in 10 representative sedimentary basins, focusing primarily on fluvial environments. Elements identified include distributive fluvial systems (DFS), tributive fluvial systems that occur between large DFS or in an axial position in the basin, lacustrine/playa, and eolian environments. The DFS elements include large DFS (> 30 km in length), small DFS (< 30 km in length), coalesced DFS in bajada or piedmont plains, and incised DFS. Our results indicate that over 88% of fluvial deposits in the evaluated sedimentary basins are present as DFS, with tributary systems covering a small portion (1-12%) of the basin. These geomorphic elements are commonly arranged hierarchically, with the largest transverse rivers forming large DFS and smaller transverse streams depositing smaller DFS in the areas between the larger DFS. These smaller streams commonly converge between the large DFS, forming a tributary system. Ultimately, most transverse rivers become tributary to the axial system in the sedimentary basin, with the axial system being confined between transverse DFS entering the basin from opposite sides of the basin, or a transverse DFS and the edge of the sedimentary basin. If axial systems are not confined by transverse DFS, they will form a DFS. Many of the world's largest rivers are located in the axial position of some sedimentary basins. Assuming uniformitarianism, sedimentary basins from the past most likely had a similar configuration of geomorphic elements. Facies distributions in tributary positions and those on DFS appear to display specific morphologic patterns. Tributary rivers tend to increase in size in the downstream direction. Because axial tributary rivers are present in confined settings in the sedimentary basin, they migrate back and forth within a relatively narrow belt (relative to the overall size of the sedimentary basin). Thus, axial tributary rivers tend to display amalgamated channel belt form with minimal preservation potential of floodplain deposits. Chute and neck cutoff avulsions are also common on meandering rivers in these settings. Where rivers on DFS exit their confining valley on the basin margin, sediment transport capacity is reduced and sediment deposition occurs resulting in development of a 'valley exit' nodal avulsion point that defines the DFS apex. Rivers may incise downstream of the basin margin valley because of changes in sediment supply and discharge through climatic variability or tectonic processes. We demonstrate that rivers on DFS commonly decrease in width down-DFS caused by infiltration, bifurcation, and evaporation. In proximal areas, channel sands are amalgamated through repeated avulsion, reoccupation of previous channel belts, and limited accumulation space. When rivers flood on the medial to distal portions of a DFS, the floodwaters spread across a large area on the DFS surface and typically do not re-enter the main channel. In these distal areas, rivers on DFS commonly avulse, leaving a discrete sand body and providing high preservation potential for floodplain deposits. Additional work is needed to evaluate the geomorphic character of modern sedimentary basins in order to construct improved facies models for the continental sedimentary rock record. Specifically, models for avulsion, bifurcation, infiltration, and geomorphic form on DFS are required to better define and subsequently predict facies geometries. Studies of fluvial systems in sedimentary basins are also important for evaluating flood patterns and groundwater distributions for populations in these regions.

Base flow (1966-2009) and streamflow gain and loss (2010) of the Brazos River from the New Mexico-Texas State line to Waco, Texas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Baldys, Stanley; Schalla, Frank E.

2012-01-01

Streamflow was measured at 66 sites from June 6–9, 2010, and at 68 sites from October 16–19, 2010, to identify reaches in the upper Brazos River Basin that were gaining or losing streamflow. Gaining reaches were identified in each of the five subbasins. The gaining reach in the Salt Fork Brazos River Basin began at USGS streamflow-gaging station 08080940 Salt Fork Brazos River at State Highway 208 near Clairemont, Tex. (site SF–6), upstream from where Duck Creek flows into the Salt Fork Brazos River and continued downstream past USGS streamflow-gaging station 08082000 Salt Fork Brazos River near Aspermont, Tex. (site SF–9), to the outlet of the basin. In the Double Mountain Fork Brazos River Basin, a gaining reach from near Post, Tex., downstream to the outlet of the basin was identified. Two gaining reaches were identified in the Clear Fork Brazos River Basin—one from near Roby, Tex., downstream to near Noodle, Tex., and second from Hawley, Tex., downstream to Nugent, Tex. Most of the North Bosque River was characterized as gaining streamflow. Streamflow gains were identified in the main stem of the Brazos River from where the Brazos River main stem forms at the confluence of the Salt Fork Brazos River and Double Mountain Fork Brazos River near Knox City, Tex., downstream to near Seymour, Tex.

Water geochemistry of the Qiantangjiang River, East China: Chemical weathering and CO2 consumption in a basin affected by severe acid deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Wenjing; Shi, Chao; Xu, Zhifang; Zhao, Tong; Jiang, Hao; Liang, Chongshan; Zhang, Xuan; Zhou, Li; Yu, Chong

2016-09-01

The chemical composition of the Qiantangjiang River, the largest river in Zhejiang province in eastern China, was measured to understand the chemical weathering of rocks and the associated CO2 consumption and anthropogenic influences within a silicate-dominated river basin. The average total dissolved solids (TDS, 113 mg l-1) and total cation concentration (TZ+, 1357 μeq l-1) of the river waters are comparable with those of global major rivers. Ca2+ and HCO3- followed by Na2+ and SO42-, dominate the ionic composition of the river water. There are four major reservoirs (carbonates, silicates, atmospheric and anthropogenic inputs) contributing to the total dissolved load of the investigated rivers. The dissolved loads of the rivers are dominated by both carbonate and silicate weathering, which together account for about 76.3% of the total cationic load origin. The cationic chemical weathering rates of silicate and carbonate for the Qiantangjiang basin are estimated to be approximately 4.9 ton km-2 a-1 and 13.9 ton km-2 a-1, respectively. The calculated CO2 consumption rates with the assumption that all the protons involved in the weathering reaction are provided by carbonic acid are 369 × 103 mol km-2 a-1 and 273 × 103 mol km-2 a-1 by carbonate and silicate weathering, respectively. As one of the most severe impacted area by acid rain in China, H2SO4 from acid precipitation is also an important proton donor in weathering reactions. When H2SO4 is considered, the CO2 consumption rates for the river basin are estimated at 286 × 103 mol km-2 a-1 for carbonate weathering and 211 × 103 mol km-2 a-1 for silicate weathering, respectively. The results highlight that the drawdown effect of CO2 consumption by carbonate and silicate weathering can be largely overestimated if the role of sulfuric acid is ignored, especially in the area heavily impacted by acid deposition like Qiantangjiang basin. The actual CO2 consumption rates (after sulfuric acid weathering effect deduction) is only about 77% of the value calculated with the assumption that carbonic acid donates all the protons involved in the weathering reaction.

Turbidity and suspended-sediment transport in the Russian River Basin, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ritter, John R.; Brown, William M.

1971-01-01

The Russian River in north coastal California has a persistent turbidness, which has reportedly caused a decline in the success of the sports fishermen. As a consequence, the number of sports fishermen angling in the river has declined, and industries dependent on their business have suffered. To determine the source of the turbidity and the rate of sediment transport in the basin, a network of sampling station was established in February 1964 along the river, on some of its tributaries, and near Lake Pillsbury in the upper Eel River basin.

Power-law tail probabilities of drainage areas in river basins

USGS Publications Warehouse

Veitzer, S.A.; Troutman, B.M.; Gupta, V.K.

2003-01-01

The significance of power-law tail probabilities of drainage areas in river basins was discussed. The convergence to a power law was not observed for all underlying distributions, but for a large class of statistical distributions with specific limiting properties. The article also discussed about the scaling properties of topologic and geometric network properties in river basins.

33 CFR 334.155 - Severn River, Naval Station Annapolis, Small Boat Basin, Annapolis, MD; naval restricted area.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Severn River, Naval Station Annapolis, Small Boat Basin, Annapolis, MD; naval restricted area. 334.155 Section 334.155 Navigation and... RESTRICTED AREA REGULATIONS § 334.155 Severn River, Naval Station Annapolis, Small Boat Basin, Annapolis, MD...

33 CFR 334.155 - Severn River, Naval Station Annapolis, Small Boat Basin, Annapolis, MD; naval restricted area.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Severn River, Naval Station Annapolis, Small Boat Basin, Annapolis, MD; naval restricted area. 334.155 Section 334.155 Navigation and... RESTRICTED AREA REGULATIONS § 334.155 Severn River, Naval Station Annapolis, Small Boat Basin, Annapolis, MD...

Gila River Basin Native Fishes Conservation Program

Treesearch

Doug Duncan; Robert W. Clarkson

2013-01-01

The Gila River Basin Native Fishes Conservation Program was established to conserve native fishes and manage against nonnative fishes in response to several Endangered Species Act biological opinions between the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Central Arizona Project (CAP) water transfers to the Gila River basin. Populations of some Gila...

Dynamics of Dissolved Organic Matter in Amazon Basin: Insights into Negro River Contribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moreira-Turcq, P.; Perez, M. P.; Benedetti, M.; Oliveira, M. A.; Lagane, C.; Seyler, P.; Oliveira, E.

2006-12-01

The study of global carbon cycle requires a precise knowledge of spatial and temporal distributions and exportation from continents to oceans. Organic carbon fluxes represent approximately half of the total carbon budget carried by rivers. Tropical rivers transport two third of the total organic carbon discharged into the world oceans but important gaps still exist in the knowledge of the tropical river carbon biochemistry. The Amazon River is responsible for 10% of the annual amount of organic carbon transported from rivers to oceans. The most important portion of total organic matter transported in the Amazon Basin is the dissolved fraction (between 80% and 95%). Amazonian annual flux of dissolved organic matter is directly related to hydrological variations. All rivers in the Amazon basin are characterized by monomodal hydrograms, with a low water period in october/november and a high water period in may/june. Temporal variations in Amazon dissolved organic carbon (3.0 to 9.1 mg l^{- 1}) are mainly controled by Negro River inputs. DOC and DON contributions from the Negro River can vary between 120 kgC s-1 and 520 kg C s-1, and between 5 kgN s--1 and 15 kgN s-1, during low and high water period, respectivelly. In the Negro River, during high water stages, while DOC concentrations are stable from the upstream stations to the downstream ones (about 11 mg l-1), discharge increases from 16000 to 46000 m3 s-1 and NOD can quintuple from upstream (0.071 mg l-1) to downstream (0.341 mg l-1). Then the nature of dissolved organic matter is variable (C/N ratio varied from 33 to 120 from upstream to downstream). During low water stages DOC concentrations are lower (mean DOC of 8.1 mg l-1) while DON is in the same range, discharge is about 10000 m3 s-1 at downstream stations of Negro River and the C/N ratio is lower and steadier along the River. Finaly, despite a low basin surface (12%) compared with the two other main Amazon tributaries, Solimões and Madeira Rivers, and a mean annual water input to Amazonas of 15%, the Negro River contributes with about 38% of the total organic dissolved carbon transported by the Amazon River.

Assessing regional climate simulations of the last 30 years (1982-2012) over Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khandu; Awange, Joseph L.; Anyah, Richard; Kuhn, Michael; Fukuda, Yoichi

2017-10-01

The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) River Basin presents a spatially diverse hydrological regime due to it's complex topography and escalating demand for freshwater resources. This presents a big challenge in applying the current state-of-the-art regional climate models (RCMs) for climate change impact studies in the GBM River Basin. In this study, several RCM simulations generated by RegCM4.4 and PRECIS are assessed for their seasonal and interannual variations, onset/withdrawal of the Indian monsoon, and long-term trends in precipitation and temperature from 1982 to 2012. The results indicate that in general, RegCM4.4 and PRECIS simulations appear to reasonably reproduce the mean seasonal distribution of precipitation and temperature across the GBM River Basin, although the two RCMs are integrated over a different domain size. On average, the RegCM4.4 simulations overestimate monsoon precipitation by {˜ }26 and {˜ }5% in the Ganges and Brahmaputra-Meghna River Basin, respectively, while PRECIS simulations underestimate (overestimate) the same by {˜ }7% ({˜ }16%). Both RegCM4.4 and PRECIS simulations indicate an intense cold bias (up to 10° C) in the Himalayas, and are generally stronger in the RegCM4.4 simulations. Additionally, they tend to produce high precipitation between April and May in the Ganges (RegCM4.4 simulations) and Brahmaputra-Meghna (PRECIS simulations) River Basins, resulting in early onset of the Indian monsoon in the Ganges River Basin. PRECIS simulations exhibit a delayed monsoon withdrawal in the Brahmaputra-Meghna River Basin. Despite large spatial variations in onset and withdrawal periods across the GBM River Basin, the basin-averaged results agree reasonably well with the observed periods. Although global climate model (GCM) driven simulations are generally poor in representing the interannual variability of precipitation and winter temperature variations, they tend to agree well with observed precipitation anomalies when driven by perfect boundary conditions. It is also seen that all GCM driven simulations feature significant positive surface temperature trends consistent with the observed datasets.

Numerical representation of rainfall field in the Yarmouk River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shentsis, Isabella; Inbar, Nimrod; Magri, Fabien; Rosenthal, Eliyahu

2017-04-01

Rainfall is the decisive factors in evaluating the water balance of river basins and aquifers. Accepted methods rely on interpolation and extrapolation of gauged rain to regular grid with high dependence on the density and regularity of network, considering the relief complexity. We propose an alternative method that makes up to those restrictions by taking into account additional physical features of the rain field. The method applies to areas with (i) complex plain- and mountainous topography, which means inhomogeneity of the rainfall field and (ii) non-uniform distribution of a rain gauge network with partial lack of observations. The rain model is implemented in two steps: 1. Study of the rainfall field, based on the climatic data (mean annual precipitation), its description by the function of elevation and other factors, and estimation of model parameters (normalized coefficients of the Taylor series); 2. Estimation of rainfall in each historical year using the available data (less complete and irregular versus climatic data) as well as the a-priori known parameters (by the basic hypothesis on inter-annual stability of the model parameters). The proposed method was developed by Shentsis (1990) for hydrological forecasting in Central Asia and was later adapted to the Lake Kinneret Basin. Here this model (the first step) is applied to the Yarmouk River Basin. The Yarmouk River is the largest tributary of the Jordan River. Its transboundary basin (6,833 sq. km) extends over Syria (5,257 sq.km), Jordan (1,379 sq. km) and Israel (197 sq. km). Altitude varies from 1800 m (and more) to -235 m asl. The total number of rain stations in use is 36 (17 in Syria, 19 in Jordan). There is evidently lack and non-uniform distribution of a rain gauge network in Syria. The Yarmouk Basin was divided into five regions considering typical relationship between mean annual rain and elevation for each region. Generally, the borders of regions correspond to the common topographic, geomorphologic and climatic division of the basin. Difference between regional curves is comparable with amplitude of rainfall variance within the regions. In general, rainfall increases with altitude and decreases from west to east (south-east). It should be emphasized that (i) Lake Kinneret Basin (2,490 sq. km) was earlier divided into seven "orographic regions" and (ii) the Lake Kinneret Basin and the Yarmouk River Basin are presented by the system of regional curves X = f (Z) as one whole rainfall field in the Upper Jordan River Basin, where the mean annual rain (X) increases with altitude (Z) and decreases from west to east and from north to south. In the Yarmouk Basin there is much less rainfall (344 mm) than in the Lake Kinneret Basin (749 mm), wherein mean annual rain (2,352 MCM versus 1,865 MCM) is shared between Syria, Jordan and Israel as 80%, 15% and 5%, respectively. The provided rainfall data allow more precise estimations of surface water balances and of recharge to the regional aquifers in the Upper Jordan River Basin. The derived rates serve as fundamental input data for numerical modeling of groundwater flow. This method can be applied to other areas at different temporal and spatial scales. The general applicability makes it a very useful tool in several hydrological problems connected with assessment, management and policy-making of water resources, as well as their changes due to climate and anthropogenic factors. Reference: I. Shentsis (1990). Mathematical models for long-term prediction of mountainous river runoff: methods, information and results, Hydrological Sciences Journal, 35:5, 487-500, DOI: 10.1080/02626669009492453

Origin and production process of eolian dust emitted from the Tarim Basin and their evolution through the Plio-Pleostocene based on ESR signal intensity and crystallinity of quartz

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tada, R.; Isozaki, Y.; Zheng, H.; Sun, Y.; Toyoda, S.; Hasegawa, H.; Yoshida, T.

2010-12-01

Tarim Basin (or Taklimakan Desert) is regarded as one of the major source area of eolian dust in the northern hemisphere. Although a previous study hypothesized that the detrital materials in the Tarim Basin were produced by glacial activity in the surrounding mountains, delivered by rivers, and homogenized by wind within the basin, not enough evidence has been presented to support this hypothesis. Here, we conducted provenance study of eolian dust in the Tarim Basin by examining fine silt fraction (< 20 μm) of the sediments collected from all over the Tarim Basin. We focused on quartz and measured its electron spin resonance [ESR] signal intensity and Crystallinity Index [CI] in the fine (<16μm) and coarse (> 64μm) fractions of various types of sediments including river sediments derived from the Kunlun and Tian Shan Mountains, dry lake sediments in the eastern part of the basin, and mountain loess on the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains, to examine the process to produce eolian dust within the Tarim Basin. The result revealed that the coarse fractions of river sediments were derived from bedrocks exposed in the drainage area of each river, and that quartz in coarse fraction of the river sediment has ESR signal intensity and CI values unique to each river. ESR signal intensity and CI of quartz in fine fractions of river sediments discharged from the Tian Shan Mountains, which are located windward of the basin, and those discharged from mountainous rivers show values similar to the values for coarse fractions, suggesting that their sources are the same as those for the coarse fractions. On the other hand, ESR signal intensity and CI of quartz in fine fractions of river sediments discharged from the Kunlun Mountains show values different from those for the coarse fractions, and converged to the values close to the average values for the fine fractions of river sediments in the basin and also for the mountain loess, the latter represents the eolian dust emitted from the Tarim Basin. The converged values are considered as resulted from homogenization by the repeated recycling process within the basin. Analysis of the Quaternary mountain loess and Plio-Pleistocene loess-like siltstone intercalated in the alluvial sediments delivered from the Kunlun Mountains revealed that eolian dust source and production process essentially the same as the present has been established at ca. 3.5 Ma.

Hydrologic Setting and Conceptual Hydrologic Model of the Walker River Basin, West-Central Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lopes, Thomas J.; Allander, Kip K.

2009-01-01

The Walker River is the main source of inflow to Walker Lake, a closed-basin lake in west-central Nevada. Between 1882 and 2008, agricultural diversions resulted in a lake-level decline of more than 150 feet and storage loss of 7,400,000 acre-ft. Evaporative concentration increased dissolved solids from 2,500 to 17,000 milligrams per liter. The increase in salinity threatens the survival of the Lahontan cutthroat trout, a native species listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. This report describes the hydrologic setting of the Walker River basin and a conceptual hydrologic model of the relations among streams, groundwater, and Walker Lake with emphasis on the lower Walker River basin from Wabuska to Hawthorne, Nevada. The Walker River basin is about 3,950 square miles and straddles the California-Nevada border. Most streamflow originates as snowmelt in the Sierra Nevada. Spring runoff from the Sierra Nevada typically reaches its peak during late May to early June with as much as 2,800 cubic feet per second in the Walker River near Wabuska. Typically, 3 to 4 consecutive years of below average streamflow are followed by 1 or 2 years of average or above average streamflow. Mountain ranges are comprised of consolidated rocks with low hydraulic conductivities, but consolidated rocks transmit water where fractured. Unconsolidated sediments include fluvial deposits along the active channel of the Walker River, valley floors, alluvial slopes, and a playa. Sand and gravel deposited by the Walker River likely are discontinuous strata throughout the valley floor. Thick clay strata likely were deposited in Pleistocene Lake Lahontan and are horizontally continuous, except where strata have been eroded by the Walker River. At Walker Lake, sediments mostly are clay interbedded with alluvial slope, fluvial, and deltaic deposits along the lake margins. Coarse sediments form a multilayered, confined-aquifer system that could extend several miles from the shoreline. Depth to bedrock in the lower Walker River basin ranges from about 900 to 2,000 feet. The average hydraulic conductivity of the alluvial aquifer in the lower Walker River basin is 10-30 feet per day, except where comprised of fluvial sediments. Fluvial sediments along the Walker River have an average hydraulic conductivity of 70 feet per day. Subsurface flow was estimated to be 2,700 acre-feet per year through Double Spring. Subsurface discharge to Walker Lake was estimated to be 4,400 acre-feet per year from the south and 10,400 acre-feet per year from the north. Groundwater levels and groundwater storage have declined steadily in most of Smith and Mason Valleys since 1960. Groundwater levels around Schurz, Nevada, have changed little during the past 50 years. In the Whisky Flat area south of Hawthorne, Nevada, agricultural and municipal pumpage has lowered groundwater levels since 1956. The water-level decline in Walker Lake since 1882 has caused the surrounding alluvial aquifer to drain and groundwater levels to decline. The Wabuska streamflow-gaging station in northern Mason Valley demarcates the upper and lower Walker River basin. The hydrology of the lower Walker River basin is considerably different than the upper basin. The upper basin consists of valleys separated by consolidated-rock mountains. The alluvial aquifer in each valley thins or pinches out at the downstream end, forcing most groundwater to discharge along the river near where the river is gaged. The lower Walker River basin is one surface-water/groundwater system of losing and gaining reaches from Wabuska to Walker Lake, which makes determining stream losses and the direction and amount of subsurface flow difficult. Isotopic data indicate surface water and groundwater in the lower Walker River basin are from two sources of precipitation that have evaporated. The Walker River, groundwater along the Wassuk Range, and Walker Lake plot along one evaporation line. Groundwater along th

Hydrogeologic framework and groundwater/surface-water interactions of the Chehalis River basin, Washington

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gendaszek, Andrew S.

2011-01-01

The Chehalis River has the largest drainage basin of any river entirely contained within the State of Washington with a watershed of approximately 2,700 mi2 and has correspondingly diverse geology and land use. Demands for water resources have prompted the local citizens and governments of the Chehalis River basin to coordinate with Federal, State and Tribal agencies through the Chehalis Basin Partnership to develop a long-term watershed management plan. The recognition of the interdependence of groundwater and surface-water resources of the Chehalis River basin became the impetus for this study, the purpose of which is to describe the hydrogeologic framework and groundwater/surface-water interactions of the Chehalis River basin. Surficial geologic maps and 372 drillers' lithostratigraphic logs were used to generalize the basin-wide hydrogeologic framework. Five hydrogeologic units that include aquifers within unconsolidated glacial and alluvial sediments separated by discontinuous confining units were identified. These five units are bounded by a low permeability unit comprised of Tertiary bedrock. A water table map, and generalized groundwater-flow directions in the surficial aquifers, were delineated from water levels measured in wells between July and September 2009. Groundwater generally follows landsurface-topography from the uplands to the alluvial valley of the Chehalis River. Groundwater gradients are highest in tributary valleys such as the Newaukum River valley (approximately 23 cubic feet per mile), relatively flat in the central Chehalis River valley (approximately 6 cubic feet per mile), and become tidally influenced near the outlet of the Chehalis River to Grays Harbor. The dynamic interaction between groundwater and surface-water was observed through the synoptic streamflow measurements, termed a seepage run, made during August 2010, and monitoring of water levels in wells during the 2010 Water Year. The seepage run revealed an overall gain of 56.8 ± 23.7 cubic feet per second over 32.8 river miles (1.7 cubic feet per second per mile), and alternating gains and losses of streamflow ranging from -48.3 to 30.9 cubic feet per second per mile, which became more pronounced on the Chehalis River downstream of Grand Mound. However, most gains and losses were within measurement error. Groundwater levels measured in wells in unconsolidated sediments fluctuated with changes in stream stage, often within several hours. These fluctuations were set by precipitation events in the upper Chehalis River basin and tides of the Pacific Ocean in the lower Chehalis River basin.±

Sources, transport, and trends for selected trace metals and nutrients in the Coeur d'Alene and Spokane River Basins, Idaho, 1990-2013

USGS Publications Warehouse

Clark, Gregory M.; Mebane, Christopher A.

2014-01-01

Results from this study indicate that remedial activities conducted since the 1990s have been successful in reducing the concentrations and loads of trace metals in streams and rivers in the Coeur d’Alene and Spokane River Basins. Soils, sediment, surface water, and groundwater in areas of the Coeur d’Alene and Spokane River Basins are contaminated, and the hydrological relations between these media are complex and difficult to characterize. Trace metals have variable source areas, are transported differently depending on hydrologic conditions, and behave differently in response to remedial activities in upstream basins. Based on these findings, no single remedial action would be completely effective in reducing all trace metals to nontoxic concentrations throughout the Coeur d’Alene and Spokane River Basins. Instead, unique cleanup activities targeted at specific media and specific source areas may be necessary to achieve long-term water-quality goals.

Lake Murray, Fly and Strickland River Basins, Papua, New Guinea

NASA Image and Video Library

1991-12-01

Lake Murray, a manmade reservoir, lies between the Fly and Strickland River Basins, Papua, New Guinea (7.0S, 141.5E). The region, photographed in sunglint, shows the water level in the reservoir and the full extent of the drainage basins of both river systems as the rivers meander through wide alluvial floodplains. Some forest clearing can be seen in places throughout the region, but most of the area remains in closed canopy forest.

Soil erosion assessment of a Himalayan river basin using TRMM data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pandey, A.; Mishra, S. K.; Gautam, A. K.; Kumar, D.

2015-04-01

In this study, an attempt has been made to assess the soil erosion of a Himalayan river basin, the Karnali basin, Nepal, using rainfall erosivity (R-factor) derived from satellite-based rainfall estimates (TRMM-3B42 V7). Average annual sediment yield was estimated using the well-known Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). The eight-year annual average rainfall erosivity factor (R) for the Karnali River basin was found to be 2620.84 MJ mm ha-1 h-1 year-1. Using intensity-erosivity relationships and eight years of the TRMM daily rainfall dataset (1998-2005), average annual soil erosion was also estimated for Karnali River basin. The minimum and maximum values of the rainfall erosivity factor were 1108.7 and 4868.49 MJ mm ha-1 h-1 year-1, respectively, during the assessment period. The average annual soil loss of the Karnali River basin was found to be 38.17 t ha-1 year-1. Finally, the basin area was categorized according to the following scale of erosion severity classes: Slight (0 to 5 t ha-1 year-1), Moderate (5 to 10 t ha-1 year-1), High (10 to 20 t ha-1 year-1), Very High (20 to 40 t ha-1 year-1), Severe (40 to 80 t ha-1 year-1) and Very Severe (>80 t ha-1 year-1). About 30.86% of the river basin area was found to be in the slight erosion class. The areas covered by the moderate, high, very high, severe and very severe erosion potential zones were 13.09%, 6.36%, 11.09%, 22.02% and 16.64% respectively. The study revealed that approximately 69% of the Karnali River basin needs immediate attention from a soil conservation point of view.

Water and Benefit Sharing in Transboundary River Basins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arjoon, D.; Tilmant, A.; Herrmann, M.

2015-12-01

Growing water scarcity underlies the importance of cooperation for the effective management of river basins, particularly in the context of international rivers in which unidirectional externalities can lead to asymmetric relationships between riparian countries. Studies have shown that significant economic benefits can be expected through basin-wide cooperation, however, the equitable partitioning of these benefits over the basin is less well studied and tends to overlook the importance of stakeholder input in the definition of equitability. In this study, an institutional arrangement to maximize welfare and then share the scarcity cost in a river basin is proposed. A river basin authority plays the role of a bulk water market operator, efficiently allocating bulk water to the users and collecting bulk water charges which are then equitably redistributed among water users. This highly regulated market restrains the behaviour of water users to control externalities and to ensure basin-wide coordination, enhanced efficiency, and the equitable redistribution of the scarcity cost. The institutional arrangement is implemented using the Eastern Nile River basin as a case study. The importance of this arrangement is that it can be adopted for application in negotiations to cooperate in trans-boundary river basins. The benefit sharing solution proposed is more likely to be perceived as equitable because water users help define the sharing rule. As a result, the definition of the sharing rule is not in question, as it would be if existing rules, such as bankruptcy rules or cooperative game theory solutions, are applied, with their inherent definitions of fairness. Results of the case study show that the sharing rule is predictable. Water users can expect to receive between 93.5% and 95% of their uncontested benefits (benefits that they expect to receive if water was not rationed), depending on the hydrologic scenario.

Modeling of extreme freshwater outflow from the north-eastern Japanese river basins to western Pacific Ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Troselj, Josko; Sayama, Takahiro; Varlamov, Sergey M.; Sasaki, Toshiharu; Racault, Marie-Fanny; Takara, Kaoru; Miyazawa, Yasumasa; Kuroki, Ryusuke; Yamagata, Toshio; Yamashiki, Yosuke

2017-12-01

This study demonstrates the importance of accurate extreme discharge input in hydrological and oceanographic combined modeling by introducing two extreme typhoon events. We investigated the effects of extreme freshwater outflow events from river mouths on sea surface salinity distribution (SSS) in the coastal zone of the north-eastern Japan. Previous studies have used observed discharge at the river mouth, as well as seasonally averaged inter-annual, annual, monthly or daily simulated data. Here, we reproduced the hourly peak discharge during two typhoon events for a targeted set of nine rivers and compared their impact on SSS in the coastal zone based on observed, climatological and simulated freshwater outflows in conjunction with verification of the results using satellite remote-sensing data. We created a set of hourly simulated freshwater outflow data from nine first-class Japanese river basins flowing to the western Pacific Ocean for the two targeted typhoon events (Chataan and Roke) and used it with the integrated hydrological (CDRMV3.1.1) and oceanographic (JCOPE-T) model, to compare the case using climatological mean monthly discharges as freshwater input from rivers with the case using our hydrological model simulated discharges. By using the CDRMV model optimized with the SCE-UA method, we successfully reproduced hindcasts for peak discharges of extreme typhoon events at the river mouths and could consider multiple river basin locations. Modeled SSS results were verified by comparison with Chlorophyll-a distribution, observed by satellite remote sensing. The projection of SSS in the coastal zone became more realistic than without including extreme freshwater outflow. These results suggest that our hydrological models with optimized model parameters calibrated to the Typhoon Roke and Chataan cases can be successfully used to predict runoff values from other extreme precipitation events with similar physical characteristics. Proper simulation of extreme typhoon events provides more realistic coastal SSS and may allow a different scenario analysis with various precipitation inputs for developing a nowcasting analysis in the future.

Simulation and prediction the impact of climate change into water resources in Bengawan Solo watershed based on CCAM (Conformal Cubic Atmospheric Model) data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sipayung, Sinta B.; Nurlatifah, Amalia; Siswanto, Bambang

2018-05-01

Bengawan Solo Watershed is one of the largest watersheds in Indonesia. This watershed flows in many areas both in Central Java and East Java. Therefore, the water resources condition greatly affects many people. This research will be conducted on prediction of climate change effect on water resources condition in terms of rainfall conditions in Bengawan Solo River Basin. The goal of this research is to know and predict the climate change impact on water resources based on CCAM (Conformal Cubic Atmosphere Model) with downscaling baseline (historical) model data from 1949 to 2005 and RCP 4.5 from 2006 to 2069. The modeling data was validated with in-situ data (measurement data). To analyse the water availability condition in Bengawan Solo Watershed, the simulation of river flow and water balance condition were done in Bengawan Solo River. Simulation of river flow and water balance conditions were done with ArcSWAT model using climate data from CCAM, DEM SRTM 90 meter, soil type, and land use data. The results of this simulation indicate there is (i) The CCAM data itself after validation has a pretty good result when compared to the insitu data. Based on CCAM simulation results, it is predicted that in 2040-2069 rainfall in Bengawan Solo River Basin will decrease, to a maximum of only about 1 mm when compared to 1971-2000. (ii) The CCAM rainfall prediction itself shows that rainfall in Bengawan Solo River basin will decline until 2069 although the decline itself is not significant and tends to be negligible (rainfall is considered unchanged) (iii) Both in the DJF and JJA seasons, precipitation is predicted to decline as well despite the significant decline. (iv) The river flow simulation show that the water resources in Bengawan Solo River did not change significantly. This event occurred because the rainfall also did not change greatly and close to 0 mm/month.

Spatial design principles for sustainable hydropower development in river basins

DOE PAGES

Jager, Henriëtte I.; Efroymson, Rebecca A.; Opperman, Jeff J.; ...

2015-02-27

How can dams be arranged within a river basin such that they benefit society? Recent interest in this question has grown in response to the worldwide trend toward developing hydropower as a source of renewable energy in Asia and South America, and the movement toward removing unnecessary dams in the US. Environmental and energy sustainability are important practical concerns, and yet river development has rarely been planned with the goal of providing society with a portfolio of ecosystem services into the future. We organized a review and synthesis of the growing research in sustainable river basin design around four spatialmore » decisions: Is it better to build fewer mainstem dams or more tributary dams? Should dams be clustered or distributed among distant subbasins? Where should dams be placed along a river? At what spatial scale should decisions be made? We came up with the following design principles for increasing ecological sustainability: (i) concentrate dams within a subset of tributary watersheds and avoid downstream mainstems of rivers, (ii) disperse freshwater reserves among the remaining tributary catchments, (iii) ensure that habitat provided between dams will support reproduction and retain offspring, and (iv) formulate spatial decision problems at the scale of large river basins. Based on our review, we discuss trade-offs between hydropower and ecological objectives when planning river basin development. We hope that future testing and refinement of principles extracted from our review will define a path toward sustainable river basin design.« less

An evaluation of selenium concentrations in water, sediment, invertebrates, and fish from the Solomon River Basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

May, T.W.; Fairchild, J.F.; Petty, J.D.; Walther, M.J.; Lucero, J.; Delvaux, M.; Manring, J.; Armbruster, M.

2008-01-01

The Solomon River Basin is located in north-central Kansas in an area underlain by marine geologic shales. Selenium is an indigenous constituent of these shales and is readily leached into the surrounding groundwater. Portions of the Basin are irrigated primarily through the pumping of selenium-contaminated groundwater from wells onto fields in agricultural production. Water, sediment, macroinvertebrates, and fish were collected from various sites in the Basin in 1998 and analyzed for selenium. Selenium concentrations were analyzed spatially and temporally and compared to reported selenium toxic effect thresholds for specific ecosystem components: water, sediments, food-chain organisms, and wholebody fish. A selenium aquatic hazard assessment for the Basin was determined based on protocol established by Lemly. Throughout the Basin, water, macroinvertebrate, and whole fish samples exceeded levels suspected of causing reproductive impairment in fish. Population structures of several fish species implied that successful reproduction was occurring; however, the influence of immigration of fish from low-selenium habitats could not be discounted. Site-specific fish reproduction studies are needed to determine the true impact of selenium on fishery resources in the Basin. ?? Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2007.

Floods of May-July 1950 in southeastern Nebraska

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

1953-01-01

Four floods occurred in southeast Nebraska during the period of May to July 1950. Two of these were the greatest known in the State if the size of the drainage areas is considered, and the other two were not so spectacular but were of notable size and of possible hydrologic significance in their relation to the two major floods. Although property loss and damage have been exceeded in previous floods in Nebraska, notably in the flood of May-June 1935 on the Republican River, they were extremely high in the period covered by this report. Loss of life, which resulted largely from the rapid cresting of the streams, was likewise high. Each of the floods was caused by heavy precipitation, which at times reached intensities seldom recorded in the Missouri River basin. On May 8, 1950, more than 14 inches of rain fell over certain areas of the Little Nemaha River basin within a period of a few hours. One center of the storm of July 8, 1950,occurred at York, Nebr., where 11 inches of rain was recorded within a 4-hour period, and the storm total exceeded 13 inches. Notable high rates of discharge produced by the intense rainfall were 1,030 cfs per square mile from 218 square miles of drainage area in the Little Nemaha River basin on May 9, 1950; 1,020 cfs per square mile from 2.5 square miles drainage area in the Elkhorn River basin on June 2, 1950; and 3,320 cfs per square mile from 6.93 square miles of drainage area in the Big Blue River basin on July 9, 1950. This report presents records of stage and discharge for the flood. periods at 36 stream-gaging stations in southeast Nebraska, and a summary of peak discharges, with comparative data for previously known floods at 45 measurement points. The report also includes a discussion of the weather associated with the floods and other data pertinent to the floods.

Comparison of Water Years 2004-05 and Historical Water-Quality Data, Upper Gunnison River Basin, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Spahr, Norman E.; Hartle, David M.; Diaz, Paul

2008-01-01

Population growth and changes in land use have the potential to affect water quality and quantity in the upper Gunnison River Basin. In 1995, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, City of Gunnison, Colorado River Water Conservation District, Crested Butte South Metropolitan District, Gunnison County, Hinsdale County, Mount Crested Butte Water and Sanitation District, National Park Service, Town of Crested Butte, Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District, and Western State College, established a water-quality monitoring program in the upper Gunnison River Basin to characterize current water-quality conditions and to assess the effects of increased urban development and other land-use changes on water quality. The monitoring network has evolved into two groups of stations - stations that are considered long term and stations that are considered rotational. The long-term stations are monitored to assist in defining temporal changes in water quality (how conditions may change over time). The rotational stations are monitored to assist in the spatial definition of water-quality conditions (how conditions differ throughout the basin) and to address local and short-term concerns. Some stations in the rotational group were changed beginning in water year 2007. Annual summaries of the water-quality data from the monitoring network provide a point of reference for discussions regarding water-quality monitoring in the upper Gunnison River Basin. This summary includes data collected during water years 2004 and 2005. The introduction provides a map of the sampling sites, definitions of terms, and a one-page summary of selected water-quality conditions at the network stations. The remainder of the summary is organized around the data collected at individual stations. Data collected during water years 2004 and 2005 are compared to historical data, State water-quality standards, and Federal water-quality guidelines. Data were collected following USGS protocols.

Comparison of 2002 Water Year and Historical Water-Quality Data, Upper Gunnison River Basin, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Spahr, N.E.

2003-01-01

Introduction: Population growth and changes in land-use practices have the potential to affect water quality and quantity in the upper Gunnison River basin. In 1995, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with local sponsors, City of Gunnison, Colorado River Water Conservation District, Crested Butte South Metropolitan District, Gunnison County, Mount Crested Butte Water and Sanitation District, National Park Service, Town of Crested Butte, and Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District, established a water-quality monitoring program in the upper Gunnison River basin to characterize current water-quality conditions and to assess the effects of increased urban development and other land-use changes on water quality. The monitoring network has evolved into two groups of stations, stations that are considered as long term and stations that are rotational. The long-term stations are monitored to assist in defining temporal changes in water quality (how conditions have changed over time). The rotational stations are monitored to assist in the spatial definition of water-quality conditions (how conditions differ throughout the basin) and to address local and short term concerns. Another group of stations (rotational group 2) will be chosen and sampled beginning in water year 2004. Annual summaries of the water-quality data from the monitoring network provide a point of reference for discussions regarding water-quality sampling in the upper Gunnison River basin. This summary includes data collected during water year 2002. The introduction provides a map of the sampling locations, definitions of terms, and a one-page summary of selected water-quality conditions at the network stations. The remainder of the summary is organized around the data collected at individual stations. Data collected during water year 2002 are compared to historical data (data collected for this network since 1995), state water-quality standards, and federal water-quality guidelines. Data were collected during water year 2002 following USGS protocols (U.S. Geological Survey, variously dated).

Comparison of 2006-2007 Water Years and Historical Water-Quality Data, Upper Gunnison River Basin, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Solberg, P.A.; Moore, Bryan; Smits, Dennis

2009-01-01

Population growth and changes in land use have the potential to affect water quality and quantity in the upper Gunnison River basin. In 1995, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, City of Gunnison, Colorado River Water Conservation District, Crested Butte South Metropolitan District, Gunnison County, Hinsdale County, Mount Crested Butte Water and Sanitation District, National Park Service, Town of Crested Butte, Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District, and Western State College established a water-quality monitoring program in the upper Gunnison River basin to characterize current water-quality conditions and to assess the effects of increased urban development and other land-use changes on water quality. The monitoring network has evolved into two groups of stations - stations that are considered long term and stations that are considered rotational. The long-term stations are monitored to assist in defining temporal changes in water quality (how conditions may change over time). The rotational stations are monitored to assist in the spatial definition of water-quality conditions (how conditions differ throughout the basin) and to address local and short-term concerns. Some stations in the rotational group were changed beginning in water year 2007. Annual summaries of the water-quality data from the monitoring network provide a point of reference for discussions regarding water-quality monitoring in the upper Gunnison River basin. This summary includes data collected during water years 2006 and 2007. The introduction provides a map of the sampling sites, definitions of terms, and a one-page summary of selected water-quality conditions at the network stations. The remainder of the summary is organized around the data collected at individual stations. Data collected during water years 2006 and 2007 are compared to historical data, State water-quality standards, and Federal water-quality guidelines. Data were collected following USGS protocols (U.S. Geological Survey, variously dated).

Quality of surface-water supplies in the Triangle area of North Carolina, water year 2009

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pfeifle, C. A.; Giorgino, M. J.; Rasmussen, R. B.

2014-01-01

Surface-water supplies are important sources of drinking water for residents in the Triangle area of North Carolina, which is located within the upper Cape Fear and Neuse River Basins. Since 1988, the U.S. Geological Survey and a consortium of governments have tracked water-quality conditions and trends in several of the area’s water-supply lakes and streams. This report summarizes data collected through this cooperative effort, known as the Triangle Area Water Supply Monitoring Project, during October 2008 through September 2009. Major findings for this period include: - Annual precipitation was approximately 20 percent below the long-term mean (average) annual precipitation. - Streamflow was below the long-term mean at the 10 project streamgages during most of the year. - More than 7,000 individual measurements of water quality were made at a total of 26 sites—15 in the Neuse River Basin and 11 in the Cape Fear River Basin. Forty-seven water-quality properties and constituents were measured. - All observations met North Carolina water-quality standards for water temperature, pH, hardness, chloride, fluoride, sulfate, nitrate, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, nickel, and selenium. - North Carolina water-quality standards were exceeded one or more times for dissolved oxygen, dissolved oxygen percent saturation, chlorophyll a, mercury, copper, iron, manganese, silver, and zinc. Exceedances occurred at 23 sites—13 in the Neuse River Basin and 10 in the Cape Fear River Basin. - Stream samples collected during storm events contained elevated concentrations of 18 water-quality constituents compared to samples collected during non-storm events. - Concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus were within ranges observed during previous years. - Five reservoirs had chlorophyll a concentrations in excess of 40 micrograms per liter at least once during 2009: Little River Reservoir, Falls Lake, Cane Creek Reservoir, University Lake, and Jordan Lake.

Assessment of soil-vegetation cover condition in river basins applying remote sensing data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishchenko, Natalia; Petrosian, Janna; Shirkin, Leonid; Repkin, Roman

2017-04-01

Constant observation of vegetation and soil cover is one of the key issues of river basins ecologic monitoring. Lately remotely determining vegetation indices have been used for this purpose alongside with terrestrial data. It is necessary to consider that observation objects have been continuously changing and these changes are comprehensive and depend on temporal and dimensional parameters. Remote sensing data, embracing vast areas and reflecting various interrelations, allow excluding accidental and short-term changes though concentrating on the transformation of the observed river basin ecosystem environmental condition. The research objective is to assess spatial - temporal peculiarities and the dynamics of soil-vegetation condition of the Klyazma basin as whole and minor river basins within the area. Research objects are located in the centre of European Russia. Data used in our research include both statistic and published data, characterizing soil-vegetation cover of the area, space images («Landsat» ETM+ etc.) Research methods. 1. Dynamics analysis NDVI (Normalized difference vegetation index) 2. Remote data have been correlated to terrestrial measurement results of phytomass reserve, phytoproductivity, soil fertility characteristics, crop capacity (http://biodat.ru) 3. For the digital processing of space images software Erdas Imagine has been used, GIS analysis has been carried out applying Arc GIS. NDVI computation for each image pixel helped to map general condition of the Klyazma vegetation cover and to determine geographic ranges without vegetation or with depressed vegetation. For instance high vegetation index geographic range has been defined which corresponded to Vladimir Opolye characterized with the most fertile grey forest soil in the region. Comparative assessment of soil vegetation cover of minor river basins within the Klyazma basin, judging by the terrestrial data, revealed its better condition in the Koloksha basin which is also located in the area of grey forest soil. Besides here the maximum value of vegetation index for all phytocenosis was detected. In the research the most dynamically changing parts of the Klyazma basin have been determined according to NDVI dynamics analysis. Analyzing the reasons for such changes of NDVI the most significant ecologic processes in the region connected to the changes of vegetation cover condition have been revealed. Fields overgrowing and agricultural crops replacement are the most important of them.

Climate Compatible Development in the Mongolia Steppe: analysis of vulnerability and adaptation response to global changes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ojima, D. S.; Togtokh, C.; Galvin, K. A.

2015-12-01

INTRODUCTION: Climate change and variability, market and policy changes are shaping pastoral communities' decisions on what pathways their future livelihoods will take and how the steppe landscapes and river basins, are managed. Recent droughts and damaging winter storms (zuds) of the past two decades have exacerbated the situation and undermined the natural capital on which the pastoral livelihoods depend upon. River basins are critical natural resources well-being of social-ecological systems in Mongolia. River basins provide the ecosystem services which support pastoral communities and industrial and urban development. Green development strategies are strongly dependent on water resources. Consequently, integrated planning of river basin management is needed to maintain these critical ecosystem services to meet the multiple needs of livelihoods of communities in these basins and to support sustainable development activities within the basins. For this study our team worked in nine sums (i.e., county level administrative areas) in three river basins in two provinces (aimags) to collect household data from 144 households. We also collected census data from the aimags and national level to understand trends at the level of ecosystems and river basins. We have selected 3 sums in each river basis, representing forest steppe, steppe and desert steppe regions for comparison across river basins and ecological zones. FINDINGS: Integrated planning efforts would be enhanced through, one, use of a social-ecological framework and, two, the development of a cross-ministerial working group to address natural resource considerations. Across the three basins agriculture, pastoral, industrial, and urban needs vie for similar ecosystem services. The natural capital and ecosystem services of these basins need to be assessed to understand the vulnerability and capacity of the resources. The most frequently listed "best coping strategy" across all ecosystem types was for herders to have better cooperation, both among themselves and with administrators. They frequently expressed the idea that people working alone can't accomplish anything in comparison to when they work together. Development of cross ministry and cross-sectoral working groups were viewed as one such mechanism.

Geomorphic Controls on Floodplain Soil Organic Carbon in the Yukon Flats, Interior Alaska, From Reach to River Basin Scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lininger, K. B.; Wohl, E.; Rose, J. R.

2018-03-01

Floodplains accumulate and store organic carbon (OC) and release OC to rivers, but studies of floodplain soil OC come from small rivers or small spatial extents on larger rivers in temperate latitudes. Warming climate is causing substantial change in geomorphic process and OC fluxes in high latitude rivers. We investigate geomorphic controls on floodplain soil OC concentrations in active-layer mineral sediment in the Yukon Flats, interior Alaska. We characterize OC along the Yukon River and four tributaries in relation to geomorphic controls at the river basin, segment, and reach scales. Average OC concentration within floodplain soil is 2.8% (median = 2.2%). Statistical analyses indicate that OC varies among river basins, among planform types along a river depending on the geomorphic unit, and among geomorphic units. OC decreases with sample depth, suggesting that most OC accumulates via autochthonous inputs from floodplain vegetation. Floodplain and river characteristics, such as grain size, soil moisture, planform, migration rate, and riverine DOC concentrations, likely influence differences among rivers. Grain size, soil moisture, and age of surface likely influence differences among geomorphic units. Mean OC concentrations vary more among geomorphic units (wetlands = 5.1% versus bars = 2.0%) than among study rivers (Dall River = 3.8% versus Teedrinjik River = 2.3%), suggesting that reach-scale geomorphic processes more strongly control the spatial distribution of OC than basin-scale processes. Investigating differences at the basin and reach scale is necessary to accurately assess the amount and distribution of floodplain soil OC, as well as the geomorphic controls on OC.

Stochastic model for simulating Souris River Basin precipitation, evapotranspiration, and natural streamflow

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kolars, Kelsey A.; Vecchia, Aldo V.; Ryberg, Karen R.

2016-02-24

The Souris River Basin is a 61,000-square-kilometer basin in the Provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba and the State of North Dakota. In May and June of 2011, record-setting rains were seen in the headwater areas of the basin. Emergency spillways of major reservoirs were discharging at full or nearly full capacity, and extensive flooding was seen in numerous downstream communities. To determine the probability of future extreme floods and droughts, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the North Dakota State Water Commission, developed a stochastic model for simulating Souris River Basin precipitation, evapotranspiration, and natural (unregulated) streamflow. Simulations from the model can be used in future studies to simulate regulated streamflow, design levees, and other structures; and to complete economic cost/benefit analyses.Long-term climatic variability was analyzed using tree-ring chronologies to hindcast precipitation to the early 1700s and compare recent wet and dry conditions to earlier extreme conditions. The extended precipitation record was consistent with findings from the Devils Lake and Red River of the North Basins (southeast of the Souris River Basin), supporting the idea that regional climatic patterns for many centuries have consisted of alternating wet and dry climate states.A stochastic climate simulation model for precipitation, temperature, and potential evapotranspiration for the Souris River Basin was developed using recorded meteorological data and extended precipitation records provided through tree-ring analysis. A significant climate transition was seen around1970, with 1912–69 representing a dry climate state and 1970–2011 representing a wet climate state. Although there were some distinct subpatterns within the basin, the predominant differences between the two states were higher spring through early fall precipitation and higher spring potential evapotranspiration for the wet compared to the dry state.A water-balance model was developed for simulating monthly natural (unregulated) mean streamflow based on precipitation, temperature, and potential evapotranspiration at select streamflow-gaging stations. The model was calibrated using streamflow data from the U.S. Geological Survey and Environment Canada, along with natural (unregulated) streamflow data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Correlation coefficients between simulated and natural (unregulated) flows generally were high (greater than 0.8), and the seasonal means and standard deviations of the simulated flows closely matched the means and standard deviations of the natural (unregulated) flows. After calibrating the model for a monthly time step, monthly streamflow for each subbasin was disaggregated into three values per month, or an approximately 10-day time step, and a separate routing model was developed for simulating 10-day streamflow for downstream gages.The stochastic climate simulation model for precipitation, temperature, and potential evapotranspiration was combined with the water-balance model to simulate potential future sequences of 10-day mean streamflow for each of the streamflow-gaging station locations. Flood risk, as determined by equilibrium flow-frequency distributions for the dry (1912–69) and wet (1970–2011) climate states, was considerably higher for the wet state compared to the dry state. Future flood risk will remain high until the wet climate state ends, and for several years after that, because there may be a long lag-time between the return of drier conditions and the onset of a lower soil-moisture storage equilibrium.

Contrasting Population Structures of Two Vectors of African Trypanosomoses in Burkina Faso: Consequences for Control

PubMed Central

Ravel, Sophie; Vreysen, Marc J. B.; Domagni, Kouadjo T.; Causse, Sandrine; Solano, Philippe; de Meeûs, Thierry

2011-01-01

Background African animal trypanosomosis is a major obstacle to the development of more efficient and sustainable livestock production systems in West Africa. Riverine tsetse species such as Glossina palpalis gambiensis Vanderplank and Glossina tachinoides Westwood are the major vectors. A wide variety of control tactics is available to manage these vectors, but their removal will in most cases only be sustainable if the control effort is targeting an entire tsetse population within a circumscribed area. Methodology/Principal Findings In the present study, genetic variation at microsatellite DNA loci was used to examine the population structure of G. p. gambiensis and G. tachinoides inhabiting four adjacent river basins in Burkina Faso, i.e. the Mouhoun, the Comoé, the Niger and the Sissili River Basins. Isolation by distance was significant for both species across river basins, and dispersal of G. tachinoides was ∼3 times higher than that of G. p. gambiensis. Thus, the data presented indicate that no strong barriers to gene flow exists between riverine tsetse populations in adjacent river basins, especially so for G. tachinoides. Conclusions/Significance Therefore, potential re-invasion of flies from adjacent river basins will have to be prevented by establishing buffer zones between the Mouhoun and the other river basin(s), in the framework of the PATTEC (Pan African Tsetse and Trypanosomosis Eradication Campaign) eradication project that is presently targeting the northern part of the Mouhoun River Basin. We argue that these genetic analyses should always be part of the baseline data collection before any tsetse control project is initiated. PMID:21738812

Attributes for NHDPlus Catchments (Version 1.1): Basin Characteristics, 2002

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wieczorek, Michael; LaMotte, Andrew E.

2010-01-01

This data set represents basin characteristics, compiled for every catchment in NHDPlus for the conterminous United States. These characteristics are basin shape index, stream density, sinuosity, mean elevation, mean slope, and number of road-stream crossings. The source data sets are the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's NHDPlus and the U.S. Census Bureau's TIGER/Line Files. The NHDPlus Version 1.1 is an integrated suite of application-ready geospatial datasets that incorporates many of the best features of the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) and the National Elevation Dataset (NED). The NHDPlus includes a stream network (based on the 1:100,00-scale NHD), improved networking, naming, and value-added attributes (VAAs). NHDPlus also includes elevation-derived catchments (drainage areas) produced using a drainage enforcement technique first widely used in New England, and thus referred to as "the New England Method." This technique involves "burning in" the 1:100,000-scale NHD and when available building "walls" using the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD). The resulting modified digital elevation model (HydroDEM) is used to produce hydrologic derivatives that agree with the NHD and WBD. Over the past two years, an interdisciplinary team from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), and contractors, found that this method produces the best quality NHD catchments using an automated process (USEPA, 2007). The NHDPlus dataset is organized by 18 Production Units that cover the conterminous United States. The NHDPlus version 1.1 data are grouped by the U.S. Geologic Survey's Major River Basins (MRBs, Crawford and others, 2006). MRB1, covering the New England and Mid-Atlantic River basins, contains NHDPlus Production Units 1 and 2. MRB2, covering the South Atlantic-Gulf and Tennessee River basins, contains NHDPlus Production Units 3 and 6. MRB3, covering the Great Lakes, Ohio, Upper Mississippi, and Souris-Red-Rainy River basins, contains NHDPlus Production Units 4, 5, 7 and 9. MRB4, covering the Missouri River basins, contains NHDPlus Production Units 10-lower and 10-upper. MRB5, covering the Lower Mississippi, Arkansas-White-Red, and Texas-Gulf River basins, contains NHDPlus Production Units 8, 11 and 12. MRB6, covering the Rio Grande, Colorado and Great Basin River basins, contains NHDPlus Production Units 13, 14, 15 and 16. MRB7, covering the Pacific Northwest River basins, contains NHDPlus Production Unit 17. MRB8, covering California River basins, contains NHDPlus Production Unit 18.

Great Basin riparian and aquatic ecosystems

Treesearch

Don Sada

2008-01-01

Most Great Basin riparian and aquatic ecosystems are associated with streams and springs that are comparatively small and isolated from one another because of the naturally arid climate. There are few rivers and lakes in the region. Surface waters and aquifers that support springs provide the only water available to humans and wildlife. Springs occur at all elevations...

Precipitation-runoff processes in the Feather River basin, northeastern California, and streamflow predictability, water years 1971-97

USGS Publications Warehouse

Koczot, Kathryn M.; Jeton, Anne E.; McGurk, Bruce; Dettinger, Michael D.

2005-01-01

Precipitation-runoff processes in the Feather River Basin of northern California determine short- and long-term streamflow variations that are of considerable local, State, and Federal concern. The river is an important source of water and power for the region. The basin forms the headwaters of the California State Water Project. Lake Oroville, at the outlet of the basin, plays an important role in flood management, water quality, and the health of fisheries as far downstream as the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Existing models of the river simulate streamflow in hourly, daily, weekly, and seasonal time steps, but cannot adequately describe responses to climate and land-use variations in the basin. New spatially detailed precipitation-runoff models of the basin have been developed to simulate responses to climate and land-use variations at a higher spatial resolution than was available previously. This report characterizes daily rainfall, snowpack evolution, runoff, water and energy balances, and streamflow variations from, and within, the basin above Lake Oroville. The new model's ability to predict streamflow is assessed. The Feather River Basin sits astride geologic, topographic, and climatic divides that establish a hydrologic character that is relatively unusual among the basins of the Sierra Nevada. It straddles a north-south geologic transition in the Sierra Nevada between the granitic bedrock that underlies and forms most of the central and southern Sierra Nevada and volcanic bedrock that underlies the northernmost parts of the range (and basin). Because volcanic bedrock generally is more permeable than granitic, the northern, volcanic parts of the basin contribute larger fractions of ground-water flow to streams than do the southern, granitic parts of the basin. The Sierra Nevada topographic divide forms a high altitude ridgeline running northwest to southeast through the middle of the basin. The topography east of this ridgeline is more like the rain-shadowed basins of the northeastern Sierra Nevada than the uplands of most western Sierra Nevada river basins. The climate is mediterranean, with most of the annual precipitation occurring in winter. Because the basin includes large areas that are near the average snowline, rainfall and rain-snow mixtures are common during winter storms. Consequently, the overall timing and rates of runoff from the basin are highly sensitive to winter temperature fluctuations. The models were developed to simulate runoff-generating processes in eight drainages of the Feather River Basin. Together, these models simulate streamflow from 98 percent of the basin above Lake Oroville. The models simulate daily water and heat balances, snowpack evolution and snowmelt, evaporation and transpiration, subsurface water storage and outflows, and streamflow to key streamflow gage sites. The drainages are modeled as 324 hydrologic-response units, each of which is assumed homogeneous in physical characteristics and response to precipitation and runoff. The models were calibrated with emphasis on reproducing monthly streamflow rates, and model simulations were compared to the total natural inflows into Lake Oroville as reconstructed by the California Department of Water Resources for April-July snowmelt seasons from 1971 to 1997. The models are most sensitive to input values and patterns of precipitation and soil characteristics. The input precipitation values were allowed to vary on a daily basis to reflect available observations by making daily transformations to an existing map of long-term mean monthly precipitation rates that account for altitude and rain-shadow effects. The models effectively simulate streamflow into Lake Oroville during water years (October through September) 1971-97, which is demonstrated in hydrographs and statistical results presented in this report. The Butt Creek model yields the most accurate historical April-July simulations, whereas the West Branch

Impact of climate change on river discharge in the Teteriv River basin (Ukraine)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Didovets, Iulii; Lobanova, Anastasia; Krysanova, Valentina; Snizhko, Sergiy; Bronstert, Axel

2016-04-01

The problem of water resources availability in the climate change context arises now in many countries. Ukraine is characterized by a relatively low availability of water resources compared to other countries. It is the 111th among 152 countries by the amount of domestic water resources available per capita. To ensure socio-economic development of the region and to adapt to climate change, a comprehensive assessment of potential changes in qualitative and quantitative characteristics of water resources in the region is needed. The focus of our study is the Teteriv River basin located in northern Ukraine within three administrative districts covering the area of 15,300 km2. The Teteriv is the right largest tributary of the Dnipro River, which is the fourth longest river in Europe. The water resources in the region are intensively used in industry, communal infrastructure, and agriculture. This is evidenced by a large number of dams and industrial objects which have been constructed from the early 20th century. For success of the study, it was necessary to apply a comprehensive hydrological model, tested in similar natural conditions. Therefore, an eco-hydrological model SWIM with the daily time step was applied, as this model was used previously for climate impact assessment in many similar river basins on the European territory. The model was set up, calibrated and validated for the gauge Ivankiv located close to the outlet of the Teteriv River. The Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient for the calibration period is 0.79 (0.86), and percent bias is 4,9% (-3.6%) with the daily (monthly) time step. The future climate scenarios were selected from the IMPRESSIONS (Impacts and Risks from High-End Scenarios: Strategies for Innovative Solutions, www.impressions-project.eu) project, which developed 7 climate scenarios under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 based on GCMs and downscaled using RCMs. The results of climate impact assessment for the Teteriv River basin will be presented.

Modeling regional variation in riverine fish biodiversity in the Arkansas-White-Red River basin

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schweizer, Peter E; Jager, Yetta

The patterns of biodiversity in freshwater systems are shaped by biogeography, environmental gradients, and human-induced factors. In this study, we developed empirical models to explain fish species richness in subbasins of the Arkansas White Red River basin as a function of discharge, elevation, climate, land cover, water quality, dams, and longitudinal position. We used information-theoretic criteria to compare generalized linear mixed models and identified well-supported models. Subbasin attributes that were retained as predictors included discharge, elevation, number of downstream dams, percent forest, percent shrubland, nitrate, total phosphorus, and sediment. The random component of our models, which assumed a negative binomialmore » distribution, included spatial correlation within larger river basins and overdispersed residual variance. This study differs from previous biodiversity modeling efforts in several ways. First, obtaining likelihoods for negative binomial mixed models, and thereby avoiding reliance on quasi-likelihoods, has only recently become practical. We found the ranking of models based on these likelihood estimates to be more believable than that produced using quasi-likelihoods. Second, because we had access to a regional-scale watershed model for this river basin, we were able to include model-estimated water quality attributes as predictors. Thus, the resulting models have potential value as tools with which to evaluate the benefits of water quality improvements to fish.« less

A Method to Estimate Sunshine Duration Using Cloud Classification Data from a Geostationary Meteorological Satellite (FY-2D) over the Heihe River Basin.

PubMed

Wu, Bingfang; Liu, Shufu; Zhu, Weiwei; Yu, Mingzhao; Yan, Nana; Xing, Qiang

2016-11-04

Sunshine duration is an important variable that is widely used in atmospheric energy balance studies, analysis of the thermal loadings on buildings, climate research, and the evaluation of agricultural resources. In most cases, it is calculated using an interpolation method based on regional-scale meteorological data from field stations. Accurate values in the field are difficult to obtain without ground measurements. In this paper, a satellite-based method to estimate sunshine duration is introduced and applied over the Heihe River Basin. This method is based on hourly cloud classification product data from the FY-2D geostationary meteorological satellite (FY-2D). A new index-FY-2D cloud type sunshine factor-is proposed, and the Shuffled Complex Evolution Algorithm (SCE-UA) was used to calibrate sunshine factors from different coverage types based on ground measurement data from the Heihe River Basin in 2007. The estimated sunshine duration from the proposed new algorithm was validated with ground observation data for 12 months in 2008, and the spatial distribution was compared with the results of an interpolation method over the Heihe River Basin. The study demonstrates that geostationary satellite data can be used to successfully estimate sunshine duration. Potential applications include climate research, energy balance studies, and global estimations of evapotranspiration.

A Method to Estimate Sunshine Duration Using Cloud Classification Data from a Geostationary Meteorological Satellite (FY-2D) over the Heihe River Basin

PubMed Central

Wu, Bingfang; Liu, Shufu; Zhu, Weiwei; Yu, Mingzhao; Yan, Nana; Xing, Qiang

2016-01-01

Sunshine duration is an important variable that is widely used in atmospheric energy balance studies, analysis of the thermal loadings on buildings, climate research, and the evaluation of agricultural resources. In most cases, it is calculated using an interpolation method based on regional-scale meteorological data from field stations. Accurate values in the field are difficult to obtain without ground measurements. In this paper, a satellite-based method to estimate sunshine duration is introduced and applied over the Heihe River Basin. This method is based on hourly cloud classification product data from the FY-2D geostationary meteorological satellite (FY-2D). A new index—FY-2D cloud type sunshine factor—is proposed, and the Shuffled Complex Evolution Algorithm (SCE-UA) was used to calibrate sunshine factors from different coverage types based on ground measurement data from the Heihe River Basin in 2007. The estimated sunshine duration from the proposed new algorithm was validated with ground observation data for 12 months in 2008, and the spatial distribution was compared with the results of an interpolation method over the Heihe River Basin. The study demonstrates that geostationary satellite data can be used to successfully estimate sunshine duration. Potential applications include climate research, energy balance studies, and global estimations of evapotranspiration. PMID:27827935

The economic impact on the forest sector of critical habitat delineation for salmon in the Columbia and Snake River basins.

Treesearch

R.W. Haynes; N.A. Bolon; D.T. Hormaechea

1992-01-01

Economic implications of critical habitat designation (CHD) for salmon in the Columbia River basin were estimated in advance of actual designation and recovery plan development. Economic impacts on Pacific, Northwest, Intermountain, and Northern Region National Forests' range, recreation, timber, and mineral programs in the Columbia and Snake River basins were...

Water resources of the River Rouge basin southeastern Michigan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Knutilla, R.L.

1971-01-01

The River Rouge basin is characterized by moderately hilly topography to the northwest graduating to a relatively level land surface to the south east.Stream gradients near the northwestern basin divide are relatively steep; but many become more steep in reaches where they cross beach lines of former glacial lakes. In the lower reaches of the River Rouge gradients lessen.

33 CFR 334.160 - Severn River, at U.S. Naval Academy Santee Basin, Annapolis, Md.; naval restricted area.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Severn River, at U.S. Naval Academy Santee Basin, Annapolis, Md.; naval restricted area. 334.160 Section 334.160 Navigation and... RESTRICTED AREA REGULATIONS § 334.160 Severn River, at U.S. Naval Academy Santee Basin, Annapolis, Md.; naval...

33 CFR 334.160 - Severn River, at U.S. Naval Academy Santee Basin, Annapolis, Md.; naval restricted area.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Severn River, at U.S. Naval Academy Santee Basin, Annapolis, Md.; naval restricted area. 334.160 Section 334.160 Navigation and... RESTRICTED AREA REGULATIONS § 334.160 Severn River, at U.S. Naval Academy Santee Basin, Annapolis, Md.; naval...

National Dam Safety Program. Onondaga Dam (Inventory Number NY 794), Oswego River Basin, Onondaga County, New York. Phase I Inspection Report.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-06-30

Onondag Darn IC^Tjr 50 DO.GWAO1%Q I /W0 (Inventory Numiber NY 794), Oswego River , Basin , Onondage County, New York.Phs IS.DISR)UTI!4 TAY- I Inspection...Dam: Onondaga Dam ID. No. NY 794 State Located: New York County: Onondaga Watershed: Oswego River Basin Stream: Onondaga Creek Date of Inspection...CL E E C4)S0. 0. w CD 2. > C CD C C I 0 0 PHASE I INSPECTION REPORT ONONDAGA DAM I.D. NO NY 794 OSWEGO RIVER BASIN ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK SECTION 1

33 CFR 207.10 - Charles River, Mass.; dam of Charles River Basin Commission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Charles River, Mass.; dam of Charles River Basin Commission. 207.10 Section 207.10 Navigation and Navigable Waters CORPS OF ENGINEERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE NAVIGATION REGULATIONS § 207.10 Charles River, Mass.; dam of...

33 CFR 207.10 - Charles River, Mass.; dam of Charles River Basin Commission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Charles River, Mass.; dam of Charles River Basin Commission. 207.10 Section 207.10 Navigation and Navigable Waters CORPS OF ENGINEERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE NAVIGATION REGULATIONS § 207.10 Charles River, Mass.; dam of...

A survey of valleys and basins of the western United States for the capacity to produce winter ozone.

PubMed

Mansfield, Marc L; Hall, Courtney F

2018-04-18

High winter ozone in the Uintah Basin, Utah, and the Upper Green River Basin, Wyoming, occurs because of the confluence of three separate factors: (1) extensive oil or natural gas production, (2) topography conducive to strong multiple-day thermal inversions, and (3) snow cover. We surveyed 13 basins and valleys in the western United States for the existence and magnitude of these factors. Seven of the basins, because winter ozone measurements were available, were assigned to four different behavioral classes. Based on similarities among the basins, the remaining six were also given a tentative assignment. Two classes (1 and 2) correspond to basins with high ozone because all three factors just listed are present at sufficient magnitude. Class 3 corresponds to rural basins with ozone at background levels, and occurs because at least one of the three factors is weak or absent. Class 4 corresponds to ozone below background levels, and occurs, for example, in urban basins where emissions scavenge ozone. All three factors are present in the Wind River Basin, Wyoming, but compared to the Uintah or the Upper Green Basins, it has only moderate oil and gas production and is assigned to class 3. We predict that the Wind River Basin, as well as other class 3 basins that have inversions and snow cover, would transition from background (class 3) to high ozone behavior (class 1 or 2) if oil or gas production were to intensify, or to class 4 (low winter ozone) if they were to become urban. High ozone concentrations in winter only occur in basins or valleys that have an active oil and natural gas production industry, multiple-day thermal inversions, and snow cover, and have only been documented in two basins worldwide. We have examined a number of other candidate basins in the western United States and conclude that these factors are either absent or too weak to produce high winter ozone. This study illustrates how strong each factor needs to be before winter ozone can be expected, and can be used by planners and regulators to foresee the development of winter ozone problems.

Evaluation of ecological instream flow considering hydrological alterations in the Yellow River basin, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Qiang; Zhang, Zongjiao; Shi, Peijun; Singh, Vijay P.; Gu, Xihui

2018-01-01

The Yellow River is the second largest river in China and is the important source for water supply in the northwestern and northern China. It is often regarded as the mother river of China. Owing to climatic change and intensifying human activities, such as increasing withdrawal of water for meeting growing agricultural irrigation needs since 1986, the flow of Yellow River has decreased, with serious impacts on the ecological environment. Using multiple hydrological indicators and Flow Duration Curve (DFC)-based ecodeficit and ecosurplus, this study investigates the impact of hydrological alterations, such as the impact of water reservoirs or dams, on downstream ecological instream flow. Results indicate that: (1) due to the impoundment and hydrological regulations of water reservoirs, occurrence rates and magnitudes of high flow regimes have decreased and the decrease is also found in the magnitudes of low flow events. These changes tend to be more evident from the upper to the lower Yellow River basin; (2) human activities tend to enhance the instream flow variability, particularly after the 1980s;(3) the ecological environment in different parts of the Yellow River basin is under different degrees of ecological risk. In general, lower to higher ecological risk can be detected due to hydrological alterations from the upper to the lower Yellow River basin. This shows that conservation of ecological environment and river health is facing a serious challenge in the lower Yellow River basin; (4) ecological instream flow indices, such as ecodeficit and ecosurplus, and IHA32 hydrological indicators are in strong relationships, suggesting that ecodeficit and ecosurplus can be regarded as appropriate ecological indicators for developing measures for mitigating the adverse impact of human activities on the conservation of ecological environment in the Yellow River basin.

Floods of April-June 1952 in Utah and Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wells, J.V.B.

1957-01-01

The floods of April-June 1952 in the Great Basin and in the Green River basin in Utah came as the result of the heaviest snow cover recorded, a long period of near-record subnormal temperature during March and early April, and an abrupt change to above-normal temperature that induced rapid melting.Rainfall played an insignificant part. Low- and intermediate-elevation snow melted, bringing many streams to record-high level. Large diurnal fluctuations of discharge were evident on smaller streams. The temperature remained high until mid-May. As high-elevation snow became primed for runoff, the temperature dropped enough to refreeze and alter the structure of snow cover, thus reducing the effectiveness of the subsequent melting temperature. Had there been no respite from melting temperatures much greater peak discharges would have occurred, with damage greatly exceeding that experienced. Streams remained at high levels for several weeks.Record peaks were reached on Strawberry River, lower Weber River, Ogden River, Spanish Fork, lower Provo River, and Jordan River in Utah; Humboldt River and its tributaries draining the north area of the basin in Nevada; and the central Bear River in Idaho and Wyoming. Record volumes for the water year were measured on many streams in the northcentral part of Utah, the northeastern part of Nevada, and the central part of the Bear River basin in Idaho and Wyoming. Damage in the Great Basin reached \\$10 million and in the Green River basin, more than$300,000. Two lives were lost on Ogden River. The greatest urban damage, in Salt Lake City, totaled \\$1.9 million; the greatest single damage, to Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, was \\$510,000.

Thermal profiles for selected river reaches in the Stillaguamish River basin, Washington, August 2011

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gandaszek, Andrew S.

2011-01-01

Watershed Sciences, LLC, 2002, Aerial surveys in the Stillaguamish and Skagit River Basins-Thermal infrared and color videography: Corvallis, Oreg., Water Sciences, for Washington Department of Ecology, 28 p.

Comparison of Methylmercury Production and Accumulation in Sediments of the Congaree and Edisto River Basins, South Carolina, 2004-06

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bradley, Paul M.; Chapelle, Francis H.; Journey, Celeste A.

2009-01-01

Fish-tissue mercury concentrations (approximately 2 micrograms per gram) in the Edisto River basin of South Carolina are among the highest recorded in the United States. Substantially lower mercury concentrations (approximately 0.2 microgram per gram) are reported in fish from the adjacent (about 30 kilometer) Congaree River basin and the Congaree National Park. In contrast, concentrations of total mercury were statistically higher in sediments from the Congaree River compared with those in sediments from the Edisto River. Furthermore, no statistically significant difference was observed in concentrations of methylmercury or net methylation potential in sediments collected from various Edisto and Congaree hydrologic settings. In both systems, the net methylation potential was low (0-0.17 nanogram per gram per day) for in-stream sediments exposed to continuously flowing water but substantially higher (about 1.8 nanograms per gram per day) in wetland sediments exposed to standing water. These results are not consistent with the hypothesis that differences in fish-tissue mercury between the Edisto and Congaree basins reflect fundamental differences in the potential for each system to methylate mercury. Rather, the significantly higher ratios of methylmercury to total mercury observed in the Edisto system suggest that the net accumulation and(or) preservation of methylmercury are greater in the Edisto system. The marked differences in net methylation potential observed between the wetland and in-stream settings suggest the hypothesis that methylmercury transport from zones of production (wetlands) to points of entry into the food chain (channels) may contribute to the observed differences in fish-tissue mercury concentrations between the two river systems.

Modeling of soil erosion and sediment transport in the East River Basin in southern China.

PubMed

Wu, Yiping; Chen, Ji

2012-12-15

Soil erosion is a major global environmental problem that has caused many issues involving land degradation, sedimentation of waterways, ecological degradation, and nonpoint source pollution. Therefore, it is significant to understand the processes of soil erosion and sediment transport along rivers, and this can help identify the erosion prone areas and find potential measures to alleviate the environmental effects. In this study, we investigated soil erosion and identified the most seriously eroded areas in the East River Basin in southern China using a physically-based model, Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). We also introduced a classical sediment transport method (Zhang) into SWAT and compared it with the built-in Bagnold method in simulating sediment transport process along the river. The derived spatial soil erosion map and land use based erosion levels can explicitly illustrate the identification and prioritization of the critical soil erosion areas in this basin. Our results also indicate that erosion is quite sensitive to soil properties and slope. Comparison of Bagnold and Zhang methods shows that the latter can give an overall better performance especially in tracking the peak and low sediment concentrations along the river. We also found that the East River is mainly characterized by sediment deposition in most of the segments and at most times of a year. Overall, the results presented in this paper can provide decision support for watershed managers about where the best management practices (conservation measures) can be implemented effectively and at low cost. The methods we used in this study can also be of interest in sediment modeling for other basins worldwide. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Runoff simulation in the Ferghana Valley (Central Asia) using conceptual hydrological HBV-light model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radchenko, Iuliia; Breuer, Lutz; Forkutsa, Irina; Frede, Hans-Georg

2013-04-01

Glaciers and permafrost on the ranges of the Tien Shan mountain system are primary sources of water in the Ferghana Valley. The water artery of the valley is the Syr Darya River that is formed by confluence of the Naryn and Kara Darya rivers, which originate from the mountain glaciers of the Ak-Shyrak and the Ferghana ranges accordingly. The Ferghana Valley is densely populated and main activity of population is agriculture that heavily depends on irrigation especially in such arid region. The runoff reduction is projected in future due to global temperature rise and glacier shrinkage as a consequence. Therefore, it is essential to study climate change impact on water resources in the area both for ecological and economic aspects. The evaluation of comparative contribution of small upper catchments (n=24) with precipitation predominance in discharge and the large Naryn and Karadarya River basins, which are fed by glacial melt water, to the Fergana Valley water balance under current and future climatic conditions is general aim of the study. Appropriate understanding of the hydrological cycle under current climatic conditions is significant for prognosis of water resource availability in the future. Thus, conceptual hydrological HBV-light model was used for analysing of the water balance of the small upper catchments that surround the Ferghana Valley. Three trial catchments (the Kugart River basin, 1010 km²; the Kurshab River basin, 2010 km2; the Akbura River basin, 2260 km²) with relatively good temporal quality data were chosen to setup the model. Due to limitation of daily temperature data the MODAWEC weather generator, which converts monthly temperature data into daily based on correlation with rainfall, was tested and applied for the HBV-light model.

Klamath River Basin water-quality data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, Cassandra D.; Rounds, Stewart A.; Orzol, Leonard L.; Sobieszczyk, Steven

2018-05-29

The Klamath River Basin stretches from the mountains and inland basins of south-central Oregon and northern California to the Pacific Ocean, spanning multiple climatic regions and encompassing a variety of ecosystems. Water quantity and water quality are important topics in the basin, because water is a critical resource for farming and municipal use, power generation, and for the support of wildlife, aquatic ecosystems, and endangered species. Upper Klamath Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Oregon (112 square miles) and is known for its seasonal algal blooms. The Klamath River has dams for hydropower and the upper basin requires irrigation water to support agriculture and grazing. Multiple species of endangered fish inhabit the rivers and lakes, and the marshes are key stops on the Pacific flyway for migrating birds. For these and other reasons, the water resources in this basin have been studied and monitored to support their management distribution.

Water Withdrawals, Use, and Wastewater Return Flows in the Concord River Basin, Eastern Massachusetts, 1996-2000

USGS Publications Warehouse

Barlow, Lora K.; Hutchins, Linda M.; Desimone, Leslie A.

2009-01-01

Water withdrawals, use, and wastewater return flows for the Concord River Basin were estimated for the period 1996-2000. The study area in eastern Massachusetts is 400 square miles in area and includes the basins of two major tributaries, the Assabet and Sudbury Rivers, along with the Concord River, which starts at the confluence of the two tributaries. About 400,000 people lived in the basin during the study period, on the basis of an analysis of census data, land use, and population density. Public water systems served an estimated 87 percent of the people in the basin, and public wastewater systems served an estimated 65 percent of the basin population. The estimates of water withdrawals, use, wastewater return flows, and imports and exports for the Concord River Basin and 25 subbasins provide information that can be used in hydrologic analyses such as water budgets and can guide water-resources allocations for human and environmental needs. Withdrawals in the basin were estimated at 12,700 million gallons per year (Mgal/yr) during the study period, of which 10,100 Mgal/yr (about 80 percent) were withdrawn by public water-supply systems and 2,650 Mgal/yr were self-supplied by individual users. Water use in the basin and subbasins was estimated by using water withdrawals, average per capita use rates (about 72 gallons per day per person), land-use data, estimated population densities, and other information. Total water use in the basin, which included imports, was 19,200 Mgal/yr and was provided mostly (86.2 percent) by public supply. Domestic use (11,300 Mgal/yr) was the largest component, accounting for about 60 percent of total water use in the basin. Commercial use (3,770 Mgal/yr), industrial use (1,330 Mgal/yr), and agricultural use (including golf-course irrigation; 562 Mgal/yr) accounted for 19.6, 6.9, and 2.9 percent, respectively, of total use. Water that was unaccounted for in public-supply systems was estimated at 2,260 Mgal/yr, or 11.8 percent of total water use in the basin. Wastewater return flows discharged in the basin were estimated at 11,800 Mgal/yr, of which 6,620 Mgal/yr were discharged from municipal wastewater-treatment facilities to surface waters and 5,190 Mgal/yr were self-disposed through septic systems to ground water; wastewater disposed through septic systems was generated by both public- and self-supply use. Water use and management in the Concord River Basin resulted in an estimated import of 6,460 Mgal/yr of potable water for public supply and an estimated export of 6,590 Mgal/yr of wastewater. Water was imported into the Assabet, Sudbury, and Lower Concord (the area draining directly to the Concord River) River Basins for public supply. Wastewater was imported into the Assabet River Basin, but exported from the Sudbury and Lower Concord River Basins. Of the 25 subbasins in the Concord River Basin for which water use was analyzed, 20 subbasins imported potable water, 4 subbasins exported potable water (Fort Meadow Brook, Indian Brook, Lower Sudbury River, and Whitehall Brook), and potable water was neither imported nor exported in one subbasin (Elizabeth Brook). Wastewater was imported into the Assabet Headwaters, Assabet Main Stem, and Hop Brook subbasins; wastewater was neither imported to nor exported from the Elizabeth Brook, Nashoba Brook, and Pine Brook subbasins; and wastewater was exported from all other subbasins. Water use and management in the basin also resulted in a net transfer of water from ground water to surface water, discharged as wastewater, of about 4,000 Mgal/yr.

Phytoplankton chlorophyte structure as related to ENSO events in a saline lowland river (Salado River, Buenos Aires, Argentina)

PubMed Central

Solari, Lía C; Gabellone, Néstor A; Claps, María C; Casco, María A; Quaíni, Karina P; Neschuk, Nancy C

2014-01-01

We analyzed the phytoplankton present in the lower sector of the Salado River (Buenos Aires, Argentina) for 10 years (1995–2005) and detected significant changes occurring in chlorophyte abundance and species richness during La Niña event (1998–1999), which period was analyzed throughout the entire basin (main stream and tributaries). We compared the physicochemical and biologic variables between two El Niño–La Niña–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) periods – El Niño (March 1997–January 1998) and La Niña (May 1998–May 1999) – to identify possible indicators of a relationship between climatic anomalies and chlorophyte performance. Chlorophyte density increased during the La Niña. Under normal or extreme hydrologic conditions, mobile (Chlamydomonas spp.) and nonmobile (Monoraphidium spp.) chlorophytes codominated. These species belonged to Reynolds's functional groups X1 and X2, those typical of nutrient-enriched environments. Comparative analyses between El Niño and La Niña periods indicated significant differences in physicochemical (K+, dissolved polyphenols, particulate reactive phosphorus, alkalinity, pH) and biologic (species diversity and richness, phytoplankton and chlorophyte total densities) variables between the two periods at all basin sites. During the La Niña condition, species richness was greater owing to interconnected shallow lakes and drainage-channel inputs, while the Shannon diversity index was lower because of the high abundance values of Monoraphidium minutum. A detailed analysis of the chlorophytes in the entire basin, indicated that changes in density and species dominance occurred on a regional scale although diverse chlorophyte assemblages were identified in the different sectors of the Salado River basin. After La Niña event, the entire basin had the potential to revert to the previous density values, showing the resilience to global environmental changes and the ability to reestablish the general conditions of stability. PMID:24772271

Phytoplankton chlorophyte structure as related to ENSO events in a saline lowland river (Salado River, Buenos Aires, Argentina).

PubMed

Solari, Lía C; Gabellone, Néstor A; Claps, María C; Casco, María A; Quaíni, Karina P; Neschuk, Nancy C

2014-04-01

We analyzed the phytoplankton present in the lower sector of the Salado River (Buenos Aires, Argentina) for 10 years (1995-2005) and detected significant changes occurring in chlorophyte abundance and species richness during La Niña event (1998-1999), which period was analyzed throughout the entire basin (main stream and tributaries). We compared the physicochemical and biologic variables between two El Niño-La Niña-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) periods - El Niño (March 1997-January 1998) and La Niña (May 1998-May 1999) - to identify possible indicators of a relationship between climatic anomalies and chlorophyte performance. Chlorophyte density increased during the La Niña. Under normal or extreme hydrologic conditions, mobile (Chlamydomonas spp.) and nonmobile (Monoraphidium spp.) chlorophytes codominated. These species belonged to Reynolds's functional groups X1 and X2, those typical of nutrient-enriched environments. Comparative analyses between El Niño and La Niña periods indicated significant differences in physicochemical (K(+), dissolved polyphenols, particulate reactive phosphorus, alkalinity, pH) and biologic (species diversity and richness, phytoplankton and chlorophyte total densities) variables between the two periods at all basin sites. During the La Niña condition, species richness was greater owing to interconnected shallow lakes and drainage-channel inputs, while the Shannon diversity index was lower because of the high abundance values of Monoraphidium minutum. A detailed analysis of the chlorophytes in the entire basin, indicated that changes in density and species dominance occurred on a regional scale although diverse chlorophyte assemblages were identified in the different sectors of the Salado River basin. After La Niña event, the entire basin had the potential to revert to the previous density values, showing the resilience to global environmental changes and the ability to reestablish the general conditions of stability.

Pb-Zn-Cd-Hg multi isotopic characterization of the Loire River Basin, France

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Millot, R.; Widory, D.; Innocent, C.; Guerrot, C.; Bourrain, X.; Johnson, T. M.

2012-12-01

The contribution of human activities such as industries, agriculture and domestic inputs, becomes more and more significant in the chemical composition (major ions and pollutants such as metals) of the dissolved load of rivers. Furthermore, this influence can also be evidenced in the suspended solid matter known to play an important role in the transport of heavy metals through river systems. Human factors act as a supplementary key process. Therefore the mass-balance for the budget of catchments and river basins include anthropogenic disturbances. The Loire River in central France is approximately 1010 km long and drains an area of 117,800 km2. Initially, the Loire upstream flows in a south to north direction originating in the Massif Central, and continues up to the city of Orléans, 650 km from the source. In the upper basin, the bedrock is old plutonic rock overlain by much younger volcanic rocks. The Loire River then follows a general east to west direction to the Atlantic Ocean. The intermediate basin includes three major tributaries flowing into the Loire River from the left bank: the Cher, the Indre and the Vienne rivers; the main stream flows westward and its valley stretches toward the Atlantic Ocean. Here, the Loire River drains the sedimentary series of the Paris Basin, mainly carbonate deposits. The lower Loire basin drains pre-Mesozoic basement of the Armorican Massif and its overlying Mesozoic to Cenozoic sedimentary deposits. The Loire River is one of the main European riverine inputs to the Atlantic ocean. Here we are reporting concentration and isotope data for heavy metals Zn-Cd-Pb-Hg in river waters and suspended sediments from the Loire River Basin. In addition, we also report concentration and isotope data for these metals for the different industrial sources within the Loire Basin, as well as data for biota samples such as mussels and oysters from the Bay of Biscay and North Brittany. These organisms are known to be natural accumulators of metal pollutants. The main objective of this study is to characterize the sources and the behavior of these heavy metals in the aquatic environment, and their spatial distribution using a multi-isotope approach. Each of these isotope systematics on their own reveals important information about their geogenic or anthropogenic origin but, considered together, provide a more integrated understanding of the budgets of these pollutants within the Loire River Basin.

Hydrogeologic framework of the uppermost principal aquifer systems in the Williston and Powder River structural basins, United States and Canada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thamke, Joanna N.; LeCain, Gary D.; Ryter, Derek W.; Sando, Roy; Long, Andrew J.

2014-01-01

Regionally, water in the lower Tertiary and Upper Cretaceous aquifer systems flows in a northerly or northeasterly direction from the Powder River structural basin to the Williston structural basin. Groundwater flow in the Williston structural basin generally is easterly or northeasterly. Flow in the uppermost hydrogeologic units generally is more local and controlled by topography where unglaciated in the Williston structural basin than is flow in the glaciated part and in underlying aquifers. Groundwater flow in the Powder River structural basin generally is northerly with local variations greatest in the uppermost aquifers. Groundwater is confined, and flow is regional in the underlying aquifers.

Improving Seasonal Climate Predictability in the Colorado River Basin for Enhanced Decision Support

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajagopal, S.; Mahmoud, M. I.

2016-12-01

The water resource management community is increasingly seeking skillful seasonal climate forecasts with long lead times. But predicting wet or dry climate with sufficient lead time (3 months) for a season (especially winter) in the Colorado River Basin (CRB) is a challenging problem. The typical approach taken to predicting winter climate is based on using climate indices and climate models to predict precipitation or streamflow in the Colorado River Basin. In addition to this approach; which may have a long lead time, water supply forecasts are also generated based on current observations by the Colorado River Forecast Center. Recently, the effects of coupled atmospheric-ocean phenomena such as ENSO over North America, and atmospheric circulation patterns at the 500 mb pressure level, which make the CRB wet or dry, have been studied separately. In the current work we test whether combining climate indices and circulation patterns improve predictability in the CRB. To accomplish this, the atmospheric circulation data from the Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) and climate indices data from the Climate Prediction Center were combined using logical functions. To quantify the skill in prediction, statistics such as the hit ratio and false alarm ratio were computed. The results from using a combination of climate indices and atmospheric circulation patterns suggest that there is an improvement in the prediction skill with hit ratios higher than 0.8, as compared to using either predictor individually (which typically produced a hit ratio of 0.6). Based on this result, there is value in using this hybrid approach when compared to a black box statistical model, as the climate index is an analog to the moisture availability and the right atmospheric circulation pattern helps in transporting that moisture to the Basin.

Comparative analysis of meteorological and hydrological drought in the Pearl River basin during the period 1960-2012

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, K.; Wu, C.; Hu, B.; Niu, J.

2017-12-01

Drought is one of the major natural hazards that can have devastating impacts on the regional environment, agriculture, and water resources. Previous studies have conducted the assessment of historic changes in meteorological drought over various regional scales but rarely considered hydrological drought due to limited hydrological observations. Here, we use a long-term (1960-2012) gridded hydro-meteorological data to present a comparative analysis of meteorological and hydrological drought in the Pearl River basin in southern China using the standardized precipitation index (SPI) and the standardized runoff index (SRI). The variation in SPI and SRI at four different timescales (1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month) is investigated using the Mann-Kendall (M-K) method and continuous wavelet transform (CWT). The results indicate that the correlation between SPI and SRI is strong over the Pearl River basin and tends to be stronger at the longer timescale. Meanwhile, the periodic oscillation pattern of SPI becomes more consistent with that of SRI with the increased timescale. The SPI can be used as a substitute for SRI to represent the hydrological drought at the long-term scale. Overall there is a noticeably wetting trend mainly in the eastern parts and a significant drying trend mainly in the western regions and the downstream area of the Pearl River basin. The variability of meteorological drought is significant mainly in the eastern and western regions, while the variability of hydrological drought tends to be larger mainly in the western region. CWT analysis indicates a period of 0.75-7 years in both meteorological and hydrological droughts during the period 1960-2012 in the study region.

When high waters recede and the floodplain reemerges: Evaluating the lingering effects of extreme flooding on stream nitrogen cycling.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neville, J.; Emanuel, R. E.

2017-12-01

In 2016 Hurricane Matthew brought immense flooding and devastation to the Lumbee (aka Lumber) River basin. Some impacts are obvious, such as deserted homes and businesses, but other impacts, including long-term environmental, are uncertain. Extreme flooding throughout the basin established temporary hydrologic connectivity between aquatic environments and upland sources of nutrients and other pollutants. Though 27% of the basin is covered by wetlands, hurricane-induced flooding was so intense that wetlands may have had no opportunity to mitigate delivery of nutrients into surface waters. As a result, how Hurricane Matthew impacted nitrate retention and uptake in the Lumbee River remains uncertain. The unknown magnitude of nitrate transported into the Lumbee River from surrounding sources may have lingering impacts on nitrogen cycling in this stream. With these potential impacts in mind, we conducted a Lagrangian water quality sampling campaign to assess the ability of the Lumbee River to retain and process nitrogen following Hurricane Matthew. We collected samples before and after flooding and compare first order nitrogen uptake kinetics of both periods. The analysis and comparisons allow us to evaluate the long-term impacts of Hurricane Matthew on nitrogen cycling after floodwaters recede.

Historical trends and the long-term changes of the hydrological cycle components in a Mediterranean river basin.

PubMed

Mentzafou, A; Wagner, S; Dimitriou, E

2018-04-29

Identifying the historical hydrometeorological trends in a river basin is necessary for understanding the dominant interactions between climate, human activities and local hydromorphological conditions. Estimating the hydrological reference conditions in a river is also crucial for estimating accurately the impacts from human water related activities and design appropriate water management schemes. In this effort, the output of a regional past climate model was used, covering the period from 1660 to 1990, in combination with a dynamic, spatially distributed, hydrologic model to estimate the past and recent trends in the main hydrologic parameters such as overland flow, water storages and evapotranspiration, in a Mediterranean river basin. The simulated past hydrologic conditions (1660-1960) were compared with the current hydrologic regime (1960-1990), to assess the magnitude of human and natural impacts on the identified hydrologic trends. The hydrological components of the recent period of 2008-2016 were also examined in relation to the impact of human activities. The estimated long-term trends of the hydrologic parameters were partially assigned to varying atmospheric forcing due to volcanic activity combined with spontaneous meteorological fluctuations. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Quantitative analysis of the effect of climate change and human activities on runoff in the Liujiang River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

LI, X.

2017-12-01

Abstract: As human basic and strategic natural resources, Water resources have received an unprecedented challenge under the impacts of global climate change. Analyzing the variation characteristics of runoff and the effect of climate change and human activities on runoff could provide the basis for the reasonable utilization and management of water resources. Taking the Liujiang River Basin as the research object, the discharge data of hydrological station and meteorological data at 24 meteorological stations in the Guangxi Province as the basis, the variation characteristics of runoff and precipitation in the Liujiang River Basin was analyzed, and the quantitatively effect of climate change and human activities on runoff was proposed. The results showed that runoff and precipitation in the Liujiang River Basin had an increasing trend from 1964 to 2006. Using the method of accumulative anomaly and the orderly cluster method, the runoff series was divided into base period and change period. BP - ANN model and sensitivity coefficient method were used for quantifying the influences of climate change and human activities on runoff. We found that the most important factor which caused an increase trend of discharges in the Liujiang River Basin was precipitation. Human activities were also important factors which influenced the intra-annual distribution of runoff. Precipitation had a more sensitive influence to runoff variation than potential evaporation in the Liujiang River Basin. Key words: Liujiang River Basin, climate change, human activities, BP-ANN, sensitivity coefficient method

Assessment of historical surface-water quality data in southwestern Colorado, 1990-2005

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miller, Lisa D.; Schaffrath, Keelin R.; Linard, Joshua I.

2013-01-01

The spatial and temporal distribution of selected physical and chemical surface-water-quality characteristics were analyzed at stream sites throughout the Dolores and San Juan River Basins in southwestern Colorado using historical data collected from 1990 through 2005 by various local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies. Overall, streams throughout the study area were well oxygenated. Values of pH generally were near neutral to slightly alkaline throughout most of the study area with the exception of the upper Animas River Basin near Silverton where acidic conditions existed at some sites because of hydrothermal alteration and(or) historical mining. The highest concentrations of dissolved aluminum, total recoverable iron, dissolved lead, and dissolved zinc were measured at sites located in the upper Animas River Basin. Thirty-two sites throughout the study area had at least one measured concentration of total mercury that exceeded the State chronic aquatic-life criterion of 0.01 μg/L. Concentrations of dissolved selenium at some sites exceeded the State chronic water-quality standard of 4.6 μg/L. Total ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, and total phosphorus concentrations generally were low throughout the study area. Overall, results from the trend analyses indicated improvement in water-quality conditions as a result of operation of the Paradox Valley Unit in the Dolores River Basin and irrigation and water-delivery system improvements made in the McElmo Creek Basin (Lower San Juan River Basin) and Mancos River Valley (Upper San Juan River Basin).

Nitrogen Removal by Streams and Rivers of the Upper Mississippi River Basin

EPA Science Inventory

Our study, based on chemistry and channel dimensions data collected at 893 randomly-selected stream and river sites in the Mississippi River basin, demonstrated the interaction of stream chemistry, stream size, and NO3-N uptake metrics across a range of stream sizes and across re...

Spatial analysis of the impacts of the Chaitén volcano eruption (Chile) in three fluvial systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ulloa, H.; Iroumé, A.; Picco, L.; Mohr, C. H.; Mazzorana, B.; Lenzi, M. A.; Mao, L.

2016-08-01

The eruption of the Chaitén volcano in May 2008 generated morphological and ecological disturbances in adjacent river basins, and the magnitude of these disturbances depended on the type of dominant volcanic process affecting each of them. The aim of this study is to analyse the morphological changes in different periods in river segments of the Blanco, El Amarillo and Rayas river basins located near the Chaitén volcano. These basins suffered disturbances of different intensity and spatial distribution caused by tephra fall, dome collapses and pyroclastic density currents that damaged hillslope forests, widened channels and destroyed island and floodplain vegetation. Changes continued to occur in the fluvial systems in the years following the eruption, as a consequence of the geomorphic processes indirectly induced by the eruption. Channel changes were analyzed by comparing remote images of pre and post-eruption conditions. Two periods were considered: the first from 2008 to 2009-2010 associated with the explosive and effusive phases of the eruption and the second that correspond to the post-eruption stage from 2009-2010 to 2013. Following the first phases channel segments widened 91% (38 m/yr), 6% (7 m/yr) and 7% (22 m/yr) for Blanco, Rayas and El Amarillo Rivers, respectively, compared to pre-eruption condition. In the second period, channel segments additionally widened 42% (8 m/yr), 2% (2 m/yr) and 5% (4 m/yr) for Blanco, Rayas and El Amarillo Rivers, respectively. In the Blanco River 62 and 82% of the islands disappeared in the first and second period, respectively, which is 6-8 times higher than in the El Amarillo approximately twice the Rayas. Sinuosity increased after the eruption only in the Blanco River but the three study channels showed a high braiding intensity mainly during the first post-eruption period. The major disturbances occurred during the eruptive and effusive phases of Chaitén volcano, and the intensity of these disturbances reflects the magnitude of the dominant volcanic processes affecting each basin. Inputs of sediment from dome collapses and pyroclastic density currents and not ash fall seem to explain morphologic channel change magnitudes in the study segments. The resulting knowledge can facilitate land use planning and design of river restoration projects in areas affected by volcanic eruptions disturbances.

Estimation of weathering rates and CO2 drawdown based on solute load: Significance of granulites and gneisses dominated weathering in the Kaveri River basin, Southern India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pattanaik, J. K.; Balakrishnan, S.; Bhutani, R.; Singh, P.

2013-11-01

The solute load of the Kaveri River (South India) and its tributaries draining diverse Precambrian terrains during pre-monsoon and monsoon periods was determined. Using average annual flow, total drainage area and atmospheric input corrected major ion concentrations of these rivers chemical weathering rates, annual fluxes of different ionic species to the ocean and CO2 consumption rates were estimated. Bicarbonate is the most dominant ion (27-79% of anion budget) in all the river samples collected during monsoon period followed by Ca2+, whereas, in case of pre-monsoon water samples Na+ is the most dominant ion (in meq/l). Two approaches were adopted to estimate silicate and carbonate weathering rates in the drainage basin. At Musuri silicate weathering rate (SWR) is 9.44 ± 0.29 tons/km2/a and carbonate weathering rate (CWR) is 1.46 ± 0.16 tons/km2/a. More than 90% of the total ionic budget is derived from weathering of silicates in the Kaveri basin. CO2 consumption rate in the basin for silicate weathering FCO2sil is 3.83 ± 0.12 × 105 mol/km2/a (upper limit), which is comparable with the Himalayan rivers at upper reaches. For carbonate weathering (FCO2carb) CO2 consumption rate is 0.15 ± 0.03 × 105 mol/km2/a in the Kaveri basin. The lower limit of CO2 consumption rate corrected for H2SO4 during silicate and carbonate weathering is FCO2sil is 3.24 × 1005 mol/km2/a and FCO2carb 0.13 × 105 mol/km2/a respectively. CO2 sequestered due to silicate weathering in the Kaveri basin is 25.41 (±0.82) × 109 mol/a which represents 0.21 (±0.01)% of global CO2 drawdown. This may be due to tropical climatic condition, high rainfall during both SW and NE monsoon and predominance of silicate rocks in the Kaveri basin.

Sediment conditions in the San Antonio River Basin downstream from San Antonio, Texas, 2000-13

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ockerman, Darwin J.; Banta, J. Ryan; Crow, Cassi L.; Opsahl, Stephen P.

2015-01-01

Sediment plays an important role in the ecological health of rivers and estuaries and consequently is an important issue for water-resource managers. To better understand sediment characteristics in the San Antonio River Basin, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio River Authority, completed a two-part study in the San Antonio River Basin downstream from San Antonio, Texas, to (1) collect and analyze sediment data to characterize sediment conditions and (2) develop and calibrate a watershed model to simulate hydrologic conditions and suspended-sediment loads during 2000–12.

Comparing particle-size distributions in modern and ancient sand-bed rivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hajek, E. A.; Lynds, R. M.; Huzurbazar, S. V.

2011-12-01

Particle-size distributions yield valuable insight into processes controlling sediment supply, transport, and deposition in sedimentary systems. This is especially true in ancient deposits, where effects of changing boundary conditions and autogenic processes may be detected from deposited sediment. In order to improve interpretations in ancient deposits and constrain uncertainty associated with new methods for paleomorphodynamic reconstructions in ancient fluvial systems, we compare particle-size distributions in three active sand-bed rivers in central Nebraska (USA) to grain-size distributions from ancient sandy fluvial deposits. Within the modern rivers studied, particle-size distributions of active-layer, suspended-load, and slackwater deposits show consistent relationships despite some morphological and sediment-supply differences between the rivers. In particular, there is substantial and consistent overlap between bed-material and suspended-load distributions, and the coarsest material found in slackwater deposits is comparable to the coarse fraction of suspended-sediment samples. Proxy bed-load and slackwater-deposit samples from the Kayenta Formation (Lower Jurassic, Utah/Colorado, USA) show overlap similar to that seen in the modern rivers, suggesting that these deposits may be sampled for paleomorphodynamic reconstructions, including paleoslope estimation. We also compare grain-size distributions of channel, floodplain, and proximal-overbank deposits in the Willwood (Paleocene/Eocene, Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, USA), Wasatch (Paleocene/Eocene, Piceance Creek Basin, Colorado, USA), and Ferris (Cretaceous/Paleocene, Hanna Basin, Wyoming, USA) formations. Grain-size characteristics in these deposits reflect how suspended- and bed-load sediment is distributed across the floodplain during channel avulsion events. In order to constrain uncertainty inherent in such estimates, we evaluate uncertainty associated with sample collection, preparation, analytical particle-size analysis, and statistical characterization in both modern and ancient settings. We consider potential error contributions and evaluate the degree to which this uncertainty might be significant in modern sediment-transport studies and ancient paleomorphodynamic reconstructions.

Final Oahe Dam/Lake Oahe Master Plan Missouri River, South Dakota and North Dakota

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-09-01

STUDY Recreation Management Opportunities, Inc. "Market Analysis & Feasibility of Recreation & Tourism Development of the Missouri River Basin in...Missouri River between Sioux City, Iowa and the mouth near St. Louis. One of Lake Oahe’s primary water management functions is to provide the extra...slopes tend to flatten toward the stream’s mouth . Generally, the right-bank tributaries have comparatively narrow valleys and are entrenched roughly 100

Major ion chemistry in the headwaters of the Yamuna river system:. Chemical weathering, its temperature dependence and CO 2 consumption in the Himalaya

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dalai, T. K.; Krishnaswami, S.; Sarin, M. M.

2002-10-01

The Yamuna river and its tributaries in the Himalaya constitute the Yamuna River System (YRS). The YRS basin has a drainage area and discharge comparable in magnitude to those of the Bhagirathi and the Alaknanda rivers, which merge to form the Ganga at the foothills of the Himalaya. A detailed geochemical study of the YRS was carried out to determine: (i) the relative significance of silicate, carbonate and evaporite weathering in contributing to its major ion composition; (ii) CO 2 consumption via silicate weathering; and (iii) the factors regulating chemical weathering of silicates in the basin. The results show that the YRS waters are mildly alkaline, with a wide range of TDS, ˜32 to ˜620 mg l-1. In these waters, the abundances of Ca, Mg and alkalinity, which account for most of TDS, are derived mainly from carbonates. Many of the tributaries in the lower reaches of the Yamuna basin are supersaturated with calcite. In addition to carbonic acid, sulphuric acid generated by oxidation of pyrites also seems to be supplying protons for chemical weathering. Silicate weathering in YRS basin contributes, on average, ˜25% (molar basis) of total cations on a basin wide scale. Silicate weathering, however, does not seem to be intense in the basin as evident from low Si/(Na*+K) in the waters, ˜1.2 and low values of chemical index of alteration (CIA) in bed sediments, ˜60. CO 2 drawdown resulting from silicate weathering in the YRS basin in the Himalaya during monsoon ranges between (4 to 7) × 10 5 moles km -2 y -1. This is higher than that estimated for the Ganga at Rishikesh for the same season. The CO 2 consumption rates in the Yamuna and the Ganga basins in the Himalaya are higher than the global average value, suggesting enhanced CO 2 drawdown in the southern slopes of the Himalaya. The impact of this enhanced drawdown on the global CO 2 budget may not be pronounced, as the drainage area of the YRS and the Ganga in the Himalaya is small. The CO 2 drawdown by silicates in the YRS basin is marginally higher than the reported values of CO 2 release from oxidation of organic rich sediments, estimated using Re as a proxy. This comparison shows the need to constrain CO 2 sources and sinks better to balance its budget in a regional scale. The results also show that silicate weathering rate in the YRS basin is ˜10 mm ky -1 and on the Ganga basin, it is ˜5 mm ky -1, which are several times lower than the carbonate weathering rates. The significantly higher silicate weathering rate observed in the YRS basin seems to be governed by rapid physical erosion in this region. The apparent activation energy for overall silicate weathering in the YRS basin, derived from Na* and Si concentrations and water temperature, ranges from ˜50 to 80 kJ mol -1. These values are comparable to those reported for granitoid weathering in natural watersheds and feldspar weathering in laboratory experiments. This study brings to light the sources contributing to major ions, enhanced chemical weathering rates in the Yamuna River Basin and interdependence of silicate weathering on physical erosion and temperature.

Aquatic Nuisance Species in the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basin—A Risk Assessment in Support of GLMRIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grippo, Mark A.; Hlohowskyj, Ihor; Fox, Laura; Herman, Brook; Pothoff, Johanna; Yoe, Charles; Hayse, John

2017-01-01

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is conducting the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study to identify the highest risk aquatic nuisance species currently established in either the Mississippi River Basin or the Great Lakes Basin and prevent their movement into a new basin. The Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study focuses specifically on aquatic nuisance species movement through the Chicago Area Waterway System, a multi-use waterway connecting the two basins. In support of Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study, we conducted a qualitative risk assessment for 33 aquatic nuisance species over a 50-year period of analysis based on the probability of aquatic nuisance species establishing in a new basin and the environmental, economic, and sociopolitical consequences of their establishment. Probability of establishment and consequences of establishment were assigned qualitative ratings of high, medium, or low after considering the species' current location, mobility, habitat suitability, and impacts in previously invaded systems. The establishment and consequence ratings were then combined into an overall risk rating. Seven species were characterized as posing a medium risk and two species as posing a high risk to the Mississippi River Basin. Three species were characterized as posing a medium risk to the Great Lakes Basin, but no high-risk species were identified for this basin. Risk increased over time for some aquatic nuisance species based on the time frame in which these species were considered likely to establish in the new basin. Both species traits and the need to balance multiple uses of the Chicago Area Waterway System must be considered when identifying control measures to prevent aquatic nuisance species movement between the two basins.

FUTURE WATER ALLOCATION AND IN-STREAM VALUES IN THE WILLAMETTE RIVER BASIN: A BASIN-WIDE ANALYSIS

EPA Science Inventory

Our research investigated the impact on surface water resources of three different scenarios for the future development of the Willamette River Basin in Oregon (USA). Water rights in the basin, and in the western United States in general, are based on a system of law that binds ...

Providing peak river flow statistics and forecasting in the Niger River basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andersson, Jafet C. M.; Ali, Abdou; Arheimer, Berit; Gustafsson, David; Minoungou, Bernard

2017-08-01

Flooding is a growing concern in West Africa. Improved quantification of discharge extremes and associated uncertainties is needed to improve infrastructure design, and operational forecasting is needed to provide timely warnings. In this study, we use discharge observations, a hydrological model (Niger-HYPE) and extreme value analysis to estimate peak river flow statistics (e.g. the discharge magnitude with a 100-year return period) across the Niger River basin. To test the model's capacity of predicting peak flows, we compared 30-year maximum discharge and peak flow statistics derived from the model vs. derived from nine observation stations. The results indicate that the model simulates peak discharge reasonably well (on average + 20%). However, the peak flow statistics have a large uncertainty range, which ought to be considered in infrastructure design. We then applied the methodology to derive basin-wide maps of peak flow statistics and their associated uncertainty. The results indicate that the method is applicable across the hydrologically active part of the river basin, and that the uncertainty varies substantially depending on location. Subsequently, we used the most recent bias-corrected climate projections to analyze potential changes in peak flow statistics in a changed climate. The results are generally ambiguous, with consistent changes only in very few areas. To test the forecasting capacity, we ran Niger-HYPE with a combination of meteorological data sets for the 2008 high-flow season and compared with observations. The results indicate reasonable forecasting capacity (on average 17% deviation), but additional years should also be evaluated. We finish by presenting a strategy and pilot project which will develop an operational flood monitoring and forecasting system based in-situ data, earth observations, modelling, and extreme statistics. In this way we aim to build capacity to ultimately improve resilience toward floods, protecting lives and infrastructure in the region.

[Impacts of hydroelectric cascade exploitation on river ecosystem and landscape: a review].

PubMed

Yang, Kun; Deng, Xi; Li, Xue-Ling; Wen, Ping

2011-05-01

Hydroelectric cascade exploitation, one of the major ways for exploiting water resources and developing hydropower, not only satisfies the needs of various national economic sectors, but also promotes the socio-economic sustainable development of river basin. unavoidable anthropogenic impacts on the entire basin ecosystem. Based on the process of hydroelectric cascade exploitation and the ecological characteristics of river basins, this paper reviewed the major impacts of hydroelectric cascade exploitation on dam-area ecosystems, river reservoirs micro-climate, riparian ecosystems, river aquatic ecosystems, wetlands, and river landscapes. Some prospects for future research were offered, e.g., strengthening the research of chain reactions and cumulative effects of ecological factors affected by hydroelectric cascade exploitation, intensifying the study of positive and negative ecological effects under the dam networks and their joint operations, and improving the research of successional development and stability of basin ecosystems at different temporal and spatial scales.

Studying groundwater and surface water interactions using airborne remote sensing in Heihe River basin, northwest China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, C.; Liu, J.; Hu, Y.; Zheng, C.

2015-05-01

Managing surface water and groundwater as a unified system is important for water resource exploitation and aquatic ecosystem conservation. The unified approach to water management needs accurate characterization of surface water and groundwater interactions. Temperature is a natural tracer for identifying surface water and groundwater interactions, and the use of remote sensing techniques facilitates basin-scale temperature measurement. This study focuses on the Heihe River basin, the second largest inland river basin in the arid and semi-arid northwest of China where surface water and groundwater undergoes dynamic exchanges. The spatially continuous river-surface temperature of the midstream section of the Heihe River was obtained by using an airborne pushbroom hyperspectral thermal sensor system. By using the hot spot analysis toolkit in the ArcGIS software, abnormally cold water zones were identified as indicators of the spatial pattern of groundwater discharge to the river.

Metabolic principles of river basin organization.

PubMed

Rodriguez-Iturbe, Ignacio; Caylor, Kelly K; Rinaldo, Andrea

2011-07-19

The metabolism of a river basin is defined as the set of processes through which the basin maintains its structure and responds to its environment. Green (or biotic) metabolism is measured via transpiration and blue (or abiotic) metabolism through runoff. A principle of equal metabolic rate per unit area throughout the basin structure is developed and tested in a river basin characterized by large heterogeneities in precipitation, vegetation, soil, and geomorphology. This principle is suggested to have profound implications for the spatial organization of river basin hydrologic dynamics, including the minimization of energy expenditure known to control the scale-invariant characteristics of river networks over several orders of magnitude. Empirically derived, remarkably constant rates of average transpiration per unit area through the basin structure lead to a power law for the probability distribution of transpiration from a randomly chosen subbasin. The average runoff per unit area, evaluated for subbasins of a wide range of topological magnitudes, is also shown to be remarkably constant independently of size. A similar result is found for the rainfall after accounting for canopy interception. Allometric scaling of metabolic rates with size, variously addressed in the biological literature and network theory under the label of Kleiber's law, is similarly derived. The empirical evidence suggests that river basin metabolic activity is linked with the spatial organization that takes place around the drainage network and therefore with the mechanisms responsible for the fractal geometry of the network, suggesting a new coevolutionary framework for biological, geomorphological, and hydrologic dynamics.

Morphotectonics of the Jamini River basin, Bundelkhand Craton, Central India; using remote sensing and GIS technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prakash, K.; Mohanty, T.; Pati, J. K.; Singh, S.; Chaubey, K.

2017-11-01

Morphological and morphotectonic analyses have been used to obtain information that influence hydrographic basins, predominantly these are modifications of tectonic elements and the quantitative description of landforms. Discrimination of morphotectonic indices of active tectonics of the Jamini river basin consists the analyses of asymmetry factor, ruggedness number, basin relief, gradient, basin elongation ratio, drainage density analysis, and drainage pattern analysis, which have been completed for each drainage basin using remote sensing and GIS techniques. The Jamini river is one of the major tributaries of the Betwa river in central India. The Jamini river basin is divided into five subwatersheds viz. Jamrar, Onri, Sainam, Shahzad and Baragl subwatershed. The quantitative approach of watershed development of the Jamini river basin, and its four sixth (SW1-SW4) and one fifth (SW5) order subwatersheds, was carried out using Survey of India toposheets (parts of 54I, 54K, 54L, 54O, and 54P), Landsat 7 ETM+, ASTER (GDEM) data, and field data. The Jamini river has low bifurcation index which is a positive marker of tectonic imprint on the hydrographic network. The analyses show that the geomorphological progression of the study area was robustly influenced by tectonics. The analysis demonstrates to extensional tectonics system with the following alignments: NE-SW, NW-SE, NNE-SSW, ENE-WSW, E-W, and N-S. Three major trends are followed by lower order streams viz. NE-SW, NW-SE, and E-W directions which advocate that these tectonic trends were active at least up to the Late Pleistocene. The assessment of morphotectonic indices may be used to evaluate the control of active faults on the hydrographic system. The analysis points out westward tilting of the drainage basins with strong asymmetry in some reaches, marked elongation ratio of subwatersheds, and lower order streams having close alignment with lineaments (active faults). The study facilitated to considerate the function of active tectonism in the advancement of the basin.

Geology of tight oil and potential tight oil reservoirs in the lower part of the Green River Formation, Uinta, Piceance, and Greater Green River Basins, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, Ronald C.; Birdwell, Justin E.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Brownfield, Michael E.

2016-05-02

The recent successful development of a tight oil play in the Eocene-age informal Uteland Butte member of the lacustrine Green River Formation in the Uinta Basin, Utah, using modern horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques has spurred a renewed interest in the tight oil potential of lacustrine rocks. The Green River Formation was deposited by two large lakes, Lake Uinta in the Uinta and Piceance Basins and Lake Gosiute in the Greater Green River Basin. These three basins contain the world’s largest in-place oil shale resources with recent estimates of 1.53 trillion, 1.33 trillion, and 1.44 trillion barrels of oil in place in the Piceance, Uinta, and Greater Green River Basins, respectively. The Uteland Butte member was deposited during an early freshwater stage of the lake in the Uinta Basin prior to deposition of the assessed oil shale intervals. This report only presents information on the early freshwater interval and overlying brackish-water interval in all three basins because these intervals are most likely to have tight oil potential. Burial histories of the three basins were reconstructed to study (1) variations in subsidence and lake development, and (2) post deposition burial that led to the development of a petroleum system in only the Uinta Basin. The Uteland Butte member is a successful tight oil play because it is thermally mature for hydrocarbon generation and contains organic-rich shale, brittle carbonate, and porous dolomite. Abnormally high pressure in parts of the Uteland Butte is also important to production. Variations in organic richness of the Uteland Butte were studied using Fischer assay analysis from oil shale assessments, and pressures were studied using drill-stem tests. Freshwater lacustrine intervals in the Piceance and Greater Green River Basins are immature for hydrocarbon generation and contain much less carbonate than the Uteland Butte member. The brackish-water interval in the Uinta Basin is thermally mature for hydrocarbon generation but is clay-rich and contains little carbonate, and thus is a poor prospect for tight oil development.

Use of BasinTemp to model summer stream temperatures in the south fork of Ten Mile River, CA

Treesearch

Rafael Real de Asua; Ethan Bell; Bruce Orr; Peter Baker; Kevin Faucher

2012-01-01

We used BasinTemp to predict summer stream temperatures in South Fork Ten Mile River (SFTMR), Mendocino County. BasinTemp is a temperature model that attempts to quantify the basin-wide effects of high summer stream temperatures in basins where the data inputs are scarce. It assumes that direct solar radiation is the chief...

Hydro-meteorological risk reduction and climate change adaptation in the Sava River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brilly, Mitja; Šraj, Mojca; Kryžanowski, Andrej

2017-04-01

The Sava River Basin covered the teritory of several countries. There were, in past thirty years, several flood hazard events with almost hundred years return period. Parts of the basin suffer by severe droughts also. In the presentation we covered questions of: • Flood hazard in complex hydrology structure • Landslide and flush flood in mountainous regions • Floods on karst polje • Flood risk management in the complex international and hydrological condition. • Impact of man made structures: hydropower storages, inundation ponds, river regulation, alternate streams, levees system, pumping stations, Natura 2000 areas etc. • How to manage droughts in the international river basin The basin is well covered by information and managed by international the SRB Commission (http://savacommission.org/) that could help. We develop study for climate change impact on floods on entire river basin financing by UNECE. There is also study provide climate change impact on the water management provide by World Bank and on which we take part. Recently is out call by world bank for study »Flood risk management plan for the SRB«.

Megascopic lithologic studies of coals in the Powder River basin in Wyoming and in adjacent basins in Wyoming and North Dakota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Trippi, Michael H.; Stricker, Gary D.; Flores, Romeo M.; Stanton, Ronald W.; Chiehowsky, Lora A.; Moore, Timothy A.

2010-01-01

Between 1999 and 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) investigated coalbed methane (CBM) resources in the Wyoming portion of the Powder River Basin. The study also included the CBM resources in the North Dakota portion of the Williston Basin of North Dakota and the Wyoming portion of the Green River Basin of Wyoming. This project involved the cooperation of the State Office, Reservoir Management Group (RMG) of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Casper, Wyo., and 16 independent gas operators in the Powder River, Williston, and Green River Basins. The USGS and BLM entered into agreements with these CBM operators to supply samples for the USGS to analyze and provide the RMG with rapid, timely results of total gas desorbed, coal quality, and high-pressure methane adsorption isotherm data. This program resulted in the collection of 963 cored coal samples from 37 core holes. This report presents megascopic lithologic descriptive data collected from canister samples extracted from the 37 wells cored for this project.

[Spatio-temporal variations of origin, distribution and diffusion of Oncomelania hupensis in Yangtze River Basin].

PubMed

Deng, Chen; Li-Yong, Wen

2017-10-24

As the only intermediate host of Schistosoma japonicum, Oncomelania hupensis in China is mainly distributed in the Yangtze River Basin. The origin of the O. hupensis and the spatio-temporal variations of its distribution and diffusion in the Yangtze River Basin and the influencing factors, as well as significances in schistosomiasis elimination in China are reviewed in this paper.

Groundwater quality in the Colorado River basins, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dawson, Barbara J. Milby; Belitz, Kenneth

2012-01-01

Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California’s drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State’s groundwater quality and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. Four groundwater basins along the Colorado River make up one of the study areas being evaluated. The Colorado River study area is approximately 884 square miles (2,290 square kilometers) and includes the Needles, Palo Verde Mesa, Palo Verde Valley, and Yuma groundwater basins (California Department of Water Resources, 2003). The Colorado River study area has an arid climate and is part of the Sonoran Desert. Average annual rainfall is about 3 inches (8 centimeters). Land use in the study area is approximately 47 percent (%) natural (mostly shrubland), 47% agricultural, and 6% urban. The primary crops are pasture and hay. The largest urban area is the city of Blythe (2010 population of 21,000). Groundwater in these basins is used for public and domestic water supply and for irrigation. The main water-bearing units are gravel, sand, silt, and clay deposited by the Colorado River or derived from surrounding mountains. The primary aquifers in the Colorado River study area are defined as those parts of the aquifers corresponding to the perforated intervals of wells listed in the California Department of Public Health database. Public-supply wells in the Colorado River basins are completed to depths between 230 and 460 feet (70 to 140 meters), consist of solid casing from the land surface to a depth of 130 of 390 feet (39 to 119 meters), and are screened or perforated below the solid casing. The main source of recharge to the groundwater systems in the Needles, Palo Verde Mesa, and Palo Verde Valley basins is the Colorado River; in the Yuma basin, the main source of recharge is from subsurface flow from the groundwater basins to the west. Groundwater discharge is primarily to pumping wells, evapotranspiration, and, locally, to the Colorado River.

Stream water quality in coal mined areas of the lower Cheat River Basin, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, during low-flow conditions, July 1997

USGS Publications Warehouse

Williams, Donald R.; Clark, Mary E.; Brown, Juliane B.

1999-01-01

IntroductionThe Cheat River Basin is in the Allegheny Plateau and Allegheny Mountain Sections of the Appalachian Plateau Physiographic Province (Fenneman, 1946) and is almost entirely within the state of West Virginia. The Cheat River drains an area of 1,422 square miles in Randolph, Tucker, Preston, and Monongalia Counties in West Virginia and Fayette County in Pennsylvania. From its headwaters in Randolph County, W.Va., the Cheat River flows 157 miles north to the Pennsylvania state line, where it enters the Monongahela River. The Cheat River drainage comprises approximately 19 percent of the total Monongahela River Basin. The Cheat River and streams within the Cheat River Basin are characterized by steep gradients, rock channels, and high flow velocities that have created a thriving white-water rafting industry for the area. The headwaters of the Cheat River contain some of the most pristine and aesthetic streams in West Virginia. The attraction to the area, particularly the lower part of the Cheat River Basin (the lower 412 square miles of the basin), has been suppressed because of poor water quality. The economy of the Lower Cheat River Basin has been dominated by coal mining over many decades. As a result, many abandoned deep and surface mines discharge untreated acid mine drainage (AMD), which degrades water quality, into the Cheat River and many of its tributary streams. Approximately 60 regulated mine-related discharges (West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, 1996) and 185 abandoned mine sites (U.S. Office of Surface Mining, 1998) discharge treated and untreated AMD into the Cheat River and its tributaries.The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) Office of Abandoned Mine Lands and Reclamation (AML&R) has recently completed several AMD reclamation projects throughout the Cheat River Basin that have collectively improved the mainstem water quality. The AML&R office is currently involved in acquiring grant funds and designing treatment facilities for several additional AMD sites that adversely affect the Cheat River and its tributaries. To obtain the baseline water-quality information necessary to evaluate instream treatment and alternative methods for remediating AMD and its effects, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the WVDEP, collected stream water samples at 111 sites throughout the Lower Cheat River Basin during low-flow conditions from July 16-18, 1997. The data also will provide information on stream water quality in areas affected by AMD and thus would point to priority areas of focus, such as the sources of the AMD. This report presents the results of analyses of the samples collected in July 1997 and describes a process for ranking of stream water-quality degradation as a guide to water-resource managers considering AMD remediation activities.

Sediment supply as a driver of river evolution in the Amazon Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmed, Joshua; Constantine, José Antonio; Dunne, Thomas; Legleiter, Carl; Lazarus, Eli D.

2015-04-01

The Amazon represents the only large river basin in the world where there is a sufficient range of sediment supplies and a lack of engineering controls to assess how sediment supply drives the evolution of meandering rivers. Despite recent analytical advances (Asahi et al., 2013; Pittaluga and Seminara, 2011), modern theory does not yet identify or explain the effects of externally imposed sediment supplies, a fundamental river characteristic, on meandering river evolution. These sediment supplies would be radically reduced by the construction of large dams proposed for the Amazon Basin (Finer and Jenkins, 2012). Here, we demonstrate that the sediment loads imposed by their respective drainage basins determine planform changes in lowland rivers across the Amazon. Our analysis, based on Landsat image sequences, indicates that rivers with high sediment loads draining the Andes and associated foreland basin experience annual migration rates that are on average four times faster than rivers with lower sediment loads draining the Central Amazon Trough and shields. Incidents of meander cutoff also occur more frequently along the rivers of the Andes and foreland basin, where the number of oxbows in the floodplains is more than twice that observed in the floodplains of the Central Amazon Trough and shields. Our results, which cannot be explained by differences in channel slope or hydrology, highlight the importance of sediment supply in modulating the ability of meandering alluvial rivers to reshape the floodplain environment through river migration. Asahi, K., Shimizu, Y., Nelson, J., Parker, G., 2013. Numerical simulation of river meandering with self-evolving banks. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 118(4), 2013JF002752. Finer, M., Jenkins, C.N., 2012. Proliferation of hydroelectric dams in the Andean Amazon and implications for Andes-Amazon connectivity. PLOS One, 7(4), e35126. Pittaluga, M.B., Seminara, G., 2011. Nonlinearity and unsteadiness in river meandering: a review of progress in theory and modelling. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 36(1), 20-38.

Development of Hydrological Model of Klang River Valley for flood forecasting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammad, M.; Andras, B.

2012-12-01

This study is to review the impact of climate change and land used on flooding through the Klang River and to compare the changes in the existing river system in Klang River Basin with the Storm water Management and Road Tunnel (SMART) which is now already operating in the city centre of Kuala Lumpur. Klang River Basin is the most urbanized region in Malaysia. More than half of the basin has been urbanized on the land that is prone to flooding. Numerous flood mitigation projects and studies have been carried out to enhance the existing flood forecasting and mitigation project. The objective of this study is to develop a hydrological model for flood forecasting in Klang Basin Malaysia. Hydrological modelling generally requires large set of input data and this is more often a challenge for a developing country. Due to this limitation, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) rainfall measurement, initiated by the US space agency NASA and Japanese space agency JAXA was used in this study. TRMM data was transformed and corrected by quantile to quantile transformation. However, transforming the data based on ground measurement doesn't make any significant improvement and the statistical comparison shows only 10% difference. The conceptual HYMOD model was used in this study and calibrated using ROPE algorithm. But, using the whole time series of the observation period in this area resulted in insufficient performance. The depth function which used in ROPE algorithm are then used to identified and calibrated using only unusual event to observed the improvement and efficiency of the model.

Hydroclimate-driven changes in the landscape structure of the terminal lakes and wetlands of the China's Heihe River Basin.

PubMed

Xiao, Shengchun; Xiao, Honglang; Peng, Xiaomei; Song, Xiang

2015-01-01

Changes in the landscape structure of terminal lakes and wetlands along inland rivers in arid areas are determined by the water balance in the river basins under the impacts of climate change and human activities. Studying the evolution of these landscapes and the mechanisms driving these changes is critical to the sustainable development of river basins. The terminal lakes and wetlands along the lower reaches of the Heihe River, an inland river in arid northwestern China, can be grouped into three types: runoff-recharged, groundwater-recharged, and precipitation-recharged. These water-recharge characteristics determine the degree to which the landscape structure of a terminal lake or wetland is impacted by climate change and human activities. An analysis of seven remote-sensing and hydroclimatic data sets for the Heihe River basin during the last 50 years indicates that hydrological changes in the basin caused by regional human activities were the primary drivers of the observed changes in the spatial and temporal landscape-structure patterns of the terminal lakes and wetlands of the Heihe River. In this warm, dry climatic context, the lakes and wetlands gradually evolved toward and maintained a landscape dominated by saline-alkaline lands and grasslands.

Occurrence of phthalic acid esters in source waters: a nationwide survey in China during the period of 2009-2012.

PubMed

Liu, Xiaowei; Shi, Jianghong; Bo, Ting; Zhang, Hui; Wu, Wei; Chen, Qingcai; Zhan, Xinmin

2014-01-01

The first nationwide survey of six phthalic acid esters (PAEs) (diethyl phthalate (DEP); dimethyl phthalate (DMP); di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP); butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP); bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP); di-n-octyl phthalate (DnOP)) in source waters was conducted in China. The results showed these PAEs were ubiquitous in source waters. DBP and DEHP were the most frequently detected with high concentrations ranging nd-1.52 μg/L and nd-6.35 μg/L, respectively. These PAEs concentrations (except DBP) in surface water (rivers, lakes and reservoirs) were generally higher than those in groundwater; DBP had high concentrations in groundwater in Northeast China (Liao River Basin) and North China (Hai River Basin). Their concentrations in the northern regions were generally higher than those in the southern and eastern regions; particularly, in North China. Three short-chain PAEs (DMP, DEP and DBP) were detected with high concentrations in Hai River Basin, Pearl River Basin and Yellow River Basin. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Heavy metal contamination in river water and sediments of the Swarnamukhi River Basin, India: risk assessment and environmental implications.

PubMed

Patel, Priyanka; Raju, N Janardhana; Reddy, B C Sundara Raja; Suresh, U; Sankar, D B; Reddy, T V K

2018-04-01

The concentration of heavy metals was analyzed each of 20 river water, suspended sediments and bed sediments along the stretch of Swarnamukhi River Basin. River water is not contaminated with heavy metals except Fe and Mn. Contamination factor in sediments shows considerable to very high degree contamination with Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn. The sources of these metals could be residential wastes, sewer outfall, fertilizers, pesticides (M-45 + carbondine) and traffic activities apart from natural weathering of granitic rocks present in the basin area. Principal component analyses indicate the interaction between metals in different media. The comparison of metals (Cu, Pb and Zn) in bed sediments of Swarnamukhi River with the Indian and world averages indicates that the values obtained in the basin are above the Indian averages and far below to the world averages. Average shale values and sediment quality guidelines point toward the enrichment and contamination of Cu, Cr, Pb and Zn to several fold leading to eco-toxicological risks in basin.

Reducing nitrogen export from the corn belt to the Gulf of Mexico: Agricultural strategies for remediating hypoxia

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

We used the SPARROW model for the Upper Mississippi River Basin to evaluate the potential water quality benefits (nutrient load reductions) likely to be achieved by a variety of agricultural conservation practices in the Upper Mississippi-Ohio River system, and to compare these to the 45% nitrogen l...

Assessing sedimentation rates at Usumacinta and Grijalva river basin (Southern Mexico) using OSL and suspended sediment load analysis: A study from the Maya Classic Period

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Munoz-Salinas, E.; Castillo, M.; Sanderson, D.; Kinnaird, T.; Cruz-Zaragoza, E.

2013-12-01

Studying sedimentation rates on floodplains is key to understanding environmental changes occurred through time in river basins. The Usumacinta and Grijalva rivers flow most of their travel through the southern part of Mexico, forming a large river basin, crossing the states of Chiapas and Tabasco. The Usumacinta-Grijalva River Basin is within the 10 major rivers of North America, having a basin area of ~112 550 km2. We use the OSL technique for dating two sediment profiles and for obtaining luminescence signals in several sediment profiles located in the streambanks of the main trunk of the Usumacinta and Grijalva rivers. We also use mean annual values of suspended sediment load spanning ~50 years to calculate the sedimentation rates. Our OSL dating results start from the 4th Century, when the Maya Civilization was at its peak during the Classic Period. Sedimentation rates show a notable increase at the end of the 19th Century. The increase of the sedimentation rates seems to be related to changes in land uses in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas and Altos de Chiapas, based on deforestation and land clearing for developing new agrarian and pastoral activities. We conclude that the major environmental change in the basin of the Usumacinta and Grijalva Rivers since the Maya Classic Period was generated since the last Century as a result of an intense anthropogenic disturbance of mountain rain forest in Chiapas.

[Ecological and economic harmony evaluation and spatial evolution of the Hexi corridor, northwest China].

PubMed

Liu, Hai-long; Shi, Pei-ji; Li, Sheng-mei; Tong, Hua-li; Nie, Xiao-ying; Wei, Wei

2014-12-01

The relationship between economic development and environment and the evolution characteristics of spatial pattern in Hexi Corridor of Northwest China were analyzed based on Landsat images in 1985, 1995, 2000 and 2011 with twenty counties in Hexi Corridor chosen as the basic research units. The ecological economic harmony during 1985-2011 was estimated according to ESV (ecosystem services value) and EEH (ecological and economic harmony) index with the ecosystem services value estimation methods. The results showed that the land type of the study area dramatically changed during the study period, the grassland decreased badly, and the construction land and cultivated land increased quickly. The ESV showed an overall downward trend, especially in the Shiyang River basin and the middle of Heihe River. The ESV in the Shule River basin in this period. After 2000, the economic growth speeded up visibly in the study area. The economic development concentrated in the resource-based cities and regional central cities, and declined from the center of corridor to the both sides. The ecological-economic relation in Hexi Corridor experienced a transformation of "preliminary deterioration--further deterioration--low grade coordination". The EEH had large changes in the Shiyang River basin and the middle of Heihe River, which experienced a transformation of "conflict--more conflicts--less conflicts", however, there was little change in Shule River basin. The development mode and the comprehensive reclamation of Shiyang River basin and Heihe River basin had a significant influence on the regional ecological and economic harmony.

Evaluation of Baltic Sea transport properties using particle tracking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dargahi, Bijan; Cvetkovic, Vladimir

2014-05-01

Particle tracking model (PTM) is an effective tool for quantifying transport properties of large water bodies such as the Baltic Sea. We have applied PTM to our fully calibrated and validated Baltic Sea 3D hydrodynamic model for a 10-years period (2000-9). One hundred particles were released at a constant rate during an initial 10-days period from all the Baltic Sea sub-basins, the major rivers, and the open boundary in the Arkona Basin. In each basin, the particles were released at two different depths corresponding to the deep water and middle water layers. The objectives of the PTM simulations were to analyse the intra-exchange processes between the Baltic Sea basins and to estimate the arrival times and the paths of particles released from the rivers. The novel contribution of this study is determining the paths and arrival times of deeper water masses rather than the surface masses. Advective and diffusive transport processes in the Bornholm and Arkona basins are both driven by the interacting flows of the northern basins of the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. Particles released from Arkona basin flows northwards along the Stople Channel. The Gotland basins are the major contributors to the exchange process in the Baltic Sea. We find high values of the advection ratio, indicative of a forced advective transport process. The Bay of Gdansk is probably the most vulnerable region in the Baltic Sea. This is despite the fact that the main exchanging basins are the Bornholm Sea and the Easter Gotland Basin. The main reason is the intensive supply of the particles from the northern basins that normally take about 3000 days to reach the Bay of Gdansk. The process maintains a high level of particle concentration (90%) along its coastlines even after the 10-years period. Comparing the particle paths in the Western and Eastern Gotland basins two interesting features were found. Particles travelled in all four directions in the former basin and the middle layer particles reached the surface flow in the eastern most part of the Gulf of Finland. This implies mixing of deeper waters of the Western Gotland Basin with the sub-surface waters of the Gulf of Finland. We believe strong density current and upwelling processes drive the process. Surprisingly, the two rivers Narva and Venta have the highest spreading in comparison to other rivers. This is despite the relatively low flow discharge values that rules out a correlation between high moment flows and the extent of spreading. We found the flow discharge to be correlated with the advection lengths. The lack of any correlation for the other rivers, signifies different hydrodynamic characteristics among the basins. The results of our PTM study may be used for a general environmental assessment in terms of sensitivity of the various coastlines and rick to the release of contaminants in the Baltic Sea.

Development of a Reservoir System Operation Model for Water Sustainability in the Yaqui River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mounir, A.; Che, D.; Robles-Morua, A.; Kauneckis, D.

2017-12-01

The arid state of Sonora, Mexico underwent the Sonora SI project to provide additional water supply to the capital of Hermosillo. The main component of the project involves an interbasin transfer from the Yaqui River Basin (YRB) to the Sonora River Basin via the Independencia aqueduct. This project has generated conflicts over water among different social sectors in the YRB. To improve the management of the Yaqui reservoir system, we developed a daily watershed model. This model allowed us to predict the amount of water available in different regions of the basin. We integrated this simulation to an optimization model which calculates the best water allocation according to water rights established in Mexico's National Water Law. We compared different precipitation forcing scenarios: (1) a network of ground observations from Mexican water agencies during the historical period of 1980-2013, (2) gridded fields from the North America Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) at 12 km resolution, and (3) we will be studying a future forecast scenario. The simulation results were compared to historical observations at the three reservoirs existing in the YRB to generate confidence in the simulation tools. Our results are presented in the form of flow duration, reliability and exceedance frequency curves that are commonly used in the water management agencies. Through this effort, we anticipate building confidence among regional stakeholders in utilizing hydrological models in the development of reservoir operation policies.

Water quality assessment of the Sinos River, Southern Brazil.

PubMed

Blume, K K; Macedo, J C; Meneguzzi, A; Silva, L B; Quevedo, D M; Rodrigues, M A S

2010-12-01

The Sinos River basin is located Northeast of the state of Rio Grande do Sul (29º 20' to 30º 10' S and 50º 15' to 51º20'W), Southern Brazil, covering two geomorphologic provinces: the Southern plateau and central depression. It is part of the Guaíba basin and has an area of approximately 800 km², encompassing 32 municipalities. The objective of this study was to monitor water quality in the Sinos River, the largest river in this basin. Water samples were collected at four selected sites in the Sinos River, and the following parameters were analysed: pH, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅), turbidity, fecal coliforms, total dissolved solids, temperature, nitrate, nitrite, phosphorous, chromium, lead, aluminum, zinc, iron, and copper. The results were analysed based on Resolution No. 357/2005 of the Brazilian National Environmental Council (CONAMA) regarding regulatory limits for residues in water. A second analysis was performed based on a water quality index (WQI) used by the Sinos River Basin Management Committee (COMITESINOS). Poor water quality in the Sinos River presents a worrying scenario for the region, since this river is the main source of water supply for the urban core. Health conditions found in the Sinos River, mainly in its lower reaches, are worrying and a strong indicator of human activities on the basin.

Flood monitoring network in southeastern Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

McCallum, Brian E.

1994-01-01

A flood monitoring network has been established to alert emergency operations personnel and the public about hydrologic conditions in the Amite River Basin. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness (LOEP), has installed a real-time data acquisition system to monitor rainfall and river stages in the basin. These data will be transmitted for use by emergency operations personnel to develop flood control and evacuation strategies. The current river stages at selected gaging stations in the basin also will be broadcast by local television and radio stations during a flood. Residents can record the changing river stages on a basin monitoring map, similar to a hurricane tracking map.

Water and Sediment Quality in the Yukon River Basin, Alaska, During Water Year 2001

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schuster, Paul F.

2003-01-01

Overview -- This report contains water-quality and sediment-quality data from samples collected in the Yukon River Basin during water year 2001 (October 2000 through September 2001). A broad range of chemical and biological analyses from three sets of samples are presented. First, samples were collected throughout the year at five stations in the basin (three on the mainstem Yukon River, one each on the Tanana and Porcupine Rivers). Second, fecal indicators were measured on samples from drinking-water supplies collected near four villages. Third, sediment cores from five lakes throughout the Yukon Basin were sampled to reconstruct historic trends in the atmospheric deposition of trace elements and hydrophobic organic compounds.

Evaluating the impacts of climate and land-use change on the hydrology and nutrient yield in a transboundary river basin: A case study in the 3S River Basin (Sekong, Sesan, and Srepok).

PubMed

Trang, Nguyen Thi Thuy; Shrestha, Sangam; Shrestha, Manish; Datta, Avishek; Kawasaki, Akiyuki

2017-01-15

Assessment of the climate and land-use change impacts on the hydrology and water quality of a river basin is important for the development and management of water resources in the future. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of climate and land-use change on the hydrological regime and nutrient yield from the 3S River Basin (Sekong, Srepok, and Sesan) into the 3S River system in Southeast Asia. The 3S Rivers are important tributaries of the Lower Mekong River, accounting for 16% of its annual flow. This transboundary basin supports the livelihoods of nearly 3.5 million people in the countries of Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. To reach a better understanding of the process and fate of pollution (nutrient yield) as well as the hydrological regime, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to simulate water quality and discharge in the 3S River Basin. Future scenarios were developed for three future periods: 2030s (2015-2039), 2060s (2045-2069), and 2090s (2075-2099), using an ensemble of five GCMs (General Circulation Model) simulations: (HadGEM2-AO, CanESM2, IPSL-CM5A-LR, CNRM-CM5, and MPI-ESM-MR), driven by the climate projection for RCPs (Representative Concentration Pathways): RCP4.5 (medium emission) and RCP8.5 (high emission) scenarios, and two land-use change scenarios. The results indicated that the climate in the study area would generally become warmer and wetter under both emission scenarios. Discharge and nutrient yield is predicted to increase in the wet season and decrease in the dry. Overall, the annual discharge and nutrient yield is projected to increase throughout the twenty-first century, suggesting sensitivity in the 3S River Basin to climate and land-use change. The results of this study can assist water resources managers and planners in developing water management strategies for uncertain climate change scenarios in the 3S River Basin. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Scaling up watershed model parameters--Flow and load simulations of the Edisto River Basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Feaster, Toby D.; Benedict, Stephen T.; Clark, Jimmy M.; Bradley, Paul M.; Conrads, Paul

2014-01-01

The Edisto River is the longest and largest river system completely contained in South Carolina and is one of the longest free flowing blackwater rivers in the United States. The Edisto River basin also has fish-tissue mercury concentrations that are some of the highest recorded in the United States. As part of an effort by the U.S. Geological Survey to expand the understanding of relations among hydrologic, geochemical, and ecological processes that affect fish-tissue mercury concentrations within the Edisto River basin, analyses and simulations of the hydrology of the Edisto River basin were made with the topography-based hydrological model (TOPMODEL). The potential for scaling up a previous application of TOPMODEL for the McTier Creek watershed, which is a small headwater catchment to the Edisto River basin, was assessed. Scaling up was done in a step-wise process beginning with applying the calibration parameters, meteorological data, and topographic wetness index data from the McTier Creek TOPMODEL to the Edisto River TOPMODEL. Additional changes were made with subsequent simulations culminating in the best simulation, which included meteorological and topographic wetness index data from the Edisto River basin and updated calibration parameters for some of the TOPMODEL calibration parameters. Comparison of goodness-of-fit statistics between measured and simulated daily mean streamflow for the two models showed that with calibration, the Edisto River TOPMODEL produced slightly better results than the McTier Creek model, despite the significant difference in the drainage-area size at the outlet locations for the two models (30.7 and 2,725 square miles, respectively). Along with the TOPMODEL hydrologic simulations, a visualization tool (the Edisto River Data Viewer) was developed to help assess trends and influencing variables in the stream ecosystem. Incorporated into the visualization tool were the water-quality load models TOPLOAD, TOPLOAD-H, and LOADEST. Because the focus of this investigation was on scaling up the models from McTier Creek, water-quality concentrations that were previously collected in the McTier Creek basin were used in the water-quality load models.

Attribution of the response of the stream flows of the Brahmaputra river basin of a 1.5°C warmer world

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saiful Islam, Akm; Mamun Rashid, Md; Allen, Myles; Mitchell, Daniel; Mohammed, Khaled; Uddin Khan, Md Jamal

2017-04-01

An increase in global average temperature due to climate change is likely to intensify the global hydrological cycle, which in turn will impact regional water resources. Changes of the frequency and magnitude of the precipitation patterns over a river basin will change the intensity of floods and droughts. It's still an active field of research to determine the impact of climate change on extreme events though the attribution community has been using large climate model ensembles to characterize the low signal to noise problems. After the Paris agreement of 2015, limiting the increase of the global temperature below 1.5°C was emphasized. However, it is not clear the benefits of additional half a degree reduction of temperature below 2°C which needs comprehensive scientific analysis. In this context, a collaborative effort of 39 academic and research institutions around the global is on-going to generate large ensemble simulations of climate projections under a project entitled, 'the Half a degree Additional warming, Prognosis and Projected Impacts (HAPPI)'. This study has made an attempt to conduct ensemble simulations of a hydrological model over a transboundary river basin (Brahmaputra) for estimating the changes in future extremes and mean discharges of the river forced by the climate projections generated under the HAPPI project. The Brahmaputra is a transboundary river originating in China and ending in Bangladesh and it is the fourth largest river in the world in terms of average discharge of approximately 20,000 cms. It drains water from approximately 520,000 sq.km. area of China, India, Bhutan and Bangladesh. An estimated 66 million people depend on water from this river for their livelihood through subsistence agriculture and thus any change in the river's discharge due to climate change may have a negative impact on this large population. A decrease in discharge during the dry season when the basin requires water for irrigation systems translates into a threat to food security while an increase in discharge during monsoon season translates into increasing of major flooding events particularly in the lowermost riparian country, Bangladesh. About 67% of the total annual discharge of Bangladesh comes from the Brahmaputra River. In addition to a warming climate impacting the snow and glacier melt processes of the Brahmaputra River basin, the precipitation falling over the basin will also be affected because precipitation in this region is connected to the Indian summer monsoon and the Indian summer monsoon is projected to be impacted by climate change. Hence, increasing the likelihood that the discharges of the Brahmaputra River will change under the changing climate. Given the importance of the Brahmaputra River to its riparian countries, this study estimates the changes in future extreme discharges. Results are compared for both the 1°C and 2°C worlds as prescribed by the Paris Agreement of 2015.

Developing a Science-based River Basin Management Plan for the Kharaa River Basin, Mongolia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karthe, Daniel

2013-04-01

The Kharaa River Basin (KRB), which is located north of Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar and south of Lake Baikal, was chosen as a model region for the development and implementation of an integrated water resources management consisting of a monitoring concept, technical measures and a capacity development program (Karthe et al. 2012a). The basin of the Kharaa River covers an area of 14534 km² that is partly mountaineous and largely covered by taiga and steppe. At its outlet, the 362 km Kharaa River has a mean long-term annual discharge of 12.1 m³/s (MoMo Consortium 2009). A highly continental climate results in limited water resources, and rising water consumption coupled with the effects of climate and land use change may in the future exacerbate this water scarcity (Malsy et al. 2012; Karthe et al. 2013). Whereas the environment in the upper part of the catchment is in a relatively pristine state, the mid- and downstream sections of the river are characterized by nearby industry, mining activities and intensive agriculture (Menzel et al. 2011), resulting in declining water quality and ultimately a degradation of aquatic ecosystems (Hofmann et al. 2010; Hartwig et al. 2012). Moreover, it is a problem for the supply of major cities like Darkhan which largely rely on alluvial aquifers containing shallow-depth groundwater (Mun et al. 2008). Currently, there are alarming signs of water quality deterioration. With regard to water provision, a major problem is the poor state of distribution infrastructures which were often built in the 1960s and 70s (Scharaw & Westerhoff 2011). Rather little is currently known about the water quality supplied to end users; the latter is even more dubious in the city's informal ger districts (Karthe et al. 2012b). One important goal of the research and development project "Integrated Water Resources Management in Central Asia: Model Region Mongolia" lies in the implementation of a holistic concept for water resources monitoring and management. In the past, shared and unclear responsibilities, a spatial mismatch between administrative and river basin boundaries, the lack of relevant information, financial resources and implementation capacity resulted in an uncoordinated and partially uncontrolled exploitation of water resources (Livingstone et al. 2009; Horlemann et al. 2012). The recent decision of the Mongolian government to develop river basin management plans and to provide for their implementation through river basin councils and administrations, and the comparatively good data availability resulting from the R&D project, resulted in the decision to jointly develop a science-based river basin management plan for the KRB as a model region for other river basins of the country. References: Hartwig, M.; Theuring, P.; Rode, M. & Borchardt, D. (2012): Suspended sediments in the Kharaa River catchment (Mongolia) and its impact on hyporheic zone functions. Environmental Earth Sciences 65(5):1535-1546. Hofmann, J.; Venohr, M.; Behrendt, H. & Opitz, D. (2010): Integrated Water Resources Management in Central Asia: Nutrient and heavy metal emissions and their relevance for the Kharaa River Basin, Mongolia. Water Science and Technology 62(2):353-363. Horlemann, L. & Dombrowsky, I. (2012): Institutionalising IWRM in developing and transition countries: the case of Mongolia. Environmental Earth Sciences 65(5):1547-1559. Karthe, D.; Borchardt, D. & Hufert, F. (2012a): Implementing IWRM: Experiences from a Central Asian Model Region. In: Pandya, A.B. (Ed.) (2012): India Water Week 2012. Water, Energy and Food Security: Call for Solutions, Part A3, pp. 1-15. Delhi: Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India. Karthe, D.; Sigel, K.; Scharaw, B. et al. (2012b): Towards an integrated concept for monitoring and improvements in water supply, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in urban Mongolia. Water & Risk 20:1-5. Karthe, D.; Malsy, M.; Kopp, B. & Minderlein, S. (2013): Assessing Water Availibility and its Drivers in the Context of an Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM): A Case Study from the Kharaa River Basin, Mongolia. GeoÖko (submitted). Livingstone, A.J.; Erdenechimeg, C. & Oyunsuvd, A. (2009): Needs assessment on institutional capacity for water governance in Mongolia. Ulaan Baatar: Government of Mongolia & UNDP Mongolia. Malsy, M.; aus der Beek, T.; Eisner, S. & Flörke, M. (2012): Climate Change impacts on Central Asian water resources. Advances in Geosciences 32:77-83. Menzel, L.; Hofmann, J. & Ibisch, R. (2011): Untersuchung von Wasser- und Stoffflüssen als Grundlage für ein Integriertes Wasserressourcen - Management im Kharaa-Einzugsgebiet (Mongolei). Hydrologie und Wasserbewirtschaftung 55(2):88-103. MoMo Consortium (2009): Integrated Water Resources Management for Central Asia: Model Region Mongolia (MoMo). Case Study in the Kharaa River Basin. Final Project Report. Mun, Y.; Ko, I.H.; Janchivdorj, L. et al. (2008): Integrated Water Management Model on the Selenge River Basin: Status Survey and Investigation (Phase I). Seoul: KEI Publications. Scharaw, B. & T. Westerhoff (2011): A Leak Detection in Drinking Water Distribution Network of Darkhan in Framework of the Project Integrated Water Resources Management in Central Asia, Model Region Mongolia. Proceedings of the IWA 1st Central Asian Regional Young and Senior Water Professionals Conference, Almaty/Kazakhstan, pp. 275-282.

Field and Laboratory Studies of Radiocesium Transfers in Soil-Water Environment at Fukushima Prefecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nanba, K.; Zheleznyak, M.; Konoplev, A.; Wakiyama, Y.; Golosov, V.; Wada, T.; Tsukada, H.

2015-12-01

The systematic monitoring studies of radiocesium concentrations in suspended sediments and water of the Abukuma River, the largest river of Fukushima prefecture, and its tributaries at the vicinity of Fukushima city have started in Fukushima University at the end of 2011. The scale of these field studies was extended after establishment in 2013 new Institute of Environmental Radioactivity at Fukushima University which posses the comprehensive laboratory base. The field measurements of hydrochemical water parameters and concentrations of radiocesium in water and sediments are provided in the rivers of northern coastal zone of Fukushima province with the most comprehensive program for Niida River basin. The radiocesium dynamics is studied in Sakashita Reservoir and heavily contaminated irrigation ponds of Okuma town in the vicinity of FDNPP, Takanokura Reservoir, Inawashiro Lake, Hibara Lake. Comparative analysis is provided for radiocaesium wash-off parameters and distribution coefficient in rivers and surface runoff on Fukushima and Chernobyl contaminated areas for the first years after the accidents. It is found that radiocaesium distribution coefficient in rivers of Fukushima is essentially higher (1-2 orders of magnitude) than correspondent values for rivers and surface runoff of the Chernobyl zone. Normalized dissolved wash-off coefficients for watersheds of Fukushima are at least 1 order of magnitude lower correspondent values for Chernobyl zone. Normalized particulate wash-off coefficients are comparable for Fukushima and Chernobyl. Presented are results of the investigation of radiocesium vertical distribution in soils of the close-in area of the FDNPP: Okuma town and Niida River basin. It is shown that radiocesium dispersion in undisturbed forest and grassland soils at Fukushima contaminated area is significantly faster as compared to the Chernobyl 30-km zone during the first three years after the accidents.

A Synoptic Survey of Nitrogen and Phosphorus in Tributary Streams and Great Rivers of the Upper Mississippi River Basin

EPA Science Inventory

We combined stream chemistry and hydrology data from surveys of 467 tributary stream sites and 447 great river sites in the Upper Mississippi River basin to provide a regional snapshot of baseflow total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations, and to investigate th...