Water Stress in Global Transboundary River Basins: Significance of Upstream Water Use on Downstream Stress

Science.gov (United States)

Munia, H.; Guillaume, J. H. A.; Mirumachi, N.; Porkka,M.; Wada, Yoshihide; Kummu, M.

2016-01-01

Growing population and water demand have increased pressure on water resources in various parts of the globe, including many transboundary river basins. While the impacts of upstream water use on downstream water availability have been analyzed in many of these international river basins, this has not been systematically done at the global scale using coherent and comparable datasets. In this study, we aim to assess the change in downstream water stress due to upstream water use in the world's transboundary river basins. Water stress was first calculated considering only local water use of each sub-basin based on country-basin mesh, then compared with the situation when upstream water use was subtracted from downstream water availability. Wefound that water stress was generally already high when considering only local water use, affecting 0.95-1.44 billion people or 33%-51% of the population in transboundary river basins. After accounting for upstream water use, stress level increased by at least 1 percentage-point for 30-65 sub-basins, affecting 0.29-1.13 billion people. Altogether 288 out of 298 middle-stream and downstream sub-basin areas experienced some change in stress level. Further, we assessed whether there is a link between increased water stress due to upstream water use and the number of conflictive and cooperative events in the transboundary river basins, as captured by two prominent databases. No direct relationship was found. This supports the argument that conflicts and cooperation events originate from a combination of different drivers, among which upstream-induced water stress may play a role. Our findings contribute to better understanding of upstream-downstream dynamics in water stress to help address water allocation problems.

An Efficient Method for Mapping High-Resolution Global River Discharge Based on the Algorithms of Drainage Network Extraction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiaye Li

2018-04-01

Full Text Available River discharge, which represents the accumulation of surface water flowing into rivers and ultimately into the ocean or other water bodies, may have great impacts on water quality and the living organisms in rivers. However, the global knowledge of river discharge is still poor and worth exploring. This study proposes an efficient method for mapping high-resolution global river discharge based on the algorithms of drainage network extraction. Using the existing global runoff map and digital elevation model (DEM data as inputs, this method consists of three steps. First, the pixels of the runoff map and the DEM data are resampled into the same resolution (i.e., 0.01-degree. Second, the flow direction of each pixel of the DEM data (identified by the optimal flow path method used in drainage network extraction is determined and then applied to the corresponding pixel of the runoff map. Third, the river discharge of each pixel of the runoff map is calculated by summing the runoffs of all the pixels in the upstream of this pixel, similar to the upslope area accumulation step in drainage network extraction. Finally, a 0.01-degree global map of the mean annual river discharge is obtained. Moreover, a 0.5-degree global map of the mean annual river discharge is produced to display the results with a more intuitive perception. Compared against the existing global river discharge databases, the 0.01-degree map is of a generally high accuracy for the selected river basins, especially for the Amazon River basin with the lowest relative error (RE of 0.3% and the Yangtze River basin within the RE range of ±6.0%. However, it is noted that the results of the Congo and Zambezi River basins are not satisfactory, with RE values over 90%, and it is inferred that there may be some accuracy problems with the runoff map in these river basins.

The Graded Alluvial River: Variable Flow and the Dominant Discharge

Science.gov (United States)

Blom, A.; Arkesteijn, L.; Viparelli, E.

2016-12-01

We derive analytical formulations for the graded or equilibrium longitudinal profile of a mixed-sediment alluvial river under variable flow. The formulations are applicable to reaches upstream from the backwater zone. The model is based on the conservation equations for the mass of two distinct sediment modes, sand and gravel, at the bed surface to account for the effects of grain size selective transport and abrasion of gravel particles. The effects of a variable flow rate are included by (a) treating the flow as a continuously changing yet steady water discharge (i.e. here termed an alternating steady discharge) and (b) assuming the time scale of changes in channel slope and bed surface texture to be much larger than the one of changes in flow rate. The equations are simplified realizing that at equilibrium the river profile finds itself in a dynamic steady state with oscillations around constant mean values of channel slope and bed surface texture. A generalized sediment transport relation representing the stochastic nature of sediment transport allows for explicit or analytical solutions to the streamwise decrease of both the channel slope and the bed surface mean grain size under variable flow for reaches unaffected by backwater effects. This modelling approach also provides a definition of a channel-forming or dominant water discharge, i.e., that steady water discharge that is equivalent in its effect on the equilibrium channel slope to the full hydrograph.

Functional groups of macro-benthos of selected sites of upstream of Hron River and Hnilec River

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rufusova, A.

2011-01-01

The author used six functional groups of macro-benthos based on 'species traits', which are indicated with the Greek letters α to ζ. In the work authors applied this method to the macroinvertebrate communities of selected sites of upstream of the Hron River and the Hnilec River. The method appropriately captured increasing gradient of anthropogenic changes in the direction of the river continuum. Although the method was used for Slovak rivers for the first time, it seems to be promising for use in the future. (author)

Upstream Structural Management Measures for an Urban Area Flooding in Turkey and their Consequences on Flood Risk Management

Science.gov (United States)

Akyurek, Z.; Bozoglu, B.; Girayhan, T.

2015-12-01

Flooding has the potential to cause significant impacts to economic activities as well as to disrupt or displace populations. Changing climate regimes such as extreme precipitation events increase flood vulnerability and put additional stresses on infrastructure. In this study the flood modelling in an urbanized area, namely Samsun-Terme in Blacksea region of Turkey is done. MIKE21 with flexible grid is used in 2- dimensional shallow water flow modelling. 1/1000 scaled maps with the buildings for the urbanized area and 1/5000 scaled maps for the rural parts are used to obtain DTM needed in the flood modelling. The bathymetry of the river is obtained from additional surveys. The main river passing through the urbanized area has a capacity of Q5 according to the design discharge obtained by simple ungauged discharge estimation depending on catchment area only. The effects of the available structures like bridges across the river on the flooding are presented. The upstream structural measures are studied on scenario basis. Four sub-catchments of Terme River are considered as contributing the downstream flooding. The existing circumstance of the Terme River states that the meanders of the river have a major effect on the flood situation and lead to approximately 35% reduction in the peak discharge between upstream and downstream of the river. It is observed that if the flow from the upstream catchments can be retarded through a detention pond constructed in at least two of the upstream catchments, estimated Q100 flood can be conveyed by the river without overtopping from the river channel. The operation of the upstream detention ponds and the scenarios to convey Q500 without causing flooding are also presented. Structural management measures to address changes in flood characteristics in water management planning are discussed. Flood risk is obtained by using the flood hazard maps and water depth-damage functions plotted for a variety of building types and occupancies

Hindrances to upstream migration of atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in a northern Swedish river caused by a hydroelectric power-station

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rivinoja, P.; Lundqvist, H.

2001-01-01

Many Baltic salmon rivers have lost their natural juvenile production due to human activities blocking or reducing access to their spawning grounds, e.g. damming, power generation, partial hinders, etc.. One such hindrance is a hydroelectric complex located in the lower reaches of River Umeaelven in northern Sweden. Water from the forbay created by the dam Norrfors is directed to the Stornorrfors power-station. At times, 100 per cent of the river is directed to the power-station. Water from the power-station then flows via a tunnel and outlet channel to the river. From the point of the tunnel's discharge into the river, the old river bed acts as a bypass channel directing migrating adult fish to a fish ladder located at the base of the dam. In this study, the effect that an additional turbine, that was installed at the power-station in 1986, had on fish passage run-time was examined. Changes in run-time were compared for two periods 1974-1985 and 1986-1995. In 1997, 55 wild and 25 hatchery salmon were captured in the Umeaelven estuary, radio tagged with uniquely coded tags, and tracked upstream. Both manual and automatic loggers were used to locate fish daily. The main findings show that only 26 per cent of the wild salmon and none of the hatchery salmon found the fish ladder. It is suggested that the salmon followed the main water discharge from the power-station outlet and are thus directed away from the entrance to the bypass channel leading to the fish ladder. Salmon respond by moving upstream or downstream depending on the current flow regimes. The bypass channel consists of partial hinders that may explain why it takes on average 52 days for the salmon to migrate 32 km from the estuary to the fish ladder. Adding a fourth turbine at the power-station did not appear to have changed the timing of the migration or the seasonal distribution of the migrating wild salmon through the fish ladder. There was no significant effect of the fourth turbine on the duration

Mapping mean annual and monthly river discharges: geostatistical developments for incorporating river network dependencies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sauquet, Eric

2004-01-01

Regional hydrology is one topic that shows real improvement in partly due to new statistical development and computation facilities. Nevertheless theoretical difficulties for mapping river regime characteristics or recover these features at un gauged location remain because of the nature of the variable under study: river flows are related to a specific area that is defined by the drainage basin, are spatially organised by the river network with upstream-downstream dependencies. Estimations of hydrological descriptors are required for studying links with ecological processes at different spatial scale, from local site where biological or/and water quality data are available to large scale for sustainable development purposes. This presentation aims at describing a method for runoff pattern along the main river network. The approach dedicated to mean annual runoff is based on geostatistical interpolation procedures to which a constraint of water budget has been added. Expansion in Empirical Orthogonal Function has been considered in combination with kriging for interpolating mean monthly discharges. The methodologies are implemented within a Geographical Information System and illustrated by two study cases (two large basins in France). River flow regime descriptors are estimated for basins of more than 50km 2 . Opportunities of collaboration with a partition of France into hydro-eco regions derived from geology and climate considerations is discussed. (Author)

Metagenomic exploration reveals a marked change in the river resistome and mobilome after treated wastewater discharges.

Science.gov (United States)

Lekunberri, Itziar; Balcázar, José Luis; Borrego, Carles M

2018-03-01

Mobile genetic elements (MGEs) are key agents in the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) across environments. Here we used metagenomics to compare the river resistome (collection of all ARGs) and mobilome (e.g., integrases, transposases, integron integrases and insertion sequence common region "ISCR" elements) between samples collected upstream (n = 6) and downstream (n = 6) of an urban wastewater treatment plant (UWWTP). In comparison to upstream metagenomes, downstream metagenomes showed a drastic increase in the abundance of ARGs, as well as markers of MGEs, particularly integron integrases and ISCR elements. These changes were accompanied by a concomitant prevalence of 16S rRNA gene signatures of bacteria affiliated to families encompassing well-known human and animal pathogens. Our results confirm that chronic discharges of treated wastewater severely impact the river resistome affecting not only the abundance and diversity of ARGs but also their potential spread by enriching the river mobilome in a wide variety of MGEs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Experimental effect of flow depth on ratio discharge in lateral intakes in river bend

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Masjedi, A; Foroushani, E P

2012-01-01

Open-channel dividing flow is characterized by the inflow and outflow discharges, the upstream and downstream water depths, and the recirculation flow in the branch channel. In general, diversion flow can be categorized as natural and artificial flow. Natural flow diversion usually occurs as braiding or cut-off in bend rivers, while artificial flow is man-made to divert flow by lateral intake channels for water supply. This study presents the results of a laboratory research into effect intake flow depth on ratio discharge in lateral intakes in 180 degree bend. Investigation on lateral intake and determination of intake flow depth is among the most important issues in lateral intake on ratio discharge with model intake flow depth were measured in a laboratory flume under clear-water. Experiments were conducted for various intake flow depths and with different discharges. It was found that by increasing the flow depth at 180 degree flume bend, ratio discharge increases.

Flood discharge measurement of a mountain river – Nanshih River in Taiwan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y.-C. Chen

2013-05-01

Full Text Available This study proposes a more efficient method of flood discharge measurement in mountain rivers that accounts for personal safety, accuracy, and reliability. Because it is based on the relationships between mean and maximum velocities and between cross-sectional area and gauge height, the proposed method utilizes a flood discharge measurement system composed of an acoustic Doppler profiler and crane system to measure velocity distributions, cross-sectional area, and water depths. The flood discharge measurement system can be used to accurately and quickly measure flood data that is difficult to be collected by the conventional instruments. The measured data is then used to calibrate the parameters of the proposed method for estimating mean velocity and cross-sectional area. Then these observed discharge and gauge height can be used to establish the water stage–discharge rating curve. Therefor continuous and real-time estimations of flood discharge of a mountain river can become possible. The measurement method and system is applied to the Nanshih River at the Lansheng Bridge. Once the method is established, flood discharge of the Nanshih River could be efficiently estimated using maximum velocity and the water stage. Results of measured and estimated discharges of the Nanshih River at the Lansheng Bridge differed only slightly from each other, demonstrating the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method.

A CUSUM analysis of discharge patterns by a hydroelectric dam and discussion of potential effects on the upstream migration of American eel elvers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jessop, B.M.; Harvie, C.J.

2003-01-01

American eel elvers are among the diadromous fishes native to the Saint John River in New Brunswick that have been affected by the construction of hydroelectric dams. Before 1980, large numbers of elvers were observed entering the fishway of the Mactaquac Dam in May and June for upstream migration, but their presence abruptly ceased after 1980. A study was conducted to determine why they disappeared at the Mactaquac Dam. A cumulative sum (CUSUM) analysis was performed to determine the variability in magnitude, duration, timing, frequency, and rate of change in the daily and seasonal average level of water discharge associated with the installation of the last two of six turbines in late 1979 and early 1980. It is believed that the rapid, short-term fluctuations in water discharge which is characteristic of peaking hydroelectric dam operations, could seriously affect life cycle transitions of diadromous fishes. Upstream and downstream migration of the elvers may be affected along with their abundance, diversity and productivity. Young fish in particular are at higher risk of mortality during high flows, depending on the species. 40 refs., 3 tabs., 10 figs

Potential relationships between the river discharge and the precipitation in the Jinsha River basin, China

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Flood discharges and hydraulics near the mouths of Wolf Creek, Craig Branch, Manns Creek, Dunloup Creek, and Mill Creek in the New River Gorge National River, West Virginia

Science.gov (United States)

Wiley, J.B.

1994-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the National Park Service, studied the frequency and magnitude of flooding near the mouths of five tributaries to the New River in the New River Gorge National River. The 100-year peak discharge at each tributary was determined from regional frequency equations. The 100-year discharge at Wolf Creek, Craig Branch, Manns Creek, Dunloup Creek, and Mill Creek was 3,400 cubic feet per second, 640 cubic feet per second, 8,200 cubic feet per second, 7,100 cubic feet per second, and 9,400 cubic feet per second, respectively. Flood elevations for each tributary were determined by application of a steady-state, one-dimensional flow model. Manning's roughness coefficients for the stream channels ranged from 0.040 to 0.100. Bridges that would be unable to contain the 100-year flood within the bridge opening included: the State Highway 82 bridge on Wolf Creek, the second Fayette County Highway 25 bridge upstream from the confluence with New River on Dunloup Creek, and an abandoned log bridge on Mill Creek.

Impact of hydrological alterations on river-groundwater exchange and water quality in a semi-arid area: Nueces River, Texas.

Science.gov (United States)

Murgulet, Dorina; Murgulet, Valeriu; Spalt, Nicholas; Douglas, Audrey; Hay, Richard G

2016-12-01

There is a lack of understanding and methods for assessing the effects of anthropogenic disruptions, (i.e. river fragmentation due to dam construction) on the extent and degree of groundwater-surface water interaction and geochemical processes affecting the quality of water in semi-arid, coastal catchments. This study applied a novel combination of electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and elemental and isotope geochemistry in a coastal river disturbed by extended drought and periodic flooding due to the operation of multiple dams. Geochemical analyses show that the saltwater barrier causes an increase in salinity in surface water in the downstream river as a result of limited freshwater inflows, strong evaporation effects on shallow groundwater and mostly stagnant river water, and is not due to saltwater intrusion by tidal flooding. Discharge from bank storage is dominant (~84%) in the downstream fragment and its contribution could increase salinity levels within the hyporheic zone and surface water. When surface water levels go up due to upstream freshwater releases the river temporarily displaces high salinity water trapped in the hyporheic zone to the underlying aquifer. Geochemical modeling shows a higher contribution of distant and deeper groundwater (~40%) in the upstream river and lower discharge from bank storage (~13%) through the hyporheic zone. Recharge from bank storage is a source of high salt to both upstream and downstream portions of the river but its contribution is higher below the dam. Continuous ERT imaging of the river bed complements geochemistry findings and indicate that while lithologically similar, downstream of the dam, the shallow aquifer is affected by salinization while fresher water saturates the aquifer in the upstream fragment. The relative contribution of flows (i.e. surface water releases or groundwater discharge) as related to the river fragmentation control changes of streamwater chemistry and likely impact the interpretation

Short-term variability of Johor River discharge based on wavelet analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmad, N.; Kamaruddin, S. A.; Heryansyah, A.

2015-02-01

River discharge provides a direct measure of water quantity and availability of water for specific uses. It also provides the basis for understanding river basin processes and is essential for interpreting and understanding river flow characteristics. This study investigates the temporal variability of river discharge records of Johor River. Wavelet analysis of discharge records for 30 years was carried out to characterize the river flow variability. Our results indicate that Johor River discharge data shows a significant short-term variability of between 0.6 to 2.5 years.

Modelling the combined impact of radionuclide discharges reaching rivers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hilton, J.; Small, S.; Hornby, D.; Scarlett, P.; Harvey, M.; Simmonds, J.; Bexon, A.; Jones, A.

2003-01-01

The Agency currently authorises direct and indirect (via sewerage systems) discharges of liquid radioactive wastes to rivers from nuclear sites and other registered users of radioactivity. Discharges are normally authorised on a site-by-site basis, taking into account the radiological assessment. Radiological assessments are normally made using dilution models to estimate radionuclide activities in the effluents themselves and in the receiving rivers. These data are then combined with information on habits and dose factor information to give a dose assessment for individuals exposed to the discharge. For each site the highest radiological impact is expected immediately downstream of the disposal point where concentrations of radionuclides and resulting doses are highest. The concentration and doses are expected to decline with increasing distance downstream of the disposal point. However, if discharges are made into the river from other establishments higher up the catchment, the total dose may be higher. Recent Environment Agency research projects provided evidence of the potential radiological significance of multiple discharges to a single river. In the light of these studies, the Agency require a robust modelling tool to assist in the assessment of the effects of combined discharges to river systems. The aim of this R and D project was to develop and test modelling tools that could be used to make assessments of the impact of multiple radiological discharge into river systems and to trial them on the upper Thames river system

Water stress in global transboundary river basins : Significance of upstream water use on downstream stress

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Munia, H.; Guillaume, J. H A; Mirumachi, N.; Porkka, M.; Wada, Y.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/341387819; Kummu, M.

2016-01-01

Growing population and water demand have increased pressure on water resources in various parts of the globe, including many transboundary river basins. While the impacts of upstream water use on downstream water availability have been analysed in many of these international river basins, this has

Effects on the upstream flood inundation caused from the operation of Chao Phraya Dam

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sutham Visutimeteegorn

2007-11-01

Full Text Available During the flooding events, the operation of Chao Phraya Dam to control downstream water discharge is one of the causes of the inundation occuring over the upstream area. The purposes of this research are to study the effects of the operation of Chao Phraya Dam upon the upstream flood inundation and to find out the new measures of the flood mitigation in the upstream areas of Chao Phraya Dam by using a hydrodynamic model. The results show that Manning's n in the Chao Phraya River and its tributaries is 0.030-0.035 in the main channels and 0.050-0.070 in the flood plain areas. The backwater due to the operation of the Chao Praya dam affects as far as 110 kilometers upstream. New methods of water diversion can mitigate the flood inundation without the effect on the floating rice fields. The construction of reservoirs in the Upper Sakaekang River Basin and the Upper Yom River Basin will mitigate the flood not only in their own basins but also in the Lower Chao Phraya River Basin. The coordinated operation of the Chao Phraya Dam, the regulators and the upper basin reservoirs will efficiently mitigate the flood inundation.

Benchmarking wide swath altimetry-based river discharge estimation algorithms for the Ganges river system

Science.gov (United States)

Bonnema, Matthew G.; Sikder, Safat; Hossain, Faisal; Durand, Michael; Gleason, Colin J.; Bjerklie, David M.

2016-04-01

The objective of this study is to compare the effectiveness of three algorithms that estimate discharge from remotely sensed observables (river width, water surface height, and water surface slope) in anticipation of the forthcoming NASA/CNES Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission. SWOT promises to provide these measurements simultaneously, and the river discharge algorithms included here are designed to work with these data. Two algorithms were built around Manning's equation, the Metropolis Manning (MetroMan) method, and the Mean Flow and Geomorphology (MFG) method, and one approach uses hydraulic geometry to estimate discharge, the at-many-stations hydraulic geometry (AMHG) method. A well-calibrated and ground-truthed hydrodynamic model of the Ganges river system (HEC-RAS) was used as reference for three rivers from the Ganges River Delta: the main stem of Ganges, the Arial-Khan, and the Mohananda Rivers. The high seasonal variability of these rivers due to the Monsoon presented a unique opportunity to thoroughly assess the discharge algorithms in light of typical monsoon regime rivers. It was found that the MFG method provides the most accurate discharge estimations in most cases, with an average relative root-mean-squared error (RRMSE) across all three reaches of 35.5%. It is followed closely by the Metropolis Manning algorithm, with an average RRMSE of 51.5%. However, the MFG method's reliance on knowledge of prior river discharge limits its application on ungauged rivers. In terms of input data requirement at ungauged regions with no prior records, the Metropolis Manning algorithm provides a more practical alternative over a region that is lacking in historical observations as the algorithm requires less ancillary data. The AMHG algorithm, while requiring the least prior river data, provided the least accurate discharge measurements with an average wet and dry season RRMSE of 79.8% and 119.1%, respectively, across all rivers studied. This poor

Identifying Groundwater Discharge in the Merced River Basin, California Using Radon-222

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, G. D.; Hudson, G. B.; Moran, J.; Conklin, M.

2004-12-01

Groundwater flow in fractured granite of the Sierra Nevada is poorly characterized, in particular, contributions of mountain block recharge are not known. Using a combination of water quality and isotopic analyses, groundwater inputs to the Upper Merced River were characterized. Between November 2003 and July 2004, monthly water quality samples were taken from Happy Isles to the inlet of Lake McClure, a 75 km reach. These samples demonstrated the expected dilution due to snowmelt in the spring. In the fall, the spatial profile matched the geology with anion concentrations increasing downstream of the transition from the Sierra Nevada batholith to the country rock, suggesting significant groundwater inputs. From July 19 to 21, 2004, radon-222 and other noble gases (He, Ne, Ar, Kr and Xe abundances and 3He/4He ratio) were measured along a 37 km reach of the Merced River, extending from the top of Yosemite Valley to the confluence of the South Fork of the Merced River. All radon samples were extracted into mineral oil immediately in the field and counted using liquid scintillation; noble gas samples were collected in copper tubes. Radon-222 activity varied from about 1 to 100 pCi/L (at collection time) indicating significant, spatially variable groundwater discharge into the Merced River. Two one-mile reaches of the Merced River were sampled for 222Rn on a fine scale. Large fracture sets in these two locations and previous temperature measurements suggested that groundwater discharge was higher relative to other locations along the river. Radon-222 activity was low upstream and downstream of large fractures observed in the bedrock; whereas, 222Rn activity was high at large fracture zones. Degassing is rapid downstream of fractures where no groundwater discharge is observed. For a representative groundwater end-member, radon-222 activity measured in Fern Spring, Yosemite Valley was about 1200 pCi/L. Excess 4He from U and Th decay is observed in samples with elevated

Chemistry of groundwater discharge inferred from longitudinal river sampling

Science.gov (United States)

Batlle-Aguilar, J.; Harrington, G. A.; Leblanc, M.; Welch, C.; Cook, P. G.

2014-02-01

We present an approach for identifying groundwater discharge chemistry and quantifying spatially distributed groundwater discharge into rivers based on longitudinal synoptic sampling and flow gauging of a river. The method is demonstrated using a 450 km reach of a tropical river in Australia. Results obtained from sampling for environmental tracers, major ions, and selected trace element chemistry were used to calibrate a steady state one-dimensional advective transport model of tracer distribution along the river. The model closely reproduced river discharge and environmental tracer and chemistry composition along the study length. It provided a detailed longitudinal profile of groundwater inflow chemistry and discharge rates, revealing that regional fractured mudstones in the central part of the catchment contributed up to 40% of all groundwater discharge. Detailed analysis of model calibration errors and modeled/measured groundwater ion ratios elucidated that groundwater discharging in the top of the catchment is a mixture of local groundwater and bank storage return flow, making the method potentially useful to differentiate between local and regional sourced groundwater discharge. As the error in tracer concentration induced by a flow event applies equally to any conservative tracer, we show that major ion ratios can still be resolved with minimal error when river samples are collected during transient flow conditions. The ability of the method to infer groundwater inflow chemistry from longitudinal river sampling is particularly attractive in remote areas where access to groundwater is limited or not possible, and for identification of actual fluxes of salts and/or specific contaminant sources.

Columbia River water quality monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1983-01-01

Waste water from Hanford activities is discharged at eight points along the Hanford reach of the Columbia River. These discharges consist of backwash water from water intake screens, cooling water, river bank springs, water storage tank overflow, and fish laboratory waste water. Each discharge point is identified in an existing National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued by the EPA. Effluents from each of these outfalls are routinely monitored and reported by the operating contractors as required by their NPDES permits. Measurements of several Columbia River water quality parameters were conducted routinely during 1982 both upstream and downstream of the Hanford Site to monitor any effects on the river that may be attributable to Hanford discharges and to determine compliance with the Class A designation requirements. The measurements indicated that Hanford operations had a minimal, if any, impact on the quality of the Columbia River water

The impact of industries on surface water quality of River Ona and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Samples of water from two rivers (River Ona and River Alaro) in Oluyole ... were higher in the industrial zones than those found in the upstream of both rivers. ... Key words: River Ona, River Alaro, industrial discharges, surface water quality.

Exploring SWOT discharge algorithm accuracy on the Sacramento River

Science.gov (United States)

Durand, M. T.; Yoon, Y.; Rodriguez, E.; Minear, J. T.; Andreadis, K.; Pavelsky, T. M.; Alsdorf, D. E.; Smith, L. C.; Bales, J. D.

2012-12-01

Scheduled for launch in 2019, the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission will utilize a Ka-band radar interferometer to measure river heights, widths, and slopes, globally, as well as characterize storage change in lakes and ocean surface dynamics with a spatial resolution ranging from 10 - 70 m, with temporal revisits on the order of a week. A discharge algorithm has been formulated to solve the inverse problem of characterizing river bathymetry and the roughness coefficient from SWOT observations. The algorithm uses a Bayesian Markov Chain estimation approach, treats rivers as sets of interconnected reaches (typically 5 km - 10 km in length), and produces best estimates of river bathymetry, roughness coefficient, and discharge, given SWOT observables. AirSWOT (the airborne version of SWOT) consists of a radar interferometer similar to SWOT, but mounted aboard an aircraft. AirSWOT spatial resolution will range from 1 - 35 m. In early 2013, AirSWOT will perform several flights over the Sacramento River, capturing river height, width, and slope at several different flow conditions. The Sacramento River presents an excellent target given that the river includes some stretches heavily affected by management (diversions, bypasses, etc.). AirSWOT measurements will be used to validate SWOT observation performance, but are also a unique opportunity for testing and demonstrating the capabilities and limitations of the discharge algorithm. This study uses HEC-RAS simulations of the Sacramento River to first, characterize expected discharge algorithm accuracy on the Sacramento River, and second to explore the required AirSWOT measurements needed to perform a successful inverse with the discharge algorithm. We focus on several specific research questions affecting algorithm performance: 1) To what extent do lateral inflows confound algorithm performance? We examine the ~100 km stretch of river from Colusa, CA to the Yolo Bypass, and investigate how the

GRACE-based estimates of water discharge over the Yellow River basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qiong Li

2016-05-01

Full Text Available As critical component of hydrologic cycle, basin discharge is a key issue for understanding the hydrological and climatologic related to water and energy cycles. Combining GRACE gravity field models with ET from GLDAS models and precipitation from GPCP, discharge of the Yellow River basin are estimated from the water balance equation. While comparing the results with discharge from GLDAS model and in situ measurements, the results reveal that discharge from Mosaic and CLM GLDAS model can partially represent the river discharge and the discharge estimation from water balance equation could reflect the discharge from precipitation over the Yellow River basin.

B, As, and F contamination of river water due to wastewater discharge of the Yangbajing geothermal power plant, Tibet, China

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Qinghai; Wang, Yanxin; Liu, Wei

2008-11-01

Thermal waters from the Yangbajing geothermal field, Tibet, contain high concentrations of B, As, and F, up to 119, 5.7 and 19.6 mg/L, respectively. In this paper, the distribution of B, As, and F in the aquatic environment at Yangbajing was surveyed. The results show that most river water samples collected downstream of the Zangbo River have comparatively higher concentrations of B, As, and F (up to 3.82, 0.27 and 1.85 mg/L, respectively), indicating that the wastewater discharge of the geothermal power plant at Yangbajing has resulted in B, As, and F contamination in the river. Although the concentrations of B, As, and F of the Zangbo river waters decline downstream of the wastewater discharge site due to dilution effect and sorption onto bottom sediments, the sample from the conjunction of the Zangbo River and the Yangbajing River has higher contents of B, As, and F as compared with their predicted values obtained using our regression analysis models. The differences between actual and calculated contents of B, As, and F can be attributed to the contribution from upstream of the Yangbajing River. Water quality deterioration of the river has induced health problems among dwellers living in and downstream of Yangbajing. Effective measures, such as decontamination of wastewater and reinjection into the geothermal field, should be taken to protect the environment at Yangbajing.

Upstream migration of Pacific lampreys in the John Day River, Oregon: Behavior, timing, and habitat use

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, T. Craig; Bayer, J.M.

2005-01-01

Adult Pacific lamprey migration and habitat preferences for over-winter holding and spawning, and larval rearing in tributaries to the Columbia River are not well understood. The John Day River is one such tributary where larval and adult stages of this species have been documented, and its free-flowing character provided the opportunity to study migration of Pacific lampreys unimpeded by passage constraints. Forty-two adult Pacific lampreys were captured in the John Day River near its mouth during their upstream migration. Pacific lampreys were surgically implanted with radio transmitters and released onsite, and tracked by fixed-site, aerial, and terrestrial telemetry methods for nearly one year. Adults moved upstream exclusively at night, with a mean rate of 11.1 ?? 6.3 km/day. They halted upstream migration by September, and held a single position for approximately six months in the lateral margins of riffles and glides, using boulders for cover. More than half of Pacific lampreys resumed migration in March before ending movement in early May. Pacific lampreys that resumed migration in spring completed a median of 87% of their upstream migration before over-winter holding. Upon completing migration. Pacific lampreys briefly held position before beginning downstream movement at the end of May. Though not directly observed, halting migration and movement downstream were likely the result of spawning and death. Gains in adult Pacific lamprey passage through the Columbia River hydrosystem and tributaries may be made by improvements that would expedite migration during spring and summer and increase the quantity and variety of cover and refuge opportunities. ?? 2005 by the Northwest Scientific Association. All rights reserved.

Predictability of current and future multi-river discharges: Ganges, Brahmaputra, Yangtze, Blue Nile, and Murray-Darling rivers

Science.gov (United States)

Jian, Jun

2007-12-01

Determining river discharge is of critical importance to many societies as they struggle with fresh water supply and risk of flooding. In Bangladesh, floods occur almost every year but with sufficient irregularity to have adverse social and economical consequences. Important goals are to predict the discharge to be used for the optimization of agricultural practices, disaster mitigation and water resource management. The aim of this study is to determine the predictability of river discharge in a number of major rivers on time scale varying from weeks to a century. We investigated predictability considering relationship between SST and discharge. Next, we consider IPCC model projections of river discharge while the models are statistically adjusted against observed discharges. In this study, we consider five rivers, the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, the Yangtze, the Blue Nile, and the Murray-Darling Rivers. On seasonal time scales, statistically significant correlations are found between mean monthly equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) and the summer Ganges discharge with lead times of 2-3 months due to oscillations of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomena. In addition, there are strong correlations in the southwest and northeast Pacific. These, too, appear to be tied to the ENSO cycle. The Brahmaputra discharge, on the other hand, shows somewhat weaker relationships with tropical SST. Strong lagged correlations relationships are found with SST in the Bay of Bengal but these are the result of very warm SSTs and exceptional Brahmaputra discharge during the summer of 1998. When this year is removed from the time series, relationships weaken everywhere except in the northwestern Pacific for the June discharge and in areas of the central Pacific straddling the equator for the July discharge. The relationships are relative strong, but they are persistent from month to month and suggest that two different and sequential factors influence Brahmaputra

Trends of river discharges in Slovenia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ulaga, F; Kobold, M; Frantar, P

2008-01-01

Trends of river discharges are very important in recognition of climate changes and also in water management. In last years droughts and floods are more and more frequent, therefore monitoring and investigating of hydrological situation became one of the guidance scientific approach. In analysis of mean annual discharges made in Agency of the Republic of Slovenia for the Environment in last years, statistical significance trend was find out only by rivers of northwest alpine region [1] [2] [3]. In recent research of time changing discharges, presumption of generally decreasing of water quantity all over Slovenia was confirmed. Our basic conclusion - in Slovenia it is well recognized decreasing of water quantity in long period of observation. This fact and also worsening of water quality became alarming problems of our future, especially in dry months of the year.

Effects of coal-mine discharges on the quality of the Stonycreek River and its tributaries, Somerset and Cambria counties, Pennsylvania

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Donald R.; Sams, James I.; Mulkerrin, Mary E.

1996-01-01

deteriorates downstream because of inflows from tributaries affected by acidic mine discharges. From the upstream mainstem site (site 801) to the outflow mainstem site (site 805), pH decreased from 6.8 to 4.2, alkalinity was completely depleted by inflow acidities, and total-iron discharges increased from 30 to 684 pounds per day. Total-manganese and total-sulfate discharges increased because neither constituent precipitates readily. Also, discharges of manganese and sulfate entering the mainstem from tributary streams have a cumulative effect.Oven Run and Pokeytown Run are two small tributary streams significantly affected by acidic mine drainage (AMD) that flow into the Stonycreek River near the town of Hooversville. The Pokeytown Run inflow is about 0.5 mile downstream from the Oven Run inflow. These two streams are the first major source of AMD flowing into the Stonycreek River. Data collected on the Stonycreek River above the Oven Run inflow and below the Pokeytown Run inflow show a decrease in pH from 7.6 to 5.1, a decrease in alkalinity concentration from 42 to 2 milligrams per liter, an increase in total sulfate discharge from 18 to 41 tons per day, and an increase in total iron discharge from 29 to 1,770 pounds per day. Data collected at three mainstem sites on the Stonycreek River below Oven Run and Pokeytown Run show a progressive deterioration in river water quality from AMD.Shade Creek and Paint Creek are other tributary streams to the Stonycreek River that have a significant negative effect on water quality of the Stonycreek River. One third of the abandoned-mine discharges sampled were in the Shade Creek and Paint Creek Basins.

Potential water-quality effects of coal-bed methane production water discharged along the upper Tongue River, Wyoming and Montana

Science.gov (United States)

Kinsey, Stacy M.; Nimick, David A.

2011-01-01

Water quality in the upper Tongue River from Monarch, Wyoming, downstream to just upstream from the Tongue River Reservoir in Montana potentially could be affected by discharge of coal-bed methane (CBM) production water (hereinafter referred to as CBM discharge). CBM discharge typically contains high concentrations of sodium and other ions that could increase dissolved-solids (salt) concentrations, specific conductance (SC), and sodium-adsorption ratio (SAR) in the river. Increased inputs of sodium and other ions have the potential to alter the river's suitability for agricultural irrigation and aquatic ecosystems. Data from two large tributaries, Goose Creek and Prairie Dog Creek, indicate that these tributaries were large contributors to the increase in SC and SAR in the Tongue River. However, water-quality data were not available for most of the smaller inflows, such as small tributaries, irrigation-return flows, and CBM discharges. Thus, effects of these inflows on the water quality of the Tongue River were not well documented. Effects of these small inflows might be subtle and difficult to determine without more extensive data collection to describe spatial patterns. Therefore, synoptic water-quality sampling trips were conducted in September 2005 and April 2006 to provide a spatially detailed profile of the downstream changes in water quality in this reach of the Tongue River. The purpose of this report is to describe these downstream changes in water quality and to estimate the potential water-quality effects of CBM discharge in the upper Tongue River. Specific conductance of the Tongue River through the study reach increased from 420 to 625 microsiemens per centimeter (.μS/cm; or 49 percent) in the downstream direction in September 2005 and from 373 to 543 .μS/cm (46 percent) in April 2006. Large increases (12 to 24 percent) were measured immediately downstream from Goose Creek and Prairie Dog Creek during both sampling trips. Increases attributed to

THE ACTUAL CONDITIONS OF WETLANDS FROM THE UPSTREAM OF HĂRPĂŞEŞETI RIVER (BAHLUI HYDROGRAPHICAL BASIN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gheorghe Romanescu

2005-10-01

Full Text Available The Hărpăşeşti river is a right side affluent of the Bahluieţ river. It junctions with the latter in the river-collecting “market” from near Podu Iloaiei. The physico-chemical analysis conducted in the waters and the marshes of the creek relieve an increase of the content of dissolved salts and of the water chemical content as we advance upstream, as a consequence of the fact that these salts are transported from the upstream hydrographical basin. The temperature is higher in the low waters, and the dissolved oxygen has a higher importance in the waters with high depths, lower temperatures and rare aquatic vegetation.

An analysis of effect of land use change on river flow variability

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Tao; Liu, Yuting; Yang, Xinyue; Wang, Xiang

2018-02-01

Land use scenario analysis, SWAT model, flow characteristic indices and flow variability technology were used to analyze the effect of land use quantity and location change on river flow. Results showed that river flow variation caused by land use change from forest to crop was larger than that caused by land use change from forest to grass; Land use change neither from upstream to downstream nor from downstream to upstream had little effect on annual average discharge and maximum annual average discharge. But it had obvious effect on maximum daily discharge; Land use change which occurred in upstream could lead to producing larger magnitude flood more easily; Land use change from forest to crop or grass could increase the number of large magnitude floods and their total duration. And it also could increase the number of small magnitude floods but decrease their duration.

Ecology of common bully (Gobiomorphus cotidianus) in the Tarawera and Rangitiki rivers : isolation by inland distance or anthropogenic discharge?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bleackley, N.A.; Landman, M.J.; Ling, N.

2009-01-01

Previous research has identified distinct genetic, life-history and reproductive differences between populations of common bully (Gobiomorphus cotidianus) upstream and downstream of a pulp and paper mill outfall on the Tarawera River in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. This study investigated the distribution of common bully in the Tarawera River by examining fish collected from upstream (37 km inland) and downstream (20 km inland) locations and comparing them to fish from similar inland locations (40 km and 17 km inland, respectively) in the nearby Rangitaiki River. Reproductive divergence was observed between upstream and downstream sites of both rivers by differing annual trends in gonadosomatic index. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes confirmed residency at each sampling site and otolith microchemistry demonstrated different life-history strategies between upstream and downstream populations. Diadromous recruits dominated in both downstream river populations, with a general disappearance of diadromy upstream. A mixture of diadromous and non-diadromous fish were found in the upstream Rangitaiki River, whereas diadromous recruits were absent in the upstream Tarawera River. A reduction in oculoscapular canal structures also coincided with loss of diadromy in fish from both rivers. A behavioural study to determine whether pulp and paper mill effluent may deter fish migration within the Tarawera River demonstrated a strong avoidance of effluent, but only at concentrations (>25%) greater than those that naturally occur in the river (<15%). The results of this study suggest that combinations of influences coupled with inland distance are likely to be responsible for the isolation of common bully subpopulations within the Tarawera River. (author). 51 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab.

Contributions of arsenic and chloride from the Kawerau geothermal field to the Tarawera River, New Zealand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mroczek, E.K.

2005-01-01

The Tarawera River flows through the Kawerau geothermal field. Natural geothermal drainage as well as geothermal production fluid effluent (0.193 m 3 /s) discharge to the river. The concentrations and fluxes of arsenic and chloride were measured upstream and downstream of the field to quantify the proportion of natural inflows of geothermal fluid compared to the discharge of effluent. Upstream of the geothermal effluent outfalls, the arsenic and chloride concentrations in the river are about 0.021 mg/l and 39 mg/l, respectively. The discharge of effluent increases the concentrations in the river to 0.029 mg/l and 48 mg/l, respectively. Calculated concentrations, given the known discharge of effluent, are 0.038 mg/l for arsenic and 50 mg/l for chloride. The differences between the measured and calculated concentrations are within the gauging and analytical errors. At minimum and maximum mean river flows (1984-1992), the concentrations would increase and decrease by 23% and 46%, respectively. Arsenic appears to be soluble and not associated with suspended solids. However, increased transport of arsenic by suspended solids may be a factor at higher river flows. The input of natural geothermal fluid upstream of the effluent outfalls (estimated < 0.170 m3/s) could not be detected (within the errors) by an increase in river chloride concentrations. (author)

Mobile platform for fish migration upstream from the discharge sill situated near Dacia bridge on Crișul Repede River

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Răzvan VOICU

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Longitudinal connectivity represent the way in which organisms move the energy and material exchanges located throughout the water. Fragmentation the longitudinal connectivity of watercourses caused by dams or other hydrotechnical constructions represent a major impact on sediment transport, hydrological regime, downstream moving and biota migration. The hydromorphological elements (river continuity, as well as chemical, biological, physicochemical elements characterize the ecological status of rivers. Migratory fish species: nase (Chondrostoma nasus - protected by Bern Convention - Appendix III, barbel (Barbus barbus - rare species, protected Habitats Directive (Annex V, annex 4A of Low nr.462 and Red List of RBDD and Freshwater bream (Abramis brama - protected by Bern Convention (Appendix III are blocked by the hydrotechnical constructions (discharge sills, dams located across the watercourse Crișul Repede River. One of the important think of this system is the gravitational fall of water. This solution will lead to the restoration of the longitudinal connection of the Crișul Repede River in the Oradea City, near Dacia Bridge. Romania is part of the European Union and it has the obligation to implement the provisions of the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC, transposed into Romanian legislation by the Water Law 107/1996 as supplemented and amended (Act 310/2004.

Comparison of different sensors for river discharge estimation from space

Science.gov (United States)

Tarpanelli, Angelica; Brocca, Luca; Barbetta, Silvia; Moramarco, Tommaso

2013-04-01

River discharge is an important quantity of the hydrologic cycle and it is essential for both scientific and operational applications related to water resources management and flood risk prevention. The absence of flow measurements along the natural channels and, sometimes, the inaccessibility to remote areas contribute to make the discharge estimation difficult. In recent years, the availability of remote sensing data is steadily increasing and the great potential of satellite sensors to be used for discharge estimation has been already demonstrated. In particular, recent advances in radar altimetry technology have improved the accuracy in the monitoring of water height of large rivers and lakes located in ungauged or poorly gauged inland regions. Additionally, although not specifically dedicated sensors such as Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) have also the potential to provide river discharge estimates. In this context, this study uses data provided by MODIS onboard AQUA satellite and by altimetry onboard ERS-2 and ENVISAT satellites for discharge estimation along Po River (North Italy) where in-situ observations are available from January 2002 to December 2010. The MODIS-derive discharge is obtained exploiting the different behavior of water and land in the Near Infrared (NIR) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum (MODIS channel 2). The ratio of reflectance values between two pixels located within and outside the river increases with the presence of the water and, hence, with discharge (or velocity). In a previous study, a regional relationship between the reflectance ratio and the flow velocity is derived by using MODIS data at four river reaches along the Po River. Altimetry-derived water levels are firstly compared with in-situ observed water levels in order to verify their accuracy. Successively, discharge is estimated from velocity (MODIS) and water level (altimeter) data by using simplified hydraulic relationships that incorporate

Upstream passage, spawning, and stock identification of fall chinook in the Snake River, 1992 and 1993. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blankenship, H.L.; Mendel, G.W.

1997-05-01

This final report of the 3-year study summarizes activities and results for 1993. Study objectives were to: (1) determine the source of losses (or accounting errors) for adult chinook salmon between Ice Harbor Dam (IHR) and Lower Granite Dam (LGR), and upstream of LGR in the Snake River; (2) identify spawning locations upstream of LGR for calibration of aerial redd surveys, redd habitat mapping, carcass recovery for genetic stock profile analysis, and correction of estimated adult/redd ratios; and (3) estimate passage and migration times at Snake River. 200 fall chinook salmon were radio tagged and tracked with aerial, fixed-site, and ground mobile tracking. Fish were released upstream of IHR at Charbonneau Park (CHAR). 190 of the fish were tracked or relocated away from CHAR. 59 fish descended to below IHR without crossing Lower Monumental Dam (LMO). Another 128 salmon passed upstream of LMO without falling back at IHR. Only 80 salmon passed Little Goose Dam (LGO) without falling back at a downstream dam; 66 of these fish passed LGR. Many fish that fell back reascended the dams. A total of 72 salmon released at CHAR passed upstream of LGR, including fish that had fallen back and reascended a dam. Over 80 percent of the salmon that entered Lyons Ferry Hatchery each year had reached LGO before descending to the hatchery. Extensive wandering was documented between LMO and upstream of LGR before salmon entered Lyons Ferry Hatchery or the Tucannon River. In 1993, 41 salmon were found to be of hatchery origin when recovered. These fish entered Lyons Ferry Hatchery with similar movements to unmarked salmon. Each year a few salmon have remained near the hatchery without entering, which suggests the hatchery may have inadequate attraction flows. Fall chinook passed lower Snake River dams in 2-5 days each on average. Median travel times through LMO and LGO were 1.0-1.3 days each, which was slower than for spring chinook or steelhead in 1993. 5 refs., 21 figs., 20 tabs

Estimating Discharge in Low-Order Rivers With High-Resolution Aerial Imagery

Science.gov (United States)

King, Tyler V.; Neilson, Bethany T.; Rasmussen, Mitchell T.

2018-02-01

Remote sensing of river discharge promises to augment in situ gauging stations, but the majority of research in this field focuses on large rivers (>50 m wide). We present a method for estimating volumetric river discharge in low-order (standard deviation of 6%). Sensitivity analyses were conducted to determine the influence of inundated channel bathymetry and roughness parameters on estimated discharge. Comparison of synthetic rating curves produced through sensitivity analyses show that reasonable ranges of parameter values result in mean percent errors in predicted discharges of 12%-27%.

Instream Biological Assessment of NPDES Point Source Discharges at the Savannah River Site, 2000

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Specht, W.L.

2001-01-01

The Savannah River Site (SRS) currently has 31 NPDES outfalls that have been permitted by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) to discharge to SRS streams and the Savannah River. In order to determine the cumulative impacts of these discharges to the receiving streams, a study plan was developed to perform in-stream assessments of the fish assemblages, macroinvertebrate assemblages, and habitats of the receiving streams. These studies were designed to detect biological impacts due to point source discharges. Sampling was initially conducted between November 1997 and July 1998 and was repeated in the summer and fall of 2000. A total of 18 locations were sampled (Table 1, Figure 1). Sampling locations for fish and macroinvertebrates were generally the same. However, different locations were sampled for fish (Road A-2) and macroinvertebrates (Road C) in the lower portion of Upper Three Runs, to avoid interference with ongoing fisheries studies at Road C. Also, fish were sampled in Fourmile Branch at Road 4 rather than at Road F because the stream at Road F was too narrow and shallow to support many fish. Sampling locations and parameters are detailed in Sections 2 and 3 of this report. In general, sampling locations were selected that would permit comparisons upstream and downstream of NPDES outfalls. In instances where this approach was not feasible because effluents discharge into the headwaters of a stream, appropriate unimpacted reference were used for comparison purposes. This report summarizes the results of the sampling that was conducted in 2000 and also compares these data to the data that were collected in 1997 and 1998

Sewage discharges and nutrient levels in Marimba River, Zimbabwe ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Sewage discharges and nutrient levels in Marimba River, Zimbabwe. ... Population distribution, land-use, industrial activity, urban agricultural ... River, one of the major inflow rivers into the Lake Chivero, Harare city\\'s main water supply source.

Interoperability challenges in river discharge modelling: A cross domain application scenario

Science.gov (United States)

Santoro, Mattia; Andres, Volker; Jirka, Simon; Koike, Toshio; Looser, Ulrich; Nativi, Stefano; Pappenberger, Florian; Schlummer, Manuela; Strauch, Adrian; Utech, Michael; Zsoter, Ervin

2018-06-01

River discharge is a critical water cycle variable, as it integrates all the processes (e.g. runoff and evapotranspiration) occurring within a river basin and provides a hydrological output variable that can be readily measured. Its prediction is of invaluable help for many water-related tasks including water resources assessment and management, flood protection, and disaster mitigation. Observations of river discharge are important to calibrate and validate hydrological or coupled land, atmosphere and ocean models. This requires using datasets from different scientific domains (Water, Weather, etc.). Typically, such datasets are provided using different technological solutions. This complicates the integration of new hydrological data sources into application systems. Therefore, a considerable effort is often spent on data access issues instead of the actual scientific question. This paper describes the work performed to address multidisciplinary interoperability challenges related to river discharge modeling and validation. This includes definition and standardization of domain specific interoperability standards for hydrological data sharing and their support in global frameworks such as the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). The research was developed in the context of the EU FP7-funded project GEOWOW (GEOSS Interoperability for Weather, Ocean and Water), which implemented a "River Discharge" application scenario. This scenario demonstrates the combination of river discharge observations data from the Global Runoff Data Centre (GRDC) database and model outputs produced by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) predicting river discharge based on weather forecast information in the context of the GEOSS.

Anastomosing Rivers are Disequilibrium Patterns

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lavooi, E.; Haas, de T.; Kleinhans, M.G.; Makaske, B.; Smith, D.G.

2010-01-01

Anastomosing rivers have multiple interconnected channels that enclose floodbasins. Various theories have been proposed to explain this pattern, including an increased discharge conveyance and sediment transport capacity of multiple channels, or, alternatively, a tendency to avulse due to upstream

Interannual variability of phytoplankton in the main rivers of the Upper Paraná River floodplain, Brazil: influence of upstream reservoirs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LC. Rodrigues

Full Text Available The interannual variation of phytoplankton communities in the three main rivers of the Upper Paraná River floodplain is evaluated in relation to changes in the hydrosedimentological regime. These changes are a result of climatic variability and the formation of Porto Primavera Reservoir, located at the upper Paraná River. Phytoplankton species richness and density were investigated in rivers during a prior period (1993-1994 and eight years after reservoir impoundment (2000-2007. Multiple analyses were conducted to test the differences between these time periods in order to find predictor variables for phytoplankton attributes. A total of 454 phytoplanktonic taxa were found. The regression analysis revealed significant differences between periods. In the years following construction of the Porto Primavera dam, species richness was lower in the Paraná River and density was higher in the three rivers. In general, the algal density decreased from 2005 to 2007. Diatoms and cyanobacteria contributed significantly to the total density during the period from March 1993 to February 1994. The years 2000-2007 presented the lowest diatom contribution to species richness and the highest cyanobacteria contribution. From 2000 on, cryptomonads and cyanobacteria dominated. The interannual variability of phytoplankton was probably influenced by changes in hydrosedimentological regime due to climatic variations (La Niña and El Niño - Southern Oscillation events - ENSO and the operational procedures associated with an upstream reservoirs. Studies on climatic variability and its effects on hydrosedimentological regimes of the Paraná, Baía and Ivinhema rivers and the biota therein are necessary to obtain subsidies for management, including decisions related to the operation of dams upstream and downstream of the study area, with the purpose of minimizing risks to the Environmental Protection Area.

Estimating Discharge in Low-Order Rivers With High-Resolution Aerial Imagery

OpenAIRE

King, Tyler V.; Neilson, Bethany T.; Rasmussen, Mitchell T.

2018-01-01

Remote sensing of river discharge promises to augment in situ gauging stations, but the majority of research in this field focuses on large rivers (>50 m wide). We present a method for estimating volumetric river discharge in low-order (wide) rivers from remotely sensed data by coupling high-resolution imagery with one-dimensional hydraulic modeling at so-called virtual gauging stations. These locations were identified as locations where the river contracted under low flows, exposing a substa...

Weak Learner Method for Estimating River Discharges using Remotely Sensed Data: Central Congo River as a Testbed

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, D.; Lee, H.; Yu, H.; Beighley, E.; Durand, M. T.; Alsdorf, D. E.; Hwang, E.

2017-12-01

River discharge is a prerequisite for an understanding of flood hazard and water resource management, yet we have poor knowledge of it, especially over remote basins. Previous studies have successfully used a classic hydraulic geometry, at-many-stations hydraulic geometry (AMHG), and Manning's equation to estimate the river discharge. Theoretical bases of these empirical methods were introduced by Leopold and Maddock (1953) and Manning (1889), and those have been long used in the field of hydrology, water resources, and geomorphology. However, the methods to estimate the river discharge from remotely sensed data essentially require bathymetric information of the river or are not applicable to braided rivers. Furthermore, the methods used in the previous studies adopted assumptions of river conditions to be steady and uniform. Consequently, those methods have limitations in estimating the river discharge in complex and unsteady flow in nature. In this study, we developed a novel approach to estimating river discharges by applying the weak learner method (here termed WLQ), which is one of the ensemble methods using multiple classifiers, to the remotely sensed measurements of water levels from Envisat altimetry, effective river widths from PALSAR images, and multi-temporal surface water slopes over a part of the mainstem Congo. Compared with the methods used in the previous studies, the root mean square error (RMSE) decreased from 5,089 m3s-1 to 3,701 m3s-1, and the relative RMSE (RRMSE) improved from 12% to 8%. It is expected that our method can provide improved estimates of river discharges in complex and unsteady flow conditions based on the data-driven prediction model by machine learning (i.e. WLQ), even when the bathymetric data is not available or in case of the braided rivers. Moreover, it is also expected that the WLQ can be applied to the measurements of river levels, slopes and widths from the future Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission to be

Remote Sensing and River Discharge Forecasting for Major Rivers in South Asia (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Webster, P. J.; Hopson, T. M.; Hirpa, F. A.; Brakenridge, G. R.; De-Groeve, T.; Shrestha, K.; Gebremichael, M.; Restrepo, P. J.

2013-12-01

The South Asia is a flashpoint for natural disasters particularly flooding of the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra has profound societal impacts for the region and globally. The 2007 Brahmaputra floods affecting India and Bangladesh, the 2008 avulsion of the Kosi River in India, the 2010 flooding of the Indus River in Pakistan and the 2013 Uttarakhand exemplify disasters on scales almost inconceivable elsewhere. Their frequent occurrence of floods combined with large and rapidly growing populations, high levels of poverty and low resilience, exacerbate the impact of the hazards. Mitigation of these devastating hazards are compounded by limited flood forecast capability, lack of rain/gauge measuring stations and forecast use within and outside the country, and transboundary data sharing on natural hazards. Here, we demonstrate the utility of remotely-derived hydrologic and weather products in producing skillful flood forecasting information without reliance on vulnerable in situ data sources. Over the last decade a forecast system has been providing operational probabilistic forecasts of severe flooding of the Brahmaputra and Ganges Rivers in Bangldesh was developed (Hopson and Webster 2010). The system utilizes ECMWF weather forecast uncertainty information and ensemble weather forecasts, rain gauge and satellite-derived precipitation estimates, together with the limited near-real-time river stage observations from Bangladesh. This system has been expanded to Pakistan and has successfully forecast the 2010-2012 flooding (Shrestha and Webster 2013). To overcome the in situ hydrological data problem, recent efforts in parallel with the numerical modeling have utilized microwave satellite remote sensing of river widths to generate operational discharge advective-based forecasts for the Ganges and Brahmaputra. More than twenty remotely locations upstream of Bangldesh were used to produce stand-alone river flow nowcasts and forecasts at 1-15 days lead time. showing that

Effective Discharge and Annual Sediment Yield on Brazos River

Science.gov (United States)

Rouhnia, M.; Salehi, M.; Keyvani, A.; Ma, F.; Strom, K. B.; Raphelt, N.

2012-12-01

Geometry of an alluvial river alters dynamically over the time due to the sediment mobilization on the banks and bottom of the river channel in various flow rates. Many researchers tried to define a single representative discharge for these morphological processes such as "bank-full discharge", "effective discharge" and "channel forming discharge". Effective discharge is the flow rate in which, the most sediment load is being carried by water, in a long term period. This project is aimed to develop effective discharge estimates for six gaging stations along the Brazos River from Waco, TX to Rosharon, TX. The project was performed with cooperation of the In-stream Flow Team of the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB). Project objectives are listed as: 1) developing "Flow Duration Curves" for six stations based on mean-daily discharge by downloading the required, additional data from U.S Geological Survey website, 2) developing "Rating Curves" for six gaging stations after sampling and field measurements in three different flow conditions, 3) developing a smooth shaped "Sediment Yield Histogram" with a well distinguished peak as effective discharge. The effective discharge was calculated using two methods of manually and automatic bin selection. The automatic method is based on kernel density approximation. Cross-sectional geometry measurements, particle size distributions and water field samples were processed in the laboratory to obtain the suspended sediment concentration associated with flow rate. Rating curves showed acceptable trends, as the greater flow rate we experienced, the more sediment were carried by water.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in upstream riverine runoff of the Pearl River Delta, China: An assessment of regional input sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Kai; Liang Bo; Wang Jizhong; Guan Yufeng; Zeng, Eddy Y.

2012-01-01

Water samples collected from upstream tributaries of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) and from locations within the PRD (South China) were analyzed for 27 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Average concentrations (aqueous plus particulate) of total 27 PAHs (Σ 27 PAH), 16 priority PAHs designated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) except naphthalene (Σ 15 PAH), and the seven carcinogenic PAHs (Σ 7 PAH) classified by the USEPA were 260 ± 410, 130 ± 310, and 15 ± 12 ng/L, respectively. Riverine PAHs were predominantly generated from coal and vegetation combustion, coke production, vehicle exhausts, and petroleum residues, accounting for 28%, 25%, 22% and 21%, respectively, on average. Upstream riverine fluxes of Σ 27 PAH and Σ 15 PAH amounted to 38.9 and 12.9 tons/year, respectively. The net contributions of Σ 27 PAH and Σ 15 PAH from sources within the PRD were estimated at 21.4 and 21.0 tons/year, respectively. - Highlights: ► Upstream PAH levels were lower than downstream PAHs and pose low ecological risk. ► Riverine PAHs are predominantly pyrogenic. ► Parent PAHs in Pearl River are mainly derived from within the PRD. ► The 15 priority PAHs were mainly generated within the Pearl River Delta. - The 15 priority PAHs are mainly generated within the PRD while the other 12 PAHs from upstream areas.

Punctuated Sediment Discharge during Early Pliocene Birth of the Colorado River: Evidence from Regional Stratigraphy, Sedimentology, and Paleontology

Science.gov (United States)

Dorsey, Rebecca J.; O'Connell, Brennan; McDougall, Kristin; Homan, Mindy B.

2018-01-01

discharge are assessed by comparing the depositional chronology to the record of global sea-level change. The lower Colorado River Valley and Salton Trough experienced marine transgression during a gradual fall in global sea level between 6.3 and 5.5 Ma, implicating tectonic subsidence as the main driver of latest Miocene relative sea-level rise. A major fall of global sea level at 5.3 Ma outpaced subsidence and drove regional delta progradation, earliest flushing of Colorado River sand into the northern Gulf of California, and erosion of Bouse basal carbonate and siliciclastic members. The lower Colorado River valley was re-flooded by shallow marine waters during smaller changes in global sea level 5.1-4.8 Ma, after the river first ran through it, which requires a mechanism to stop delivery of sand to the lower river valley. We propose that tectonically controlled subsidence along the lower Colorado River, upstream of the southern Bouse study area, temporarily trapped sediment and stopped delivery of sand to the lower river valley and northern Gulf of California for 200-300 kyr. Massive progradation of the fluvial-deltaic system back down the river valley into the Salton Trough starting 4.8-4.5 Ma apparently was driven by a huge increase in sediment discharge that overwhelmed the sediment-storage capacity of sub-basins along the lower river corridor and established the fully integrated river channel network. Accompanies Dorsey et al. "Punctuated sediment discharge during early Pliocene birth of the Colorado River: Evidence from regional stratigraphy, sedimentology, and paleontology". Accompanies Dorsey et al. "Punctuated sediment discharge during early Pliocene birth of the Colorado River: Evidence from regional stratigraphy, sedimentology, and paleontology". Accompanies Dorsey et al. "Punctuated sediment discharge during early Pliocene birth of the Colorado River: Evidence from regional stratigraphy, sedimentology, and paleontology".

Uncertainty in river discharge observations: a quantitative analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Di Baldassarre

2009-06-01

Full Text Available This study proposes a framework for analysing and quantifying the uncertainty of river flow data. Such uncertainty is often considered to be negligible with respect to other approximations affecting hydrological studies. Actually, given that river discharge data are usually obtained by means of the so-called rating curve method, a number of different sources of error affect the derived observations. These include: errors in measurements of river stage and discharge utilised to parameterise the rating curve, interpolation and extrapolation error of the rating curve, presence of unsteady flow conditions, and seasonal variations of the state of the vegetation (i.e. roughness. This study aims at analysing these sources of uncertainty using an original methodology. The novelty of the proposed framework lies in the estimation of rating curve uncertainty, which is based on hydraulic simulations. These latter are carried out on a reach of the Po River (Italy by means of a one-dimensional (1-D hydraulic model code (HEC-RAS. The results of the study show that errors in river flow data are indeed far from negligible.

Value of river discharge data for global-scale hydrological modeling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Hunger

2008-05-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the value of observed river discharge data for global-scale hydrological modeling of a number of flow characteristics that are e.g. required for assessing water resources, flood risk and habitat alteration of aquatic ecosystems. An improved version of the WaterGAP Global Hydrology Model (WGHM was tuned against measured discharge using either the 724-station dataset (V1 against which former model versions were tuned or an extended dataset (V2 of 1235 stations. WGHM is tuned by adjusting one model parameter (γ that affects runoff generation from land areas in order to fit simulated and observed long-term average discharge at tuning stations. In basins where γ does not suffice to tune the model, two correction factors are applied successively: the areal correction factor corrects local runoff in a basin and the station correction factor adjusts discharge directly the gauge. Using station correction is unfavorable, as it makes discharge discontinuous at the gauge and inconsistent with runoff in the upstream basin. The study results are as follows. (1 Comparing V2 to V1, the global land area covered by tuning basins increases by 5% and the area where the model can be tuned by only adjusting γ increases by 8%. However, the area where a station correction factor (and not only an areal correction factor has to be applied more than doubles. (2 The value of additional discharge information for representing the spatial distribution of long-term average discharge (and thus renewable water resources with WGHM is high, particularly for river basins outside of the V1 tuning area and in regions where the refined dataset provides a significant subdivision of formerly extended tuning basins (average V2 basin size less than half the V1 basin size. If the additional discharge information were not used for tuning, simulated long-term average discharge would differ from the observed one by a factor of, on average, 1.8 in the formerly

The impact of climate change on river discharges in Eastern Romania

Science.gov (United States)

Croitoru, Adina-Eliza; Minea, Ionut

2014-05-01

Climate changes imply many changes in different socioeconomic and environmental fields. Among the most important impacts are changes in water resources. Long- and mid-term river discharge flow analysis is essential for the effective management of water resources. In this work, the changes in two climatic parameters (temperature and precipitation) and river discharges and the connections between precipitation and river discharges were investigated. Seasonal and annual climatic and hydrological data collected at six weather stations and 17 hydrological stations were employed. The data sets cover 57 years (1950-2006). The modified Mann-Kendall test was used to calculate trends, and the Bravais-Pearson correlation index was chosen to detect the connections between precipitation and river discharge data series. The main findings are as follows: A general increase was identified in all the three parameters. The air temperature data series showed the highest frequency of statistically significant slopes, mainly in annual and spring series. All data series, except the series for winter, showed an increase in precipitation; in winter, a significant decrease in precipitation was observed at most of the stations. The increase in precipitation is reflected in the upward trends of the river discharge flows, as verified by the good Bravais-Pearson correlations, mainly for annual, summer, and autumn series

The impact of climate changes on rivers discharge in Eastern Romania

Science.gov (United States)

Croitoru, Adina-Eliza; Minea, Ionus

2015-05-01

Climate changes imply many changes in different socioeconomic and environmental fields. Among the most important impacts are changes in water resources. Long- and mid-term river discharge flow analysis is essential for the effective management of water resources. In this work, the changes in temperature, precipitation, and river discharges as well as the connections between precipitation and river discharges were investigated. Seasonal and annual climatic and hydrological data collected at 6 weather stations and 17 hydrological stations were employed. The data sets cover 57 years (1950-2006). The modified Mann-Kendall test and Sen's slope were used to calculate trends and their slopes, whereas the Bravais-Pearson correlation index was chosen to detect the connections between precipitation and river discharge data series. The main findings are as follows: a general increase was identified in all the three variables; the air temperature data series showed the highest frequency of statistically significant slopes, mainly in annual and spring series; all data series, except the series for winter, showed an increase in precipitation, and in winter, a significant decrease in precipitation was observed at most of the stations. The increase in precipitation is reflected in the upward trends of the river discharge flows, as verified by the good Bravais-Pearson correlations, mainly for annual, summer, and autumn series.

PATTERNS AND TOURIST ACTIVITIES INDUCED BY THE UNDERGROUND RIVERS AND LAKES IN THE ARIEŞ BASIN UPSTREAM OF BURU

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marius CIGHER

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Patterns and tourist activities induced by the underground rivers and lakes in the Arieş basin upstream of Buru – The presence of carbonate deposits in the Arieş basin, upstream of Buru induced certain organization of groundwater resources. Depending on local genetic factors – geological, climatic, biotic, temporal, etc – the extension and characteristics of karst aquifers engenders exploitable hydro units in terms of tourism: underground rivers and lakes. Identification and analysis of morphometrical, morphological, quantitative, qualitative, dynamic and biotic characteristics have provided the approach to ranking the hydro entities. Forms and tourism activities are subsumed to the established typological categories: recreational and pleasure tourism and multipurpose tourism.

Effects of wastewater effluent discharge and treatment facility upgrades on environmental and biological conditions of the upper Blue River, Johnson County, Kansas and Jackson County, Missouri, January 2003 through March 2009

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, Jennifer L.; Stone, Mandy L.; Rasmussen, Teresa J.; Poulton, Barry C.

2010-01-01

The Johnson County Blue River Main Wastewater Treatment Facility discharges into the upper Blue River near the border between Johnson County, Kansas and Jackson County, Missouri. During 2005 through 2007 the wastewater treatment facility underwent upgrades to increase capacity and include biological nutrient removal. The effects of wastewater effluent on environmental and biological conditions of the upper Blue River were assessed by comparing an upstream site to two sites located downstream from the wastewater treatment facility. Environmental conditions were evaluated using previously and newly collected discrete and continuous data, and were compared with an assessment of biological community composition and ecosystem function along the upstream-downstream gradient. This evaluation is useful for understanding the potential effects of wastewater effluent on water quality, biological community structure, and ecosystem function. In addition, this information can be used to help achieve National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) wastewater effluent permit requirements after additional studies are conducted. The effects of wastewater effluent on the water-quality conditions of the upper Blue River were most evident during below-normal and normal streamflows (about 75 percent of the time), when wastewater effluent contributed more than 20 percent to total streamflow. The largest difference in water-quality conditions between the upstream and downstream sites was in nutrient concentrations. Total and inorganic nutrient concentrations at the downstream sites during below-normal and normal streamflows were 4 to 15 times larger than at the upstream site, even after upgrades to the wastewater treatment facility were completed. However, total nitrogen concentrations decreased in wastewater effluent and at the downstream site following wastewater treatment facility upgrades. Similar decreases in total phosphorus were not observed, likely because the biological

How downstream sub-basins depend on upstream inflows to avoid scarcity: typology and global analysis of transboundary rivers

Science.gov (United States)

Munia, Hafsa Ahmed; Guillaume, Joseph H. A.; Mirumachi, Naho; Wada, Yoshihide; Kummu, Matti

2018-05-01

Countries sharing river basins are often dependent upon water originating outside their boundaries; meaning that without that upstream water, water scarcity may occur with flow-on implications for water use and management. We develop a formalisation of this concept drawing on ideas about the transition between regimes from resilience literature, using water stress and water shortage as indicators of water scarcity. In our analytical framework, dependency occurs if water from upstream is needed to avoid scarcity. This can be diagnosed by comparing different types of water availability on which a sub-basin relies, in particular local runoff and upstream inflows. At the same time, possible upstream water withdrawals reduce available water downstream, influencing the latter water availability. By developing a framework of scarcity and dependency, we contribute to the understanding of transitions between system regimes. We apply our analytical framework to global transboundary river basins at the scale of sub-basin areas (SBAs). Our results show that 1175 million people live under water stress (42 % of the total transboundary population). Surprisingly, the majority (1150 million) of these currently suffer from stress only due to their own excessive water use and possible water from upstream does not have impact on the stress status - i.e. they are not yet dependent on upstream water to avoid stress - but could still impact on the intensity of the stress. At the same time, 386 million people (14 %) live in SBAs that can avoid stress owing to available water from upstream and have thus upstream dependency. In the case of water shortage, 306 million people (11 %) live in SBAs dependent on upstream water to avoid possible shortage. The identification of transitions between system regimes sheds light on how SBAs may be affected in the future, potentially contributing to further refined analysis of inter- and intrabasin hydro-political power relations and strategic planning

Development of river flood model in lower reach of urbanized river basin

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshimura, Kouhei; Tajima, Yoshimitsu; Sanuki, Hiroshi; Shibuo, Yoshihiro; Sato, Shinji; Lee, SungAe; Furumai, Hiroaki; Koike, Toshio

2014-05-01

Japan, with its natural mountainous landscape, has demographic feature that population is concentrated in lower reach of elevation close to the coast, and therefore flood damage with large socio-economic value tends to occur in low-lying region. Modeling of river flood in such low-lying urbanized river basin is complex due to the following reasons. In upstream it has been experienced urbanization, which changed land covers from natural forest or agricultural fields to residential or industrial area. Hence rate of infiltration and runoff are quite different from natural hydrological settings. In downstream, paved covers and construct of sewerage system in urbanized areas affect direct discharges and it enhances higher and faster flood peak arrival. Also tidal effect from river mouth strongly affects water levels in rivers, which must be taken into account. We develop an integrated river flood model in lower reach of urbanized areas to be able to address above described complex feature, by integrating model components: LSM coupled distributed hydrological model that models anthropogenic influence on river discharges to downstream; urban hydrological model that simulates run off response in urbanized areas; Saint Venant's equation approximated river model that integrates upstream and urban hydrological models with considering tidal effect from downstream. These features are integrated in a common modeling framework so that model interaction can be directly performed. The model is applied to the Tsurumi river basin, urbanized low-lying river basin in Yokohama and model results show that it can simulate water levels in rivers with acceptable model errors. Furthermore the model is able to install miscellaneous water planning constructs, such as runoff reduction pond in urbanized area, flood control field along the river channel, levee, etc. This can be a useful tool to investigate cost performance of hypothetical water management plan against impact of climate change in

Variability in temperature, precipitation and river discharge in the Baltic States

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kriauciuniene, J.; Meilutyte-Barauskiene, D.; Sarauskiene, D. (Lithuanian Energy Inst., Kaunas (Lithuania), Lab. of Hydrology); Reihan, A. (Tallinn Univ. of Technology (Estonia), Inst. of Environmental Engineering); Koltsova, T.; Lizuma, L. (Latvian Hydrometeorological Agency, Riga (LV))

2012-07-01

The climate change impact on water resources is observed in all the Baltic States. These processes became more evident in the last decades. Although the territory of the Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia) is not large (175000 km2), the climatic differences are quite considerable. We performed a regionalization of the territory of the Baltic States depending on the conditions of river runoff formation which can be defined according to percentages of the river feeding sources (precipitation, snowmelt, groundwater). Long-term series of temperature (40 stations), precipitation (59 stations) and river discharge (77 stations) were used to compose ten regional series. This paper addresses: (1) variability in long-term regional series of temperature, precipitation and river discharge over a long period (1922-2007); (2) changes in regional series, comparing the periods 1991-2007 and 1931-1960 with the reference period (1961-1990), and (3) the impact of temperature and precipitation changes on regional river discharge. (orig.)

Variation of River Islands around a Large City along the Yangtze River from Satellite Remote Sensing Images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haiyun Shi

2017-09-01

Full Text Available River islands are sandbars formed by scouring and silting. Their evolution is affected by several factors, among which are runoff and sediment discharge. The spatial-temporal evolution of seven river islands in the Nanjing Section of the Yangtze River of China was examined using TM (Thematic Mapper and ETM (Enhanced Thematic Mapper+ images from 1985 to 2015 at five year intervals. The following approaches were applied in this study: the threshold value method, binarization model, image registration, image cropping, convolution and cluster analysis. Annual runoff and sediment discharge data as measured at the Datong hydrological station upstream of Nanjing section were also used to determine the roles and impacts of various factors. The results indicated that: (1 TM/ETM+ images met the criteria of information extraction of river islands; (2 generally, the total area of these islands in this section and their changing rate decreased over time; (3 sediment and river discharge were the most significant factors in island evolution. They directly affect river islands through silting or erosion. Additionally, anthropocentric influences could play increasingly important roles.

Changes in river discharge and hydrograph separation in the upper basins of Yangtze and Yellow Rivers on the Tibetan Plateau

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Y.

2017-12-01

Systematic changes of river discharge and the concentration-discharge relation were explored to elucidate the response of river discharge to climate change as well as the connectivity of hydrologic and hydrochemical processes using hydrological data during 1956-2015 and chemical data during 2013-2015 at Yanshiping (YSP, 4,538 km2), Tuotuohe (TTH, 15,924 km2) and Zhimenda (ZMD, 137,704 km2) gauging sections in the upper basin of Yangtze River (UBYA), and at Huangheyan (HHY, 20,930 km2), Jimai (JM, 45,019 km2), Jungong (JG, 98,414 km2) and Tangnaihai (TNH, 121,972 km2) gauging sections in the upper basin of Yellow River (UBYE) on the Tibetan Plateau (TP). Results showed that annual discharge in UBYA presents a decreasing trend from 1950s to late 1970s and exhibits an increasing trend since 1970s due to increased temperature and precipitation. However, discharge in UBYE increases from 1950s to 1980s and decrease since late 1980s due to increased temperature and decreased precipitation. Snow/ice meltwater may play an important role on changes in river discharge from the most upper catchments, particularly for periods with increasing temperature, where snow cover, glaciers and frozen soils are widely distributed. Concentration/flux-discharge in discharge was dominated by a well-defined power law relation, with R2 values lower on rising than falling limbs. This finding has important implications for efforts to estimate annual concentrations and export of major solutes from similar catchments in cold regions where only river discharge is available. Concentrations of conservative solutes in discharge resulted from mixing of two end-members at the most upper gauging sections (YSP, TTH and HHY), and three end-members at the lower gauging sections (ZMD, JM, JG and TNH), with relatively constant solute concentrations in end-members. Relationship between the fractional contributions of meltwater and/or precipitation and groundwater and river discharge followed the same relation

Upstream movements of Atlantic Salmon in the Lower Penobscot River, Maine following two dam removals and fish passage modifications

Science.gov (United States)

Izzo, Lisa K.; Maynard, George A.; Zydlewski, Joseph D.

2016-01-01

The Penobscot River Restoration Project (PRRP), to be completed in 2016, involved an extensive plan of dam removal, increases in hydroelectric capacity, and fish passage modifications to increase habitat access for diadromous species. As part of the PRRP, Great Works and Veazie dams were removed, making Milford Dam the first impediment to federally endangered Atlantic Salmon Salmo salar. Upstream habitat access for Atlantic Salmon is dependent upon successful and timely passage at Milford Dam because nearly all suitable spawning habitat is located upstream. In 2014 and 2015, a total of 73 adult salmon were radio-tagged to track their upstream movements through the Penobscot River to assess potential delays at (1) the dam remnants, (2) the confluence of the Stillwater Branch and the main stem of the Penobscot River below the impassable Orono Dam, and (3) the Milford Dam fish lift (installed in 2014). Movement rates through the dam remnants and the Stillwater confluence were comparable to open river reaches. Passage efficiency of the fish lift was high in both years (95% and 100%). However, fish experienced long delays at Milford Dam, with approximately one-third of fish taking more than a week to pass in each year, well below the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission passage standard of 95% within 48 h. Telemetry indicates most fish locate the fishway entrance within 5 h of arrival and were observed at the entrance at all hours of the day. These data indicate that overall transit times through the lower river were comparable to reported movement rates prior to changes to the Penobscot River due to the substantial delays seen at Milford Dam. The results of this study show that while adult Atlantic Salmon locate the new fish lift entrance quickly, passage of these fish was significantly delayed under 2014–2015 operations.

Modeling the influence of river discharge on salt intrusion and residual circulation in Danshuei River estuary, Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, W.-C.; Chen, W.-B.; Cheng, R.T.; Hsu, M.-H.; Kuo, A.Y.

2007-01-01

A 3-D, time-dependent, baroclinic, hydrodynamic and salinity model was implemented and applied to the Danshuei River estuarine system and the adjacent coastal sea in Taiwan. The model forcing functions consist of tidal elevations along the open boundaries and freshwater inflows from the main stream and major tributaries in the Danshuei River estuarine system. The bottom friction coefficient was adjusted to achieve model calibration and verification in model simulations of barotropic and baroclinic flows. The turbulent diffusivities were ascertained through comparison of simulated salinity time series with observations. The model simulation results are in qualitative agreement with the available field data. The validated model was then used to investigate the influence of freshwater discharge on residual current and salinity intrusion under different freshwater inflow condition in the Danshuei River estuarine system. The model results reveal that the characteristic two-layered estuarine circulation prevails most of the time at Kuan-Du station near the river mouth. Comparing the estuarine circulation under low- and mean flow conditions, the circulation strengthens during low-flow period and its strength decreases at moderate river discharge. The river discharge is a dominating factor affecting the salinity intrusion in the estuarine system. A correlation between the distance of salt intrusion and freshwater discharge has been established allowing prediction of salt intrusion for different inflow conditions. ?? 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estimating extreme river discharges in Europe through a Bayesian network

Science.gov (United States)

Paprotny, Dominik; Morales-Nápoles, Oswaldo

2017-06-01

Large-scale hydrological modelling of flood hazards requires adequate extreme discharge data. In practise, models based on physics are applied alongside those utilizing only statistical analysis. The former require enormous computational power, while the latter are mostly limited in accuracy and spatial coverage. In this paper we introduce an alternate, statistical approach based on Bayesian networks (BNs), a graphical model for dependent random variables. We use a non-parametric BN to describe the joint distribution of extreme discharges in European rivers and variables representing the geographical characteristics of their catchments. Annual maxima of daily discharges from more than 1800 river gauges (stations with catchment areas ranging from 1.4 to 807 000 km2) were collected, together with information on terrain, land use and local climate. The (conditional) correlations between the variables are modelled through copulas, with the dependency structure defined in the network. The results show that using this method, mean annual maxima and return periods of discharges could be estimated with an accuracy similar to existing studies using physical models for Europe and better than a comparable global statistical model. Performance of the model varies slightly between regions of Europe, but is consistent between different time periods, and remains the same in a split-sample validation. Though discharge prediction under climate change is not the main scope of this paper, the BN was applied to a large domain covering all sizes of rivers in the continent both for present and future climate, as an example. Results show substantial variation in the influence of climate change on river discharges. The model can be used to provide quick estimates of extreme discharges at any location for the purpose of obtaining input information for hydraulic modelling.

Discharge data from 50 selected rivers for GCM validation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duemenil, L.; Isele, K.; Liebscher, H.J.; Schroeder, U.; Schumacher, M.; Wilke, K.

1993-01-01

This Technical Report refers to a joint project between GRDC Koblenz and MPI Hamburg. The Global Runoff Data Centre operates under the auspieces of WMO at the Federal Institute of Hydrology (Bundesanstalt fuer Gewaesserkunde) in Koblenz. River discharge data of the 50 largest rivers provide an independent data source for the validation of the hydrological cycle in general circulation models. This type of data is particularly valuable, because in some cases the available time series are exceptionally long. The data are presented as time series of annual average discharge (averaged over the period for which data is available, see below for caveats) and as annual cycles of monthly mean discharge averaged over the length of the time series available. (orig./KW)

Factors Affecting the Survival of Upstream Migrant Adult Salmonids in the Columbia River Basin : Recovery Issues for Threatened and Endangered Snake River Salmon : Technical Report 9 of 11.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dauble, Dennis D.; Mueller, Robert P.

1993-06-01

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is developing conservation planning documentation to support the National Marine Fisheries Service`s (NMFS) recovery plan for Columbia Basin salmonid stocks that are currently listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Information from the conservation planning documentation will be used as a partial scientific basis for identifying alternative conservation strategies and to make recommendations toward conserving, rebuilding, and ultimately removing these salmon stocks from the list of endangered species. This report describes the adult upstream survival study, a synthesis of biological analyses related to conditions affecting the survival of adult upstream migrant salmonids in the Columbia River system. The objective of the adult upstream survival study was to analyze existing data related to increasing the survival of adult migrant salmonids returning to the Snake River system. The fate and accountability of each stock during its upstream migration period and the uncertainties associated with measurements of escapement and survival were evaluated. Operational measures that affected the survival of adult salmon were evaluated including existing conditions, augmented flows from upstream storage release, and drawdown of mainstem reservoirs. The potential impacts and benefits of these measures to each ESA stock were, also described based on considerations of species behavior and run timing.

White Sturgeon Mitigation and Restoration in the Columbia and Snake Rivers Upstream from Bonneville Dam; 2002-2003 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ward, David L.; Kern, J. Chris; Hughes, Michele L. (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife)

2004-02-01

We report on our progress from April 2002 through March 2003 on determining the effects of mitigative measures on productivity of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia River downstream from McNary Dam, and on determining the status and habitat requirements of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia and Snake rivers upstream from McNary Dam.

White Sturgeon Mitigation and Restoration in the Columbia and Snake Rivers Upstream from Bonneville Dam; 2001-2002 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ward, David L.; Kern, J. Chris; Hughes, Michele L.

2003-12-01

We report on our progress from April 2001 through March 2002 on determining the effects of mitigative measures on productivity of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia River downstream from McNary Dam, and on determining the status and habitat requirements of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia and Snake rivers upstream from McNary Dam.

Integrating lateral contributions along river reaches to improve SWOT discharge estimates

Science.gov (United States)

Beighley, E.; Zhao, Y.; Feng, D.; Fisher, C. K.; Raoufi, R.; Durand, M. T.; David, C. H.; Lee, H.; Boone, A. A.; Cretaux, J. F.

2016-12-01

Understanding the potential impacts of climate and land cover change at continental to global scales with a sufficient resolution for community scale planning and management requires an improved representation of the hydrologic cycle that is possible based on existing measurement networks and current Earth system models. The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission, scheduled to launch in 2021, has the potential to address this challenge by providing measurements of water surface elevation, slope and extent for rivers wider than roughly 50-100 meters at a temporal sampling frequency ranging from days to weeks. The global uniformity and space/time resolution of the proposed SWOT measurements will enable hydrologic discovery, model advancements and new applications addressing the above challenges that are not currently possible or likely even conceivable. One derived data product planned for the SWOT mission is river discharge. Although there are several discharge algorithms that perform well for a range of conditions, this effort is focused on the MetroMan discharge algorithm. For example, in MetroMan, lateral inflow assumptions have been shown to impact performance. Here, the role of lateral inflows on discharge estimate performance is investigated. Preliminary results are presented for the Ohio River Basin. Lateral inflows are quantified for SWOT-observable river reaches using surface and subsurface runoff from North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) and lateral routing in the Hillslope River Routing (HRR) model. Frequency distributions for the fraction of reach-averaged discharge resulting from lateral inflow are presented. Future efforts will integrate lateral inflow characteristics into the MetroMan discharge algorithm and quantify the potential value of SWOT measurement in flood insurance applications.

Dominant discharge – an outline of theory and a case study from the Raba river

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wiktoria Czech

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Designing hydraulic structures engineers has only theoretical flows, calculated using formulas based on statistics. Knowledge of the dominant discharge could help determine designers who are interested in changes of the morphology of river channels, especially in terms of sediment transport. It was observed that the designing of a stable channel in the river is possible when defining characteristic of flow in the river which is the most frequently present in the river and in the same time it carries the sediment. That is the dominant discharge. It is this movement can represent both the hydraulic system and the geometry of the river cross-sections. The dominant discharge (also called river shaping channel discharge is considered by many authors as a discharge that transports the largest amount of sediment, it takes a long time and has an impact on the formation of the shape of the river bed. Observations of Wolman and Miller showed that low but frequent flows of water might be responsible for new shape of the river channel, erosion of the riverbed, sediment deposition and consequently changes in river morphology. The paper presents Wolman method for dominant discharge use for the Raba River for chosen gauge cross section. Along in the paper we discuss the obtained results and the consequences of using dominant discharge for the practice. In six cross sections on the Raba River, Qdd was calculated values, which range from 31 m3 • s–1 (for the section in Rabka to 395 m3 • s–1 (in Proszówki. These flows occur every two years (for the upper sections of the river, and every four years (for cross-sections located in the lower section of the river.

Analysis and Modeling of Time-Correlated Characteristics of Rainfall-Runoff Similarity in the Upstream Red River Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiuli Sang

2012-01-01

Full Text Available We constructed a similarity model (based on Euclidean distance between rainfall and runoff to study time-correlated characteristics of rainfall-runoff similar patterns in the upstream Red River Basin and presented a detailed evaluation of the time correlation of rainfall-runoff similarity. The rainfall-runoff similarity was used to determine the optimum similarity. The results showed that a time-correlated model was found to be capable of predicting the rainfall-runoff similarity in the upstream Red River Basin in a satisfactory way. Both noised and denoised time series by thresholding the wavelet coefficients were applied to verify the accuracy of model. And the corresponding optimum similar sets obtained as the equation solution conditions showed an interesting and stable trend. On the whole, the annual mean similarity presented a gradually rising trend, for quantitatively estimating comprehensive influence of climate change and of human activities on rainfall-runoff similarity.

Influence of Climate Change on River Discharge in Austria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert A. Goler

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The effect of climate change on the river discharge characteristics in four catchment basins within Austria is investigated using a hydrological model. Input for the model are daily climate data generated from three regional climate models (RCMs over the time period 1951–2100 using the A1B emission scenario. Due to the complex terrain of the basins, the climate data has been downscaled to a resolution of 1km×1km$1\\,\\text{km}\\times1\\,\\text{km}$. The hydrological model includes processes such as meltwater from snow and glaciers; surface, subsurface, and groundwater flows; and evapotranspiration. The modelling results show that, although only one RCM exhibits a significant reduction in the mean annual discharge towards the end of the 21st century, all RCMs exhibit significant changes in the seasonal distribution of the discharge. In particular, for basins whose discharge is dependent on water stored as snow, there will be a shift in the time of maximum river discharge to earlier in the year as the snow and ice melt earlier. During the winter months the discharge is forecasted to be higher than at present, which would lead to the number of days of low discharge being reduced. However, the earlier snow melt means that the available water for the summer months will be reduced, leading to lower discharges than present, and thus an increase in the number of low discharge days.

Daily Discharge Estimation in Talar River Using Lazy Learning Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zahra Abdollahi

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction: River discharge as one of the most important hydrology factors has a vital role in physical, ecological, social and economic processes. So, accurate and reliable prediction and estimation of river discharge have been widely considered by many researchers in different fields such as surface water management, design of hydraulic structures, flood control and ecological studies in spetialand temporal scale. Therefore, in last decades different techniques for short-term and long-term estimation of hourly, daily, monthly and annual discharge have been developed for many years. However, short-term estimation models are less sophisticated and more accurate.Various global and local algorithms have been widely used to estimate hydrologic variables. The current study effort to use Lazy Learning approach to evaluate the adequacy of input data in order to follow the variation of discharge and also simulate next-day discharge in Talar River in KasilianBasinwhere is located in north of Iran with an area of 66.75 km2. Lazy learning is a local linear modelling approach in which generalization beyond the training data is delayed until a query is made to the system, as opposed to in eager learning, where the system tries to generalize the training data before receiving queries Materials and Methods: The current study was conducted in Kasilian Basin, where is located in north of Iran with an area of 66.75 km2. The main river of this basin joins to Talar River near Valicbon village and then exit from the watershed. Hydrometric station located near Valicbon village is equipped with Parshall flume and Limnogragh which can record river discharge of about 20 cubic meters per second.In this study, daily data of discharge recorded in Valicbon station related to 2002 to 2012 was used to estimate the discharge of 19 September 2012. The mean annual discharge of considered river was also calculated by using available data about 0.441 cubic meters per second. To

Sensitivity of SWOT discharge algorithm to measurement errors: Testing on the Sacramento River

Science.gov (United States)

Durand, Micheal; Andreadis, Konstantinos; Yoon, Yeosang; Rodriguez, Ernesto

2013-04-01

Scheduled for launch in 2019, the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission will utilize a Ka-band radar interferometer to measure river heights, widths, and slopes, globally, as well as characterize storage change in lakes and ocean surface dynamics with a spatial resolution ranging from 10 - 70 m, with temporal revisits on the order of a week. A discharge algorithm has been formulated to solve the inverse problem of characterizing river bathymetry and the roughness coefficient from SWOT observations. The algorithm uses a Bayesian Markov Chain estimation approach, treats rivers as sets of interconnected reaches (typically 5 km - 10 km in length), and produces best estimates of river bathymetry, roughness coefficient, and discharge, given SWOT observables. AirSWOT (the airborne version of SWOT) consists of a radar interferometer similar to SWOT, but mounted aboard an aircraft. AirSWOT spatial resolution will range from 1 - 35 m. In early 2013, AirSWOT will perform several flights over the Sacramento River, capturing river height, width, and slope at several different flow conditions. The Sacramento River presents an excellent target given that the river includes some stretches heavily affected by management (diversions, bypasses, etc.). AirSWOT measurements will be used to validate SWOT observation performance, but are also a unique opportunity for testing and demonstrating the capabilities and limitations of the discharge algorithm. This study uses HEC-RAS simulations of the Sacramento River to first, characterize expected discharge algorithm accuracy on the Sacramento River, and second to explore the required AirSWOT measurements needed to perform a successful inverse with the discharge algorithm. We focus on the sensitivity of the algorithm accuracy to the uncertainty in AirSWOT measurements of height, width, and slope.

Groundwater Discharges to Rivers in the Western Canadian Oil Sands Region

Science.gov (United States)

Ellis, J.; Jasechko, S.

2016-12-01

Groundwater discharges into rivers impacts the movement and fate of nutrients and contaminants in the environment. Understanding groundwater-surface water interactions is especially important in the western Canadian oil sands, where groundwater contamination risks are elevated and baseline water chemistry data is lacking, leading to substantial uncertainties about anthropogenic influences on local river quality. High salinity groundwater springs sourced from deep aquifers, comprised of Pleistocene-aged glacial meltwater, are known to discharge into many rivers in the oil sands. Understanding connections between deep aquifers and surficial waterways is important in order to determine natural inputs into these rivers and to assess the potential for injected wastewater or oil extraction fluids to enter surface waters. While these springs have been identified, their spatial distribution along rivers has not been fully characterized. Here we present river chemistry data collected along a number of major river corridors in the Canadian oil sands region. We show that saline groundwater springs vary spatially along the course of these rivers and tend to be concentrated where the rivers incise Devonian- or Cretaceous-aged aquifers along an evaporite dissolution front. Our results suggest that water sourced from Devonian aquifers may travel through bitumen-bearing Cretaceous units and discharge into local rivers, implying a strong groundwater-surface water connection in specialized locations. These findings indicate that oil sands process-affected waters that are injected at depth have the potential to move through these aquifers and reach the rivers at the surface at some time in the future. Groundwater-surface water interactions remain key to understanding the risks oil sands activities pose to aquatic ecosystems and downstream communities.

q-triplet for Brazos River discharge: The edge of chaos?

Science.gov (United States)

Stosic, Tatijana; Stosic, Borko; Singh, Vijay P.

2018-04-01

We study the daily discharge data of Brazos River in Texas, USA, from 1900 to 2017, in terms of concepts drawn from the non-extensive statistics recently introduced by Tsallis. We find that the Brazos River discharge indeed follows non-extensive statistics regarding equilibrium, relaxation and sensitivity. Besides being the first such finding of a full-fledged q-triplet in hydrological data with possible future impact on water resources management, the fact that all three Tsallis q-triplet values are remarkably close to those of the logistic map at the onset of chaos opens up new questions towards a deeper understanding of the Brazos River dynamics, that may prove relevant for hydrological research in a more general sense.

Untangling Trends and Drivers of Changing River Discharge Along Florida's Gulf Coast

Science.gov (United States)

Glodzik, K.; Kaplan, D. A.; Klarenberg, G.

2017-12-01

Along the relatively undeveloped Big Bend coastline of Florida, discharge in many rivers and springs is decreasing. The causes are unclear, though they likely include a combination of groundwater extraction for water supply, climate variability, and altered land use. Saltwater intrusion from altered freshwater influence and sea level rise is causing transformative ecosystem impacts along this flat coastline, including coastal forest die-off and oyster reef collapse. A key uncertainty for understanding river discharge change is predicting discharge from rainfall, since Florida's karstic bedrock stores large amounts of groundwater, which has a long residence time. This study uses Dynamic Factor Analysis (DFA), a multivariate data reduction technique for time series, to find common trends in flow and reveal hydrologic variables affecting flow in eight Big Bend rivers since 1965. The DFA uses annual river flows as response time series, and climate data (annual rainfall and evapotranspiration by watershed) and climatic indices (El Niño Southern Oscillation [ENSO] Index and North Atlantic Oscillation [NAO] Index) as candidate explanatory variables. Significant explanatory variables (one evapotranspiration and three rainfall time series) explained roughly 50% of discharge variation across rivers. Significant trends (representing unexplained variation) were shared among rivers, with geographical grouping of five northern rivers and three southern rivers, along with a strong downward trend affecting six out of eight systems. ENSO and NAO had no significant impact. Advancing knowledge of these dynamics is necessary for forecasting how altered rainfall and temperatures from climate change may impact flows. Improved forecasting is especially important given Florida's reliance on groundwater extraction to support its growing population.

DOWNSTREAM ECOCIDE FROM UPSTREAM WATER PIRACY

OpenAIRE

Miah Muhammad Adel

2012-01-01

Upstream India and downstream Bangladesh share more than 50 international rivers. India has set up water diversion constructions in more than 50% of these rivers, the largest one being on the Bangladeshâs northwest upon the Ganges River, puts Bangladeshâs Gangetic ecosystem at stake. In some border rivers, India has set up groins on her side of river banks. Also, Indian side pumps Bangladesh river water stealthily from border-rivers. Further, India is constructing another dam and reservoir up...

Quantifying uncertainty in the impacts of climate change on river discharge in sub-catchments of the Yangtze and Yellow River Basins, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Xu

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Quantitative evaluations of the impacts of climate change on water resources are primarily constrained by uncertainty in climate projections from GCMs. In this study we assess uncertainty in the impacts of climate change on river discharge in two catchments of the Yangtze and Yellow River Basins that feature contrasting climate regimes (humid and semi-arid. Specifically we quantify uncertainty associated with GCM structure from a subset of CMIP3 AR4 GCMs (HadCM3, HadGEM1, CCSM3.0, IPSL, ECHAM5, CSIRO, CGCM3.1, SRES emissions scenarios (A1B, A2, B1, B2 and prescribed increases in global mean air temperature (1 °C to 6 °C. Climate projections, applied to semi-distributed hydrological models (SWAT 2005 in both catchments, indicate trends toward warmer and wetter conditions. For prescribed warming scenarios of 1 °C to 6 °C, linear increases in mean annual river discharge, relative to baseline (1961–1990, for the River Xiangxi and River Huangfuchuan are +9% and 11% per +1 °C respectively. Intra-annual changes include increases in flood (Q05 discharges for both rivers as well as a shift in the timing of flood discharges from summer to autumn and a rise (24 to 93% in dry season (Q95 discharge for the River Xiangxi. Differences in projections of mean annual river discharge between SRES emission scenarios using HadCM3 are comparatively minor for the River Xiangxi (13 to 17% rise from baseline but substantial (73 to 121% for the River Huangfuchuan. With one minor exception of a slight (−2% decrease in river discharge projected using HadGEM1 for the River Xiangxi, mean annual river discharge is projected to increase in both catchments under both the SRES A1B emission scenario and 2° rise in global mean air temperature using all AR4 GCMs on the CMIP3 subset. For the River Xiangxi, there is substantial uncertainty associated with GCM structure in the magnitude of the rise in flood (Q05 discharges (−1 to 41% under SRES A1B and −3 to 41% under 2�

Salinity Trends in the Upper Colorado River Basin Upstream From the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit, Colorado, 1986-2003

Science.gov (United States)

Leib, Kenneth J.; Bauch, Nancy J.

2008-01-01

In 1974, the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act was passed into law. This law was enacted to address concerns regarding the salinity content of the Colorado River. The law authorized various construction projects in selected areas or 'units' of the Colorado River Basin intended to reduce the salinity load in the Colorado River. One such area was the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit in western Colorado. The U. S. Geological Survey has done extensive studies and research in the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit that provide information to aid the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Natural Resources Conservation Service in determining where salinity-control work may provide the best results, and to what extent salinity-control work was effective in reducing salinity concentrations and loads in the Colorado River. Previous studies have indicated that salinity concentrations and loads have been decreasing downstream from the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit, and that the decreases are likely the result of salinity control work in these areas. Several of these reports; however, also document decreasing salinity loads upstream from the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit. This finding was important because only a small amount of salinity-control work was being done in areas upstream from the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit at the time the findings were reported (late 1990?s). As a result of those previous findings, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation entered into a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Geological Survey to investigate salinity trends in selected areas bracketing the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit and regions upstream from the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit. The results of the study indicate that salinity loads were decreasing upstream from the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit from 1986 through 2003, but the rates of decrease have slowed during the last 10 years. The average rate of decrease in salinity load upstream from the Grand Valley

Hydrogeologic controls on ground-water and contaminant discharge to the Columbia River near the Hanford Townsite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luttrell, S.P.; Newcomer, D.R.; Teel, S.S.; Vermeul, V.R.

1992-11-01

The purpose of this study is to quantify ground-water and contaminant discharge to the Columbia River in the Hanford Townsite vicinity. The primary objectives of the work are to: describe the hydrogeologic setting and controls on ground-water movement and contaminant discharge to the Columbia River; understand the river/aquifer relationship and its effects on contaminant discharge to the Columbia River; quantify the ground-water and contaminant mass discharge to the Columbia River; and provide data that may be useful for a three-dimensional model of ground-water flow and contaminant transport in the Hanford Townsite study area. The majority of ground-water contamination occurs within the unconfined aquifer; therefore, ground-water and contaminant discharge from the unconfined aquifer is the emphasis of this study. The period of study is primarily from June 1990 through March 1992

Distribution Pattern of Fe, Sr, Zr and Ca Elements as Particle Size Function in the Code River Sediments from Upstream to Downstream

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sri Murniasih; Muzakky

2007-01-01

The analysis of Fe, Sr, Zr and Ca elements concentration of granular sediment from upstream to downstream of Code river has been done. The aim of this research is to know the influence of particle size on the concentration of Fe, Sr, Zr and Ca elements in the Code river sediments from upstream to downstream and its distribution pattern. The instrument used was x-ray fluorescence with Si(Li) detector. Analysis results show that more Fe and Sr elements are very much found in 150 - 90 μm particle size, while Zr and Ca elements are very much found in < 90 μm particle size. Distribution pattern of Fe, Sr, Zr and Ca elements distribution in Code river sediments tends to increase relatively from upstream to downstream following its conductivity. The concentration of Fe, Sr, Zr and Ca elements are 1.49 ± 0.03 % - 5.93 ± 0.02 % ; 118.20 ± 10.73 ppm - 468.21 ± 20.36 ppm; 19.81 ppm ± 0.86 ppm - 76.36 ± 3.02 ppm and 3.22 ± 0.25 % - 11.40 ± 0.31 % successively. (author)

Some specifics considering the urban territories river discharge determination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chilikova-Lubomirova Mila

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Urban territories are specific territories with a significant anthropogenic influence on the natural environment. As a result most of the existing natural conditions have been modified. Parts of them cover the natural forms of river beds and floodplains. Concerning to the humans safety, comfort and needs, while keeping ecosystems healthy function, different artificial structures also have been created. The process is connected to the well understanding and good quality data obtaining about the existing conditions and river flow behaviour, that are interconnected and relevant to the river discharge determination and its variations description – key issue for the entire river structures project, water extremes mitigation and maintaining a healthy state of the ecosystems. For the purpose various contact measurements and monitoring procedures are implemented. To clarify the process this material aims to present some specifics connected to the urban territories river discharge determination and the possibility for related monitoring networks creation. It is focused on the most used methods, their specifics and possible challenges for practical application. Main specifics connected to the related decision support systems creation and implementations are also presented. Main purpose is such state of the art dissemination, in help of decision makers and professionals in the area.

Discharge, water quality, and native fish abundance in the Virgin River, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona, in support of Pah Tempe Springs discharge remediation efforts

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Matthew P.; Lambert, Patrick M.; Hardy, Thomas B.

2014-01-01

Pah Tempe Springs discharge hot, saline, low dissolved-oxygen water to the Virgin River in southwestern Utah, which is transported downstream to Lake Mead and the Colorado River. The dissolved salts in the Virgin River negatively influence the suitability of this water for downstream agricultural, municipal, and industrial use. Therefore, various remediation scenarios to remove the salt load discharged from Pah Tempe Springs to the Virgin River are being considered. One concern about this load removal is the potential to impact the ecology of the Virgin River. Specifically, information is needed regarding possible impacts of Pah Tempe Springs remediation scenarios on the abundance, distribution, and survival of native fish in the Virgin River. Future efforts that aim to quantitatively assess how various remediation scenarios to reduce the load of dissolved salts from Pah Tempe Springs into the Virgin River may influence the abundance, distribution, and survival of native fish will require data on discharge, water quality, and native fish abundance. This report contains organized accessible discharge, water quality, and native fish abundance data sets from the Virgin River, documents the compilation of these data, and discusses approaches for quantifying relations between abiotic physical and chemical conditions, and fish abundance.

How have the river discharges and sediment loads changed in the Changjiang River basin downstream of the Three Gorges Dam?

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Leicheng; Su, Ni; Zhu, Chunyan; He, Qing

2018-05-01

Streamflow and sediment loads undergo remarkable changes in worldwide rivers in response to climatic changes and human interferences. Understanding their variability and the causes is of vital importance regarding river management. With respect to the Changjiang River (CJR), one of the largest river systems on earth, we provide a comprehensive overview of its hydrological regime changes by analyzing long time series of river discharges and sediment loads data at multiple gauge stations in the basin downstream of Three Gorges Dam (TGD). We find profound river discharge reduction during flood peaks and in the wet-to-dry transition period, and slightly increased discharges in the dry season. Sediment loads have reduced progressively since 1980s owing to sediment yield reduction and dams in the upper basin, with notably accelerated reduction since the start of TGD operation in 2003. Channel degradation occurs in downstream river, leading to considerable river stage drop. Lowered river stages have caused a 'draining effect' on lakes by fostering lake outflows following TGD impoundments. The altered river-lake interplay hastens low water occurrence inside the lakes which can worsen the drought given shrinking lake sizes in long-term. Moreover, lake sedimentation has decreased since 2002 with less sediment trapped in and more sediment flushed out of the lakes. These hydrological changes have broad impacts on river flood and drought occurrences, water security, fluvial ecosystem, and delta safety.

[Characteristics and loads of key sources of pollutions discharged into Beishi River, Changzhou City].

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chun-Ping; Jiang, Jian-Guo; Chen, Ai-Mei; Wu, Jia-Ling; Fan, Xiu-Juan; Ye, Bin

2010-11-01

Choosing the Beishi river, Changzhou City as the study area, the sewage generation, pollutants characteristics and sewage discharge in catchment area of Beishi river were conducted, detailed investigated and monitored. After using pollution coefficients, the yearly loads of all sources of pollutions were calculated to determine the highest sewage. The results showed that: except pH, the high concentration of SS, COD, BOD5, ammonia nitrogen, TN and TP discharged from MSW collecting houses, MSW transfer stations, public toilets and dining in Changzhou city far exceeded the "Integrated Wastewater Discharge Standard" (GB 8978-1996) and "Effluent Discharged into the City Sewer Water Quality Standards" (CJ 3082-1999). Among which: the highest concentration of COD discharged from MSW transfer stations was up to 51 700 mg/L, while the ammonia nitrogen and TN were as high as 1 616 mg/L and 2 044 mg/L in the toilet wastewater. In addition to this, the ratio of wastewater discharged directly into the river through storm water pipe network was higher from MSW houses, MSW transfer stations, public toilets, dining and other waste in Changzhou city. The 125.2 t/a of COD and 40.53 t/a of BOD5 were the two highest concentrations of various sources of pollution. The highest annual polluting loads discharged into Beishi river is dining, followed by the sanitation facilities. Therefore, cutting pollution control of food and sanitation facilities along the river is particularly urgent.

Prediction of mean monthly river discharges in Colombia through Empirical Mode Decomposition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. M. Carmona

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The hydro-climatology of Colombia exhibits strong natural variability at a broad range of time scales including: inter-decadal, decadal, inter-annual, annual, intra-annual, intra-seasonal, and diurnal. Diverse applied sectors rely on quantitative predictions of river discharges for operational purposes including hydropower generation, agriculture, human health, fluvial navigation, territorial planning and management, risk preparedness and mitigation, among others. Various methodologies have been used to predict monthly mean river discharges that are based on "Predictive Analytics", an area of statistical analysis that studies the extraction of information from historical data to infer future trends and patterns. Our study couples the Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD with traditional methods, e.g. Autoregressive Model of Order 1 (AR1 and Neural Networks (NN, to predict mean monthly river discharges in Colombia, South America. The EMD allows us to decompose the historical time series of river discharges into a finite number of intrinsic mode functions (IMF that capture the different oscillatory modes of different frequencies associated with the inherent time scales coexisting simultaneously in the signal (Huang et al. 1998, Huang and Wu 2008, Rao and Hsu, 2008. Our predictive method states that it is easier and simpler to predict each IMF at a time and then add them up together to obtain the predicted river discharge for a certain month, than predicting the full signal. This method is applied to 10 series of monthly mean river discharges in Colombia, using calibration periods of more than 25 years, and validation periods of about 12 years. Predictions are performed for time horizons spanning from 1 to 12 months. Our results show that predictions obtained through the traditional methods improve when the EMD is used as a previous step, since errors decrease by up to 13% when the AR1 model is used, and by up to 18% when using Neural Networks is

Numerical simulations of river discharges, nutrient flux and nutrient dispersal in Jakarta Bay, Indonesia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wulp, Simon A. van der; Damar, Ario; Ladwig, Norbert; Hesse, Karl-J.

2016-01-01

The present application of numerical modelling techniques provides an overview of river discharges, nutrient flux and nutrient dispersal in Jakarta Bay. A hydrological model simulated river discharges with a total of 90 to 377 m 3 s −1 entering Jakarta Bay. Daily total nitrogen and total phosphorus loads ranged from 40 to 174 tons and 14 to 60 tons, respectively. Flow model results indicate that nutrient gradients are subject to turbulent mixing by tides and advective transport through circulation driven by wind, barotropic and baroclinic pressure gradients. The bulk of nutrient loads originate from the Citarum and Cisadane rivers flowing through predominantly rural areas. Despite lower nutrient loads, river discharges from the urban area of Jakarta exhibit the highest impact of nutrient concentrations in the near shore area of Jakarta Bay and show that nutrient concentrations were not only regulated by nutrient loads but were strongly regulated by initial river concentrations and local flow characteristics. - Highlights: • Full overview of river discharges, nutrient flux and nutrient levels in Jakarta Bay • Important overview of nutrient flux from individual rivers • Simulations identify the principal drivers of water circulation and nutrient gradient. • Nutrient dispersion model includes the local effects of the Java Sea current system.

Stepwise morphological evolution of the active Yellow River (Huanghe) delta lobe (1976-2013): Dominant roles of riverine discharge and sediment grain size

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Xiao; Bi, Naishuang; Xu, Jingping; Nittrouer, Jeffrey A.; Yang, Zuosheng; Saito, Yoshiki; Wang, Houjie

2017-09-01

The presently active Yellow River (Huanghe) delta lobe has been formed since 1976 when the river was artificially diverted. The process and driving forces of morphological evolution of the present delta lobe still remain unclear. Here we examined the stepwise morphological evolution of the active Yellow River delta lobe including both the subaerial and the subaqueous components, and illustrated the critical roles of riverine discharge and sediment grain size in dominating the deltaic evolution. The critical sediment loads for maintaining the delta stability were also calculated from water discharge and sediment load measured at station Lijin, the last gauging station approximately 100 km upstream from the river mouth. The results indicated that the development of active delta lobe including both subaerial and subaqueous components has experienced four sequential stages. During the first stage (1976-1981) after the channel migration, the unchannelized river flow enhanced deposition within the channel and floodplain between Lijin station and the river mouth. Therefore, the critical sediment supply calculated by the river inputs obtained from station Lijin was the highest. However, the actual sediment load at this stage (0.84 Gt/yr) was more than twice of the critical sediment load ( 0.35 Gt/yr) for sustaining the active subaerial area, which favored a rapid seaward progradation of the Yellow River subaerial delta. During the second stage (1981-1996), the engineering-facilitated channelized river flow and the increase in median grain size of suspended sediment delivered to the sea resulted in the critical sediment load for keeping the delta stability deceasing to 0.29 Gt/yr. The active delta lobe still gradually prograded seaward at an accretion rate of 11.9 km2/yr at this stage as the annual sediment load at Lijin station was 0.55 Gt/yr. From 1996 to 2002, the critical sediment load further decreased to 0.15 Gt/yr with the sediment grain size increased to 22.5 �

An Evaluation of the Importance of Self- Purification Capacity of Rivers in Developing Effluent Discharge Standards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asheg Moalla, M.; Malek Mohammadi, B.; Torabian, A.

2016-01-01

In current effluent discharge standards of the most countries such as Iran, self-purification capacity of rivers have not been considered. These standards developed a similar effluent discharge standard for all of the rivers without considering hydrological and hydraulic conditions of rivers. In this paper in order to show the importance of self-purification capacity and differences between the rivers, in developing effluent discharge standard, two rivers- Gheshlagh River in Kurdistan and Sabzkooh River in Chaharmahal Bakhtiari- as samples were selected., and with applying Qual2kw model, current Iran effluent discharge standards were used to simulate the state of each river. The simulation showed that compliance with this standard maintain an appropriate qualitative condition of Gheshlagh River but in Sabzkoh River, due to the large number of pollution sources, these standards not only does not help to maintain the water quality but will have a very negative impact on water quality. Then Using simulation of river quality, the authorized appropriate limit based on self-purification capacity and the number and type of pollutants were estimated and showed that to develop accurate and efficient standards the self-purification capacity, the number of pollution sources, the amount of waste load and other different conditions of rivers also should be considered.

Assessment of whether upstream passage for Lake Sturgeon is needed at the Pointe du Bois Generating Station (Winnipeg River)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pratt, T.

2010-01-01

This document reviewed Manitoba Hydro's proposal to modernize the Pointe du Bois Generating Station (GS) on the Winnipeg River, with particular reference to the potential impacts on Lake Sturgeon in Management Unit 5 (MU5) where large numbers of the fish spawn at the base of the falls. The modernization will involve replacing the spillway, dam segments and replacing or repairing the powerhouse. The pros and cons of providing upstream fish passage for Lake Sturgeon and the generating station were outlined. The only spawning area in the MU5 area may be altered considerably due to changes in water flow, depending on the design chosen for modernization. A potential benefit of providing upstream fish passage for Lake Sturgeon would be to increase genetic diversity within the Winnipeg River. Another potential benefit would be to allow Lake Sturgeon, from the relatively dense population below the GS, to move upstream into MU4 where unfilled habitat may be available and Lake Sturgeon abundance is lower. A potential disadvantage of providing fish passage would be the loss of individual Lake Sturgeon from the healthy population in MU5 with no accompanying benefit to MU4. There would be no net gain to MU4 or MU5 if migrating Lake Sturgeon returned to MU5 rather than proceeding upstream. It was concluded that these current gaps in knowledge must be filled in order to fully assess the environmental impacts. 2 figs.

Dissemination of satellite-based river discharge and flood data

Science.gov (United States)

Kettner, A. J.; Brakenridge, G. R.; van Praag, E.; de Groeve, T.; Slayback, D. A.; Cohen, S.

2014-12-01

In collaboration with NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center and the European Commission Joint Research Centre, the Dartmouth Flood Observatory (DFO) daily measures and distributes: 1) river discharges, and 2) near real-time flood extents with a global coverage. Satellite-based passive microwave sensors and hydrological modeling are utilized to establish 'remote-sensing based discharge stations', and observed time series cover 1998 to the present. The advantages over in-situ gauged discharges are: a) easy access to remote or due to political reasons isolated locations, b) relatively low maintenance costs to maintain a continuous observational record, and c) the capability to obtain measurements during floods, hazardous conditions that often impair or destroy in-situ stations. Two MODIS instruments aboard the NASA Terra and Aqua satellites provide global flood extent coverage at a spatial resolution of 250m. Cloud cover hampers flood extent detection; therefore we ingest 6 images (the Terra and Aqua images of each day, for three days), in combination with a cloud shadow filter, to provide daily global flood extent updates. The Flood Observatory has always made it a high priority to visualize and share its data and products through its website. Recent collaborative efforts with e.g. GeoSUR have enhanced accessibility of DFO data. A web map service has been implemented to automatically disseminate geo-referenced flood extent products into client-side GIS software. For example, for Latin America and the Caribbean region, the GeoSUR portal now displays current flood extent maps, which can be integrated and visualized with other relevant geographical data. Furthermore, the flood state of satellite-observed river discharge sites are displayed through the portal as well. Additional efforts include implementing Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standards to incorporate Water Markup Language (WaterML) data exchange mechanisms to further facilitate the distribution of the satellite

Punctuated sediment discharge during early Pliocene birth of the Colorado River: Evidence from regional stratigraphy, sedimentology, and paleontology

Science.gov (United States)

Dorsey, Rebecca J.; O’Connell, Brennan; McDougall-Reid, Kristin; Homan, Mindy B.

2018-01-01

punctuated sediment discharge are assessed by comparing the depositional chronology to the record of global sea-level change. The lower Colorado River Valley and Salton Trough experienced marine transgression during a gradual fall in global sea level between ~ 6.3 and 5.5 Ma, implicating tectonic subsidence as the main driver of latest Miocene relative sea-level rise. A major fall of global sea level at 5.3 Ma outpaced subsidence and drove regional delta progradation, earliest flushing of Colorado River sand into the northern Gulf of California, and erosion of Bouse basal carbonate and siliciclastic members. The lower Colorado River valley was re-flooded by shallow marine waters during smaller changes in global sea level ~ 5.1–4.8 Ma, after the river first ran through it, which requires a mechanism to stop delivery of sand to the lower river valley. We propose that tectonically controlled subsidence along the lower Colorado River, upstream of the southern Bouse study area, temporarily trapped sediment and stopped delivery of sand to the lower river valley and northern Gulf of California for ~ 200–300 kyr. Massive progradation of the fluvial-deltaic system back down the river valley into the Salton Trough starting ~ 4.8–4.5 Ma apparently was driven by a huge increase in sediment discharge that overwhelmed the sediment-storage capacity of sub-basins along the lower river corridor and established the fully integrated river channel network.

Large-scale hydrological model river storage and discharge correction using a satellite altimetry-based discharge product

Science.gov (United States)

Emery, Charlotte Marie; Paris, Adrien; Biancamaria, Sylvain; Boone, Aaron; Calmant, Stéphane; Garambois, Pierre-André; Santos da Silva, Joecila

2018-04-01

Land surface models (LSMs) are widely used to study the continental part of the water cycle. However, even though their accuracy is increasing, inherent model uncertainties can not be avoided. In the meantime, remotely sensed observations of the continental water cycle variables such as soil moisture, lakes and river elevations are more frequent and accurate. Therefore, those two different types of information can be combined, using data assimilation techniques to reduce a model's uncertainties in its state variables or/and in its input parameters. The objective of this study is to present a data assimilation platform that assimilates into the large-scale ISBA-CTRIP LSM a punctual river discharge product, derived from ENVISAT nadir altimeter water elevation measurements and rating curves, over the whole Amazon basin. To deal with the scale difference between the model and the observation, the study also presents an initial development for a localization treatment that allows one to limit the impact of observations to areas close to the observation and in the same hydrological network. This assimilation platform is based on the ensemble Kalman filter and can correct either the CTRIP river water storage or the discharge. Root mean square error (RMSE) compared to gauge discharges is globally reduced until 21 % and at Óbidos, near the outlet, RMSE is reduced by up to 52 % compared to ENVISAT-based discharge. Finally, it is shown that localization improves results along the main tributaries.

Biogeochemical transport in the Loxahatchee River estuary, FL: The role of submarine groundwater discharge

Science.gov (United States)

Swarzenski, P.; Orem, B.; McPherson, B.; Baskaran, M.; Wan, Y.

2005-05-01

The distributions of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), silica, select trace elements (Mn, Fe, Ba, Sr, Co, V,) and a suite of naturally-occurring radionuclides in the U/Th decay series (222Rn, 223,224,226,228Ra, 238U) were studied during high and low discharge conditions in the Loxahatchee River estuary, Florida. The zero-salinity endmember of this still relatively pristine estuary may reflect not only river-borne constituents, but also those advected during active groundwater/surface-water discharge. During low discharge conditions, with the notable exception of Co, trace metals indicate nearly conservative mixing from a salinity of ~12 through the estuary (This statement contracdicts with what is said in p. 7). In contrast, of the trace metals studied, only Sr, Fe, U and V exhibited conservative estuarine mixing during high discharge. Dissolved organic carbon and Si concentrations were highest at zero salinities, and generally decreased with an increase in salinity during both discharge regimes, indicating removal of land-derived dissolved organic matter and silica in the estuary. Suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentrations were generally lowest ( 28 dpm L-1) at the freshwater endmember of the estuary, and appear to identify regions of the river most influenced by active submarine groundwater discharge (where is the data that show this?). Activities of four naturally-occurring isotopes of Ra (223,224,226,228Ra) in this estuary and select adjacent shallow groundwater wells indicate mean estuarine water mass residence times of less than 1 day; values in close agreement to those calculated by tidal prism and tidal period. A radium-based model for estimating submarine groundwater discharge to the Loxahatchee River estuary yielded an average of 1.03 V 3.84 x 105 m3 day-1, depending on river discharge stage as well as slight variations in the particular Ra models used. Such calculated flux estimates are in close agreement with results obtained from a 2-day

Assessing natural and anthropogenic influences on water discharge and sediment load in the Yangtze River, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Yifei; Zou, Xinqing; Liu, Qing; Yao, Yulong; Li, Yali; Wu, Xiaowei; Wang, Chenglong; Yu, Wenwen; Wang, Teng

2017-12-31

The water discharge and sediment load of rivers are changing substantially under the impacts of climate change and human activities, becoming a hot issue in hydro-environmental research. In this study, the water discharge and sediment load in the mainstream and seven tributaries of the Yangtze River were investigated by using long-term hydro-meteorological data from 1953 to 2013. The non-parametric Mann-Kendall test and double mass curve (DMC) were used to detect trends and abrupt change-points in water discharge and sediment load and to quantify the effects of climate change and human activities on water discharge and sediment load. The results are as follows: (1) the water discharge showed a non-significant decreasing trend at most stations except Hukou station. Among these, water discharge at Dongting Lake and the Min River basin shows a significant decreasing trend with average rates of -13.93×10 8 m 3 /year and -1.8×10 8 m 3 /year (PYangtze River. (2) No significant abrupt change-points were detected in the time series of water discharge for all hydrological stations. In contrast, significant abrupt change-points were detected in sediment load, most of these changes appeared in the late 1980s. (3) The water discharge was mainly influenced by precipitation in the Yangtze River basin, whereas sediment load was mainly affected by climate change and human activities; the relative contribution ratios of human activities were above 70% for the Yangtze River. (4) The decrease of sediment load has directly impacted the lower Yangtze River and the delta region. These results will provide a reference for better resource management in the Yangtze River Basin. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Performance Evaluation of Linear (ARMA and Threshold Nonlinear (TAR Time Series Models in Daily River Flow Modeling (Case Study: Upstream Basin Rivers of Zarrineh Roud Dam

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farshad Fathian

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Time series models are generally categorized as a data-driven method or mathematically-based method. These models are known as one of the most important tools in modeling and forecasting of hydrological processes, which are used to design and scientific management of water resources projects. On the other hand, a better understanding of the river flow process is vital for appropriate streamflow modeling and forecasting. One of the main concerns of hydrological time series modeling is whether the hydrologic variable is governed by the linear or nonlinear models through time. Although the linear time series models have been widely applied in hydrology research, there has been some recent increasing interest in the application of nonlinear time series approaches. The threshold autoregressive (TAR method is frequently applied in modeling the mean (first order moment of financial and economic time series. Thise type of the model has not received considerable attention yet from the hydrological community. The main purposes of this paper are to analyze and to discuss stochastic modeling of daily river flow time series of the study area using linear (such as ARMA: autoregressive integrated moving average and non-linear (such as two- and three- regime TAR models. Material and Methods: The study area has constituted itself of four sub-basins namely, Saghez Chai, Jighato Chai, Khorkhoreh Chai and Sarogh Chai from west to east, respectively, which discharge water into the Zarrineh Roud dam reservoir. River flow time series of 6 hydro-gauge stations located on upstream basin rivers of Zarrineh Roud dam (located in the southern part of Urmia Lake basin were considered to model purposes. All the data series used here to start from January 1, 1997, and ends until December 31, 2011. In this study, the daily river flow data from January 01 1997 to December 31 2009 (13 years were chosen for calibration and data for January 01 2010 to December 31 2011

Evaluation of the depth-integration method of measuring water discharge in large rivers

Science.gov (United States)

Moody, J.A.; Troutman, B.M.

1992-01-01

The depth-integration method oor measuring water discharge makes a continuos measurement of the water velocity from the water surface to the bottom at 20 to 40 locations or verticals across a river. It is especially practical for large rivers where river traffic makes it impractical to use boats attached to taglines strung across the river or to use current meters suspended from bridges. This method has the additional advantage over the standard two- and eight-tenths method in that a discharge-weighted suspended-sediment sample can be collected at the same time. When this method is used in large rivers such as the Missouri, Mississippi and Ohio, a microwave navigation system is used to determine the ship's position at each vertical sampling location across the river, and to make accurate velocity corrections to compensate for shift drift. An essential feature is a hydraulic winch that can lower and raise the current meter at a constant transit velocity so that the velocities at all depths are measured for equal lengths of time. Field calibration measurements show that: (1) the mean velocity measured on the upcast (bottom to surface) is within 1% of the standard mean velocity determined by 9-11 point measurements; (2) if the transit velocity is less than 25% of the mean velocity, then average error in the mean velocity is 4% or less. The major source of bias error is a result of mounting the current meter above a sounding weight and sometimes above a suspended-sediment sampling bottle, which prevents measurement of the velocity all the way to the bottom. The measured mean velocity is slightly larger than the true mean velocity. This bias error in the discharge is largest in shallow water (approximately 8% for the Missouri River at Hermann, MO, where the mean depth was 4.3 m) and smallest in deeper water (approximately 3% for the Mississippi River at Vickbsurg, MS, where the mean depth was 14.5 m). The major source of random error in the discharge is the natural

A simulation for the gated weir opening of Wonokromo River, Rungkut District, Surabaya

Science.gov (United States)

Handajani, N.; Wahjudijanto, I.; Mu'afi, M.

2018-01-01

The gated weir is a weir that the crest elevation could be operated based on the flow through the river. The upstream water level of the gated weir could be controlled with gate opening or closing. This study applied a simulation with HEC-RAS 4,0 program in order to know the river hydraulic condition after the gated weir has built. According to the rainfall intensity from each sub-watershed, Distribution Log Pearson III with return period 50 years (Q50) was determined to calculate the design flood discharge. By using Rational Method, the design flood discharge is 470 m3/s. The Results show that capacity of the river is able to accomodate Q50 with discharge 470 m3/s and the gate should be fully opened during flood. This condition could passed the normal discharge at + 5.00 m elevation.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Benefits of Riverine Water Discharge into the Lorian Swamp, Kenya

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zipporah Musyimi

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Use and retention of river water in African highlands deprive communities in arid lowlands of their benefits. This paper reviews information on water use in the Ewaso Ng’iro catchment, Kenya, to evaluate the effects of upstream abstraction on the Lorian Swamp, a wetland used by pastoralists downstream. We first assess the abstractions and demands for water upstream and the river water supplies at the upper and the lower end of the Lorian Swamp. Further analysis of 12 years of monthly SPOT-VEGETATION satellite imagery reveals higher NDVI (Normalized Differential Vegetation Index values in the swamp than nearby rainfed areas, with the difference in NDVI between the two positively related to river water discharged into the swamp. The paper next reviews the benefits derived from water entering the swamp and the vulnerability to abstractions for three categories of water: (i the surface water used for drinking and sanitation; (ii the surface water that supports forage production; and (iii the water that recharges the Merti Aquifer. Our results suggest that benefits from surface water for domestic use and forage production are vulnerable to abstractions upstream whereas the benefits from the aquifer, with significant fossil water, are likely to be affected in the long run, but not the short term.

Applications of Coupled Explicit–Implicit Solution of SWEs for Unsteady Flow in Yangtze River

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yufei Ding

2017-02-01

Full Text Available In engineering practice, the unsteady flows generated from the operation of hydropower station in the upstream region could significantly change the navigation system of waterways located in the middle-lower reaches of the river. In order to study the complex propagation, convergence and superposition characteristics of unsteady flows in a long channel with flow confluence, a numerical model based on the coupling of implicit and explicit solution algorithms of Shallow Water Equations (SWEs has been applied to two large rivers in the reach of Yangtze River, China, which covers the distance from Yibin to Chongqing located upstream side of the Three Gorges Dam. The accuracy of numerical model has been validated by both the steady and unsteady flows using the prototype hydrological data. It is found that the unsteady flows show much more complex water level and discharge behaviors than the steady ones. The studied unsteady flows arising from the water regulation of two upstream hydropower stations could influence the region as far as Zhutuo hydrologic station, which is close to the city of Chongqing. Meanwhile, the computed stage–discharge rating curves at all observation stations demonstrate multi-value loop patterns because of the presence of additional water surface gradient. The present numerical model proves to be robust for simulating complex flows in very long engineering rivers up to 400 km.

Numerical simulations of river discharges, nutrient flux and nutrient dispersal in Jakarta Bay, Indonesia.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Wulp, Simon A; Damar, Ario; Ladwig, Norbert; Hesse, Karl-J

2016-09-30

The present application of numerical modelling techniques provides an overview of river discharges, nutrient flux and nutrient dispersal in Jakarta Bay. A hydrological model simulated river discharges with a total of 90 to 377m(3)s(-1) entering Jakarta Bay. Daily total nitrogen and total phosphorus loads ranged from 40 to 174tons and 14 to 60tons, respectively. Flow model results indicate that nutrient gradients are subject to turbulent mixing by tides and advective transport through circulation driven by wind, barotropic and baroclinic pressure gradients. The bulk of nutrient loads originate from the Citarum and Cisadane rivers flowing through predominantly rural areas. Despite lower nutrient loads, river discharges from the urban area of Jakarta exhibit the highest impact of nutrient concentrations in the near shore area of Jakarta Bay and show that nutrient concentrations were not only regulated by nutrient loads but were strongly regulated by initial river concentrations and local flow characteristics. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The influence of flow discharge variations on the morphodynamics of a diffluence-confluence unit on the Mekong River

Science.gov (United States)

Hackney, Christopher; Darby, Stephen; Parsons, Daniel; Leyland, Julian; Aalto, Rolf; Nicholas, Andrew; Best, Jim

2017-04-01

Bifurcations represent key morphological nodes within the channel networks of anabranching and braided fluvial channels, playing an important role in controlling local bed morphology, the routing of sediment and water, and defining the stability of the downstream reaches. Herein, we detail field observations of the three-dimensional flow structure, bed morphological changes and partitioning of both flow discharge and suspended sediment through a large diffluence-confluence unit on the Mekong River, Cambodia, across a range of flow stages (from 13,500 m3 s-1 to 27,000 m3 s-1) over the monsoonal flood-pulse cycle. We show that the discharge asymmetry (a measure of the disparity between discharges distributed down the left and right branches of the bifurcation) varies with flow discharge and that the influence of upstream curvature-induced cross-stream water surface slope and bed morphological changes are first-order controls in modulating the asymmetry in bifurcation discharge. Flow discharge is shown to play a key role in defining the morphodynamics of the diffluence-confluence unit downstream of the bifurcation. Our data show that during high flows (Q 27,000 m3 s-1), the downstream island complex acts as a net sink of suspended sediment (with 2600 kg s-1 being deposited between the diffluence and confluence), whereas during lower flows, on both the rising and falling limbs of the flood wave, the sediment balance is in quasi-equilibrium. We propose, therefore, that the long term stability of the bifurcation, as well as the larger channel planform and morphology of the diffluence-confluence unit, is therefore controlled by annual monsoonal flood pulses and the associated variations in discharge.

Evaluation of seepage and discharge uncertainty in the middle Snake River, southwestern Idaho

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, Molly S.; Williams, Marshall L.; Evetts, David M.; Vidmar, Peter J.

2014-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the State of Idaho, Idaho Power Company, and the Idaho Department of Water Resources, evaluated seasonal seepage gains and losses in selected reaches of the middle Snake River, Idaho, during November 2012 and July 2013, and uncertainty in measured and computed discharge at four Idaho Power Company streamgages. Results from this investigation will be used by resource managers in developing a protocol to calculate and report Adjusted Average Daily Flow at the Idaho Power Company streamgage on the Snake River below Swan Falls Dam, near Murphy, Idaho, which is the measurement point for distributing water to owners of hydropower and minimum flow water rights in the middle Snake River. The evaluated reaches of the Snake River were from King Hill to Murphy, Idaho, for the seepage studies and downstream of Lower Salmon Falls Dam to Murphy, Idaho, for evaluations of discharge uncertainty. Computed seepage was greater than cumulative measurement uncertainty for subreaches along the middle Snake River during November 2012, the non-irrigation season, but not during July 2013, the irrigation season. During the November 2012 seepage study, the subreach between King Hill and C J Strike Dam had a meaningful (greater than cumulative measurement uncertainty) seepage gain of 415 cubic feet per second (ft3/s), and the subreach between Loveridge Bridge and C J Strike Dam had a meaningful seepage gain of 217 ft3/s. The meaningful seepage gain measured in the November 2012 seepage study was expected on the basis of several small seeps and springs present along the subreach, regional groundwater table contour maps, and results of regional groundwater flow model simulations. Computed seepage along the subreach from C J Strike Dam to Murphy was less than cumulative measurement uncertainty during November 2012 and July 2013; therefore, seepage cannot be quantified with certainty along this subreach. For the uncertainty evaluation, average

Breakup ice control structure for the Salmon River in Connecticut

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tuthill, A.M.; White, K.D.

1997-01-01

The Salmon River ice jam problem was investigated and a conceptual design for a breakup ice control structure was developed. Historical ice jam events were reviewed and an ice observation program was conducted during the winter of 1994-95. The factors affecting ice jam frequency and severity were examined. The factors included daily temperature, rainfall quantity and intensity, Salmon River stage and discharge, and Connecticut River tide levels. First, a numerical model was developed to simulate a worst case scenario for ice jams, followed by a conceptual design for a concrete pier ice control structure under two ice breakup scenarios. The first scenario assumed that a semi-intact ice sheet would rest against the piers and retain a floating equilibrium jam upstream, allowing water discharge to pass beneath. The second scenario was based on the assumption that a grounded ice jam in direct contact with the piers would divert water flow around the structure via an armored channel in the overbank area. An ice retention structure consisting of a row of concrete piers, spaced across the main channel, 60 m upstream of an existing dam, was proposed. 11 refs., 6 figs

Sediment Dynamics Affecting the Threatened Santa Ana Sucker in the Highly-modified Santa Ana River and Inset Channel, Southern California, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Minear, J. T.; Wright, S. A.

2015-12-01

In this study, we investigate the sediment dynamics of the low-flow channel of the Santa Ana River that is formed by wastewater discharges and contains some of the last remaining habitat of the Santa Ana Sucker (Catostomus santaanae). The Santa Ana River is a highly-modified river draining the San Bernardino Mountains and Inland Empire metropolitan area east of Los Angeles. Home to over 4 million people, the watershed provides habitat for the federally-threatened Santa Ana Sucker, which presently reside within the mainstem Santa Ana River in a reach supported by year-round constant discharges from water treatment plants. The nearly constant low-flow wastewater discharges and infrequent runoff events create a small, approximately 8 m wide, inset channel within the approximately 300 m wide mainstem channel that is typically dry except for large flood flows. The sediment dynamics within the inset channel are characterized by constantly evolving bed substrate and sediment transport rates, and occasional channel avulsions. The sediment dynamics have large influence on the Sucker, which rely on coarse-substrate (gravel and cobble) for their food production. In WY 2013 through the present, we investigated the sediment dynamics of the inset channel using repeat bathymetric and substrate surveys, bedload sampling, and discharge measurements. We found two distinct phases of the inset channel behavior: 1. 'Reset' flows, where sediment-laden mainstem discharges from upstream runoff events result in sand deposition in the inset channel or avulse the inset channel onto previously dry riverbed; and 2. 'Winnowing' flows, whereby the sand within the inset channel is removed by clear-water low flows from the wastewater treatment plant discharges. Thus, in contrast to many regulated rivers where high flows are required to flush fine sediments from the bed (for example, downstream from dams), in the Santa Ana River the low flows from wastewater treatment plants serve as the flushing

Phosphorus Dynamics along River Continuum during Typhoon Storm Events

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ming Fai Chow

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Information on riverine phosphorus (P dynamics during typhoon storm events remains scarce in subtropical regions. Thus, this study investigates the spatial and temporal dynamics of riverine phosphorus in a headwater catchment during three typhoon events. Continuous sampling (3 h intervals of stormwater samples and discharge data were conducted at five locations, which represent the upstream, transitional zone, and downstream areas of the main inflow river. The results revealed that the average event mean concentrations (EMCs for total dissolved phosphorus (TDP and particulate phosphorus (PP in the upstream catchment of Fei-Tsui reservoir were 15.66 μg/L and 11.94 μg/L, respectively. There was at least a 1.3-fold increase in flow-weighted concentrations of TDP and PP from the upper to lower reaches of the main stream. PP and TDP were transported either in clockwise or anticlockwise directions, depending on storm intensity and source. The transport of TDP was primarily regulated by the subsurface flow during the storm event. Soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP contributes more than 50% of the TDP load in moderate storms, while extreme storms supply a greater dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP load into the stream. TDP accounted for approximately 50% of TP load during typhoon storms. Mobilization of all P forms was observed from upstream to downstream of the river, except for DOP. A decrease of DOP load on passing downstream may reflect the change in phosphorus form along the river continuum. Peak discharge and antecedent dry days are correlated positively with P fluxes, indicating that river bank erosion and re-suspension of within-channel sediment are the dominant pathways of P during typhoon storm periods.

Spatiotemporal variability in salinity and hydraulic relationship with salt intrusion in the tidal reaches of the Minjiang River, Fujian Province, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Rongrong; Pang, Yong; Luo, Bingrong; Li, Jiabing; Wu, Chunshan; Zheng, Yuyi; Sun, Qiyuan; Zhang, Peng; Wang, Feifeng

2017-04-01

Salinity is one of the most important factors for tidal-affected water bodies including estuaries and tidal river reaches. However, due to the limitations of simultaneous manual monitoring in long-distance areas, studies of estuaries are preferred to tidal reaches. Hence, in this study, we investigated the tidal reach of the Minjiang River and five sets of field observations were used to determine the influence of saltwater intrusion in different seasons. During the dry and wet season with low discharge, the longitudinal salinity profiles showed that a station located about 45 km from the river mouth still suffered from saltwater intrusion especially when the upstream discharge was under 754 m 3  s -1 , where the periodical fluctuation in the salinity remained the same with the water level, but there was a time lag of approximately 4 h compared with the discharge process. However, during the wet season in April and May 2016, the monitored salinity was approximately at the detectable limit of 0.02-0.04 ppt at the station close to the river mouth, which indicated that there was no saltwater exchange into the river, although dual flow directions were observed in the survey periods. The major differences among five survey periods were mainly related to upstream discharge rather than the seasons, the tidal range, and tidal excursion. The conclusions of this study have strategic importance for protecting water sources by guiding the government to assess the optimal freshwater release time and discharge rate to prevent saltwater entering the important tidal-affected river reaches.

White Sturgeon Mitigation and Restoration in the Columbia and Snake Rivers Upstream from Bonneville Dam; 2004-2005 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rien, Thomas A.; Hughes, Michele L.; Kern, J. Chris (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Clackamas, OR)

2006-03-01

We report on our progress from April 2004 through March 2005 on determining the effects of mitigative measures on productivity of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia River downstream from McNary Dam, and on determining the status and habitat requirements of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia and Snake rivers upstream from McNary Dam. This is a multi-year study with many objectives requiring more than one year to complete; therefore, findings from a given year may be part of more significant findings yet to be reported.

White Sturgeon Mitgation and Restoration in the Columbia and Snake Rivers Upstream from Bonneville Dam; 2003-2004 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rein, Thomas A.; Hughes, Michele L.; Kern, J. Chris (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Clackamas, OR)

2005-08-01

We report on our progress from April 2003 through March 2004 on determining the effects of mitigative measures on productivity of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia River downstream from McNary Dam, and on determining the status and habitat requirements of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia and Snake rivers upstream from McNary Dam. This is a multi-year study with many objectives requiring more than one year to complete; therefore, findings from a given year may be part of more significant findings yet to be reported.

Hydrology of the Po River: looking for changing patterns in river discharge

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Montanari

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Scientists and public administrators are devoting increasing attention to the Po River, in Italy, in view of concerns related to the impact of increasing urbanisation and exploitation of water resources. A better understanding of the hydrological regime of the river is necessary to improve water resources management and flood protection. In particular, the analysis of the effects of hydrological and climatic change is crucial for planning sustainable development and economic growth. An extremely interesting issue is to inspect to what extent river flows can be naturally affected by the occurrence of long periods of water abundance or scarcity, which can be erroneously interpreted as irreversible changes due to human impact. In fact, drought and flood periods alternatively occurred in the recent past in the form of long-term fluctuations. This paper presents advanced graphical and analytical methods to gain a better understanding of the temporal distribution of the Po River discharge. In particular, we present an analysis of river flow variability and persistence properties, to gain a better understanding of natural patterns, and in particular long-term changes, which may affect the future flood risk and availability of water resources.

Hydrology of the Po River: looking for changing patterns in river discharge

Science.gov (United States)

Montanari, A.

2012-05-01

Scientists and public administrators are devoting increasing attention to the Po River, in Italy, in view of concerns related to the impact of increasing urbanisation and exploitation of water resources. A better understanding of the hydrological regime of the river is necessary to improve water resources management and flood protection. In particular, the analysis of the effects of hydrological and climatic change is crucial for planning sustainable development and economic growth. An extremely interesting issue is to inspect to what extent river flows can be naturally affected by the occurrence of long periods of water abundance or scarcity, which can be erroneously interpreted as irreversible changes due to human impact. In fact, drought and flood periods alternatively occurred in the recent past in the form of long term cycles. This paper presents advanced graphical and analytical methods to gain a better understanding of the temporal distribution of the Po River discharge. In particular, we present an analysis of river flow variability and memory properties to better understand natural patterns and in particular long term changes, which may affect the future flood risk and availability of water resources.

Field intercomparison of channel master ADCP with RiverSonde Radar for measuring river discharge

Science.gov (United States)

Spain, P.; Marsden, R.; Barrick, D.; Teague, C.; Ruhl, C.

2005-01-01

The RiverSonde radar makes non-contact measurement of a horizontal swath of surface velocity across a river section. This radar, which has worked successfully at several rivers in the Western USA, has shown encouraging correlation with simultaneous measurements of average currents at one level recorded by an acoustic travel-time system. This work reports a field study intercomparing data sets from a 600 kHz Channel Master ADCP with the RiverSonde radar. The primary goal was to begin to explore the robustness of the radar data as a reliable index of discharge. This site Is at Three Mile Slough in Northern California, USA. The larger intent of the work is to examine variability in space and time of the radar's surface currents compared with subsurface flows across the river section. Here we examine data from a couple of periods with strong winds. ?? 2005 IEEE.

Sediment discharge division at two tidally influenced river bifurcations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sassi, M.G.; Hoitink, A.J.F.; Vermeulen, B.; Hidayat, H.

2013-01-01

[1] We characterize and quantify the sediment discharge division at two tidally influenced river bifurcations in response to mean flow and secondary circulation by employing a boat-mounted acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP), to survey transects at bifurcating branches during a semidiurnal

SOLUTION FOR ICHTHYOFAUNA MIGRATION UPSTREAM- DOWNSTREAM OF THE TWO SPILLWAYS LOCATED NEAR MANASTUR DAM ON THE SOMESUL MIC RIVER IN THE CLUJ NAPOCA CITY (ROMÂNIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Razvan VOICU

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Longitudinal connectivity represent the way in which organisms move the energy and material exchanges located throughout the water. Fragmentation the longitudinal connectivity of watercourses caused by dams or other hydrotechnical constructions represent a major impact on sediment transport, hydrological regime, downstream moving and biota migration. The hydromorphological elements (river continuity, as well as chemical, biological, physicochemical elements characterize the ecological status of rivers.Migratory fish species: nase (Chondrostoma nasus - protected by Bern Convention - Appendix III and barbel (Barbus barbus - rare species, protected Habitats Directive (Annex V, annex 4A of Low nr.462 and Red List of RBDD are blocked but the Hydrotechnical constructions (discharge sills, dams etc located across the watercourse Somes Mic River. One of the important think of this system is the gravitational fall of water. This solution will lead to the restoration of the longitudinal connection of the Someşul Mic River in the Manastur neighborhood. România is part of the European Union and it has the obligation to implement the provisions of the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC, transposed into Romanian legislation by the Water Law 107/1996 as supplemented and amended (Act 310/2004. This engineering solution for fish fauna migration upstream – downstream of the spillways supports the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC, transposed into Romanian legislation by the Water Law 107/1996 as supplemented and amended (Act 310/2004.

Application of current and future satellite missions to hydrologic prediction in transboundary rivers

Science.gov (United States)

Biancamaria, S.; Clark, E.; Lettenmaier, D. P.

2010-12-01

More than 256 major global river basins, which cover about 45% of the continental land surface, are shared among two or more countries. The flow of such a large part of the global runoff across international boundaries has led to tension in many cases between upstream and downstream riparian countries. Among many examples, this is the case of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra Rivers, which cross the boundary between India and Bangladesh. Hydrological data (river discharge, reservoir storage) are viewed as sensitive by India (the upstream country) and are therefore not shared with Bangladesh, which can only monitor river discharge and water depth at the international border crossing. These measurements only allow forecasting of floods in the interior and southern portions of the country two to three days in advance. These forecasts are not long enough either for agricultural water management purposes (for which knowledge of upstream reservoir storage is essential) or for disaster preparedness purposes. Satellite observations of river spatial extent, surface slope, reservoir area and surface elevation have the potential to make tremendous changes in management of water within the basins. In this study, we examine the use of currently available satellite measurements (in India) and in-situ measurements in Bangladesh to increase forecast lead time in the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers. Using nadir altimeters, we find that it is possible to forecast the discharge of the Ganges River at the Bangladesh border with lead time 3 days and mean absolute error of around 25%. On the Ganges River, 2-day forecasts are possible with a mean absolute error of around 20%. When combined with optical/infra-red MODIS images, it is possible to map water elevations along the river and its floodplain upstream of the boundary, and to compute water storage. However, the high frequency of clouds in this region results in relatively large errors in the water mask. Due to the nadir altimeter

Estimation of stream conditions in tributaries of the Klamath River, northern California

Science.gov (United States)

Manhard, Christopher V.; Som, Nicholas A.; Jones, Edward C.; Perry, Russell W.

2018-01-01

Because of their critical ecological role, stream temperature and discharge are requisite inputs for models of salmonid population dynamics. Coho Salmon inhabiting the Klamath Basin spend much of their freshwater life cycle inhabiting tributaries, but environmental data are often absent or only seasonally available at these locations. To address this information gap, we constructed daily averaged water temperature models that used simulated meteorological data to estimate daily tributary temperatures, and we used flow differentials recorded on the mainstem Klamath River to estimate daily tributary discharge. Observed temperature data were available for fourteen of the major salmon bearing tributaries, which enabled estimation of tributary-specific model parameters at those locations. Water temperature data from six mid-Klamath Basin tributaries were used to estimate a global set of parameters for predicting water temperatures in the remaining tributaries. The resulting parameter sets were used to simulate water temperatures for each of 75 tributaries from 1980-2015. Goodness-of-fit statistics computed from a cross-validation analysis demonstrated a high precision of the tributary-specific models in predicting temperature in unobserved years and of the global model in predicting temperatures in unobserved streams. Klamath River discharge has been monitored by four gages that broadly intersperse the 292 kilometers from the Iron Gate Dam to the Klamath River mouth. These gages defined the upstream and downstream margins of three reaches. Daily discharge of tributaries within a reach was estimated from 1980-2015 based on drainage-area proportionate allocations of the discharge differential between the upstream and downstream margin. Comparisons with measured discharge on Indian Creek, a moderate-sized tributary with naturally regulated flows, revealed that the estimates effectively approximated both the variability and magnitude of discharge.

Numerical simulation of scouring-deposition variations caused by rainfall-induced landslides in the upstream of Zengwun River, Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Ming-Hsi; Liao, Yi-Wen; Tsai, Kuang-Jung

2017-04-01

In recent years, the increasing sediment disasters of severe rainfall-induced landslides on human lives and lifeline facilities worldwide have advanced the necessity to find out both economically acceptable and useful techniques to predict the occurrence and destructive power of the disasters. In August 2009, Typhoon Morakot brought a large amount of rainfall with both high intensity and long duration to a vast area of Taiwan. Unfortunately, this resulted in a catastrophic landslide in watershed of Zengwun-River reservoir, southern Taiwan. Meanwhile, large amounts of landslides were formed in the upstream of Zengwun River. The major scope of this study is to apply numerical model to simulate the scouring-deposition variations caused by rainfall-induced landslides that occurred in the upstream of Zengwun River during Typhoon Morakot. This study proposed the relation diagrams of the intermediate diameter (d50), recurrence interval (T) and scouring-deposition depth (D), and applied the diagrams to understand the impacts of the scouring-deposition variations on the structures for water and soil conservation and their measurements. Based on the simulation of scouring-deposition variation at the Da-Bu dam and Da-Bang dam, this study also discussed the scouring-deposition variations of different sections under different scenarios (including flow rate, intermediate diameters and structures). In summary, the result suggested that the diagrams of the intermediate diameter, recurrence interval and scouring-deposition depth could be used as the reference for designing the check dams, ground sills and lateral constructions.

Prerequisites for Accurate Monitoring of River Discharge Based on Fixed-Location Velocity Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Kästner, K.; Hoitink, A. J. F.; Torfs, P. J. J. F.; Vermeulen, B.; Ningsih, N. S.; Pramulya, M.

2018-02-01

River discharge has to be monitored reliably for effective water management. As river discharge cannot be measured directly, it is usually inferred from the water level. This practice is unreliable at places where the relation between water level and flow velocity is ambiguous. In such a case, the continuous measurement of the flow velocity can improve the discharge prediction. The emergence of horizontal acoustic Doppler current profilers (HADCPs) has made it possible to continuously measure the flow velocity. However, the profiling range of HADCPs is limited, so that a single instrument can only partially cover a wide cross section. The total discharge still has to be determined with a model. While the limitations of rating curves are well understood, there is not yet a comprehensive theory to assess the accuracy of discharge predicted from velocity measurements. Such a theory is necessary to discriminate which factors influence the measurements, and to improve instrument deployment as well as discharge prediction. This paper presents a generic method to assess the uncertainty of discharge predicted from range-limited velocity profiles. The theory shows that a major source of error is the variation of the ratio between the local and cross-section-averaged velocity. This variation is large near the banks, where HADCPs are usually deployed and can limit the advantage gained from the velocity measurement. We apply our theory at two gauging stations situated in the Kapuas River, Indonesia. We find that at one of the two stations the index velocity does not outperform a simple rating curve.

Spatio-temporal monitoring of suspended sediments in the Solimões River (2000-2014)

Science.gov (United States)

Espinoza-Villar, Raul; Martinez, Jean-Michel; Armijos, Elisa; Espinoza, Jhan-Carlo; Filizola, Naziano; Dos Santos, Andre; Willems, Bram; Fraizy, Pascal; Santini, William; Vauchel, Philippe

2018-01-01

The Amazon River sediment discharge has been estimated at between 600 and 1200 Mt/year, of which more than 50% comes from the Solimões River. Because of the area's inaccessibility, few studies have examined the sediment discharge spatial and temporal pattern in the upper Solimões region. In this study, we use MODIS satellite images to retrieve and understand the spatial and temporal behaviour of suspended sediments in the Solimões River from Peru to Brazil. Six virtual suspended sediment gauging stations were created along the Solimões River on a 2050-km-long transect. At each station, field-derived river discharge estimates were available and field-sampling trips were conducted for validation of remote-sensing estimates during different periods of the annual hydrological cycle between 2007 and 2014. At two stations, 10-day surface suspended sediment data were available from the SO-HYBAM monitoring program (881 field SSS samples). MODIS-derived sediment discharge closely matched the field observations, showing a relative RMSE value of 27.3% (0.48 Mtday) overall. Satellite-retrieved annual sediment discharge at the Tamshiyacu (Peru) and Manacapuru (Brazil) stations is estimated at 521 and 825 Mt/year, respectively. While upstream the river presents one main sediment discharge peak during the hydrological cycle, a secondary sediment discharge peak is detected downstream during the declining water levels, which is induced by sediment resuspension from the floodplain, causing a 72% increase on average from June to September.

Influence of seasonal, diel, lunar, and other environmental factors on upstream fish passage in the igarapava fish ladder, Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Bizzotto, P.M.; Godinho, Alexandre L.; Vono, V.; Kynard, B.; Godinho, Hugo P.

2009-01-01

Upstream fish passage was evaluated during 12 months in the vertical-slot Igarapava Fish Ladder constructed around Igarapava Dam, in the heavily dammed Grande River, Southeast Brazil. A video monitoring system was used to observe 61,621 fish that passed the ladder, of which 93.5% were identified to 15 taxa. Among the migratory species, the most abundant were Pimelodus maculatus (33.6% of all fish), Leporinus octofasciatus (31.4%), Leporinus friderici (4.5%), and Prochilodus lineatus (3.1%). Seven taxa were classified as nonmigratory, and of these taxa, the small Bryconamericus stramineus was the most abundant (12.7%) of all fishes. Passage of the 'nonmigratory' taxa upstream in the ladder shows they are migratory in this system and have a strong behavioural drive to move to upstream habitat. Passage of most taxa had a strong seasonal pattern. While some species passed primarily during the day, others showed a distinct nocturnal pattern. Lunar phase and water temperature also strongly affected passage of some taxa. Rainfall and dam discharge had a small or null influence on most taxa; perhaps due to the fairly small catchment area of the reservoir and the highly regulated discharge at Igarapava Dam. ?? 2009 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Effects of groundwater withdrawals from the Hurricane Fault zone on discharge of saline water from Pah Tempe Springs, Washington County, Utah

Science.gov (United States)

Gardner, Philip M.

2018-04-10

Pah Tempe Springs, located in Washington County, Utah, contribute about 95,000 tons of dissolved solids annually along a 1,500-foot gaining reach of the Virgin River. The river gains more than 10 cubic feet per second along the reach as thermal, saline springwater discharges from dozens of orifices located along the riverbed and above the river on both banks. The spring complex discharges from fractured Permian Toroweap Limestone where the river crosses the north-south trending Hurricane Fault. The Bureau of Reclamation Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program is evaluating the feasibility of capturing and desalinizing the discharge of Pah Tempe Springs to improve downstream water quality in the Virgin River. The most viable plan, identified by the Bureau of Reclamation in early studies, is to capture spring discharge by pumping thermal groundwater from within the Hurricane Fault footwall damage zone and to treat this water prior to returning it to the river.Three multiple-day interference tests were conducted between November 2013 and November 2014, wherein thermal groundwater was pumped from fractured carbonate rock in the fault damage zone at rates of up to 7 cubic feet per second. Pumping periods for these tests lasted approximately 66, 74, and 67 hours, respectively, and the tests occurred with controlled streamflows of approximately 2.0, 3.5, and 24.5 cubic feet per second, respectively, in the Virgin River upstream from the springs reach. Specific conductance, water temperature, and discharge were monitored continuously in the river (upstream and downstream of the springs reach) at selected individual springs, and in the pumping discharge during each of the tests. Water levels were monitored in three observation wells screened in the thermal system. Periodic stream and groundwater samples were analyzed for dissolved-solids concentration and the stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen. Additional discrete measurements of field parameters (specific

Concentration of elements in suspended matter discharges to Lerma River, Mexico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Avila-Perez, P.; Tejeda, S.; Carapia, L.; Barcelo-Quintal, I.; Martinez, T.

2011-01-01

The S, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn and Pb concentration and the elemental composition of particles in suspended matter from principal discharges to Lerma River, have been evaluated. The elemental concentration in suspended matter has been obtained by Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry. The elemental composition of particles has been obtained by means of Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometry (EDS). The results show that K, Ca, Ti, Mn and Fe are mainly from natural origin in the Upper Course of the Lerma River (UCLR), where the principal contributions probably come from dragging of soils and sediments in the rainy season and Cr, Cu, Zn and Pb are mainly from anthropogenic origin where the principal contributions come from urban and industrial untreated discharge. The application of Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometry plus Scanning Electron Microscopy is useful in the characterization of suspended matter in natural, anthropogenic and mixed water discharges. (author)

Climate Change on Discharge and Sedimentation of River Awara, Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Philipa O. Idogho

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The dynamics of variation in effect of climate change on discharges and sedimentation mechanism of River Awara is investigated using 14-year data of rainfall (mm, discharges (m 3 /s, temperature ( 0 c and sediment load (t. Surface runoff (mm was computed using Water Balance Equation and some other empirical iteration based on the observed rainfall and temperature over a period of time. Analysis of Paired Sample reveals the relationship between tested hydrological variables: Rainfall-Runoff; Runoff-Sediment load; and DischargeSediment load are significant at 0.95 level of confidence interval. Logarithm calibration curve further illustrates that Rainfall-Runoff and Runoff-Sediment have coefficient values (R 2 of 0.996 and 0.822 respectively. Analytical iteration shows that the intensity and duration of precipitation determine the magnitude of river, generation of surface runoff and sedimentation rate. Increase in rainfall depth by 100 mm within the 14-year has resulted to serious erodobility and erositivity around River Awara. Cumulative average sediment load ratio of 0.46 has significantly reduced the reservoir capacity of the river by 10%. 78% of total annual surface runoff is lost to ocean; since reservoir capacity has been silted up which in turns reduces the volume of water that could be held for storage, treatment and distribution for its intended purposes. Comparative physics-based output indicates that temperature increase of 0.7 0 c between 1997 and 2004, due to internal processes of the Earth and some human activities. It is however projected that temperature will rise by 0.9 0 c by the end of 2015. Projected rise in temperature will adversely affect hydrological cycle and complicate already scarce-water resources due to intensive evapotranspiration, infiltration and reduction in stream flow. Holistic integration using bottom-up mechanism needs to be applied to address this constraint. Dredging of river Awara is very important to enhance

Proglacial river stage, discharge, and temperature datasets from the Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua River northern tributary, Southwest Greenland, 2008–2011

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. K. Rennermalm

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Pressing scientific questions concerning the Greenland ice sheet's climatic sensitivity, hydrology, and contributions to current and future sea level rise require hydrological datasets to resolve. While direct observations of ice sheet meltwater losses can be obtained in terrestrial rivers draining the ice sheet and from lake levels, few such datasets exist. We present a new hydrologic dataset from previously unmonitored sites in the vicinity of Kangerlussuaq, Southwest Greenland. This dataset contains measurements of river stage and discharge for three sites along the Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua (Watson River's northern tributary, with 30 min temporal resolution between June 2008 and July 2011. Additional data of water temperature, air pressure, and lake stage are also provided. Flow velocity and depth measurements were collected at sites with incised bedrock or structurally reinforced channels to maximize data quality. However, like most proglacial rivers, high turbulence and bedload transport introduce considerable uncertainty to the derived discharge estimates. Eleven propagating error sources were quantified, and reveal that largest uncertainties are associated with flow depth observations. Mean discharge uncertainties (approximately the 68% confidence interval are two to four times larger (±19% to ±43% than previously published estimates for Greenland rivers. Despite these uncertainties, this dataset offers a rare collection of direct measurements of ice sheet runoff to the global ocean and is freely available for scientific use at http://dx.doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.762818.

Environmental characterization to assess potential impacts of thermal discharge to the Columbia River

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neitzel, D.A.; Dauble, D.D.; Page, T.L.; Greager, E.M.

1990-01-01

Laboratory and field studies were conducted to assess the potential impact of the N-Reactor thermal plume on fish from the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River. Discharge water temperatures were measured over a range of river flows and reactor operating conditions. Data were mathematically modeled to define spatial and thermal characteristics of the plume. Four species of Columbia River fish were exposed to thermal conditions expected in the plume. Exposed fish were subjected to predators and disease organisms to test for secondary effects from thermal stress. Spatial and temporal distribution of anadromous fish in the river near N-Reactor were also evaluated to define location relative to the plume. Potential thermal exposures were insufficient to kill or injure fish during operation of N-Reactor. These studies demonstrate that characterization of hydrological conditions and thermal tolerance can adequately assess potential impacts of a thermal discharge to fish

Methods to estimate annual mean spring discharge to the Snake River between Milner Dam and King Hill, Idaho

Science.gov (United States)

Kjelstrom, L.C.

1995-01-01

Many individual springs and groups of springs discharge water from volcanic rocks that form the north canyon wall of the Snake River between Milner Dam and King Hill. Previous estimates of annual mean discharge from these springs have been used to understand the hydrology of the eastern part of the Snake River Plain. Four methods that were used in previous studies or developed to estimate annual mean discharge since 1902 were (1) water-budget analysis of the Snake River; (2) correlation of water-budget estimates with discharge from 10 index springs; (3) determination of the combined discharge from individual springs or groups of springs by using annual discharge measurements of 8 springs, gaging-station records of 4 springs and 3 sites on the Malad River, and regression equations developed from 5 of the measured springs; and (4) a single regression equation that correlates gaging-station records of 2 springs with historical water-budget estimates. Comparisons made among the four methods of estimating annual mean spring discharges from 1951 to 1959 and 1963 to 1980 indicated that differences were about equivalent to a measurement error of 2 to 3 percent. The method that best demonstrates the response of annual mean spring discharge to changes in ground-water recharge and discharge is method 3, which combines the measurements and regression estimates of discharge from individual springs.

Analysis of Runoff due to The Change in Land Use at The Watershed of Upstream Ciliwung

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dwi Indriastuti

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Climate change has triggered extreme climate such as rising temperature, high rainfall intensity, rising sea water level, drought, and others (Thuc, 2014. Challenges of sustainable development are increases in various disasters, climate change and global crisis such as land use change, soil quality degradation, limited water and mineral, environmental pollution, and decreasing in biodiversity. The cause of flooding in Jakarta is due to the overflow of Ciliwung River. The changes of land use greatly affect Ciliwung River flow. Land degradation in upstream of Ciliwung watershed (Puncak area has triggered new problem, annual flooding, especially in downstream area. The change of surface which cannot accommodate water, increasing runoff, moreover, the change of land condition which easily saturated, greatly affected the runoff conditions in Ciliwung watershed. This research using HEC-HMS software in order to know how the land uses changes and rainfall intensity affected the runoff. By using land use maps in 2000, 2005, 2010, and rainfall data in 5 (five rainfall station near location from 1996 to 2013, it can be known how the runoff changes. Parameter calibration is done with measured discharge in Katulampa weir for each occurrence. The parameter value used in simulation later is the real value approach. Simulation by HEC HMS using CN of Spatial Planning in Ciliwung upstream area and rainfall 25 years return period gives that the highest discharge is 226.25 m3/second and water level reaches to 317 cm. If included into the alert in Katulampa weir, then the condition faces to Alert 1 for during ±6 hours.

Discharge measurements of the River Rufiji (Tanzania) using artificial tritium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dincer, T.; Florkowski, T.; Salamba, S.

1984-01-01

The use of chemical or radioactive tracers for measuring stream flow is now the established method for discharges up to about 200 m 3 /s. For larger flows and higher suspended load the chemical tracers and also gamma-emitting radioactive tracers become cumbersome if not impossible to use when good accuracy is required. Tritiated water proved to be a good and safe tracer, provided care is taken in handling (no contamination of samples) and the experiments are adequately planned (good estimation of mixing lengths, water velocity and sampling duration). The paper describes discharge measurements performed in 1982 and 1983 in the river Rufiji (Tanzania). Flow rates up to 2000 m 3 /s have been measured, with estimated errors varying between 2 and 4%. Because of high river turbulence in the measurement section, good mixing has been observed over a distance of 7 km (this is much shorter than the distance recommended by various formulae for calculating the mixing length). The problem of selecting the mixing length is discussed and recommendations are given for planning future experiments. Sample contamination as experienced during the first phase of measurements in the river Rufiji is also treated. It is concluded that, technically and economically, the tritium tracer method is feasible for calibrating rating curves (water stage/flow relationship) in turbulent large rivers, also in remote areas. (author)

Sources of plutonium to the great Miami River

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bartelt, G.E.; Kennedy, C.W.; Bobula, C.M. III.

1978-01-01

Progress is reported in the study of 238 Pu, in the Great Miami River watershed the contribution of various sources to the total 238 Pu transported by the river. Periodic discharges of industrial wastewater from Mound Laboratory from 1973 to 1975 have released approximately 20 mCi of 238 Pu each year to the Great Miami River. Changes in the wastewater treatment system in 1976 have reduced the annual discharge to less than 3 mCi/year. However, despite this sevenfold reduction of plutonium in the wastewater discharge, the annual flux of 238 Pu down the river has remained relatively constant and is approximately 10 times greater than can be accounted for by the reported effluent discharges. Therefore, other sources of the 238 Pu in the Great Miami River exist. A second possible source of plutonium is the resuspension of sediments enriched by earlier waste water releases and deposited in the river. However, since there appear to be few areas where large accumulations of sediment could occur, it seems improbable that resuspension of earlier sediment deposits would continue to be a significant contributor to the annual flux of plutonium. A much more likely source is the continuing erosion of soil from a canal and stream system contaminated with approx. 5 Ci of 238 Pu, 7 which connects directly to the river 6.9 km upstream from Franklin. Results from samples analyzed in 1978 show the average concentration of 238 Pu in suspended sediments from the canal to be approximately 10 3 times greater than suspended sediment concentrations in the river and waste water effluent.Thus the main contributor to the total amount of plutonium transported by the Great Miami River appears to be highly enriched sediment from the canal, which is eroded into the river where it is then diluted by uncontaminated sediments

Revising time series of the Elbe river discharge for flood frequency determination at gauge Dresden

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Bartl

2009-11-01

Full Text Available The German research programme RIsk MAnagment of eXtreme flood events has accomplished the improvement of regional hazard assessment for the large rivers in Germany. Here we focused on the Elbe river at its gauge Dresden, which belongs to the oldest gauges in Europe with officially available daily discharge time series beginning on 1 January 1890. The project on the one hand aimed to extend and to revise the existing time series, and on the other hand to examine the variability of the Elbe river discharge conditions on a greater time scale. Therefore one major task were the historical searches and the examination of the retrieved documents and the contained information. After analysing this information the development of the river course and the discharge conditions were discussed. Using the provided knowledge, in an other subproject, a historical hydraulic model was established. Its results then again were used here. A further purpose was the determining of flood frequency based on all pre-processed data. The obtained knowledge about historical changes was also used to get an idea about possible future variations under climate change conditions. Especially variations in the runoff characteristic of the Elbe river over the course of the year were analysed. It succeeded to obtain a much longer discharge time series which contain fewer errors and uncertainties. Hence an optimized regional hazard assessment was realised.

Revising time series of the Elbe river discharge for flood frequency determination at gauge Dresden

Science.gov (United States)

Bartl, S.; Schümberg, S.; Deutsch, M.

2009-11-01

The German research programme RIsk MAnagment of eXtreme flood events has accomplished the improvement of regional hazard assessment for the large rivers in Germany. Here we focused on the Elbe river at its gauge Dresden, which belongs to the oldest gauges in Europe with officially available daily discharge time series beginning on 1 January 1890. The project on the one hand aimed to extend and to revise the existing time series, and on the other hand to examine the variability of the Elbe river discharge conditions on a greater time scale. Therefore one major task were the historical searches and the examination of the retrieved documents and the contained information. After analysing this information the development of the river course and the discharge conditions were discussed. Using the provided knowledge, in an other subproject, a historical hydraulic model was established. Its results then again were used here. A further purpose was the determining of flood frequency based on all pre-processed data. The obtained knowledge about historical changes was also used to get an idea about possible future variations under climate change conditions. Especially variations in the runoff characteristic of the Elbe river over the course of the year were analysed. It succeeded to obtain a much longer discharge time series which contain fewer errors and uncertainties. Hence an optimized regional hazard assessment was realised.

Hydrosalinity studies of the Virgin River, Dixie Hot Springs, and Littlefield Springs, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada

Science.gov (United States)

Gerner, Steven J.; Thiros, Susan A.; Gerner, Steven J.; Thiros, Susan A.

2014-01-01

The Virgin River contributes a substantial amount of dissolved solids (salt) to the Colorado River at Lake Mead in the lower Colorado River Basin. Degradation of Colorado River water by the addition of dissolved solids from the Virgin River affects the suitability of the water for municipal, industrial, and agricultural use within the basin. Dixie Hot Springs in Utah are a major localized source of dissolved solids discharging to the Virgin River. The average measured discharge from Dixie Hot Springs during 2009–10 was 11.0 cubic feet per second (ft3/s), and the average dissolved-solids concentration was 9,220 milligrams per liter (mg/L). The average dissolved-solids load—a measurement that describes the mass of salt that is transported per unit of time—from Dixie Hot Springs during this period was 96,200 tons per year (ton/yr). Annual dissolved-solids loads were estimated at 13 monitoring sites in the Virgin River Basin from streamflow data and discrete measurements of dissolved-solids concentrations and (or) specific conductance. Eight of the sites had the data needed to estimate annual dissolved-solids loads for water years (WYs) 1999 through 2010. During 1999–2010, the smallest dissolved-solids loads in the Virgin River were upstream of Dixie Hot Springs (59,900 ton/yr, on average) and the largest loads were downstream of Littlefield Springs (298,200 ton/yr, on average). Annual dissolved-solids loads were smallest during 2002–03, which was a period of below normal precipitation. Annual dissolved-solids loads were largest during 2005—a year that included a winter rain storm that resulted in flooding throughout much of the Virgin River Basin. An average seepage loss of 26.7 ft3/s was calculated from analysis of monthly average streamflow from July 1998 to September 2010 in the Virgin River for the reach that extends from just upstream of the Utah/Arizona State line to just above the Virgin River Gorge Narrows. Seepage losses from three river reaches

Runoff, discharge and flood occurrence in a poorly gauged tropical basin : the Mahakam River, Kalimantan

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hidayat, H.

2013-01-01

Tidal rivers and lowland wetlands present a transition region where the interests of hydrologists and physical oceanographers overlap. Physical oceanographers tend to simplify river hydrology, by often assuming a constant river discharge when studying estuarine dynamics. Hydrologists, in turn,

Spatial distribution of uranium in Subarnarekha river and its correlation with industrial activities in its coast

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sahoo, S.K.; Lenka, P.; Gupta, Anil; Patra, A.C.; Ravi, P.M.; Jha, S.K.; Tripathi, R.M.; Jha, V.N.; Kumar, Rajesh; Sethy, N.K.

2018-01-01

Subamarekha river is one of the major river flowing in the states of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha. It originates from the Piskanagri, in the outskirt of Ranchi city, Jharkhand and finally discharges to Bay of Bengal at Chandrabali, Balasore, Odisha. The river is a perennial one that has flowing water all over year. Uranium is present in groundwater and surface water naturally and the anthropogenic activities may enhance the levels. The treated liquid effluents are discharged in the river from many industries including uranium mining industry in the state of Jharkhand. The uranium mining industry in the Jaduguda region of Singhbhum east district of Jharkand process the liquid effluent for removal of natural radionuclides and chemicals and monitor to conform the regulatory limits before discharging to the local streams which finally discharges to Subamarekha river. The uranium mining activities in the region are for the last five decades and regularly the river water was analysed to check the levels of uranium and its series radionuclides. In the present study, an attempt has been made to analyse the river water from its origin to estuary and compare the uranium level in upstream and downstream of the river with respect to uranium mining activities in Jaduguda region

Anthropogenic Phosphorus Inputs to a River Basin and Their Impacts on Phosphorus Fluxes Along Its Upstream-Downstream Continuum

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Wangshou; Swaney, Dennis P.; Hong, Bongghi; Howarth, Robert W.

2017-12-01

The increasing trend in riverine phosphorus (P) loads resulting from anthropogenic inputs has gained wide attention because of the well-known role of P in eutrophication. So far, however, there is still limited scientific understanding of anthropogenic P inputs and their impacts on riverine flux in river reaches along the upstream-to-downstream continuum. Here we investigated P budgets in a series of nested watersheds draining into Hongze Lake of China and developed an empirical function to describe the relationship between anthropogenic inputs and riverine P fluxes. Our results indicated that there are obvious gradients regarding P budgets in response to changes in human activities. Fertilizer application and food and feed P import was always the dominant source of P inputs in all sections, followed by nonfood P. Further interpretation using the model revealed the processes of P loading to the lake. About 2%-9% of anthropogenic P inputs are transported from the various sections into the corresponding tributaries of the river systems, depending upon local precipitation rates. Of this amount, around 41%-95% is delivered to the main stem of the Huai River after in-stream attenuation in its tributaries. Ultimately, 55%-86% of the P loads delivered to different locations of the main stem are transported into the receiving lake of the downstream, due to additional losses in the main stem. An integrated P management strategy that considers the gradients of P loss along the upstream-to-downstream continuum is required to assess and optimize P management to protect the region's freshwater resource.

Impacts and Policy Implications of Metals Effluent Discharge into Rivers within Industrial Zones: A Sub-Saharan Perspective from Ethiopia

Science.gov (United States)

Zinabu, E.; Kelderman, P.; van der Kwast, J.; Irvine, K.

2018-04-01

Kombolcha, a city in Ethiopia, exemplifies the challenges and problems of the sub-Saharan countries where industrialization is growing fast but monitoring resources are poor and information on pollution unknown. This study monitored metals Cr, Cu, Zn, and Pb concentrations in five factories' effluents, and in the effluent mixing zones of two rivers receiving discharges during the rainy seasons of 2013 and 2014. The results indicate that median concentrations of Cr in the tannery effluents and Zn in the steel processing effluents were as high as 26,600 and 155,750 µg/L, respectively, much exceeding both the USEPA and Ethiopian emission guidelines. Cu concentrations were low in all effluents. Pb concentrations were high in the tannery effluent, but did not exceed emission guidelines. As expected, no metal emission guidelines were exceeded for the brewery, textile and meat processing effluents. Median Cr and Zn concentrations in the Leyole river in the effluent mixing zones downstream of the tannery and steel processing plant increased by factors of 52 (2660 compared with 51 µg Cr/L) and 5 (520 compared with 110 µg Zn/L), respectively, compared with stations further upstream. This poses substantial ecological risks downstream. Comparison with emission guidelines indicates poor environmental management by industries and regulating institutions. Despite appropriate legislation, no clear measures have yet been taken to control industrial discharges, with apparent mismatch between environmental enforcement and investment policies. Effluent management, treatment technologies and operational capacity of environmental institutions were identified as key improvement areas to adopt progressive sustainable development.

Instream biological assessment of NPDES point source discharges at the Savannah River Site, 1997-1998

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Specht, W.L.

2000-01-01

The Savannah River Site currently has 33 permitted NPDES outfalls that have been permitted by the South Carolina Department of Health an Environmental Control to discharge to SRS streams and the Savannah River. In order to determine the cumulative impacts of these discharges to the receiving streams, a study plan was developed to perform in-stream assessments of the fish assemblages, macroinvertebrate assemblages, and habitats of the receiving streams

Instream biological assessment of NPDES point source discharges at the Savannah River Site, 1997-1998

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Specht, W.L.

2000-02-28

The Savannah River Site currently has 33 permitted NPDES outfalls that have been permitted by the South Carolina Department of Health an Environmental Control to discharge to SRS streams and the Savannah River. In order to determine the cumulative impacts of these discharges to the receiving streams, a study plan was developed to perform in-stream assessments of the fish assemblages, macroinvertebrate assemblages, and habitats of the receiving streams.

Occurrence and persistence of antibiotic resistance genes in river biofilms after wastewater inputs in small rivers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Proia, Lorenzo; Schiller, Daniel von; Sànchez-Melsió, Alexandre; Sabater, Sergi; Borrego, Carles M.; Rodríguez-Mozaz, Sara; Balcázar, José Luis

2016-01-01

The extensive use of antibiotics in human and veterinary medicine and their subsequent release into the environment may have direct consequences for autochthonous bacterial communities, especially in freshwater ecosystems. In small streams and rivers, local inputs of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) may become important sources of organic matter, nutrients and emerging pollutants, such as antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). In this study, we evaluated the effect of WWTP effluents as a source of ARGs in river biofilms. The prevalence of genes conferring resistance to main antibiotic families, such as beta-lactams (bla_C_T_X_-_M), fluoroquinolones (qnrS), sulfonamides (sul I), and macrolides (ermB), was determined using quantitative PCR (qPCR) in biofilm samples collected upstream and downstream WWTPs discharge points in four low-order streams. Our results showed that the WWTP effluents strongly modified the hydrology, physico-chemistry and biological characteristics of the receiving streams and favoured the persistence and spread of antibiotic resistance in microbial benthic communities. It was also shown that the magnitude of effects depended on the relative contribution of each WWTP to the receiving system. Specifically, low concentrations of ARGs were detected at sites located upstream of the WWTPs, while a significant increase of their concentrations was observed in biofilms collected downstream of the WWTP discharge points (particularly ermB and sul I genes). These findings suggest that WWTP discharges may favour the increase and spread of antibiotic resistance among streambed biofilms. The present study also showed that the presence of ARGs in biofilms was noticeable far downstream of the WWTP discharge (up to 1 km). It is therefore reasonable to assume that biofilms may represent an ideal setting for the acquisition and spread of antibiotic resistance determinants and thus be considered suitable biological indicators of anthropogenic pollution by active

A Physico-Chemical water quality and Microbial content Analysis in Upstream of Langat River, Selangor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muhammad Barzani Gasim; Nazirah Zakaria; Roslan Umar; Roslan Umar; Ahmad Dasuki Mustafa

2015-01-01

Water quality study of the selected physico-chemical and microbial parameters of the Langat River were carried out to determine and classified their values. Sampling was carried out twice; first on 9 June 2011 and the second was on 22 February 2012. The sampling site consist of seven stations; five stations representing for Langat River branches while two stations are located in Langat River. The in-situ measurements are: dissolved oxygen, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, pH and temperature were performed using YSI 556 multiparameter, while the laboratory analysis were based on HACH and APHA methods. Result shows; temperature (23.4 - 27.7 degree Celsius), pH (5.07 to 6.15), EC (29.3 . 61.5 μS/ cm), TDS (19.7 - 47.0 mg/L), DO (3.68 - 5.72 mg/L), BOD (1.29 - 3.76 mg/L), COD (13.5 - 77.85 mg/L), TSS (9.5 - 86.5 mg/L), NH_3N (0.15 - 0.79 mg/L), NO_3 (0.8 - 4.9 mg/L), PO_4"3"- (0.15 - 0.7 mg/L), SO_4"2"- (0.5 - 12.5 mg/L) and biological parameters of faecal coliform (2.58 x 10"4 - 4.74 x 10"6 cfu/ 100 ml). Based on water quality index and the National Water Quality Standards classifications, they belong to the class I, II, III and V. One-way ANOVA for repeated measures and Pearson correlation test been used. The overall results showed the selected rivers in upstream of Langat River were classified as moderately polluted. (author)

Estimating Total Discharge in the Yangtze River Basin Using Satellite-Based Observations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samuel A. Andam‑Akorful

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The measurement of total basin discharge along coastal regions is necessary for understanding the hydrological and oceanographic issues related to the water and energy cycles. However, only the observed streamflow (gauge-based observation is used to estimate the total fluxes from the river basin to the ocean, neglecting the portion of discharge that infiltrates to underground and directly discharges into the ocean. Hence, the aim of this study is to assess the total discharge of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang basin. In this study, we explore the potential response of total discharge to changes in precipitation (from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission—TRMM, evaporation (from four versions of the Global Land Data Assimilation—GLDAS, namely, CLM, Mosaic, Noah and VIC, and water-storage changes (from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment—GRACE by using the terrestrial water budget method. This method has been validated by comparison with the observed streamflow, and shows an agreement with a root mean square error (RMSE of 14.30 mm/month for GRACE-based discharge and 20.98 mm/month for that derived from precipitation minus evaporation (P − E. This improvement of approximately 32% indicates that monthly terrestrial water-storage changes, as estimated by GRACE, cannot be considered negligible over Yangtze basin. The results for the proposed method are more accurate than the results previously reported in the literature.

Results of investigating the macroinvertebrate community of the Danube River on the sector upstream from the Iron Gate (km 1083-1071

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paunović Momir M.

2005-01-01

Full Text Available The present work cites results of investigating aquatic macroinvertebrates of the Danube River on the sector upstream from the Iron Gate (KM 1083-1071. The investigated part is interesting from the hydrobiological standpoint above all due to differences of faunal composition in relation to higher sections that could be expected in view of differences in overall characteristics of the river. A rich macroinvertebrate community (84 taxa was observed. The diversity of taxa is primarily a result of habitat diversity within the given stretch. Oligochaeta and Mollusca were the principal components.

Simulation of relationship between river discharge and sediment yield in the semi-arid river watersheds

Science.gov (United States)

Khaleghi, Mohammad Reza; Varvani, Javad

2018-02-01

Complex and variable nature of the river sediment yield caused many problems in estimating the long-term sediment yield and problems input into the reservoirs. Sediment Rating Curves (SRCs) are generally used to estimate the suspended sediment load of the rivers and drainage watersheds. Since the regression equations of the SRCs are obtained by logarithmic retransformation and have a little independent variable in this equation, they also overestimate or underestimate the true sediment load of the rivers. To evaluate the bias correction factors in Kalshor and Kashafroud watersheds, seven hydrometric stations of this region with suitable upstream watershed and spatial distribution were selected. Investigation of the accuracy index (ratio of estimated sediment yield to observed sediment yield) and the precision index of different bias correction factors of FAO, Quasi-Maximum Likelihood Estimator (QMLE), Smearing, and Minimum-Variance Unbiased Estimator (MVUE) with LSD test showed that FAO coefficient increases the estimated error in all of the stations. Application of MVUE in linear and mean load rating curves has not statistically meaningful effects. QMLE and smearing factors increased the estimated error in mean load rating curve, but that does not have any effect on linear rating curve estimation.

Metal discharges by Sinaloa Rivers to the coastal zone of NW Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Frías-Espericueta, M G; Mejía-Cruz, R; Osuna López, I; Muy-Rangel, M D; Rubio-Carrasco, W; Aguilar-Juárez, M; Voltolina, D

2014-02-01

The aim of this work was to survey the discharges of dissolved and particulate Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn of the eight main rivers of Sinaloa State to the Mexican coastal environment. Zn was the most abundant dissolved metal and Fe was the most abundant particulate (8.02-16.90 and 51.8-1,140.3 μg/L, respectively). Only particulate Mn had significantly (p = 0.028) higher values in summer-fall (rainy season), whereas the significantly (p = 0.036) higher values of dissolved Zn were observed in winter and spring. The highest annual total discharges to Sinaloa coastal waters were those of the rivers San Lorenzo and Piaxtla (>2 × 10(3) m.t.) and the lowest those of rivers Baluarte and El Fuerte (349 and 119 m.t., respectively). Pb concentrations may become of concern, because they are higher than the value recommended for the welfare of aquatic communities of natural waters.

Small river plumes off the northeastern coast of the Black Sea under average climatic and flooding discharge conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Osadchiev, Alexander; Korshenko, Evgeniya

2017-06-01

This study focuses on the impact of discharges of small rivers on the delivery and fate of fluvial water and suspended matter at the northeastern part of the Black Sea under different local precipitation conditions. Several dozens of mountainous rivers flow into the sea at the study region, and most of them, except for several of the largest, have little annual runoff and affect adjacent coastal waters to a limited extent under average climatic conditions. However, the discharges of these small rivers are characterized by a quick response to precipitation events and can significantly increase during and shortly after heavy rains, which are frequent in the considered area. The delivery and fate of fluvial water and terrigenous sediments at the study region, under average climatic and rain-induced flooding conditions, were explored and compared using in situ data, satellite imagery, and numerical modeling. It was shown that the point-source spread of continental discharge dominated by several large rivers under average climatic conditions can change to the line-source discharge from numerous small rivers situated along the coast in response to heavy rains. The intense line-source runoff of water and suspended sediments forms a geostrophic alongshore current of turbid and freshened water, which induces the intense transport of suspended and dissolved constituents discharged with river waters in a northwestern direction. This process significantly influences water quality and causes active sediment load at large segments of the narrow shelf at the northeastern part of the Black Sea compared to average climatic discharge conditions.

Small river plumes off the northeastern coast of the Black Sea under average climatic and flooding discharge conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Osadchiev

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This study focuses on the impact of discharges of small rivers on the delivery and fate of fluvial water and suspended matter at the northeastern part of the Black Sea under different local precipitation conditions. Several dozens of mountainous rivers flow into the sea at the study region, and most of them, except for several of the largest, have little annual runoff and affect adjacent coastal waters to a limited extent under average climatic conditions. However, the discharges of these small rivers are characterized by a quick response to precipitation events and can significantly increase during and shortly after heavy rains, which are frequent in the considered area. The delivery and fate of fluvial water and terrigenous sediments at the study region, under average climatic and rain-induced flooding conditions, were explored and compared using in situ data, satellite imagery, and numerical modeling. It was shown that the point-source spread of continental discharge dominated by several large rivers under average climatic conditions can change to the line-source discharge from numerous small rivers situated along the coast in response to heavy rains. The intense line-source runoff of water and suspended sediments forms a geostrophic alongshore current of turbid and freshened water, which induces the intense transport of suspended and dissolved constituents discharged with river waters in a northwestern direction. This process significantly influences water quality and causes active sediment load at large segments of the narrow shelf at the northeastern part of the Black Sea compared to average climatic discharge conditions.

Use of an ADCP to compute suspended-sediment discharge in the tidal Hudson River, New York

Science.gov (United States)

Wall, Gary R.; Nystrom, Elizabeth A.; Litten, Simon

2006-01-01

Acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) can provide data needed for computation of suspended-sediment discharge in complex river systems, such as tidal rivers, in which conventional methods of collecting time-series data on suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) and water discharge are not feasible. Although ADCPs are not designed to measure SSC, ADCP data can be used as a surrogate under certain environmental conditions. However, the software for such computation is limited, and considerable post-processing is needed to correct and normalize ADCP data for this use. This report documents the sampling design and computational procedure used to calibrate ADCP measures of echo intensity to SSC and water velocity to discharge in the computation of suspended-sediment discharge at the study site on the Hudson River near Poughkeepsie, New York. The methods and procedures described may prove useful to others doing similar work in different locations; however, they are specific to this study site and may have limited applicability elsewhere.

Sediment Transport Over Run-of-River Dams

Science.gov (United States)

O'Brien, M.; Magilligan, F. J.; Renshaw, C. E.

2016-12-01

Dams have numerous documented effects that can degrade river habitat downstream. One significant effect of large dams is their ability to trap sediment delivered from upstream. This trapping can alter sediment transport and grain size downstream - effects that often motivate dam removal decisions. However, recent indirect observations and modeling studies indicate that small, run-of-river (ROR) dams, which do not impede discharge, may actually leak sediment downstream. However, there are no direct measurements of sediment flux over ROR dams. This study investigates flow and sediment transport over four to six different New England ROR dams over a summer-fall field season. Sediment flux was measured using turbidity meters and tracer (RFID) cobbles. Sediment transport was also monitored through an undammed control site and through a river where two ROR dams were recently removed. These data were used to predict the conditions that contribute to sediment transport and trapping. Year 1 data show that tracer rocks of up to 61 mm were transported over a 3 m ROR dam in peak flows of 84% of bankfull stage. These tracer rocks were transported over and 10 m beyond the dam and continue to move downstream. During the same event, comparable suspended sediment fluxes of up to 81 g/s were recorded both upstream and downstream of the dam at near-synchronous timestamps. These results demonstrate the potential for sediment transport through dammed rivers, even in discharge events that do not exceed bankfull. This research elucidates the effects of ROR dams and the controls on sediment transport and trapping, contributions that may aid in dam management decisions.

Examination of Direct Discharge Measurement Data and Historic Daily Data for Selected Gages on the Middle Mississippi River, 1861-2008

Science.gov (United States)

Huizinga, Richard J.

2009-01-01

measurement location from the Municipal/MacArthur Bridge to the Poplar Street Bridge in 1968. The average bed elevation appeared to be lowering with time at both measurement locations at St. Louis. Flow in the Horse Island Chute overflow channel for the streamgage at Chester, Illinois had an effect on top width and average velocity from measurements, and this effect changed with time as the inflow channel to Horse Island Chute filled with sediment. Top width from measurements at a given discharge was consistent through time at the Chester streamgage when adjusted to remove the part of the flow through Horse Island Chute. Average velocity from measurements at a given discharge appears to be increasing with time, possibly as a result of a series of dikes built or extended in the channel immediately upstream from the Chester streamgage; however, the average bed elevation for all discharges less than bankfull at the Chester streamgage fluctuate around an average value from 1948 to 2000, and the fluctuations appear to be related to the occurrence of moderate and large floods. Daily stage and discharge values available for the streamgage at St. Louis, Missouri, from 1861 to 1932 display distinct, fixed relations that change slightly with time before operation by the U.S. Geological Survey, indicating daily discharge was obtained from the daily stage value during this timeframe. A sudden and substantial reduction of about 24 percent at the upper end of the ratings for discharge at a given stage occurred between 1932 and 1933 when the U.S. Geological Survey began operating the streamgage. This change likely is the result of the change to Price AA current meters from other, less-accurate methods used for discharge measurements before 1933. Based on modeling results for the Middle Mississippi River by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the findings of this study, the accuracy of the historic record before 1933 is questionable, and needs to be examined further. The differ

Satellite remote sensing of river inundation area, stage, and discharge: a review

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Laurence C.

1997-08-01

The growing availability of multi-temporal satellite data has increased opportunities for monitoring large rivers from space. A variety of passive and active sensors operating in the visible and microwave range are currently operating, or planned, which can estimate inundation area and delineate flood boundaries. Radar altimeters show great promise for directly measuring stage variation in large rivers. It also appears to be possible to obtain estimates of river discharge from space, using ground measurements and satellite data to construct empirical curves that relate water surface area to discharge. Extrapolation of these curves to ungauged sites may be possible for the special case of braided rivers.Where clouds, trees and floating vegetation do not obscure the water surface, high-resolution visible/infrared sensors provide good delineation of inundated areas. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors can penetrate clouds and can also detect standing water through emergent aquatic plants and forest canopies. However, multiple frequencies and polarizations are required for optimal discrimination of various inundated vegetation cover types. Existing single-polarization, fixed-frequency SARs are not sufficient for mapping inundation area in all riverine environments. In the absence of a space-borne multi-parameter SAR, a synergistic approach using single-frequency, fixed-polarization SAR and visible/infrared data will provide the best results over densely vegetated river floodplains.

Variation in flow and suspended sediment transport in a montane river affected by hydropeaking and instream mining

Science.gov (United States)

Béjar, M.; Vericat, D.; Batalla, R. J.; Gibbins, C. N.

2018-06-01

The temporal and spatial variability of water and sediment loads of rivers is controlled by a suite of factors whose individual effects are often difficult to disentangle. While land use changes and localised human activities such as instream mining and hydropeaking alter water and sediment transfer, tributaries naturally contribute to discharge and sediment load of mainstem rivers, and so may help compensate upstream anthropogenic factors. The work presented here aimed to assess water and the sediment transfer in a river reach affected by gravel extraction and hydropeaking, set against a backdrop of changes to the supply of water and sediment from tributaries. Discharge and suspended sediment transport were monitored during two average hydrological years at three cross-sections along a 10-km reach of the upper River Cinca, in the Southern Pyrenees. Water and sediment loads differed substantially between the reaches. The upper reach showed a largely torrential discharge regime, controlled mainly by floods, and had high but variable water and sediment loads. The middle reach was influenced markedly by hydropeaking and tributary inflows, which increased its annual water yield four-fold. Suspended sediment load in this reach increased by only 25% compared to upstream, indicating that dilution predominated. In the lowermost section, while discharge remained largely unaltered, sediment load increased appreciably as a result of changes to sediment availability from instream mining and inputs from tributaries. At the reach scale, snowmelt and summer and autumn thunderstorms were responsible for most of the water yield, while flood flows determined the magnitude and transport of the sediment load. The study highlights that a combination of natural and human factors control the spatial and temporal transfer of water and sediment in river channels and that, depending on their geographic location and effect-size, can result in marked variability even over short downstream

Streambed scour of salmon spawning habitat in a regulated river influenced by management of peak discharge

Science.gov (United States)

Gendaszek, Andrew S.; Burton, Karl D.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Konrad, Christopher P.

2017-01-01

In the Pacific Northwest of the United States, salmon eggs incubating within streambed gravels are susceptible to scour during floods. The threat to egg-to-fry survival by streambed scour is mitigated, in part, by the adaptation of salmon to bury their eggs below the typical depth of scour. In regulated rivers globally, we suggest that water managers consider the effect of dam operations on scour and its impacts on species dependent on benthic habitats.We instrumented salmon-spawning habitat with accelerometer scour monitors (ASMs) at 73 locations in 11 reaches of the Cedar River in western Washington State of the United States from Autumn 2013 through the Spring of 2014. The timing of scour was related to the discharge measured at a nearby gage and compared to previously published ASM data at 26 locations in two reaches of the Cedar River collected between Autumn 2010 and Spring 2011.Thirteen percent of the recovered ASMs recorded scour during a peak-discharge event in March 2014 (2-to 3-year recurrence interval) compared to 71% of the recovered ASMs during a higher peak-discharge event in January 2011 (10-year recurrence interval). Of the 23 locations where ASMs recorded scour during the 2011 and 2014 deployments, 35% had scour when the discharge was ≤87.3 m3/s (3,082 ft3/s) (2-year recurrence interval discharge) with 13% recording scour at or below the 62.3 m3/s (2,200 ft3/s) operational threshold for peak-discharge management during the incubation of salmon eggs.Scour to the depth of salmon egg pockets was limited during peak discharges with frequent (1.25-year or less) recurrence intervals, which managers can regulate through dam operations on the Cedar River. Pairing novel measurements of the timing of streambed scour with discharge data allows the development of peak-discharge management strategies that protect salmon eggs incubating within streambed gravels during floods.

Simulation and Modelling of Climate Change Effects on River Awara Flow Discharge using WEAP Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oyati E.N.

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Modelling of stream flow and discharge of river Awara under changed climate conditions using CLIMGEN for stochastic weather generation and WEAP model was used to simulate reserviour storage volume, water demand and river discharges at high spatial resolution (0.5°×0.5°, total 66,420 grid cells. Results of CLM-Based flow measurement shows a linear regression with R 2 = 0.99 for IFPRI-MNP- IGSM_WRS calibration. Sensitivity simulation of ambient long-term shows an increase in temperature with 0.5 o c thus the results of the studies generally show that annual runoff and river discharges could largely decrease. The projection of water demand 150 million m 3 by 2020 against the reservoir storage volume 60 million m 3 and decrease in rainfall depth by -5.7 mm. The output of the combined models used in this study is veritable to create robust water management system under different climate change scenarios.

The constructional design of cooling water discharge structures on German rivers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geldner, P.; Zimmermann, C.

1975-11-01

The present compilation of structures for discharging cooling water from power stations into rivers is an attempt to make evident developments in the constructional design of such structures and to give reasons for special structure shapes. A complete collection of all structures built in Germany, however, is difficult to realize because of the large number of power stations. For conventionally heated power stations therefore only a selection was made, while nuclear power stations in operation or under construction could almost completely be taken into account. For want of sufficient quantities of water for river water cooling, projected power stations are now almost exclusively designed for closed-circuit cooling so that the required discharge structures for elutrition water from the cooling towers as well as for the emergency and secondary cooling circuits have to be designed only for small amounts of water. (orig./HP) [de

Use of tritium to predict soluble pollutants transport in Ebro River waters (Spain).

Science.gov (United States)

Pujol, L; Sanchez-Cabeza, J A

2000-05-01

The Ebro River, in Northeast Spain, discharges into the Mediterranean Sea after flowing through several large cities and agricultural, mining and industrial areas. The Ascó nuclear power plant (NPP) is located in its lower section and comprises two pressurised water reactor units, from which low-level liquid radioactive waste is released to river waters under authority control. Tritium routinely released by the NPP was used as a radiotracer to determine the longitudinal dispersion coefficient and velocity of the river waters. Several field experiments, in co-ordination with the NPP, were carried out during 1991 and 1992. During each field experiment, the flow rate was kept constant by dams located upstream from the NPP. After each tritium release, water was sampled downstream at periodic intervals over several hours and tritium was measured with a low-background liquid scintillation counter. Velocity and dispersion coefficient were determined in river waters for several river discharges using an analytical, box-type and numerical approach to solve the one-dimensional advection-diffusion equation. The set of calibrated parameters was used to predict the displacement and dispersion of soluble pollutants in river waters. Velocity was determined as a function of river discharge and river slope, and dispersion coefficient was determined as a function of distance. Finally, sensitivity of the model predictions was studied and uncertainties of the fitted parameters were estimated.

Use of a Smartphone for Collecting Data on River Discharge and Communication of Flood Risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Pena-Haro, S.; Lüthi, B.; Philippe, T.

2015-12-01

Although many developed countries have well-established systems for river monitoring and flood early warning systems, the population affected in developing countries by flood events is unsettled. Even more, future climate development is likely to increase the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events and therefore bigger impacts on the population can be expected.There are different types of flood forecasting systems, some are based on hydrologic models fed with rainfall predictions and observed river levels. Flood hazard maps are also used to increase preparedness in case of an extreme event, however these maps are static since they do not incorporate daily changing conditions on river stages. However, and especially in developing countries, data on river stages are scarce. Some of the reasons are that traditional fixed monitoring systems do not scale in terms of costs, repair is difficult as well as operation and maintenance, in addition vandalism poses additional challenges. Therefore there is a need of cheaper and easy-to-use systems for collecting information on river stage and discharge. We have developed a mobile device application for determining the water stage and discharge of open-channels (e.g. rivers, artificial channels, irrigation furrows). Via image processing the water level and surface velocity are measured, combining this information with priori knowledge on the channel geometry the discharge is estimated. River stage and discharge measurement via smart phones provides a non-intrusive, accurate and cost-effective monitoring method. No permanent installations, which can be flooded away, are needed. The only requirement is that the field of view contains two reference markers with known scale and with known position relative to the channel geometry, therefore operation and maintenance costs are very low. The other advantage of using smartphones, is that the data collected can be immediately sent via SMS to a central database. This

Impact of climate change and anthropogenic activities on stream flow and sediment discharge in the Wei River basin, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Gao

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Reduced stream flow and increased sediment discharge are a major concern in the Yellow River basin of China, which supplies water for agriculture, industry and the growing populations located along the river. Similar concerns exist in the Wei River basin, which is the largest tributary of the Yellow River basin and comprises the highly eroded Loess Plateau. Better understanding of the drivers of stream flow and sediment discharge dynamics in the Wei River basin is needed for development of effective management strategies for the region and entire Yellow River basin. In this regard we analysed long-term trends for water and sediment discharge during the flood season in the Wei River basin, China. Stream flow and sediment discharge data for 1932 to 2008 from existing hydrological stations located in two subcatchments and at two points in the Wei River were analysed. Precipitation and air temperature data were analysed from corresponding meteorological stations. We identified change-points or transition years for the trends by the Pettitt method and, using double mass curves, we diagnosed whether they were caused by precipitation changes, human intervention, or both. We found significant decreasing trends for stream flow and sediment discharge during the flood season in both subcatchments and in the Wei River itself. Change-point analyses further revealed that transition years existed and that rapid decline in stream flow began in 1968 (P P P P P < 0.05, respectively. The impact of precipitation or human activity on the reduction amount after the transition years was estimated by double mass curves of precipitation vs. stream flow (sediment. For reductions in stream flow and sediment discharge, the contribution rate of human activity was found to be 82.80 and 95.56%, respectively, and was significantly stronger than the contribution rate of precipitation. This evidence clearly suggests that, in the absence of significant decreases in precipitation

Small river plumes near the north-eastern coast of the Black Sea under climatic mean and flooding discharge conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Osadchiev, Alexander; Korshenko, Evgeniya

2017-04-01

The study is focused on the impact of discharge from small rivers on propagation and final location of fluvial waters and suspended matter at the north-eastern part of the Black Sea under different local precipitation conditions. Several dozens of mountainous rivers inflow into the sea at the studied region and most of them, except the several largest of them, have small annual runoff and limitedly affect adjacent coastal waters under climatic mean conditions. However, discharges of these small rivers are characterized by quick response to precipitation events and can dramatically increase during and shortly after heavy rains, which are frequent in the area under consideration. Propagation and final location of fluvial waters and terrigenous sediments at the studied region under climatic mean and rain-induced flooding conditions were explored and compared using in situ data, satellite imagery and numerical modelling. It was shown that the point-source spread of continental discharge dominated by several large rivers during climatic mean conditions can change to the line-source discharge from numerous small rivers situated along the coast in response to heavy rains. Intense line-source runoff of water and suspended sediments form a geostrophic alongshore current of turbid and freshened water, which induces intense transport of suspended and dissolved constituents discharged with river waters in a north-western direction. This process significantly influences water quality and causes active sediment load at large segments of narrow shelf at the north-eastern part of the Black Sea as compared to climatic mean discharge conditions.

Phytoplankton Regulation in a Eutrophic Tidal River (San Joaquin River, California

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alan D. Jassby

2005-03-01

Full Text Available As in many U.S. estuaries, the tidal San Joaquin River exhibits elevated organic matter production that interferes with beneficial uses of the river, including fish spawning and migration. High phytoplankton biomass in the tidal river is consequently a focus of management strategies. An unusually long and comprehensive monitoring dataset enabled identification of the determinants of phytoplankton biomass. Phytoplankton carrying capacity may be set by nitrogen or phosphorus during extreme drought years but, in most years, growth rate is light-limited. The size of the annual phytoplankton bloom depends primarily on river discharge during late spring and early summer, which determines the cumulative light exposure in transit downstream. The biomass-discharge relationship has shifted over the years, for reasons as yet unknown. Water diversions from the tidal San Joaquin River also affect residence time during passage downstream and may have resulted in more than a doubling of peak concentration in some years. Dam construction and accompanying changes in storage-and-release patterns from upstream reservoirs have caused a long-term decrease in the frequency of large blooms since the early 1980s, but projected climate change favors a future increase. Only large decreases in nonpoint nutrient sources will limit phytoplankton biomass reliably. Growth rate and concentration could increase if nonpoint source management decreases mineral suspensoid load but does not decrease nutrient load sufficiently. Small changes in water storage and release patterns due to dam operation have a major influence on peak phytoplankton biomass, and offer a near-term approach for management of nuisance algal blooms.

Continuous measurements of discharge from a horizontal acoustic Doppler current profiler in a tidal river

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoitink, A.J.F.; Buschman, F.A.; Vermeulen, B.

2009-01-01

Acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) can be mounted horizontally at a river bank, yielding single-depth horizontal array observations of velocity across the river. This paper presents a semideterministic, semistochastic method to obtain continuous measurements of discharge from horizontal ADCP

White Sturgeon Mitigation and Restoration in the Columbia and Snake Rivers Upstream from Bonneville Dam; 2000-2001 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kern, J. Chris; Ward, David L.; Farr, Ruth A. (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife)

2002-02-01

We report on our progress from April 2000 through March 2001 on determining the effects of mitigative measures on productivity of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia River downstream from McNary Dam, and on determining the status and habitat requirements of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia and Snake rivers upstream from McNary Dam. The study is a cooperative effort by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW; Report A), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW; Report B), U.S. Geological Survey Biological Resources Division (USGS; Report C), Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC; Report D), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS; Report E), and Oregon State University (OSU; Report F). This is a multi-year study with many objectives requiring more than one year to complete; therefore, findings from a given year may be part of more significant findings yet to be reported. Highlights of results of our work from April 2000 through March 2001 are listed.

White Sturgeon Mitigation and Restoration in the Columbia and Snake Rivers Upstream from Bonneville Dam, 1999-2000 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ward, David L. (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Portland, OR)

2001-04-01

We report on our progress from April 1999 through March 2000 on determining the effects of mitigative measures on productivity of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia River downstream from McNary Dam, and on determining the status and habitat requirements of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia and Snake rivers upstream from McNary Dam. The study is a cooperative effort by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW; Report A), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW; Report B), U.S. Geological Survey Biological Resources Division (USGS; Report C), Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC; Report D), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS; Report E). This is a multi-year study with many objectives requiring more than one year to complete. Therefore, findings from a given year may be part of more significant findings yet to be reported. Highlights of results of our work from April 1999 through March 2000 are given.

White Sturgeon Mitigation and Restoration in the Columbia and Snake Rivers Upstream from Bonneville Dam; 1998-1999 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ward, David L.

2000-12-01

The authors report on their progress from April 1998 through March 1999 on determining the effects of mitigative measures on productivity of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia River downstream from McNary Dam, and on determining the status and habitat requirements of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia and Snake rivers upstream from McNary Dam. The study is a cooperative effort by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW; Report A), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW; Report B), U.S. Geological Survey Biological Resources Division (USGS; Report C), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS; Report D), Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC; Report E), and the University of Idaho (UI; Report F). This is a multi-year study with many objectives requiring more than one year to complete. Therefore, findings from a given year may be part of more significant findings yet to be reported. Highlights of results of our work from April 1998 through March 1999 are given.

Organic carbon, and major and trace element dynamic and fate in a large river subjected to poorly-regulated urban and industrial pressures (Sebou River, Morocco)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hayzoun, H. [Université de Toulon, PROTEE, EA 3819, 83957 La Garde (France); LIMOM, Faculté des Sciences Dhar El Mehraz, Université Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, Dhar El Mehraz B.P. 1796 Atlas, Fès 30000 (Morocco); Garnier, C., E-mail: cgarnier@univ-tln.fr [Université de Toulon, PROTEE, EA 3819, 83957 La Garde (France); Durrieu, G.; Lenoble, V.; Le Poupon, C. [Université de Toulon, PROTEE, EA 3819, 83957 La Garde (France); Angeletti, B. [Centre Européen de Recherche et d' Enseignement de Géosciences de l' Environnement UMR 6635 CNRS — Aix-Marseille Université, FR ECCOREV, Europôle Méditerranéen de l' Arbois, 13545 Aix-en-Provence (France); Ouammou, A. [LIMOM, Faculté des Sciences Dhar El Mehraz, Université Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, Dhar El Mehraz B.P. 1796 Atlas, Fès 30000 (Morocco); Mounier, S. [Université de Toulon, PROTEE, EA 3819, 83957 La Garde (France)

2015-01-01

An annual-basis study of the impacts of the anthropogenic inputs from Fez urban area on the water geochemistry of the Sebou and Fez Rivers was conducted mostly focusing on base flow conditions, in addition to the sampling of industrial wastewater characteristic of the various pressures in the studied environment. The measured trace metals dissolved/particulate partitioning was compared to the ones predicted using the WHAM-VII chemical speciation code. The Sebou River, upstream from Fez city, showed a weakly polluted status. Contrarily, high levels of major ions, organic carbon and trace metals were encountered in the Fez River and the Sebou River downstream the Fez inputs, due to the discharge of urban and industrial untreated and hugely polluted wastewaters. Trace metals were especially enriched in particles with levels even exceeding those recorded in surface sediments. The first group of elements (Al, Fe, Mn, Ti, U and V) showed strong inter-relationships, impoverishment in Fez particles/sediments and stable partition coefficient (Kd), linked to their lithogenic origin from Sebou watershed erosion. Conversely, most of the studied trace metals/metalloids, originated from anthropogenic sources, underwent significant changes of Kd and behaved non-conservatively in the Sebou/Fez water mixing. Dissolved/particulate partitioning was correctly assessed by WHAM-VII modeling for Cu, Pb and Zn, depicting significant differences in chemical speciation in the Fez River when compared to that in the Sebou River. The results of this study demonstrated that a lack of compliance in environmental regulations certainly explained this poor status. - Highlights: • Pristine status of the Sebou River, Morrocco's main river, upstream Fez (1 M inhabitants) • The Fez River collecting Fez's urban/industrial wastewaters is heavily polluted. • The Fez discharge into the Sebou induces an increase of contaminant levels. • Change in partitioning and chemical speciation of

Organic carbon, and major and trace element dynamic and fate in a large river subjected to poorly-regulated urban and industrial pressures (Sebou River, Morocco)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayzoun, H.; Garnier, C.; Durrieu, G.; Lenoble, V.; Le Poupon, C.; Angeletti, B.; Ouammou, A.; Mounier, S.

2015-01-01

An annual-basis study of the impacts of the anthropogenic inputs from Fez urban area on the water geochemistry of the Sebou and Fez Rivers was conducted mostly focusing on base flow conditions, in addition to the sampling of industrial wastewater characteristic of the various pressures in the studied environment. The measured trace metals dissolved/particulate partitioning was compared to the ones predicted using the WHAM-VII chemical speciation code. The Sebou River, upstream from Fez city, showed a weakly polluted status. Contrarily, high levels of major ions, organic carbon and trace metals were encountered in the Fez River and the Sebou River downstream the Fez inputs, due to the discharge of urban and industrial untreated and hugely polluted wastewaters. Trace metals were especially enriched in particles with levels even exceeding those recorded in surface sediments. The first group of elements (Al, Fe, Mn, Ti, U and V) showed strong inter-relationships, impoverishment in Fez particles/sediments and stable partition coefficient (Kd), linked to their lithogenic origin from Sebou watershed erosion. Conversely, most of the studied trace metals/metalloids, originated from anthropogenic sources, underwent significant changes of Kd and behaved non-conservatively in the Sebou/Fez water mixing. Dissolved/particulate partitioning was correctly assessed by WHAM-VII modeling for Cu, Pb and Zn, depicting significant differences in chemical speciation in the Fez River when compared to that in the Sebou River. The results of this study demonstrated that a lack of compliance in environmental regulations certainly explained this poor status. - Highlights: • Pristine status of the Sebou River, Morrocco's main river, upstream Fez (1 M inhabitants) • The Fez River collecting Fez's urban/industrial wastewaters is heavily polluted. • The Fez discharge into the Sebou induces an increase of contaminant levels. • Change in partitioning and chemical speciation of

Impact of beaver ponds on river discharge and sediment deposition along the Chevral River, Ardennes, Belgium

Science.gov (United States)

Nyssen, Jan; Frankl, Amaury; Pontzeele, Jolien; De Visscher, Maarten; Billi, Paolo

2013-04-01

With the recovery of the European beaver (Castor fiber) and their capacity to engineer fluvial landscapes, questions arise as to how they influence river discharge and sediment transport. The Chevral river (Ardennes, Belgium) contains two beaver dam sequences which appeared in 2004 and count now about 30 dams. Flow discharges and sediment fluxes were measured at the in- and outflow of each dam sequence. Volumes of sediment deposited behind the dams were measured. Between 2004 and 2011, peak flows were topped off, and the magnitude of extreme events decreased. 1710 m³ of sediment were deposited behind the beaver dams, with an average sediment thickness of 25 cm. The thickness of the sediment layer is related to the area of the beaver ponds. Along the stream, beaver pond sediment thickness displayed a sinusoidal deposition pattern, in which ponds with thick sediment layers were preceded by a series of ponds with thinner sediment layers. A downstream textural coarsening in the dam sequences was also observed, probably due to dam failures subsequent to surges. Differences in sediment flux between the in- and outflow at the beaver pond sequence were related to the river hydrograph, with deposition taking place during the rising limbs and slight erosion during the falling limbs. The seven-year-old sequences have filtered 190 tons of sediment out of the Chevral river, which is of the same order of magnitude as the 374 tons measured in pond deposits, with the difference between the values corresponding to beaver excavations (60 tons), inflow from small tributaries, and runoff from the valley flanks. Hydrogeomorphic effects of C. fiber and C. canadensis activity are similar in magnitude. The detailed analysis of changes to hydrology in beaver pond sequences confirms the potential of beavers to contribute to river and wetland restoration and catchment management.

Operational river discharge forecasting in poorly gauged basins: the Kavango River basin case study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bauer-Gottwein, Peter; Jensen, Iris Hedegaard; Guzinski, R.

2015-01-01

in Africa. We present an operational probabilistic forecasting approach which uses public-domain climate forcing data and a hydrologic-hydrodynamic model which is entirely based on open-source software. Data assimilation techniques are used to inform the forecasts with the latest available observations......Operational probabilistic forecasts of river discharge are essential for effective water resources management. Many studies have addressed this topic using different approaches ranging from purely statistical black-box approaches to physically based and distributed modeling schemes employing data...... assimilation techniques. However, few studies have attempted to develop operational probabilistic forecasting approaches for large and poorly gauged river basins. The objective of this study is to develop open-source software tools to support hydrologic forecasting and integrated water resources management...

Quantity and quality of ground-water discharge to the South Platte River, Denver to Fort Lupton, Colorado, August 1992 through July 1993

Science.gov (United States)

McMahon, P.B.; Lull, K.J.; Dennehy, K.F.; Collins, J.A.

1995-01-01

Water-quality studies conducted by the Metro Wastewater Reclamation District have indicated that during low flow in segments of the South Platte River between Denver and Fort Lupton, concentrations of dissolved oxygen are less than minimum concen- trations set by the State of Colorado. Low dissolved-oxygen concentrations are observed in two reaches of the river-they are about 3.3 to 6.4 miles and 17 to 25 miles downstream from the Metro Waste- water Reclamation District effluent outfalls. Concentrations of dissolved oxygen recover between these two reaches. Studies conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey have indicated that ground-water discharge to the river may contribute to these low dissolved-oxygen concentrations. As a result, an assessment was made of the quantity and quality of ground-water discharge to the South Platte River from Denver to Fort Lupton. Measurements of surface- water and ground-water discharge and collections of surface water and ground water for water-quality analyses were made from August 1992 through January 1993 and in May and July 1993. The quantity of ground-water discharge to the South Platte River was determined indirectly by mass balance of surface-water inflows and outflows and directly by instantaneous measurements of ground-water discharge across the sediment/water interface in the river channel. The quality of surface water and ground water was determined by sampling and analysis of water from the river and monitoring wells screened in the alluvial aquifer adjacent to the river and by sampling and analysis of water from piezometers screened in sediments underlying the river channel. The ground-water flow system was subdivided into a large-area and a small-area flow system. The precise boundaries of the two flow systems are not known. However, the large-area flow system is considered to incorporate all alluvial sediments in hydrologic connection with the South Platte River. The small- area flow system is considered to incorporate

Effects of Chiloquin Dam on spawning distribution and larval emigration of Lost River, shortnose, and Klamath largescale suckers in the Williamson and Sprague Rivers, Oregon

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Barbara A.; Hewitt, David A.; Ellsworth, Craig M.

2013-01-01

Chiloquin Dam was constructed in 1914 on the Sprague River near the town of Chiloquin, Oregon. The dam was identified as a barrier that potentially inhibited or prevented the upstream spawning migrations and other movements of endangered Lost River (Deltistes luxatusChasmistes brevirostris) suckers, as well as other fish species. In 2002, the Bureau of Reclamation led a working group that examined several alternatives to improve fish passage at Chiloquin Dam. Ultimately it was decided that dam removal was the best alternative and the dam was removed in the summer of 2008. The U.S. Geological Survey conducted a long-term study on the spawning ecology of Lost River, shortnose, and Klamath largescale suckers (Catostomus snyderi) in the Sprague and lower Williamson Rivers from 2004 to 2010. The objective of this study was to evaluate shifts in spawning distribution following the removal of Chiloquin Dam. Radio telemetry was used in conjunction with larval production data and detections of fish tagged with passive integrated transponders (PIT tags) to evaluate whether dam removal resulted in increased utilization of spawning habitat farther upstream in the Sprague River. Increased densities of drifting larvae were observed at a site in the lower Williamson River after the dam was removed, but no substantial changes occurred upstream of the former dam site. Adult spawning migrations primarily were influenced by water temperature and did not change with the removal of the dam. Emigration of larvae consistently occurred about 3-4 weeks after adults migrated into a section of river. Detections of PIT-tagged fish showed increases in the numbers of all three suckers that migrated upstream of the dam site following removal, but the increases for Lost River and shortnose suckers were relatively small compared to the total number of fish that made a spawning migration in a given season. Increases for Klamath largescale suckers were more substantial. Post-dam removal monitoring

Flood Discharge Analysis with Nakayasu Method Using Combination of HEC-RAS Method on Deli River in Medan City

Science.gov (United States)

Harahap, Rumilla; Jeumpa, Kemala; Hadibroto, Bambang

2018-03-01

The problem in this research is how in the rainy season the water does not overflow, does not occur flood and during the dry season does not occur drought so it can adjust the condition or existence of Deli river which is around Medan city. Deli River floods often occur, either caused by a smaller capacity than the existing discharge, lack of maintenance and drainage and disposal systems that do not fit with the environment, resulting in flood subscriptions every year. The purpose of this research is to know flood discharge at Deli river as Flood control in Medan city. This research is analyzed on several methods such as log Pearson, Gumbel and hydrograph unit, while HEC-RAS method is modeling conducted in analyzing the water profile of the Deli River. Furthermore, the calculation of the periodic flood discharge using the Nakayasu Method. Calculation result at Deli River return period flood discharge 2 years with an area of 14.8 km2 annual flood hydrograph the total is 26.79 m3/sec on the hours at the 4th time. Return period flood discharge 5 years with an area of 14.8 km2 annual flood hydrograph the total is 73,44 m3/sec. While 25 annual return period total flood hydrograph is 146.50 m3/sec. With flood analysis can reduce and minimize the risk of losses and land can be mapped if in the area there is flooding.

Increasing Mississippi river discharge throughout the twenty-first century influenced by changes in climate, land use and atmospheric CO2

Science.gov (United States)

Tao, B.; Tian, H.; Ren, W.; Yang, J.; Yang, Q.; He, R.; Cai, W. J.; Lohrenz, S. E.

2014-12-01

Previous studies have demonstrated that changes in temperature and precipitation (hereafter climate change) would influence river discharge, but the relative importance of climate change, land use, and elevated atmospheric CO2 have not yet been fully investigated. Here we examined how river discharge in the Mississippi River basin in the 21st century might be influenced by these factors using the Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model driven by atmospheric CO2, downscaled GCMs climate and land use scenarios. Our results suggest that river discharge would be substantially enhanced (10.7-59.8%) by the 2090s compared to the recent decade (2000s), though large discrepancies exist among different climate, atmospheric CO2, and land use change scenarios. Our factorial analyses further indicate that the combined effects of land use change and human-induced atmospheric CO2 elevation on river discharge would outweigh climate change effect under the high emission scenario (A2) of Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change. Our study offers the first attempt to project potential changes in river discharge in response to multiple future environmental changes. It demonstrates the importance of land use change and atmospheric CO2 concentrations in projecting future changes in hydrologic processes. The projected increase river discharge implies that riverine fluxes of carbon, nutrients and pesticide from the MRB to the coastal regions would increase in the future, and thus may influence the states of ocean acidification and hypoxia and deteriorate ocean water quality. Further efforts will also be needed to account for additional environmental factors (such as nitrogen deposition, tropospheric ozone pollution, dam construction, etc.) in projecting changes in the hydrological cycle.

A water availability and low-flow analysis of the Tagliamento River discharge in Italy under changing climate conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. N. Gunawardhana

2012-03-01

Full Text Available This study estimated the effects of projected variations in precipitation and temperature on snowfall-snowmelt processes and subsequent river discharge variations in the Tagliamento River in Italy. A lumped-parameter, non-linear, rainfall-runoff model with 10 general circulation model (GCM scenarios was used. Spatial and temporal changes in snow cover were assessed using 15 high-quality Landsat images. The 7Q10 low-flow probability distribution approximated by the Log-Pearson type III distribution function was used to examine river discharge variations with respect to climate extremes in the future. On average, the results obtained for 10 scenarios indicate a consistent warming rate for all time periods, which may increase the maximum and minimum temperatures by 2.3 °C (0.6–3.7 °C and 2.7 °C (1.0–4.0 °C, respectively, by the end of the 21st century compared to the present climate. Consequently, the exponential rate of frost day decrease for 1 °C winter warming in lower-elevation areas is approximately three-fold (262% higher than that in higher-elevation areas, revealing that snowfall in lower-elevation areas will be more vulnerable under a changing climate. In spite of the relatively minor changes in annual precipitation (−17.4 ~ 1.7% compared to the average of the baseline (1991–2010 period, snowfall will likely decrease by 48–67% during the 2080–2099 time period. The mean river discharges are projected to decrease in all seasons, except winter. The low-flow analysis indicated that while the magnitude of the minimum river discharge will increase (e.g. a 25% increase in the 7Q10 estimations for the winter season in the 2080–2099 time period, the number of annual average low-flow events will also increase (e.g. 16 and 15 more days during the spring and summer seasons, respectively, in the 2080–2099 time period compared to the average during the baseline period, leading to a future with a highly variable river discharge

The role of effective discharge in the ocean delivery of particulate organic carbon by small, mountainous river systems

Science.gov (United States)

Wheatcroft, R.A.; Goni, M.A.; Hatten, J.A.; Pasternack, G.B.; Warrick, J.A.

2010-01-01

Recent research has shown that small, mountainous river systems (SMRS) account for a significant fraction of the global flux of sediment and particulate organic carbon (POC) to the ocean. The enormous number of SMRS precludes intensive studies of the sort conducted on large systems, necessitating development of a conceptual framework that permits cross-system comparison and scaling up. Herein, we introduce the geomorphic concept of effective discharge to the problem of source-to-sink POC transport. This idea recognizes that transport effectiveness is the product of discharge frequency and magnitude, wherein the latter is quantified as a power-law relationship between discharge and load (the 'rating curve'). An analytical solution for effective discharge (Qe) identifies two key variables: the standard deviation of the natural logarithm of discharge (??q), and the rating exponent of constituent i (bi Data from selected SMRS are used to show that for a given river Qe-POC transport in SMRS should exploit the conceptual framework provided herein and seek to identify how constituent-specific effective discharges vary between rivers and respond to perturbations. ?? 2010, by the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, Inc.

The effect of Congo River freshwater discharge on Eastern Equatorial Atlantic climate variability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Materia, Stefano [Centro Euro-Mediterraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici, Bologna (Italy); Gualdi, Silvio; Navarra, Antonio [Centro Euro-Mediterraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici, Bologna (Italy); Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Bologna (Italy); Terray, Laurent [Sciences de l' Univers au CERFACS, URA1875 CERFACS/CNRS, Toulouse (France)

2012-11-15

The surface ocean explains a considerable part of the inter-annual Tropical Atlantic variability. The present work makes use of observational datasets to investigate the effect of freshwater flow on sea surface salinity (SSS) and temperature (SST) in the Gulf of Guinea. In particular, the Congo River discharges a huge amount of freshwater into the ocean, affecting SSS in the Eastern Equatorial Atlantic (EEA) and stratifying the surface layers. The hypothesis is that an excess of river runoff emphasize stratification, influencing the ocean temperature. In fact, our findings show that SSTs in the Gulf of Guinea are warmer in summers following an anomalously high Congo spring discharge. Vice versa, when the river discharges low freshwater, a cold anomaly appears in the Gulf. The response of SST is not linear: temperature anomalies are considerable and long-lasting in the event of large freshwater flow, while in dry years they are less remarkable, although still significant. An excess of freshwater seems able to form a barrier layer, which inhibits vertical mixing and the entrainment of the cold thermocline water into the surface. Other processes may contribute to SST variability, among which the net input of atmospheric freshwater falling over EEA. Likewise the case of continental runoff from Congo River, warm anomalies occur after anomalously rainy seasons and low temperatures follow dry seasons, confirming the effect of freshwater on SST. However, the two sources of freshwater anomaly are not in phase, so that it is possible to split between atypical SST following continental freshwater anomalies and rainfall anomalies. Also, variations in air-sea fluxes can produce heating and cooling of the Gulf of Guinea. Nevertheless, atypical SSTs cannot be ascribed to fluxes, since the temperature variation induced by them is not sufficient to explain the SST anomalies appearing in the Gulf after anomalous peak discharges. The interaction processes between river runoff, sea

Sensitivity Modeling and Evaluation of Evapotranspiration Effects on Flow Discharge of River Owena in Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P.O Idogho

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Analysis of discharges, precipitation and temperature and some other meteorological-hydrological variables from 1996-2011 at the section of Owena River Basin. The evaluation, correlations, and the relationship between precipitation and discharge time series indicate a strong relationship. Minimum discharge values of 0.8 m 3 /s and 1.2 m 3 /s were observed in January and December and these values correspond to rainfall depth of 1.4 mm and 8.2 mm respectively. The average annual rainfall, river discharge were computed as 1,306.7 mm, 1,165 m 3 /s and mean temperature and evaporation of 31.1 oC and 4.6 mm. Evapotranspiration computation using pan evaporation model overestimated the evapotranspiration values by 0.5 mm and 0.21 mm over IHACRES and CROPWAT model for the total period of 15-year. Integration of the simulation outputs would be veritable in creating realistic-robust water management system for domestic and agricultural applications.

Comment on Origin of Groundwater Discharge at Fall River Springs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rose, T

2006-10-20

I'm writing at the request of the Pit River Tribe to offer my professional opinion as a geochemist regarding the origin of groundwater discharge at the Fall River Springs, Shasta Co., California. In 1997, I conducted a study of the large volume cold springs associated with the Cascade Volcanoes in northern California, in collaboration with one of my colleagues. This work was published as a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory report (Davisson and Rose, 1997). The Fall River Springs emerge from the distal end of the Giant Crater Lava Field, a laterally extensive basalt flow that stretches from the southern flank of Medicine Lake Volcano southward for a distance of 40 km. Both Medicine Lake Volcano and the Giant Crater Lava Field have virtually no surface water drainages. Precipitation that falls in these areas is inferred to seep into fractures in the rock, where it is carried down gradient under the force of gravity. Mean annual precipitation rates on Medicine Lake Volcano and the Giant Crater Lava field are adequate to account for the {approx}1200 ft{sup 3}/sec discharge of the Fall River Springs. To evaluate the origin of the springs using geochemical methods, water samples were collected from the Fall River Springs and the Medicine Lake highlands and analyzed for oxygen and hydrogen isotope ratios. The isotope ratios measured for a groundwater sample are diagnostic of the average composition of the precipitation from which the water was derived. The isotope ratios of rain and snow also vary systematically with elevation, such that groundwater derived from recharge at higher elevations can be distinguished from that which originated at lower elevations. The stable isotope data for the Fall River Springs are consistent with groundwater recharge on the Medicine Lake Volcano and adjacent lava field. Mass balance calculations suggest that approximately half of the Fall River Springs flow is derived from the volcanic edifice. Rose and Davisson (1996) showed

Suspended sediments from upstream tributaries as the source of downstream river sites

Science.gov (United States)

Haddadchi, Arman; Olley, Jon

2014-05-01

Understanding the efficiency with which sediment eroded from different sources is transported to the catchment outlet is a key knowledge gap that is critical to our ability to accurately target and prioritise management actions to reduce sediment delivery. Sediment fingerprinting has proven to be an efficient approach to determine the sources of sediment. This study examines the suspended sediment sources from Emu Creek catchment, south eastern Queensland, Australia. In addition to collect suspended sediments from different sites of the streams after the confluence of tributaries and outlet of the catchment, time integrated suspended samples from upper tributaries were used as the source of sediment, instead of using hillslope and channel bank samples. Totally, 35 time-integrated samplers were used to compute the contribution of suspended sediments from different upstream waterways to the downstream sediment sites. Three size fractions of materials including fine sand (63-210 μm), silt (10-63 μm) and fine silt and clay (<10 μm) were used to find the effect of particle size on the contribution of upper sediments as the sources of sediment after river confluences. And then samples were analysed by ICP-MS and -OES to find 41 sediment fingerprints. According to the results of Student's T-distribution mixing model, small creeks in the middle and lower part of the catchment were major source in different size fractions, especially in silt (10-63 μm) samples. Gowrie Creek as covers southern-upstream part of the catchment was a major contributor at the outlet of the catchment in finest size fraction (<10 μm) Large differences between the contributions of suspended sediments from upper tributaries in different size fractions necessitate the selection of appropriate size fraction on sediment tracing in the catchment and also major effect of particle size on the movement and deposition of sediments.

Discharge and Nitrogen Transfer Modelling in the Berze River: A HYPE Setup and Calibration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Veinbergs Arturs

2017-05-01

Full Text Available This study is focused on water quality and quantity modelling in the Berze River basin located in the Zemgale region of Latvia. The contributing basin area of 872 km2 is furthermore divided into 15 sub-basins designated according to the characteristics of hydrological network and water sampling programme. The river basin of interest is a spatially complex system with agricultural land and forests as two predominant land use types. Complexity of the system reflects in the discharge intensity and diffuse pollution of nitrogen compounds into the water bodies of the river basin. The presence of urban area has an impact as the load from the existing wastewater treatment plants consist up to 76 % of the total nitrogen load in the Berze River basin. Representative data sets of land cover, agricultural field data base for crop distribution analysis, estimation of crop management, soil type map, digital elevation model, drainage conditions, network of water bodies and point sources were used for the modelling procedures. The semi-distributed hydro chemical model HYPE has a setup to simulate discharge and nitrogen transfer. In order to make the model more robust and appropriate for the current study the data sets previously stated were classified by unifying similar spatially located polygons. The data layers were overlaid and 53 hydrological response units (SLCs were created. Agricultural land consists of 48 SLCs with the details of soils, drainage conditions, crop types, and land management practices. Manual calibration procedure was applied to improve the performance of discharge simulation. Simulated discharge values showed good agreement with the observed values with the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency of 0.82 and bias of −6.6 %. Manual calibration of parameters related to nitrogen leakage simulation was applied to test the most sensitive parameters.

Discharge and Nitrogen Transfer Modelling in the Berze River: A HYPE Setup and Calibration

Science.gov (United States)

Veinbergs, Arturs; Lagzdins, Ainis; Jansons, Viesturs; Abramenko, Kaspars; Sudars, Ritvars

2017-05-01

This study is focused on water quality and quantity modelling in the Berze River basin located in the Zemgale region of Latvia. The contributing basin area of 872 km2 is furthermore divided into 15 sub-basins designated according to the characteristics of hydrological network and water sampling programme. The river basin of interest is a spatially complex system with agricultural land and forests as two predominant land use types. Complexity of the system reflects in the discharge intensity and diffuse pollution of nitrogen compounds into the water bodies of the river basin. The presence of urban area has an impact as the load from the existing wastewater treatment plants consist up to 76 % of the total nitrogen load in the Berze River basin. Representative data sets of land cover, agricultural field data base for crop distribution analysis, estimation of crop management, soil type map, digital elevation model, drainage conditions, network of water bodies and point sources were used for the modelling procedures. The semi-distributed hydro chemical model HYPE has a setup to simulate discharge and nitrogen transfer. In order to make the model more robust and appropriate for the current study the data sets previously stated were classified by unifying similar spatially located polygons. The data layers were overlaid and 53 hydrological response units (SLCs) were created. Agricultural land consists of 48 SLCs with the details of soils, drainage conditions, crop types, and land management practices. Manual calibration procedure was applied to improve the performance of discharge simulation. Simulated discharge values showed good agreement with the observed values with the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency of 0.82 and bias of -6.6 %. Manual calibration of parameters related to nitrogen leakage simulation was applied to test the most sensitive parameters.

Ecological risk assessment of microcystin-LR in the upstream section of the Haihe River based on a species sensitivity distribution model.

Science.gov (United States)

Niu, Zhiguang; Du, Lei; Li, Jiafu; Zhang, Ying; Lv, Zhiwei

2018-02-01

The eutrophication of surface water has been the main problem of water quality management in recent decades, and the ecological risk of microcystin-LR (MC-LR), which is the by-product of eutrophication, has drawn more attention worldwide. The aims of our study were to determine the predicted no effect concentration (PNEC) of MC-LR and to assess the ecological risk of MC-LR in the upstream section of the Haihe River. HC 5 (hazardous concentration for 5% of biological species) and PNEC were obtained from a species sensitivity distribution (SSD) model, which was constructed with the acute toxicity data of MC-LR on aquatic organisms. The concentrations of MC-LR in the upstream section of the Haihe River from April to August of 2015 were analysed, and the ecological risk characteristics of MC-LR were evaluated based on the SSD model. The results showed that the HC 5 of MC-LR in freshwater was 17.18 μg/L and PNEC was 5.73 μg/L. The concentrations of MC-LR ranged from 0.68 μg/L to 32.21 μg/L and were obviously higher in summer than in spring. The values of the risk quotient (RQ) ranged from 0.12 to 5.62, suggesting that the risk of MC-LR for aquatic organisms in the river was at a medium or high level during the study period. Compared with other waterbodies in the world, the pollution level of MC-LR in the Haihe River was at a moderate level. This research could promote the study of the ecological risk of MC-LR at the ecosystem level. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

White Sturgeon Mitigation and Restoration in the Columbia and Snake Rivers Upstream from Bonneville Dam; Annual Progress Report, April 2007 - March 2008.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mallette, Christine [Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

2009-07-28

We report on our progress from April 2007 through March 2008 on determining the effects of mitigative measures on productivity of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia River downstream from McNary Dam, and on determining the status and habitat requirements of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia and Snake rivers upstream from McNary Dam. The study is a cooperative effort by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW; Report A), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW; Report B), Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC; Report C), and Montana State University (MSU; Report D). This is a multi-year study with many objectives requiring more than one year to complete; therefore, findings from a given year may be part of more significant findings yet to be reported.

Using high-resolution suspended-sediment measurements to infer changes in the topographic distribution and grain size of bed sediment in the Colorado River downstream from Glen Canyon Dam

Science.gov (United States)

Topping, D. J.; Rubin, D. M.; Melis, T. S.; Wright, S. A.

2004-12-01

Eddy sandbars and other sandy deposits in and along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP) were an integral part of the pre-dam riverscape, and are still important for habitat, protection of archeological sites, and recreation. Recent work has shown that eddy bars are dynamic landforms and represent the bulk of the ecosystem's sand reserves. These deposits began eroding following the 1963 closure of Glen Canyon Dam that reduced the supply of sand at the upstream boundary of GCNP by about 94% and are still eroding today. Sand transport in the post-dam river is limited by episodic resupply from tributaries, and is equally regulated by the discharge of water and short-term changes in the grain size of sand available for transport (Rubin and Topping, WRR, 2001). During tributary floods, sand on the bed of the Colorado River fines; this causes the suspended sand to fine and the suspended-sand concentration to increase even when the discharge of water remains constant. Subsequently, the bed is winnowed of finer sand, the suspended sand coarsens, and the suspended-sand concentration decreases independently of discharge. This prohibits the computation of sand-transport rates in the Colorado River using stable relations between water discharge and sand transport (i.e., sediment rating curves) and requires a more continuous method for measuring sand transport. To monitor suspended sediment at higher (i.e., 15-minute) resolutions, we began testing a laser-acoustic system at four locations along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon in August 2002. Because they are much easier to acquire, the high-resolution suspended-sediment datasets collected using the laser-acoustic systems greatly outnumber (by >5 orders of magnitude) direct grain-size measurements of the upstream bed sediment. Furthermore, suspension processes effectively provide an average "sample" of the bed sediment on the perimeter of the upstream channel and the underwater portions of the banks and

Impact of precipitation and land biophysical variables on the simulated discharge of European and Mediterranean rivers

Science.gov (United States)

Szczypta, C.; Decharme, B.; Carrer, D.; Calvet, J.-C.; Lafont, S.; Somot, S.; Faroux, S.; Martin, E.

2012-09-01

This study investigates the impact on river discharge simulations of errors in the precipitation forcing, together with changes in the representation of vegetation variables and of plant transpiration. The most recent European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts reanalysis (ERA-Interim) is used to drive the Interactions between Soil, Biosphere, and Atmosphere-Total Runoff Integrating Pathways (ISBA-TRIP) continental hydrological system over Europe and the Mediterranean basin over the 1991-2008 period. As ERA-Interim tends to underestimate precipitation, a number of precipitation corrections are proposed. In particular, the monthly Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC) precipitation product is used to bias-correct the 3-hourly ERA-Interim estimates. This correction markedly improves the match between the ISBA-TRIP simulations and the river discharge observations from the Global Runoff Data Centre (GRDC), at 150 gauging stations. The impact on TRIP river discharge simulations of various representations of the evapotranspiration in the ISBA land surface model is investigated as well: ISBA is used together with its upgraded carbon flux version (ISBA-A-gs). The latter is either driven by the satellite-derived climatology of the Leaf Area Index (LAI) used by ISBA, or performs prognostic LAI simulations. The ISBA-A-gs model, with or without dynamically simulated LAI, allows a better representation of river discharge at low water levels. On the other hand, ISBA-A-gs does not perform as well as the original ISBA model at springtime.

Occurrence and distribution of antibiotics in coastal water of the Bohai Bay, China: Impacts of river discharge and aquaculture activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zou Shichun; Xu Weihai; Zhang Ruijie; Tang Jianhui; Chen Yingjun; Zhang Gan

2011-01-01

The presence of 21 antibiotics in six different groups was investigated in coastal water of the Bohai Bay. Meantime, to illuminate the potential effects caused by the river discharge and aquaculture activities, wastewater from three breeding plants and surface water from six rivers flowing into the Bohai Bay were also analyzed for the selected antibiotics. The result revealed that measured antibiotics in the North Bobai Bay were generally higher than those in the South, highlighting the remarkable effects of high density of human activities on the exposure of antibiotics in environment. The antibiotics found in the six rivers were generally higher than those in the Bohai Bay reflecting the important antibiotics source of river discharge. This study reveals that the high consumption of some antibiotics in aquaculture activities may pose high ecological risk to the bay. - Highlights: → Some antibiotics were ubiquitous with high concentration in the Bohai bay, North China. → The antibiotics were mainly from the six rivers discharge around the Bay. → Antibiotics are commonly used in aquaculture activities around the Bay. → Aquaculture was suggested to be an important antibiotics source in the Bay. - River discharge and aquaculture were suggested to be important sources for antibiotics occurred in the coastal water of the Bohai Bay, North China.

Dependency of high coastal water level and river discharge at the global scale

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, P.; Couasnon, A.; Haigh, I. D.; Muis, S.; Veldkamp, T.; Winsemius, H.; Wahl, T.

2017-12-01

It is widely recognized that floods cause huge socioeconomic impacts. From 1980-2013, global flood losses exceeded $1 trillion, with 220,000 fatalities. These impacts are particularly hard felt in low-lying densely populated deltas and estuaries, whose location at the coast-land interface makes them naturally prone to flooding. When river and coastal floods coincide, their impacts in these deltas and estuaries are often worse than when they occur in isolation. Such floods are examples of so-called `compound events'. In this contribution, we present the first global scale analysis of the statistical dependency of high coastal water levels (and the storm surge component alone) and river discharge. We show that there is statistical dependency between these components at more than half of the stations examined. We also show time-lags in the highest correlation between peak discharges and coastal water levels. Finally, we assess the probability of the simultaneous occurrence of design discharge and design coastal water levels, assuming both independence and statistical dependence. For those stations where we identified statistical dependency, the probability is between 1 and 5 times greater, when the dependence structure is accounted for. This information is essential for understanding the likelihood of compound flood events occurring at locations around the world as well as for accurate flood risk assessments and effective flood risk management. The research was carried out by analysing the statistical dependency between observed coastal water levels (and the storm surge component) from GESLA-2 and river discharge using gauged data from GRDC stations all around the world. The dependence structure was examined using copula functions.

Urban Wastewater Impacts on the Spatial Distribution of Solutes and Microbial Constituents in the Musi River, India

Science.gov (United States)

Ensink, J.; Scott, C. A.; Cairncross, S.

2006-05-01

Wastewater discharge from expanding urban centers deteriorates the quality of receiving waters, a trend that has management and investment implications for cities around the world. This paper presents the results of a 14-month water quality evaluation over a 40-km longitudinal profile downstream of the city of Hyderabad, India (population 7 million) on the Musi River, a tributary to the Krishna River. Upstream to downstream improvements in Musi water quality for microbial constituents (nematode egg, faecal coliform), dissolved oxygen, and nitrate are attributed to natural attenuation processes (dilution, die-off, sedimentation and biological processes) coupled with the effects of in-stream hydraulic infrastructure (weirs and reservoirs). Conversely, upstream to downstream increases in total dissolved solids concentrations are caused by off- stream infrastructure and agricultural water use resulting in crop evapotranspiration and increased solute concentration in the return flow of irrigation diverted upstream in the wastewater system. Future water quality management challenges resulting from rampant urban growth, particularly in developing countries, are discussed.

Suspended-sediment loads, reservoir sediment trap efficiency, and upstream and downstream channel stability for Kanopolis and Tuttle Creek Lakes, Kansas, 2008-10

Science.gov (United States)

Juracek, Kyle E.

2011-01-01

Continuous streamflow and turbidity data collected from October 1, 2008, to September 30, 2010, at streamgage sites upstream and downstream from Kanopolis and Tuttle Creek Lakes, Kansas, were used to compute the total suspended-sediment load delivered to and released from each reservoir as well as the sediment trap efficiency for each reservoir. Ongoing sedimentation is decreasing the ability of the reservoirs to serve several purposes including flood control, water supply, and recreation. River channel stability upstream and downstream from the reservoirs was assessed using historical streamgage information. For Kanopolis Lake, the total 2-year inflow suspended-sediment load was computed to be 600 million pounds. Most of the suspended-sediment load was delivered during short-term, high-discharge periods. The total 2-year outflow suspended-sediment load was computed to be 31 million pounds. Sediment trap efficiency for the reservoir was estimated to be 95 percent. The mean annual suspended-sediment yield from the upstream basin was estimated to be 129,000 pounds per square mile per year. No pronounced changes in channel width were evident at five streamgage sites located upstream from the reservoir. At the Ellsworth streamgage site, located upstream from the reservoir, long-term channel-bed aggradation was followed by a period of stability. Current (2010) conditions at five streamgages located upstream from the reservoir were typified by channel-bed stability. At the Langley streamgage site, located immediately downstream from the reservoir, the channel bed degraded 6.15 feet from 1948 to 2010. For Tuttle Creek Lake, the total 2-year inflow suspended-sediment load was computed to be 13.3 billion pounds. Most of the suspended-sediment load was delivered during short-term, high-discharge periods. The total 2-year outflow suspended-sediment load was computed to be 327 million pounds. Sediment trap efficiency for the reservoir was estimated to be 98 percent. The mean

An automated system to simulate the River discharge in Kyushu Island using the H08 model

Science.gov (United States)

Maji, A.; Jeon, J.; Seto, S.

2015-12-01

Kyushu Island is located in southwestern part of Japan, and it is often affected by typhoons and a Baiu front. There have been severe water-related disasters recorded in Kyushu Island. On the other hand, because of high population density and for crop growth, water resource is an important issue of Kyushu Island.The simulation of river discharge is important for water resource management and early warning of water-related disasters. This study attempts to apply H08 model to simulate river discharge in Kyushu Island. Geospatial meteorological and topographical data were obtained from Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) and Automated Meteorological Data Acquisition System (AMeDAS) of Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). The number of the observation stations of AMeDAS is limited and is not quite satisfactory for the application of water resources models in Kyushu. It is necessary to spatially interpolate the point data to produce grid dataset. Meteorological grid dataset is produced by considering elevation dependence. Solar radiation is estimated from hourly sunshine duration by a conventional formula. We successfully improved the accuracy of interpolated data just by considering elevation dependence and found out that the bias is related to geographical location. The rain/snow classification is done by H08 model and is validated by comparing estimated and observed snow rate. The estimates tend to be larger than the corresponding observed values. A system to automatically produce daily meteorological grid dataset is being constructed.The geospatial river network data were produced by ArcGIS and they were utilized in the H08 model to simulate the river discharge. Firstly, this research is to compare simulated and measured specific discharge, which is the ratio of discharge to watershed area. Significant error between simulated and measured data were seen in some rivers. Secondly, the outputs by the coupled model including crop growth

Application for 3d Scene Understanding in Detecting Discharge of Domesticwaste Along Complex Urban Rivers

Science.gov (United States)

Ninsalam, Y.; Qin, R.; Rekittke, J.

2016-06-01

In our study we use 3D scene understanding to detect the discharge of domestic solid waste along an urban river. Solid waste found along the Ciliwung River in the neighbourhoods of Bukit Duri and Kampung Melayu may be attributed to households. This is in part due to inadequate municipal waste infrastructure and services which has caused those living along the river to rely upon it for waste disposal. However, there has been little research to understand the prevalence of household waste along the river. Our aim is to develop a methodology that deploys a low cost sensor to identify point source discharge of solid waste using image classification methods. To demonstrate this we describe the following five-step method: 1) a strip of GoPro images are captured photogrammetrically and processed for dense point cloud generation; 2) depth for each image is generated through a backward projection of the point clouds; 3) a supervised image classification method based on Random Forest classifier is applied on the view dependent red, green, blue and depth (RGB-D) data; 4) point discharge locations of solid waste can then be mapped by projecting the classified images to the 3D point clouds; 5) then the landscape elements are classified into five types, such as vegetation, human settlement, soil, water and solid waste. While this work is still ongoing, the initial results have demonstrated that it is possible to perform quantitative studies that may help reveal and estimate the amount of waste present along the river bank.

APPLICATION FOR 3D SCENE UNDERSTANDING IN DETECTING DISCHARGE OF DOMESTICWASTE ALONG COMPLEX URBAN RIVERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. Ninsalam

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In our study we use 3D scene understanding to detect the discharge of domestic solid waste along an urban river. Solid waste found along the Ciliwung River in the neighbourhoods of Bukit Duri and Kampung Melayu may be attributed to households. This is in part due to inadequate municipal waste infrastructure and services which has caused those living along the river to rely upon it for waste disposal. However, there has been little research to understand the prevalence of household waste along the river. Our aim is to develop a methodology that deploys a low cost sensor to identify point source discharge of solid waste using image classification methods. To demonstrate this we describe the following five-step method: 1 a strip of GoPro images are captured photogrammetrically and processed for dense point cloud generation; 2 depth for each image is generated through a backward projection of the point clouds; 3 a supervised image classification method based on Random Forest classifier is applied on the view dependent red, green, blue and depth (RGB-D data; 4 point discharge locations of solid waste can then be mapped by projecting the classified images to the 3D point clouds; 5 then the landscape elements are classified into five types, such as vegetation, human settlement, soil, water and solid waste. While this work is still ongoing, the initial results have demonstrated that it is possible to perform quantitative studies that may help reveal and estimate the amount of waste present along the river bank.

A semelparous fish continues upstream migration when exposed to alarm cue, but adjusts movement speed and timing

Science.gov (United States)

Luhring, Thomas M; Meckley, Trevor D.; Johnson, Nicholas S.; Siefkes, Michael J.; Hume, John B.; Wagner, C. Michael

2016-01-01

Animals make trade-offs between predation risk and pursuit of opportunities such as foraging and reproduction. Trade-offs between antipredator behaviours and foraging are well suited to manipulation in laboratory and field settings and have generated a vast compendium of knowledge. However, much less is known about how animals manage trade-offs between predation risk and pursuit of reproductive opportunities in the absence of the confounding effects of foraging. In the present study, we investigated how the nonfeeding migratory life stage of sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus, responds to odour from dead conspecifics (a cue that induces avoidance behaviours in laboratory and field studies). We released groups of PIT-tagged sea lamprey 65 m from the shore of Lake Michigan or 287 m upstream in Carp Lake River and used antennas to detect their movements in the river. As the breeding season progressed, sea lamprey initiated upstream movement earlier and were more likely to enter the river. Sea lamprey that began the night in Lake Michigan entered Carp Lake River at higher rates and accelerated upstream when exposed to high concentrations of alarm cue, consistent with animals attempting to minimize time spent in risky areas. Sea lampreys that began the night in the river delayed upstream movement when exposed to alarm cue, consistent with animals sheltering and gathering information about a source of risk. We attribute this context-specific reaction to alarm cue to differences in perceived vulnerability to predation in sheltered positions in the river versus exposed positions in the lake. Once in the river, the vast majority of sea lamprey moved upstream independent of alarm cue or Julian date. Although life-history-induced time and energy budgets place rigid constraints on the direction of migration, sea lamprey attend to predation risk by modifying movement timing and speed.

Application of Multivariate Statistical Analysis in Evaluation of Surface River Water Quality of a Tropical River

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Teck-Yee Ling

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The present study evaluated the spatial variations of surface water quality in a tropical river using multivariate statistical techniques, including cluster analysis (CA and principal component analysis (PCA. Twenty physicochemical parameters were measured at 30 stations along the Batang Baram and its tributaries. The water quality of the Batang Baram was categorized as “slightly polluted” where the chemical oxygen demand and total suspended solids were the most deteriorated parameters. The CA grouped the 30 stations into four clusters which shared similar characteristics within the same cluster, representing the upstream, middle, and downstream regions of the main river and the tributaries from the middle to downstream regions of the river. The PCA has determined a reduced number of six principal components that explained 83.6% of the data set variance. The first PC indicated that the total suspended solids, turbidity, and hydrogen sulphide were the dominant polluting factors which is attributed to the logging activities, followed by the five-day biochemical oxygen demand, total phosphorus, organic nitrogen, and nitrate-nitrogen in the second PC which are related to the discharges from domestic wastewater. The components also imply that logging activities are the major anthropogenic activities responsible for water quality variations in the Batang Baram when compared to the domestic wastewater discharge.

Impacts of Columbia River discharge on salmonid habitat: 2. Changes in shallow-water habitat

Science.gov (United States)

Kukulka, Tobias; Jay, David A.

2003-09-01

This is the second part of an investigation that analyzes human alteration of shallow-water habitat (SWH) available to juvenile salmonids in the tidal Lower Columbia River. Part 2 develops a one-dimensional, subtidal river stage model that explains ˜90% of the stage variance in the tidal river. This model and the tidal model developed in part 1 [, 2003] uncouple the nonlinear interaction of river tides and river stage by referring both to external forcing by river discharge, ocean tides, and atmospheric pressure. Applying the two models, daily high-water levels were predicted for a reach from rkm-50 to rkm-90 during 1974 to 1998, the period of contemporary management. Predicted water levels were related to the bathymetry and topography to determine the changes in shallow-water habitat area (SWHA) caused by flood control dikes and altered flow management. Model results suggest that diking and a >40% reduction of peak flows have reduced SWHA by ˜62% during the crucial spring freshet period during which juvenile salmon use of SWHA is maximal. Taken individually, diking and flow cycle alteration reduced spring freshet SWHA by 52% and 29%, respectively. SWHA has been both displaced to lower elevations and modified in its character because tidal range has increased. Our models of these processes are economical for the very long simulations (seasons to centuries) needed to understand historic changes and climate impacts on SWH. Through analysis of the nonlinear processes controlling surface elevation in a tidal river, we have identified some of the mechanisms that link freshwater discharge to SWH and salmonid survival.

Phytoremediation of Heavy Metals (Pb, Cd by Tamarix along the Temby (karon River, Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zeinab Sasan

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Background & Aims of the Study: Heavy metals contaminate drinking water, air and soils. It is very harmful for humans and other live organisms. Phytoremediation is one of the direct bio-remediation methods for heavy metal removal from polluted water and soils. This method is accepted environmentally, economically and aesthetically. The purpose of this study was to assess Tamarix hispida capacity for heavy metals (lead and Cadmium removal from Temby (Karon river of Ahvaz, Iran. Materials and Methods: This study was performed in summer season. Water samples took from upstream (before municipal wastewater discharge point and downstream (after municipal wastewater discharge point. Samples of Tamarix hispida tree leaf took from those grown in downstream (after municipal sewage discharge place. In this study, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS was used for analysis. Results: Results of this study showed that lead and cadmium mean in summer were 0.5 and 0.077 mg/l in upstream; and they were 0.66 and 0.12 in downstream, respectively. According to the result, absorption rate of lead and cadmium by Tamarix hispida was 0.03 and 0.013 mg/l, respectively. Conclusion: Results showed that Temby river water was polluted with Lead and Cadmium. Also,Tamarix hispida tree was effective for lead and cadmium removal. Lead was more uptake than Cadmium.

Water quality assessment of the Shatt al-Arab River, Southern Iraq

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Salim Moyel

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Objective: To assess suitability of the water quality of Shatt al-Arab River for protection of aquatic life, potable water supply and irrigation uses. Methods: The Shatt al-Arab River was monitored on a monthly basis from July 2009 to June 2010. A water quality index (WQI was calculated to assess the suitability of water for protection of aquatic life, potable water supply and irrigation uses during the dry season from July to December 2009 and the wet season from January until June 2010. Results: The results of the WQI showed that the lowest water quality values were scored during the dry season for all three uses of the river. Marginal water quality values were recorded for protection of aquatic life and fair (upstream to poor (downstream water quality values were recorded for irrigation uses. Moreover, the river water was not suitable for potable water supply without elaborate treatment. Conclusions: Deterioration of the Shatt al-Arab water quality has been attributed to reduced freshwater discharges from Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, low annual precipitations and an advancing salt wedge from the Arabian Gulf. However, a combination of those factors such as low riverine discharge and advancing salt wedge with a continuous discharge of agriculture, oil industry and urban point effluent has polluted the waters and fostered the decline of the Shatt al-Arab River water quality during the study period. The study indicated that application of WQIs was a useful tool to monitor and assess the overall water quality of the Shatt al-Arab River.

Fate and transport of cyanobacteria and associated toxins and taste-and-odor compounds from upstream reservoir releases in the Kansas River, Kansas, September and October 2011

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, Jennifer L.; Ziegler, Andrew C.; Loving, Brian L.; Loftin, Keith A.

2012-01-01

Cyanobacteria cause a multitude of water-quality concerns, including the potential to produce toxins and taste-and-odor compounds. Toxins and taste-and-odor compounds may cause substantial economic and public health concerns and are of particular interest in lakes, reservoirs, and rivers that are used for drinking-water supply, recreation, or aquaculture. The Kansas River is a primary source of drinking water for about 800,000 people in northeastern Kansas. Water released from Milford Lake to the Kansas River during a toxic cyanobacterial bloom in late August 2011 prompted concerns about cyanobacteria and associated toxins and taste-and-odor compounds in downstream drinking-water supplies. During September and October 2011 water-quality samples were collected to characterize the transport of cyanobacteria and associated compounds from upstream reservoirs to the Kansas River. This study is one of the first to quantitatively document the transport of cyanobacteria and associated compounds during reservoir releases and improves understanding of the fate and transport of cyanotoxins and taste-and-odor compounds downstream from reservoirs. Milford Lake was the only reservoir in the study area with an ongoing cyanobacterial bloom during reservoir releases. Concentrations of cyanobacteria and associated toxins and taste-and-odor compounds in Milford Lake (upstream from the dam) were not necessarily indicative of outflow conditions (below the dam). Total microcystin concentrations, one of the most commonly occurring cyanobacterial toxins, in Milford Lake were 650 to 7,500 times higher than the Kansas Department of Health and Environment guidance level for a public health warning (20 micrograms per liter) for most of September 2011. By comparison, total microcystin concentrations in the Milford Lake outflow generally were less than 10 percent of the concentrations in surface accumulations, and never exceeded 20 micrograms per liter. The Republican River, downstream from

Impact of oil shale mine water discharges on phytoplankton community of Purtse catchment rivers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raetsep, A.; Rull, E.; Liblik, V.

2002-01-01

The multivariate relationship between phytoplankton abundance and different factors both natural and generated by oil shale mining in the Purtse catchment rivers (Purtse, Kohtla, and Ojamaa) in Augusts 1996-2000 was studied. Impact of oil shale mine water discharges, causing the input of sulfates and chlorides into the rivers, on phytoplankton abundance in river water was characterized by significant negative linear correlation. The amount of annual precipitation influenced positively the characteristics of phytoplankton abundance in river water. The complex of linear regression formulas was derived for characterising phytoplankton abundance in the lower course of the Purtse River using meteorological, hydrological and hydrogeological as well as geochemical data of water circulation. Closing the Sompa, Tammiku and Kohtla mines in 2000-2001 decreased essentially anthropogenic stress on ecological condition of the Purtse catchment rivers. (author)

Polyfluoroalkyl substance exposure in the Mid-Ohio River Valley, 1991–2012

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herrick, Robert L.; Buckholz, Jeanette; Biro, Frank M.; Calafat, Antonia M.; Ye, Xiaoyun; Xie, Changchun; Pinney, Susan M.

2017-01-01

Background: Industrial discharges of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) to the Ohio River, contaminating water systems near Parkersburg, WV, were previously associated with nearby residents' serum PFOA concentrations above US general population medians. Ohio River PFOA concentrations downstream are elevated, suggesting Mid-Ohio River Valley residents are exposed through drinking water. Objectives: Quantify PFOA and 10 other per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Mid-Ohio River Valley resident sera collected between 1991 and 2013 and determine whether the Ohio River and Ohio River Aquifer are exposure sources. Methods: We measured eleven PFAS in 1608 sera from 931 participants. Serum PFOA concentration and water source associations were assessed using linear mixed-effects models. We estimated between-sample serum PFOA using one-compartment pharmacokinetics for participants with multiple samples. Results: In serum samples collected as early as 1991, PFOA (median = 7.6 ng/mL) was detected in 99.9% of sera; 47% had concentrations greater than US population 95th percentiles. Five other PFAS were detected in greater than 82% of samples; median other PFAS concentrations were similar to the US general population. Serum PFOA was significantly associated with water source, sampling year, age at sampling, tap water consumption, pregnancy, gravidity and breastfeeding. Serum PFOA was 40–60% lower with granular activated carbon (GAC) use. Repeated measurements and pharmacokinetics suggest serum PFOA peaked 2000–2006 for participants using water without GAC treatment; where GAC was used, serum PFOA concentrations decreased from 1991 to 2012. Conclusions: Mid-Ohio River Valley residents appear to have PFOA, but not other PFAS, serum concentrations above US population levels. Drinking water from the Ohio River and Ohio River Aquifer, primarily contaminated by industrial discharges 209–666 km upstream, is likely the primary exposure source. GAC treatment of drinking

Hurricane Mitch: Peak Discharge for Selected River Reachesin Honduras

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Mark E.; Phillips, Jeffrey V.; Spahr, Norman E.

2002-01-01

Hurricane Mitch began as a tropical depression in the Caribbean Sea on 22 October 1998. By 26 October, Mitch had strengthened to a Category 5 storm as defined by the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale (National Climate Data Center, 1999a), and on 27 October was threatening the northern coast of Honduras (fig. 1). After making landfall 2 days later (29 October), the storm drifted south and west across Honduras, wreaking destruction throughout the country before reaching the Guatemalan border on 31 October. According to the National Climate Data Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (National Climate Data Center, 1999b), Hurricane Mitch ranks among the five strongest storms on record in the Atlantic Basin in terms of its sustained winds, barometric pressure, and duration. Hurricane Mitch also was one of the worst Atlantic storms in terms of loss of life and property. The regionwide death toll was estimated to be more than 9,000; thousands of people were reported missing. Economic losses in the region were more than $7.5 billion (U.S. Agency for International Development, 1999). Honduras suffered the most widespread devastation during the storm. More than 5,000 deaths, and economic losses of more than $4 billion, were reported by the Government of Honduras. Honduran officials estimated that Hurricane Mitch destroyed 50 years of economic development. In addition to the human and economic losses, intense flooding and landslides scarred the Honduran landscape - hydrologic and geomorphologic processes throughout the country likely will be affected for many years. As part of the U.S. Government's response to the disaster, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted post-flood measurements of peak discharge at 16 river sites throughout Honduras (fig. 2). Such measurements, termed 'indirect' measurements, are used to determine peak flows when direct measurements (using current meters or dye studies, for example) cannot be made. Indirect measurements of

Seasonal variation of sediment toxicity in the Rivers Dommel and Elbe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsu, P.; Matthaei, A.; Heise, S.; Ahlf, W.

2007-01-01

Contaminated sediment in the river basin has become a source of pollution with increasing importance to the aquatic ecosystem downstream. To monitor the temporal changes of the sediment bound contaminants in the River Elbe and the River Dommel monthly toxicity tests were applied to layered sediment and river water samples over the course of 10 months. There is an indication that contaminated sediments upstream adversely affected sediments downstream, but this process did not cause a continuous increase of sediment toxicity. A clear decrease of toxic effects in water and upper layer sediment was observed at the River Elbe station in spring related to high water discharge and algal blooms. The less obvious variation of sediment toxicity in the River Dommel could be explained by stable hydrological conditions. Future monitoring programmes should promote a more frequent and intensive sampling regime during these particular events for ecotoxicological evaluation. - Significant impacts of hydrological and biological factors on the ecotoxicological quality in two European rivers (Elbe and Dommel)

Relating river discharge and water temperature to the recruitment of age‐0 White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus Richardson, 1836) in the Columbia River using over‐dispersed catch data

Science.gov (United States)

Counihan, Timothy D.; Chapman, Colin G.

2018-01-01

The goals were to (i) determine if river discharge and water temperature during various early life history stages were predictors of age‐0 White Sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, recruitment, and (ii) provide an example of how over‐dispersed catch data, including data with many zero observations, can be used to better understand the effects of regulated rivers on the productivity of depressed sturgeon populations. An information theoretic approach was used to develop and select negative binomial and zero‐inflated negative binomial models that model the relation of age‐0 White Sturgeon survey data from three contiguous Columbia River reservoirs to river discharge and water temperature during spawning, egg incubation, larval, and post‐larval phases. Age‐0 White Sturgeon were collected with small mesh gill nets in The Dalles and John Day reservoirs from 1997 to 2014 and a bottom trawl in Bonneville Reservoir from 1989 to 2006. Results suggest that seasonal river discharge was positively correlated with age‐0 recruitment; notably that discharge, 16 June–31 July was positively correlated to age‐0 recruitment in all three reservoirs. The best approximating models for two of the three reservoirs also suggest that seasonal water temperature may be a determinant of age‐0 recruitment. Our research demonstrates how over‐dispersed catch data can be used to better understand the effects of environmental conditions on sturgeon populations caused by the construction and operation of dams.

Long Range River Discharge Forecasting Using the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) Satellite to Predict Conditions for Endemic Cholera

Science.gov (United States)

Jutla, A.; Akanda, A. S.; Colwell, R. R.

2014-12-01

Prediction of conditions of an impending disease outbreak remains a challenge but is achievable if the associated and appropriate large scale hydroclimatic process can be estimated in advance. Outbreaks of diarrheal diseases such as cholera, are related to episodic seasonal variability in river discharge in the regions where water and sanitation infrastructure are inadequate and insufficient. However, forecasting river discharge, few months in advance, remains elusive where cholera outbreaks are frequent, probably due to non-availability of geophysical data as well as transboundary water stresses. Here, we show that satellite derived water storage from Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Forecasting (GRACE) sensors can provide reliable estimates on river discharge atleast two months in advance over regional scales. Bayesian regression models predicted flooding and drought conditions, a prerequisite for cholera outbreaks, in Bengal Delta with an overall accuracy of 70% for upto 60 days in advance without using any other ancillary ground based data. Forecasting of river discharge will have significant impacts on planning and designing intervention strategies for potential cholera outbreaks in the coastal regions where the disease remain endemic and often fatal.

A Flood Risk Assessment of the LaHave River Watershed, Canada Using GIS Techniques and an Unstructured Grid Combined River-Coastal Hydrodynamic Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kevin McGuigan

2015-09-01

Full Text Available A flexible mesh hydrodynamic model was developed to simulate flooding of the LaHave River watershed in Nova Scotia, Canada, from the combined effects of fluvial discharge and ocean tide and surge conditions. The analysis incorporated high-resolution lidar elevation data, bathymetric river and coastal chart data, and river cross-section information. These data were merged to generate a seamless digital elevation model which was used, along with river discharge and tidal elevation data, to run a two-dimensional hydrodynamic model to produce flood risk predictions for the watershed. Fine resolution topography data were integrated seamlessly with coarse resolution bathymetry using a series of GIS tools. Model simulations were carried out using DHI Mike 21 Flexible Mesh under a variety of combinations of discharge events and storm surge levels. Discharge events were simulated for events that represent a typical annual maximum runoff and extreme events, while tide and storm surge events were simulated by using the predicted tidal time series and adding 2 and 3 m storm surge events to the ocean level seaward of the mouth of the river. Model output was examined and the maximum water level for the duration of each simulation was extracted and merged into one file that was used in a GIS to map the maximum flood extent and water depth. Upstream areas were most vulnerable to fluvial discharge events, the lower estuary was most vulnerable to the effect of storm surge and sea-level rise, and the Town of Bridgewater was influenced by the combined effects of discharge and storm surge. To facilitate the use of the results for planning officials, GIS flood risk layers were intersected with critical infrastructure, identifying the roads, buildings, and municipal sewage infrastructure at risk under each flood scenario. Roads were converted to points at 10 m spacing for inundated areas and appended with the flood depth calculated from the maximum water level

Defining the formative discharge for alternate bars in alluvial rivers

Science.gov (United States)

Redolfi, M.; Carlin, M.; Tubino, M.; Adami, L.; Zolezzi, G.

2017-12-01

We investigate the properties of alternate bars in long straight reaches of channelized streams subject to an unsteady, irregular flow regime. To this aim we propose a novel integration of a statistical approach with the analytical perturbation model of Tubino (1991) which predicts the evolution of bar properties (namely amplitude and wavelength) as consequence of a flood. The outcomes of our integrated modelling approach are probability distribution of the bar properties, which depend essentially on two ingredients: (i) the statistical properties of the flow regime (duration, frequency and magnitude of the flood events, and (ii) the reach-averaged hydro-geomorphic characteristics of the channel (bed material, channel gradient and width). This allows to define a "bar-forming" discharge value as the flow value which would reproduce the most likely bar properties in a river reach under unsteady flow. Alternate bars are often migrating downstream and growing or declining during flood events. The timescale of bar growth and migration is often comparable with the duration of the floods: consequently, bar properties such as height and wavelength do not respond instantaneously to discharge variations (i.e. quasi-equilibrium response) but may depend on previous flood events. Theoretical results are compared with observations in three Alpine, channelized gravel bed rivers with encouraging outcomes.png" class="documentimage" >

Remote measurement of river discharge using thermal particle image velocimetry (PIV) and various sources of bathymetric information

Science.gov (United States)

Legleiter, Carl; Kinzel, Paul J.; Nelson, Jonathan M.

2017-01-01

Although river discharge is a fundamental hydrologic quantity, conventional methods of streamgaging are impractical, expensive, and potentially dangerous in remote locations. This study evaluated the potential for measuring discharge via various forms of remote sensing, primarily thermal imaging of flow velocities but also spectrally-based depth retrieval from passive optical image data. We acquired thermal image time series from bridges spanning five streams in Alaska and observed strong agreement between velocities measured in situ and those inferred by Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), which quantified advection of thermal features by the flow. The resulting surface velocities were converted to depth-averaged velocities by applying site-specific, calibrated velocity indices. Field spectra from three clear-flowing streams provided strong relationships between depth and reflectance, suggesting that, under favorable conditions, spectrally-based bathymetric mapping could complement thermal PIV in a hybrid approach to remote sensing of river discharge; this strategy would not be applicable to larger, more turbid rivers, however. A more flexible and efficient alternative might involve inferring depth from thermal data based on relationships between depth and integral length scales of turbulent fluctuations in temperature, captured as variations in image brightness. We observed moderately strong correlations for a site-aggregated data set that reduced station-to-station variability but encompassed a broad range of depths. Discharges calculated using thermal PIV-derived velocities were within 15% of in situ measurements when combined with depths measured directly in the field or estimated from field spectra and within 40% when the depth information also was derived from thermal images. The results of this initial, proof-of-concept investigation suggest that remote sensing techniques could facilitate measurement of river discharge.

Upstream Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) passage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clay, C.H.

1993-01-01

Upstream salmon passage though a dam is discussed with respect to three main components: the fishway entrance, the fishway, and the exit. Design considerations and alternative types of components are presented. For fishway entrances, an important consideration is the positioning of the entrance as far upstream as the fish can swim with respect to obstacles. For powerhouses using water diverted from a river, the problem of leading fish past the powerhouse may be overcome by either installing a tailrace barrier or increasing the flow until the home stream odor is sufficient to attract fish. Swimming ability should be the first consideration in fishway design. Fishways with 50 cm drops per pool would be satisfactory in most cases. The problem of headwater fluctuation is overcome through careful fishway selection. Fish locks, hoists, and elevators are other alternatives to pool/weir fishways. The location for a fish exit must be decided on the basis of whether the fishway will be used only for upstream migrations. 5 refs., 1 fig., 1 tab

A scheme for regulating toxic substances to water quality of Chamsil upstream water system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Kang Suk; Kim, Jee Hoon [Korea Environment Institute, Seoul (Korea)

1998-12-01

This study asserts to reflect a concept of toxicity thoroughly in the present water quality concept. It presents an appropriate solution to control toxic substances flowing into the Chamsil upstream water system. Although a regulation of toxic substances into major rivers in Korea other than Han river is also required urgently, it will be studied in future. It is expected that this study on Chamsil upstream would be a cornerstone for establishing a national regulation policy of toxic substances into water system. 28 refs., 1 fig., 36 tabs.

Assessment of the Relationship between Andean Ice Core Precipitation Indicators and Amazon River Discharge

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, N.; Alsdorf, D.; Thompson, L.; Mosley-Thompson, E.; Melack, J.

2006-12-01

Prior to the last 100 years, there is a significant lack of hydrologic knowledge for the Amazon Basin. A 100- year record of discharge from the city of Manaus, located at the confluence of the Solimoes and Negro rivers, is the most complete record for the basin. Inundated wetlands play a key role in carbon out-gassing to the atmosphere whereas discharge from the Amazon River contributes about 20% of the total freshwater flux delivered to the world's oceans. As discharge (Q) and inundation are directly related to precipitation, we are developing a method to extend our understanding of Q and inundation into the 19^{th} century. Using proxy data preserved in Andean glaciers and ice caps and recovered from ice cores, annually resolved histories of δ^{18)O and mass accumulation are available. The latter is a proxy for local precipitation amount whereas δ18O is influenced by continental scale processes (i.e., evaporation, convection) as well as by temperature and hence, by varying climate regimes. We have correlated the accumulation and δ18O records from Core 1 drilled on the Quelccaya ice-cap in the southern Andes of Peru with the Manaus discharge data. As ice core annual layers correspond to the thermal year (in Peru, July to June of the following year) and the discharge records are kept daily (January to December), we averaged 365 days of Q data seeking the optimal correlation for each start and end date. The best statistical relationship between δ18O and Q (r = -0.41, p = < 0.001) is attained when Q is averaged from March 16 to March 15 of the following year. We also correlated 23 years of ENSO events, which are linked to both Amazon River discharge and ice core δ18O (r = -0.60, p = < 0.001). These linear relationships are used to create Amazon discharge for the 20^{th} century and to extrapolate Q into the 19^{th} century. Previously developed relationships between Q and mainstem inundated area are then used to estimate inundated area along the main Amazon

Modelling climate change effects on Atlantic salmon: Implications for mitigation in regulated rivers.

Science.gov (United States)

Sundt-Hansen, L E; Hedger, R D; Ugedal, O; Diserud, O H; Finstad, A G; Sauterleute, J F; Tøfte, L; Alfredsen, K; Forseth, T

2018-08-01

Climate change is expected to alter future temperature and discharge regimes of rivers. These regimes have a strong influence on the life history of most aquatic river species, and are key variables controlling the growth and survival of Atlantic salmon. This study explores how the future abundance of Atlantic salmon may be influenced by climate-induced changes in water temperature and discharge in a regulated river, and investigates how negative impacts in the future can be mitigated by applying different regulated discharge regimes during critical periods for salmon survival. A spatially explicit individual-based model was used to predict juvenile Atlantic salmon population abundance in a regulated river under a range of future water temperature and discharge scenarios (derived from climate data predicted by the Hadley Centre's Global Climate Model (GCM) HadAm3H and the Max Plank Institute's GCM ECHAM4), which were then compared with populations predicted under control scenarios representing past conditions. Parr abundance decreased in all future scenarios compared to the control scenarios due to reduced wetted areas (with the effect depending on climate scenario, GCM, and GCM spatial domain). To examine the potential for mitigation of climate change-induced reductions in wetted area, simulations were run with specific minimum discharge regimes. An increase in abundance of both parr and smolt occurred with an increase in the limit of minimum permitted discharge for three of the four GCM/GCM spatial domains examined. This study shows that, in regulated rivers with upstream storage capacity, negative effects of climate change on Atlantic salmon populations can potentially be mitigated by release of water from reservoirs during critical periods for juvenile salmon. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Suspended-sediment loads in the lower Stillaguamish River, Snohomish County, Washington, 2014–15

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Scott A.; Curran, Christopher A.; Grossman, Eric E.

2017-08-03

Continuous records of discharge and turbidity at a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgage in the lower Stillaguamish River were paired with discrete measurements of suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) in order to estimate suspended-sediment loads over the water years 2014 and 2015. First, relations between turbidity and SSC were developed and used to translate the continuous turbidity record into a continuous estimate of SSC. Those concentrations were then used to predict suspended-sediment loads based on the current discharge record, reported at daily intervals. Alternative methods were used to in-fill a small number of days with either missing periods of turbidity or discharge records. Uncertainties in our predictions at daily and annual time scales were estimated based on the parameter uncertainties in our turbidity-SSC regressions. Daily loads ranged from as high as 121,000 tons during a large autumn storm to as low as –56 tons, when tidal return flow moved more sediment upstream than river discharge did downstream. Annual suspended-sediment loads for both water years were close to 1.4 ± 0.2 million tons.

Simulated long-term changes in river discharge and soil moisture due to global warming

Science.gov (United States)

Manabe, S.; Milly, P.C.D.; Wetherald, R.

2004-01-01

By use of a coupled ocean atmosphere-land model, this study explores the changes of water availability, as measured by river discharge and soil moisture, that could occur by the middle of the 21st century in response to combined increases of greenhouse gases and sulphate aerosols based upon the "IS92a" scenario. In addition, it presents the simulated change in water availability that might be realized in a few centuries in response to a quadrupling of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. Averaging the results over extended periods, the radiatively forced changes, which are very similar between the two sets of experiments, were successfully extracted. The analysis indicates that the discharges from Arctic rivers such as the Mackenzie and Ob' increase by up to 20% (of the pre-Industrial Period level) by the middle of the 21st century and by up to 40% or more in a few centuries. In the tropics, the discharges from the Amazonas and Ganga-Brahmaputra rivers increase substantially. However, the percentage changes in runoff from other tropical and many mid-latitude rivers are smaller, with both positive and negative signs. For soil moisture, the results of this study indicate reductions during much of the year in many semiarid regions of the world, such as the southwestern region of North America, the northeastern region of China, the Mediterranean coast of Europe, and the grasslands of Australia and Africa. As a percentage, the reduction is particularly large during the dry season. From middle to high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, soil moisture decreases in summer but increases in winter.

Study on quality of effluent discharge by the Tiruppur textile dyeing units and its impact on river Noyyal, Tamil Nadu (India).

Science.gov (United States)

Rajkumar, A Samuel; Nagan, S

2010-10-01

In Tiruppur, 729 textile dyeing units are under operation and these units generate 96.1 MLD of wastewater. The untreated effluent was discharged into the Noyyal River till 1997. After the issuance of directions by Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) in 1997, these units have installed 8 common effluent treatment plants (CETP) consisting of physical, chemical and biological treatment units. Some of the units have installed individual ETP (IETP). The treated effluent was finally discharged into the river. The dyeing units use sodium chloride in the dyeing process for efficient fixing of dye in the fabric efficiently. This contributes high total dissolved solids (TDS) and chlorides in the effluent. CETPs and IETPs failed to meet discharge standards of TDS and chlorides and thereby significantly affected the river water quality. TDS level in the river water was in the range of 900 - 6600 mg/L, and chloride was in the range of 230 - 2700 mg/L. Orathupalayam dam is located across Noyyal river at 32 km down stream of Tiruppur. The pollutants carried by the river were accumulated in the dam. TDS in the dam water was in the range of 4250 - 7900 mg/L and chloride was in the range of 1600 - 2700 mg/L. The dam sediments contain heavy metals of chromium, copper, zinc and lead. In 2006, the High Court has directed the dyeing units to install zero liquid discharge (ZLD) plant and to stop discharging of effluent into the river. Accordingly, the industries have installed and commissioned the ZLD plant consisting of RO plant and reject management system in 2010. The effluent after secondary treatment from the CETP is further treated in RO plant. The RO permeate is reused by the member units. The RO reject is concentrated in multiple effect evaporator (MEE)/ mechanical vacuum re-compressor (MVR). The concentrate is crystallized and centrifuged to recover salt. The salt recovered is reused. The liquid separated from the centrifuge is sent to solar evaporation pan. The salt

Colorado River sediment transport: 2. Systematic bed‐elevation and grain‐size effects of sand supply limitation

Science.gov (United States)

Topping, David J.; Rubin, David M.; Nelson, Jonathan M.; Kinzel, Paul J.; Corson, Ingrid C.

2000-01-01

The Colorado River in Marble and Grand Canyons displays evidence of annual supply limitation with respect to sand both prior to [Topping et al, this issue] and after the closure of Glen Canyon Dam in 1963. Systematic changes in bed elevation and systematic coupled changes in suspended‐sand concentration and grain size result from this supply limitation. During floods, sand supply limitation either causes or modifies a lag between the time of maximum discharge and the time of either maximum or minimum (depending on reach geometry) bed elevation. If, at a cross section where the bed aggrades with increasing flow, the maximum bed elevation is observed to lead the peak or the receding limb of a flood, then this observed response of the bed is due to sand supply limitation. Sand supply limitation also leads to the systematic evolution of sand grain size (both on the bed and in suspension) in the Colorado River. Sand input during a tributary flood travels down the Colorado River as an elongating sediment wave, with the finest sizes (because of their lower settling velocities) traveling the fastest. As the fine front of a sediment wave arrives at a given location, the bed fines and suspended‐sand concentrations increase in response to the enhanced upstream supply of finer sand. Then, as the front of the sediment wave passes that location, the bed is winnowed and suspended‐sand concentrations decrease in response to the depletion of the upstream supply of finer sand. The grain‐size effects of depletion of the upstream sand supply are most obvious during periods of higher dam releases (e.g., the 1996 flood experiment and the 1997 test flow). Because of substantial changes in the grain‐size distribution of the bed, stable relationships between the discharge of water and sand‐transport rates (i.e., stable sand rating curves) are precluded. Sand budgets in a supply‐limited river like the Colorado River can only be constructed through inclusion of the physical

Annual and seasonal variations In the gamma activities in Sava river sediments upstream and downstream of NPP Krsko

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stipe, Lulic

2006-01-01

Results of the five years monitoring of artificial and natural occurring radionuclides in the Sava river sediments are presented. Measurements were conducted as a part of the regular Krsko Nuclear Power Plant radioactivity control and the independent supervisions of the input of radionuclides into larger environment (immission). In order to estimate seasonal variations samples were taken from seven locations (one upstream and five downstream of the Krsko NPP) during four sampling period (seasonal) in each year. Selected radionuclides in the sediment fraction less than 0.5 mm were determined with gamma spectrometer equipped with BE3830 model High Purity Ge detector with 30% relative efficiency. (authors)

Annual and seasonal variations In the gamma activities in Sava river sediments upstream and downstream of NPP Krsko

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stipe, Lulic [Rudjer Boskovic Institute, Lab. for radioecology, Zagreb (Croatia)

2006-07-01

Results of the five years monitoring of artificial and natural occurring radionuclides in the Sava river sediments are presented. Measurements were conducted as a part of the regular Krsko Nuclear Power Plant radioactivity control and the independent supervisions of the input of radionuclides into larger environment (immission). In order to estimate seasonal variations samples were taken from seven locations (one upstream and five downstream of the Krsko NPP) during four sampling period (seasonal) in each year. Selected radionuclides in the sediment fractiess than 0.5 mm were determined with gamma spectrometer equipped with BE3830 model High Purity Ge detector with 30% relative efficiency. (authors)

Forecasting the Amount of Waste-Sewage Water Discharged into the Yangtze River Basin Based on the Optimal Fractional Order Grey Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Shuliang; Meng, Wei; Xie, Yufeng

2017-12-23

With the rapid development of the Yangtze River economic belt, the amount of waste-sewage water discharged into the Yangtze River basin increases sharply year by year, which has impeded the sustainable development of the Yangtze River basin. The water security along the Yangtze River basin is very important for China, It is something aboutwater security of roughly one-third of China's population and the sustainable development of the 19 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions among the Yangtze River basin. Therefore, a scientific prediction of the amount of waste-sewage water discharged into Yangtze River basin has a positive significance on sustainable development of industry belt along with Yangtze River basin. This paper builds the fractional DWSGM(1,1)(DWSGM(1,1) model is short for Discharge amount of Waste Sewage Grey Model for one order equation and one variable) model based on the fractional accumulating generation operator and fractional reducing operator, and calculates the optimal order of "r" by using particle swarm optimization(PSO)algorithm for solving the minimum average relative simulation error. Meanwhile, the simulation performance of DWSGM(1,1)model with the optimal fractional order is tested by comparing the simulation results of grey prediction models with different orders. Finally, the optimal fractional order DWSGM(1,1)grey model is applied to predict the amount of waste-sewage water discharged into the Yangtze River basin, and corresponding countermeasures and suggestions are put forward through analyzing and comparing the prediction results. This paper has positive significance on enriching the fractional order modeling method of the grey system.

Hydraulic Characteristics of the Lower Snake River During Periods of Juvenile Fall Chinook Migration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cook, Chris B.; Dibrani, Berhon; Richmond, Marshall C.; Bleich, Matthew D.; Titzler, P. Scott; Fu, Tao

2006-01-30

This report documents a four-year study to assess hydraulic conditions in the lower Snake River. The work was conducted for the Bonneville Power Administration, U.S. Department of Energy, by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Cold water released from the Dworshak Reservoir hypolimnion during mid- to late-summer months cools the Clearwater River far below equilibrium temperature. The volume of released cold water augments the Clearwater River, and the combined total discharge is on the order of the Snake River discharge when the two rivers meet at their confluence near the upstream edge of Lower Granite Reservoir. With typical temperature differences between the Clearwater and Snake rivers of 10°C or more during July and August, the density difference between the two rivers during summer flow augmentation periods is sufficient to stratify Lower Granite Reservoir as well as the other three reservoirs downstream. Because cooling of the river is desirable for migrating juvenile fall Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) during this same time period, the amount of mixing and cold water entrained into Lower Granite Reservoir’s epilimnion at the Clearwater/Snake River confluence is of key biological importance to juvenile fall Chinook salmon. Data collected during this project indicates the three reservoirs downstream of Lower Granite also stratify as direct result of flow augmentation from Dworshak Reservoir. These four lower Snake reservoirs are also heavily influenced by wind forcing at the water’s surface, and during periods of low river discharge, often behave like a two-layer lake. During these periods of stratification, lower river discharge, and wind forcing, the water in the upper layer of the reservoir is held in place or moves slightly upstream. This upper layer is also exposed to surface heating and may warm up to temperatures close to equilibrium temperature. The depth of this upper warm layer and its direction of travel may also be of key

River discharge estimation from synthetic SWOT-type observations using variational data assimilation and the full Saint-Venant hydraulic model

Science.gov (United States)

Oubanas, Hind; Gejadze, Igor; Malaterre, Pierre-Olivier; Mercier, Franck

2018-04-01

The upcoming Surface Water and Ocean Topography satellite mission, to be launched in 2021, will measure river water surface elevation, slope and width, with an unprecedented level of accuracy for a remote sensing tool. This work investigates the river discharge estimation from synthetic SWOT observations, in the presence of strong uncertainties in the model inputs, i.e. the river bathymetry and bed roughness. The estimation problem is solved by a novel variant of the standard variational data assimilation, the '4D-Var' method, involving the full Saint-Venant 1.5D-network hydraulic model SIC2. The assimilation scheme simultaneously estimates the discharge, bed elevation and bed roughness coefficient and is designed to assimilate both satellite and in situ measurements. The method is tested on a 50 km-long reach of the Garonne River during a five-month period of the year 2010, characterized by multiple flooding events. First, the impact of the sampling frequency on discharge estimation is investigated. Secondly, discharge as well as the spatially distributed bed elevation and bed roughness coefficient are determined simultaneously. Results demonstrate feasibility and efficiency of the chosen combination of the estimation method and of the hydraulic model. Assimilation of the SWOT data results into an accurate estimation of the discharge at observation times, and a local improvement in the bed level and bed roughness coefficient. However, the latter estimates are not generally usable for different independent experiments.

Assessing the contribution of the main aquifer of Loire basin to the river discharge during low flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monteil, C.

2011-01-01

The evolution of the Loire river low flows is a key issue for various uses such as water supply, irrigation or industrial needs. Power production is a major activity in the Loire basin with four nuclear power plants using the river water for the cooling system. To estimate the evolution of long term in-stream low flow distribution, it is necessary to have a good estimate of the contribution of a complex aquifer system to the river discharge. Three main overlaying aquifer units covering an area of 38000 km 2 are considered: Beauce Limestones (Oligocene), Chalks (Seno-Turonian) and Sands (Cenomanian). A distributed hydrogeological model (Eau-Dyssee) is implemented with the coupling of five modules: surface water budget, watershed routing, river routing, unsaturated zone transfer, and groundwater flow. The model is calibrated over a 10-yr period, validated over another 10-yr period, and then a test simulation is run over 35 years. A hybrid fitting methodology, based on an automated inverse method and a trial-error one, has been developed for the fitting of the Beauce aquifer unit. The other units are calibrated by trial and error. The fitted model simulates properly both discharges and piezometric heads over the whole domain, with a global RMSE between simulated and observed piezometric heads of 2.86 m, and all Nash efficiency at the Loire discharge gauging stations over 0.9. The fitted model has then been used to quantify the hydro-system mass balance at different time scales. Mean aquifer contribution to Loire river discharge during low flow between 1975 and 2008 is estimated at 15 m 3 /s. First results of simulations under four different climate change projections indicate an averaged decrease of these contributions reaching 8 to 50% in 2100. (author)

Phase I of the Kissimmee River restoration project, Florida, USA: impacts of construction on water quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Colangelo, David J; Jones, Bradley L

2005-03-01

Phase I of the Kissimmee River restoration project included backfilling of 12 km of canal and restoring flow through 24 km of continuous river channel. We quantified the effects of construction activities on four water quality parameters (turbidity, total phosphorus flow-weighted concentration, total phosphorus load and dissolved oxygen concentration). Data were collected at stations upstream and downstream of the construction and at four stations within the construction zone to determine if canal backfilling and construction of 2.4 km of new river channel would negatively impact local and downstream water quality. Turbidity levels at the downstream station were elevated for approximately 2 weeks during the one and a half year construction period, but never exceeded the Florida Department of Environmental Protection construction permit criteria. Turbidity levels at stations within the construction zone were high at certain times. Flow-weighted concentration of total phosphorus at the downstream station was slightly higher than the upstream station during construction, but low discharge limited downstream transport of phosphorus. Total phosphorus loads at the upstream and downstream stations were similar and loading to Lake Okeechobee was not significantly affected by construction. Mean water column dissolved oxygen concentrations at all sampling stations were similar during construction.

Satellite Derived Water Quality Observations Are Related to River Discharge and Nitrogen Loads in Pensacola Bay, Florida

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John C. Lehrter

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Relationships between satellite-derived water quality variables and river discharges, concentrations and loads of nutrients, organic carbon, and sediments were investigated over a 9-year period (2003–2011 in Pensacola Bay, Florida, USA. These analyses were conducted to better understand which river forcing factors were the primary drivers of estuarine variability in several water quality variables. Remote sensing reflectance time-series data were retrieved from the MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS and used to calculate monthly and annual estuarine time-series of chlorophyll a (Chla, colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM, and total suspended sediments (TSS. Monthly MERIS Chla varied from 2.0 mg m−3 in the lower region of the bay to 17.2 mg m−3 in the upper bay. MERIS CDOM and TSS exhibited similar patterns with ranges of 0.51–2.67 (m−1 and 0.11–8.9 (g m−3. Variations in the MERIS-derived monthly and annual Chla, CDOM, and TSS time-series were significantly related to monthly and annual river discharge and loads of nitrogen, organic carbon, and suspended sediments from the Escambia and Yellow rivers. Multiple regression models based on river loads (independent variables and MERIS Chla, CDOM, or TSS (dependent variables explained significant fractions of the variability (up to 62% at monthly and annual scales. The most significant independent variables in the regressions were river nitrogen loads, which were associated with increased MERIS Chla, CDOM, and TSS concentrations, and river suspended sediment loads, which were associated with decreased concentrations. In contrast, MERIS water quality variations were not significantly related to river total phosphorus loads. The spatially synoptic, nine-year satellite record expanded upon the spatial extent of past field studies to reveal previously unseen system-wide responses to river discharge and loading variation. The results indicated that variations in Pensacola Bay Chla

Evaluation of Ravi river water quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmed, K.; Ali, W.

2000-01-01

Investigation from 1989 to 1998 on river Ravi pollution was carried out to study the effects of wastewater discharges on its water quality in relation to its various water use. The sources of pollution entering the river between Syphon (20 Km upstream) and Balloki Head works (75 Km downstream) includes Upper Chenab Canal (U.C.) which bring industrial effluents through Deg municipal swage from the city of Lahore. Investigation revealed that the flow in the river are highly variable with time during the year U.C. canal with a capacity of 220 m/sup 3//S at the tail and Qadiarabad (Q.B.) Link canal with a capacity of 410 m3/S are mainly responsible for higher flows during dry season. A desecrating trend has been observed in the D.O. Levels indicating increasing pollution. Over times D.O values are above 4 mg/l indicating recovery due to dilution biodegradation and aeration. An increasing trend has been observed in Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), suspended solids, total dissolved solids and indicator organisms. Even with the discharges of pollutions from U.C. canal, Hudiara Nullah and city sewage, BOD at Balloki was unexpectedly low. It was investigated that because of pollution free Q.B. link canal which joins the river just before Balloki Head works makes the water diluted, which accounted for low BOD. Water of river Ravi meet the chemical water quality requirement for irrigation. However the water quality does not meet the coliform and faecal coliform criteria for most water use. (orig../A.B.)

Discharge of perfluorinated compounds from rivers and their influence on the coastal seas of Hyogo prefecture, Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takemine, Shusuke; Matsumura, Chisato; Yamamoto, Katsuya; Suzuki, Motoharu; Tsurukawa, Masahiro; Imaishi, Hiromasa; Nakano, Takeshi; Kondo, Akira

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate 12 perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) including perfluorinated carboxylates (C4–C12) and perfluorinated alkyl sulfonates (C4, C6, and C8) in river and seawater samples to determine contamination levels in the aquatic environment of Hyogo prefecture, Japan. High levels of perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA; 2300–16,000 ng/L) were detected in the Samondogawa River at Tatsumi Bridge downstream of a PFC production facility; this location also had the highest mass flow rate of PFCs (3900–29,000 kg/y). Widespread contamination of coastal waters was confirmed with PFHxA as the dominant compound. Perfluorooctanoic acid was also prevalent in coastal waters. The concentration of PFHxA in coastal seawater and the distance from the mouth of the Samondogawa River were inversely related. This discharge of high concentrations of PFHxA from the Samondogawa River may have affected concentrations of PFCs in Osaka Bay. -- Highlights: • High perfluorohexanoic acid concentration was detected in the Samondogawa River. • The mass flow rate of PFCs in this river section was 3900–29,000 kg/y. • Perfluorohexanoic acid was the dominant compound at all seawater sampling sites. • Perfluorohexanoic acid from the Samondogawa River may have affected Osaka Bay. -- Discharge of perfluorohexanoic acid from the Samondogawa River may have affected Osaka Bay

Effects of uranium mining discharges on water quality in the Puerco River basin, Arizona and New Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Van Metre, P.C.; Gray, J.R.

1992-01-01

From 1967 until 1986, uranium mine dewatering increased dissolved gross alpha, gross beta, uranium and radium activities and dissolved selenium and molybdenum concentrations in the Puerco River as indicated by time trends, areal patterns involving distance from the mines and stream discharge. Additionally, increased dissolved uranium concentrations were identified in groundwater under the Puerco River from where mine discharges entered the river to approximately the Arizona-New Mexico State line about 65 km downstream. Total mass of uranium and gross alpha activity released to the Puerco River by mine dewatering were estimated as 560 Mg (560 × 106 g) and 260 Ci, respectively. In comparison, a uranium mill tailings pond spill on 16 July 1979, released an estimated 1.5 Mg of uranium and 46 Ci of gross alpha activity. Mass balance calculations for alluvial ground water indicate that most of the uranium released did not remain in solution. Sorption of uranium on sediments and uptake of uranium by plants probably removed the uranium from solution.

Estimating discharge from the Godavari river using ENVISAT, Jason-2, and SARAL/AltiKa radar altimeters

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sridevi, T.; Sharma, Rashmi; Mehra, P.; Prasad, K.V.S.R.

://www.legos.obs-mip.fr/soa/hydrologie/hydroweb), U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service (http://www.pecad.fas.usda.gov/cropexplorer/global_reservoir), and European Space Agency and De Montfort University River and Lake Project (http... has been established between river heights and in-situ discharge with high correlation and from Fig. 7, it was already observed a good correlation between the altimetry river heights and in-situ heights, the comparison could therefore be extended...

A stochastic conflict resolution model for trading pollutant discharge permits in river systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Niksokhan, Mohammad Hossein; Kerachian, Reza; Amin, Pedram

2009-07-01

This paper presents an efficient methodology for developing pollutant discharge permit trading in river systems considering the conflict of interests of involving decision-makers and the stakeholders. In this methodology, a trade-off curve between objectives is developed using a powerful and recently developed multi-objective genetic algorithm technique known as the Nondominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II). The best non-dominated solution on the trade-off curve is defined using the Young conflict resolution theory, which considers the utility functions of decision makers and stakeholders of the system. These utility functions are related to the total treatment cost and a fuzzy risk of violating the water quality standards. The fuzzy risk is evaluated using the Monte Carlo analysis. Finally, an optimization model provides the trading discharge permit policies. The practical utility of the proposed methodology in decision-making is illustrated through a realistic example of the Zarjub River in the northern part of Iran.

Modelling the effects of spatial and temporal resolution of rainfall and basin model on extreme river discharge

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Booij, Martijn J.

2002-01-01

Important characteristics of an appropriate river basin model, intended to study the effect of climate change on basin response, are the spatial and temporal resolution of the model and the rainfall input. The effects of input and model resolution on extreme discharge of a large river basin are

Discharge prediction in the Upper Senegal River using remote sensing data

Science.gov (United States)

Ceccarini, Iacopo; Raso, Luciano; Steele-Dunne, Susan; Hrachowitz, Markus; Nijzink, Remko; Bodian, Ansoumana; Claps, Pierluigi

2017-04-01

The Upper Senegal River, West Africa, is a poorly gauged basin. Nevertheless, discharge predictions are required in this river for the optimal operation of the downstream Manantali reservoir, flood forecasting, development plans for the entire basin and studies for adaptation to climate change. Despite the need for reliable discharge predictions, currently available rainfall-runoff models for this basin provide only poor performances, particularly during extreme regimes, both low-flow and high-flow. In this research we develop a rainfall-runoff model that combines remote-sensing input data and a-priori knowledge on catchment physical characteristics. This semi-distributed model, is based on conceptual numerical descriptions of hydrological processes at the catchment scale. Because of the lack of reliable input data from ground observations, we use the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) remote-sensing data for precipitation and the Global Land Evaporation Amsterdam Model (GLEAM) for the terrestrial potential evaporation. The model parameters are selected by a combination of calibration, by match of observed output and considering a large set of hydrological signatures, as well as a-priori knowledge on the catchment. The Generalized Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) method was used to choose the most likely range in which the parameter sets belong. Analysis of different experiments enhances our understanding on the added value of distributed remote-sensing data and a-priori information in rainfall-runoff modelling. Results of this research will be used for decision making at different scales, contributing to a rational use of water resources in this river.

Reconstructing Sediment Supply, Transport and Deposition Behind the Elwha River Dams

Science.gov (United States)

Beveridge, C.

2017-12-01

The Elwha River watershed in Olympic National Park of Washington State, USA is predominantly a steep, mountainous landscape where dominant geomorphic processes include landslides, debris flows and gullying. The river is characterized by substantial variability of channel morphology and fluvial processes, and alternates between narrow bedrock canyons and wider alluvial reaches for much of its length. Literature suggests that the Elwha watershed is topographically and tectonically in steady state. The removal of the two massive hydropower dams along the river in 2013 marked the largest dam removal in history. Over the century long lifespan of the dams, approximately 21 million cubic meters of sediment was impounded behind them. Long term erosion rates documented in this region and reservoir sedimentation data give unprecedented opportunities to test watershed sediment yield models and examine dominant processes that control sediment yield over human time scales. In this study, we aim to reconstruct sediment supply, transport and deposition behind the Glines Canyon Dam (most upstream dam) over its lifespan using a watershed modeling approach. We developed alternative models of varying complexity for sediment production and transport at the network scale driven by hydrologic forcing. We simulate sediment supply and transport in tributaries upstream of the dam. The modeled sediment supply and transport dynamics are based on calibrated formulae (e.g., bedload transport is simulated using Wilcock-Crowe 2003 with modification based on observed bedload transport in the Elwha River). Observational data that aid in our approach include DEM, channel morphology, meteorology, and streamflow and sediment (bedload and suspended load) discharge. We aim to demonstrate how the observed sediment yield behind the dams was influenced by upstream transport supply and capacity limitations, thereby demonstrating the scale effects of flow and sediment transport processes in the Elwha River

Influence of main forcing affecting the Tagus turbid plume under high river discharges using MODIS imagery.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernández-Nóvoa, D; Gómez-Gesteira, M; Mendes, R; deCastro, M; Vaz, N; Dias, J M

2017-01-01

The role of river discharge, wind and tide on the extension and variability of the Tagus River plume was analyzed from 2003 to 2015. This study was performed combining daily images obtained from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor located onboard the Aqua and Terra satellites. Composites were generated by averaging pixels with the same forcing conditions. River discharge shows a strong relation with the extension of the Tagus plume. The plume grows with the increasing river discharge and express a two day lag caused by the long residence time of water within the estuary. The Tagus turbid plume was found to be smaller under northerly and easterly winds, than under southerly and westerly winds. It is suggested that upwelling favoring winds provoke the offshore movement of the plume material with a rapidly decrease in turbidity values whereas downwelling favoring winds retain plume material in the north coast close to the Tagus mouth. Eastern cross-shore (oceanward) winds spread the plume seaward and to the north following the coast geometry, whereas western cross-shore (landward) winds keep the plume material in both alongshore directions occupying a large part of the area enclosed by the bay. Low tides produce larger and more turbid plumes than high tides. In terms of fortnightly periodicity, the maximum plume extension corresponding to the highest turbidity is observed during and after spring tides. Minimum plume extension associated with the lowest turbidity occurs during and after neap tides.

Influence of main forcing affecting the Tagus turbid plume under high river discharges using MODIS imagery.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D Fernández-Nóvoa

Full Text Available The role of river discharge, wind and tide on the extension and variability of the Tagus River plume was analyzed from 2003 to 2015. This study was performed combining daily images obtained from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS sensor located onboard the Aqua and Terra satellites. Composites were generated by averaging pixels with the same forcing conditions. River discharge shows a strong relation with the extension of the Tagus plume. The plume grows with the increasing river discharge and express a two day lag caused by the long residence time of water within the estuary. The Tagus turbid plume was found to be smaller under northerly and easterly winds, than under southerly and westerly winds. It is suggested that upwelling favoring winds provoke the offshore movement of the plume material with a rapidly decrease in turbidity values whereas downwelling favoring winds retain plume material in the north coast close to the Tagus mouth. Eastern cross-shore (oceanward winds spread the plume seaward and to the north following the coast geometry, whereas western cross-shore (landward winds keep the plume material in both alongshore directions occupying a large part of the area enclosed by the bay. Low tides produce larger and more turbid plumes than high tides. In terms of fortnightly periodicity, the maximum plume extension corresponding to the highest turbidity is observed during and after spring tides. Minimum plume extension associated with the lowest turbidity occurs during and after neap tides.

Flood Forecasting in River System Using ANFIS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ullah, Nazrin; Choudhury, P.

2010-01-01

The aim of the present study is to investigate applicability of artificial intelligence techniques such as ANFIS (Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System) in forecasting flood flow in a river system. The proposed technique combines the learning ability of neural network with the transparent linguistic representation of fuzzy system. The technique is applied to forecast discharge at a downstream station using flow information at various upstream stations. A total of three years data has been selected for the implementation of this model. ANFIS models with various input structures and membership functions are constructed, trained and tested to evaluate efficiency of the models. Statistical indices such as Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Correlation Coefficient (CORR) and Coefficient of Efficiency (CE) are used to evaluate performance of the ANFIS models in forecasting river flood. The values of the indices show that ANFIS model can accurately and reliably be used to forecast flood in a river system.

Post-processing of multi-model ensemble river discharge forecasts using censored EMOS

Science.gov (United States)

Hemri, Stephan; Lisniak, Dmytro; Klein, Bastian

2014-05-01

When forecasting water levels and river discharge, ensemble weather forecasts are used as meteorological input to hydrologic process models. As hydrologic models are imperfect and the input ensembles tend to be biased and underdispersed, the output ensemble forecasts for river runoff typically are biased and underdispersed, too. Thus, statistical post-processing is required in order to achieve calibrated and sharp predictions. Standard post-processing methods such as Ensemble Model Output Statistics (EMOS) that have their origins in meteorological forecasting are now increasingly being used in hydrologic applications. Here we consider two sub-catchments of River Rhine, for which the forecasting system of the Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG) uses runoff data that are censored below predefined thresholds. To address this methodological challenge, we develop a censored EMOS method that is tailored to such data. The censored EMOS forecast distribution can be understood as a mixture of a point mass at the censoring threshold and a continuous part based on a truncated normal distribution. Parameter estimates of the censored EMOS model are obtained by minimizing the Continuous Ranked Probability Score (CRPS) over the training dataset. Model fitting on Box-Cox transformed data allows us to take account of the positive skewness of river discharge distributions. In order to achieve realistic forecast scenarios over an entire range of lead-times, there is a need for multivariate extensions. To this end, we smooth the marginal parameter estimates over lead-times. In order to obtain realistic scenarios of discharge evolution over time, the marginal distributions have to be linked with each other. To this end, the multivariate dependence structure can either be adopted from the raw ensemble like in Ensemble Copula Coupling (ECC), or be estimated from observations in a training period. The censored EMOS model has been applied to multi-model ensemble forecasts issued on a

Water-quality conditions near the confluence of the Snake and Boise Rivers, Canyon County, Idaho

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, Molly S.; Etheridge, Alexandra

2011-01-01

during the study show seasonal differences in all measured parameters. In particular, surprisingly high concentrations of chlorophyll-a were measured at all three main study sites in winter and early spring, likely due to changes in algal populations. Discharge conditions and dissolved orthophosphorus concentrations are key drivers for chlorophyll-a on a seasonal and annual basis on the Snake River. Discharge conditions and upstream periphyton growth are most likely the key drivers for chlorophyll-a in the Boise River. Phytoplankton growth is not limited or driven by nutrient availability in the Boise River. Lower discharges and minimal substrate disturbance in WY2010 in comparison with WY2009 may have caused prolonged and increased periphyton and macrophyte growth and a reduced amount of sloughed algae in suspension in the summer of WY2010. Chlorophyll-a measured in samples commonly is used as an indicator of sestonic algae biomass, but chlorophyll-a concentrations and fluorescence may not be the most appropriate surrogates for algae growth, eutrophication, and associated effects on beneficial uses. Assessment of the effects of algae growth on beneficial uses should evaluate not only sestonic algae, but also benthic algae and macrophytes. Alternatively, continuous monitoring of dissolved oxygen detects the influence of aquatic plant respiration for all types of algae and macrophytes and is likely a more direct measure of effects on beneficial uses such as aquatic habitat. Most measured water-quality parameters in the Snake River were statistically different upstream and downstream of the confluence with the Boise River. Higher concentrations and loads were measured at the downstream site (Snake River at Nyssa) than the upstream site (Snake River near Adrian) for total phosphorus, dissolved orthophosphorus, total nitrogen, dissolved nitrite and nitrate, suspended sediment, and turbidity. Higher dissolved oxygen concentrations and pH were measured at the upstream site

Discharge and sediment loads at the Kings River Experimental Forest in the Southern Sierra Nevada of California

Science.gov (United States)

S.M. Eagan; C.T. Hunsaker; C.R. Dolanc; M.E. Lynch; C.R. Johnson

2007-01-01

The Kings River Experimental Watershed (KREW) is now in its third year of data collection on eight small perennial watersheds. We are collecting meteorology, stream discharge, sediment load, water chemistry, shallow soil water chemistry, vegetation, macro-invertebrate, stream microclimate, and air quality data. This paper primarily examines discharge and sediment data...

Canyon formation constraints on the discharge of catastrophic outburst floods of Earth and Mars

Science.gov (United States)

Lapotre, Mathieu G. A.; Lamb, Michael P.; Williams, Rebecca M. E.

2016-07-01

Catastrophic outburst floods carved amphitheater-headed canyons on Earth and Mars, and the steep headwalls of these canyons suggest that some formed by upstream headwall propagation through waterfall erosion processes. Because topography evolves in concert with water flow during canyon erosion, we suggest that bedrock canyon morphology preserves hydraulic information about canyon-forming floods. In particular, we propose that for a canyon to form with a roughly uniform width by upstream headwall retreat, erosion must occur around the canyon head, but not along the sidewalls, such that canyon width is related to flood discharge. We develop a new theory for bedrock canyon formation by megafloods based on flow convergence of large outburst floods toward a horseshoe-shaped waterfall. The model is developed for waterfall erosion by rock toppling, a candidate erosion mechanism in well fractured rock, like columnar basalt. We apply the model to 14 terrestrial (Channeled Scablands, Washington; Snake River Plain, Idaho; and Ásbyrgi canyon, Iceland) and nine Martian (near Ares Vallis and Echus Chasma) bedrock canyons and show that predicted flood discharges are nearly 3 orders of magnitude less than previously estimated, and predicted flood durations are longer than previously estimated, from less than a day to a few months. Results also show a positive correlation between flood discharge per unit width and canyon width, which supports our hypothesis that canyon width is set in part by flood discharge. Despite lower discharges than previously estimated, the flood volumes remain large enough for individual outburst floods to have perturbed the global hydrology of Mars.

Tracking groundwater discharge to a large river using tracers and geophysics.

Science.gov (United States)

Harrington, Glenn A; Gardner, W Payton; Munday, Tim J

2014-01-01

Few studies have investigated large reaches of rivers in which multiple sources of groundwater are responsible for maintaining baseflow. This paper builds upon previous work undertaken along the Fitzroy River, one of the largest perennial river systems in north-western Australia. Synoptic regional-scale sampling of both river water and groundwater for a suite of environmental tracers ((4) He, (87) Sr/(86) Sr, (222) Rn and major ions), and subsequent modeling of tracer behavior in the river, has enabled definition and quantification of groundwater input from at least three different sources. We show unambiguous evidence of both shallow "local" groundwater, possibly recharged to alluvial aquifers beneath the adjacent floodplain during recent high-flow events, and old "regional" groundwater introduced via artesian flow from deep confined aquifers. We also invoke hyporheic exchange and either bank return flow or parafluvial flow to account for background (222) Rn activities and anomalous chloride trends along river reaches where there is no evidence of the local or regional groundwater inputs. Vertical conductivity sections acquired through an airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey provide insights to the architecture of the aquifers associated with these sources and general groundwater quality characteristics. These data indicate fresh groundwater from about 300 m below ground preferentially discharging to the river, at locations consistent with those inferred from tracer data. The results demonstrate how sampling rivers for multiple environmental tracers of different types-including stable and radioactive isotopes, dissolved gases and major ions-can significantly improve conceptualization of groundwater-surface water interaction processes, particularly when coupled with geophysical techniques in complex hydrogeological settings. © 2013, National Ground Water Association.

Heterogeneous hyporheic zone dechlorination of a TCE groundwater plume discharging to an urban river reach.

Science.gov (United States)

Freitas, Juliana G; Rivett, Michael O; Roche, Rachel S; Durrant Neé Cleverly, Megan; Walker, Caroline; Tellam, John H

2015-02-01

The typically elevated natural attenuation capacity of riverbed-hyporheic zones is expected to decrease chlorinated hydrocarbon (CHC) groundwater plume discharges to river receptors through dechlorination reactions. The aim of this study was to assess physico-chemical processes controlling field-scale variation in riverbed-hyporheic zone dechlorination of a TCE groundwater plume discharge to an urban river reach. The 50-m long pool-riffle-glide reach of the River Tame in Birmingham (UK) studied is a heterogeneous high energy river environment. The shallow riverbed was instrumented with a detailed network of multilevel samplers. Freeze coring revealed a geologically heterogeneous and poorly sorted riverbed. A chlorine number reduction approach provided a quantitative indicator of CHC dechlorination. Three sub-reaches of contrasting behaviour were identified. Greatest dechlorination occurred in the riffle sub-reach that was characterised by hyporheic zone flows, moderate sulphate concentrations and pH, anaerobic conditions, low iron, but elevated manganese concentrations with evidence of sulphate reduction. Transient hyporheic zone flows allowing input to varying riverbed depths of organic matter are anticipated to be a key control. The glide sub-reach displayed negligible dechlorination attributed to the predominant groundwater baseflow discharge condition, absence of hyporheic zone, transition to more oxic conditions and elevated sulphate concentrations expected to locally inhibit dechlorination. The tail-of-pool-riffle sub-reach exhibited patchy dechlorination that was attributed to sub-reach complexities including significant flow bypass of a low permeability, high organic matter, silty unit of high dechlorination potential. A process-based conceptual model of reach-scale dechlorination variability was developed. Key findings of practitioner relevance were: riverbed-hyporheic zone CHC dechlorination may provide only a partial, somewhat patchy barrier to CHC

Population dynamics of the migratory fish Prochilodus lineatus in a neotropical river: the relationships with river discharge, flood pulse, El Niño and fluvial megafan behaviour

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marinke J. M. Stassen

Full Text Available The relative importance of flood pulse dynamics and megafan behaviour for the Sábalo (Prochilodus lineatus catches in the neotropical Pilcomayo River is studied. The Sábalo catches can mainly be explained by decreased river discharges in the preceding years resulting in smaller inundated areas during rainy season floods and thereby in a decreased area of feeding grounds for the fishes. The decreased river discharges and the related decline of Sábalo catches in the 1990's can be linked to the 90-95 El Niño event. In 2007 the Sábalo catches were comparable to the catches before the "El Niño" event. The connectivity (continuity between the main river and flood plain areas, which is influenced by sedimentation processes, is also of great importance and very probably plays a more important role since the late 1990's.

Sediment discharge of the rivers of Catalonia, NE Spain, and the influence of human impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Liquete, Camino; Canals, Miquel; Ludwig, Wolfgang; Arnau, Pedro

2009-03-01

SummaryThe environmental and anthropogenic factors controlling sediment delivery to the sea are numerous, intricate and usually difficult to quantify. Mediterranean watersheds are historically amongst the most heavily impacted by human activities in the world. This study analyzes some of these factors for nine river systems from Catalonia, NE Spain, that open into the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea, and discusses the results obtained from sediment yield models and sediment concentration data series. General models indicate that the natural suspended sediment yield by individual Catalan rivers ranged within a fork from 94 to 621 t km -2 yr -1. Such a sediment yield would be noticeably reduced (moving the fork to 7-148 t km -2 yr -1) because of lithological factors and direct anthropogenic and, possibly, climatic impacts. Damming, water extraction and urbanization appear as the most important direct anthropogenic impacts in Catalonia. Water discharge and sediment concentration measurements by basin authorities provide much lower sediment yield estimations, from 0.4 to 19.8 t km -2 yr -1, which is probably due to the lack of measured sediment loads during flood events, as it is the case in many other Mediterranean rivers. The Catalan watersheds have some of the smallest runoff values amongst Mediterranean rivers. Of the nine river systems studied, water discharge tends to decrease in two and to increase in one. The other six river systems do not show any clear tendency. Related to climatic parameters, temperature raised in all the watersheds between 1961 and 1990, while precipitation did not show significant trends.

Simulation of chlorinated water discharges from power plants on estuaries and rivers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eraslan, A.H.; Lietzke, M.H.; Fischer, S.K.; Kalmaz, E.V.

1977-01-01

The fast-transient (tidal-transient) one-dimensional discrete-element chemical transport model and its associated computer code CHMONE were applied to study the effects of chlorinated water discharges from power plants on tidal estuaries and controlled rivers. The mathematical model has the capability to predict simultaneously the hydrodynamic, thermal, and chemical composition of water as one-dimensional time-dependent distributions

Examining the Utility of Coral Ba/Ca as a Paleo-Proxy for Interannual River Discharge Variability Along the Pacific Coast of Panamá

Science.gov (United States)

Brenner, L. D.; Linsley, B. K.; Dunbar, R. B.

2016-02-01

Climate along the Pacific coast of Panamá is largely dictated by seasonal N/S shifts in the Intertropical Convergence zone (ITCZ) and the consequent oscillations in precipitation. During the Panamanian wet season (May-Nov.) river discharge (Q) reaches its maximum and serves as a potential source of trace elements, such as Ba, to reefs. Near shore corals can record the waterborne trace metal history in their aragonite skeletons, which can then be exploited as a paleo-proxy for river discharge. We present two high-resolution Ba/Ca records from nearby Porites corals in the Gulf of Chiriquí, Panamá in an effort to better understand the long-term discharge and precipitation history of the region. Both corals record similar annual average Ba/Ca values throughout the time series' (R=0.55) suggesting that they are faithfully recording water column Ba levels at a large scale. A monthly composite average of both coral Ba/Ca records is positively correlated to an average of all available river discharge data (n= 5) (R=0.42). While instrumental data are relatively sparse and discontinuous, there is a significant relationship between the two variables producing a Ba/Ca-discharge relationship where Q (m3/s)= Ba/Ca(μmol/mol)×49.97(μmol/mol)(m3/s)-1-190.85. The Ba/Ca peaks correspond to the annual minima in our paired near-monthly resolved coral δ18O measurements, further supporting that maximum Q in the Gulf is concurrent with the annual salinity minima and precipitation maximum. Coral Ba/Ca in the Gulf of Chiriquí indicates that annual average river Q into the Gulf has varied from 50 to 133 m3/s over from 1966 to 1983. As inferred from our Ba/Ca data, interannual variability of river Q accounts for 25% of total variance (after removing the seasonal cycle) and a long-term secular trend of increasing river Q accounts for 30%. Our Porites coral Ba/Ca records from the Pacific side of Panamá provide an opportunity to supplement the limited instrumental river discharge data

Hydraulic analysis, Mad River at State Highway 41, Springfield, Ohio

Science.gov (United States)

Mayo, Ronald I.

1977-01-01

A hydraulic analysis of the lad River in a reach at Springfield, Ohio was made to determine the effects of relocating State Highway 41 in 1S76. The main channel was cleaned by dredging in the vicinity cf the new highway bridge and at the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railway bridge upstream. The new highway was placed on a high fill with relief structures for flood plain drainage consisting of a 12-foot corrugated metal pipe culvert and a bridge opening to accommodate the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railway and a property access road. The effect of the new highway embankment on drainage from the flood plain was requested. Also requested was the effect that might be expected on the elevation of flood waters above the new highway embankment if the access road through the new highway embankment were raised.The study indicates that the improvement in the capacity of the main channel to carry water was such that, up to a discharge equivalent to a 25-year frequency flood, the water-surface elevation in the reach upstream from the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railway bridge would be about 0.6 foot lower than under conditions prior to the construction on State Highway 41. Diversion through the Mad River left bank levee break above the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railway bridge to the flood Flain would be decreased about one-half in terms of rate of discharge in cubic feet per second. The maximum difference in elevation cf the flood water between the upstream and downstream side of the new State Highway 41 embankment would be about 0.2 foot, with an additional 0.4 foot to be expected if the access road were raised 1.5 feet.

Modelling nitrogen transformation and removal in mara river basin wetlands upstream of lake Victoria

Science.gov (United States)

Mayo, Aloyce W.; Muraza, Marwa; Norbert, Joel

2018-06-01

Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa, is a resource of social-economic potential in East Africa. This lake receives water from numerous tributaries including Mara River, which contributes about 4.8% of the total Lake water inflow. Unfortunately, Mara River basin faces environmental problems because of intensive settlement, agriculture, overgrazing in the basin and mining activities, which has lead to water pollution in the river, soil erosion and degradation, decreased soil fertility, loss of vegetation cover, decreased water infiltration capacity and increased sedimentation. One of the pollutants carried by the river includes nitrogen, which has contributed to ecological degradation of the Lake Victoria. Therefore this research work was intended to determine the effectiveness of Mara River wetland for removal of nitrogen and to establish nitrogen removal mechanisms in the wetland. To predict nitrogen removal in the wetland, the dynamics of nitrogen transformation was studied using a conceptual numerical model that takes into account of various processes in the system using STELLA II version 9.0®2006 software. Samples of model input from water, plants and sediments were taken for 45 days and were analyzed for pH, temperature, and DO in situ and chemical parameters such as NH3-N, Org-N, NO2-N, and NO3-N were analyzed in the laboratory in accordance with Standard methods. For plants, the density, dominance, biomass productivity and TN were determined and for sediments TN was analyzed. Inflow into the wetland was determined using stage-discharge relationship and was found to be 734,400 m3/day and the average wetland volume was 1,113,500 m3. Data collected by this study were used for model calibration of nitrogen transformation in this wetland while data from another wetland were used for model validation. It was found that about 37.8% of total nitrogen was removed by the wetland system largely through sedimentation (26.6%), plant uptake (6.6%) and

Sele coastal plain flood risk due to wave storm and river flow interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Benassai, Guido; Aucelli, Pietro; Di Paola, Gianluigi; Della Morte, Renata; Cozzolino, Luca; Rizzo, Angela

2016-04-01

-critical simulation, the boundary condition is a known downstream WSE, in this case the elevated water level due to wave setup, wind setup and inverted barometer, while the upstream boundary condition consisted in WSE corresponding to river discharges associated to different return periods. The results of the simulations evidence, for the last 10 kilometers of the river, the burst of critical inundation scenarios even with moderate flow discharge, if associated with concurrent storm surge which increase the water level at the river mouth, obstructing normal flow discharge.

Air supersaturation, release of wooden fibres and upstream migration of Atlantic salmon at Rygene power plant in the River Nidelva, Aust Agder county

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thorstad, Eva B.; Kroglund, Frode; Oekland, Finn; Heggberget, Tor G.

1997-01-01

Incidents of dead fish have been reported in connection with a power plant at Rygene on the River Nidelva in the Aust-Agder county, Norway. Air supersaturation has been used in a bypass construction of the power plant tunnel system. In addition, wooden fibres from a fabric have been released into the water of the tunnel. Results from relevant studies concerning air saturation, wooden fibres and upstream migration are summarised in this report. 148 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs

Overview of the issues surrounding thermal discharges in the Des Plaines River

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1979-04-01

This review effort was undertaken to clarify and, if possible, quantify the issues surrounding the thermal input into the lower Des Plaines River from the Commonwealth Edison Joliet Electrical Generation Facility. The central issue is whether or not a reduction of the thermal discharge from the facility would produce beneficial environmental effects. This issue is clouded due to the fact of a number of environmental problems. These problems include: the river water quality, sediment quality, and barge traffic impacts. These variables, coupled with the uncertain future stream volume and conflicting data, prevent any simplistic conclusions from being drawn. Thus, any short-term study can only result in an overview of the situation.

Discharge estimation from H-ADCP measurements in a tidal river subject to sidewall effects and a mobile bed

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sassi, M.G.; Hoitink, A.J.F.; Vermeulen, B.; Hidayat, H.

2011-01-01

Horizontal acoustic Doppler current profilers (H-ADCPs) can be employed to estimate river discharge based on water level measurements and flow velocity array data across a river transect. A new method is presented that accounts for the dip in velocity near the water surface, which is caused by

Monitoring of endangered Roanoke logperch (Percina rex) in Smith River upstream from the Philpott Reservoir on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers property near Martinsville, Virginia

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, James H.; Angermeier, Paul L.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to continue annual monitoring of Roanoke logperch (Percina rex), an endangered fish, in the Smith River immediately upstream from Philpott Reservoir. This river reach is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), which must ensure that appropriate actions are undertaken to aid in recovery of logperch. Monitoring of fish abundance and habitat conditions provides a means for assessing the species’ status and its responses to USACE management actions. The Roanoke logperch is a large darter (Percidae: Etheostomatinae) endemic to the Roanoke, Dan, and Nottoway River basins of Virginia and North Carolina, where it occupies third- to sixth-order streams containing relatively silt-free substrate (Jenkins and Burkhead, 1994). Because of its rarity, small range, and vulnerability to siltation, the Roanoke logperch was listed in 1989 as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) (U.S. Federal Register 54:34468-34472). Within the Dan basin, Roanoke logperch have long been known to occupy the Smith River and one of its largest tributaries, Town Creek (Jenkins and Burkhead, 1994). Logperch also recently were discovered in other tributaries of the Dan River, including North Carolina segments of the Mayo River, Cascade Creek, Big Beaver Island Creek, Wolf Island Creek (William Hester, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, personal commun., 2012). Within the Smith River, Roanoke logperch are present both upstream and downstream from Philpott Reservoir, a hydroelectric and water storage project owned and operated by the USACE. Although logperch have not been observed in the reservoir itself, the species is relatively abundant in a free-flowing, ≈ 2.5-km-long segment of Smith River upstream from the reservoir on USACE property (Lahey and Angermeier, 2006). This segment is bounded on the downstream end by the lentic conditions of the reservoir and on the upstream end by White Falls, a natural waterfall that presumably allows fish passage

The Effects of Urbanization and Flood Control on Sediment Discharge of a Southern California River, Evidence of a Dilution Effect

Science.gov (United States)

Warrick, J. A.; Orzech, K. M.; Rubin, D. M.

2004-12-01

The southern California landscape has undergone dramatic urbanization and population growth during the past 60 years and currently supports almost 20 million inhabitants. During this time, rivers of the region have been altered with damming, channel straightening and hardening, and water transfer engineering. These changes have drastically altered water and sediment discharge from most of the region's drainage basins. Here we focus on changes in sediment discharge from the largest watershed of southern California, the Santa Ana River. Order-of-magnitude drops in the suspended sediment rating curves (the relationship between suspended sediment concentration and instantaneous river discharge) are observed between 1967 and 2001, long after the construction of a major flood control dam in 1941. These sediment concentration decreases do not, however, represent alteration of the total sediment flux from the basin (a common interpretation of sediment rating curves), but rather a dilution of suspended sediment by increases (approx. 4x) in stormwater discharge associated with urbanization. Increases in peak and total stormwater discharge are consistent with runoff patterns from urbanizing landscapes, supporting our hypothesis that the diluting water originated from stormwater runoff generated in urban areas both up- and downstream of dams. Our dilution hypothesis is further supported with water and sediment budgets, dilution calculations, and suspended and bed grain size information.

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. D. Wickert

2016-11-01

Full Text Available 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.

Optimization and Modeling of Extreme Freshwater Discharge from Japanese First-Class River Basins to Coastal Oceans

Science.gov (United States)

Kuroki, R.; Yamashiki, Y. A.; Varlamov, S.; Miyazawa, Y.; Gupta, H. V.; Racault, M.; Troselj, J.

2017-12-01

We estimated the effects of extreme fluvial outflow events from river mouths on the salinity distribution in the Japanese coastal zones. Targeted extreme event was a typhoon from 06/09/2015 to 12/09/2015, and we generated a set of hourly simulated river outflow data of all Japanese first-class rivers from these basins to the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan during the period by using our model "Cell Distributed Runoff Model Version 3.1.1 (CDRMV3.1.1)". The model simulated fresh water discharges for the case of the typhoon passage over Japan. We used these data with a coupled hydrological-oceanographic model JCOPE-T, developed by Japan Agency for Marine-earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), for estimation of the circulation and salinity distribution in Japanese coastal zones. By using the model, the coastal oceanic circulation was reproduced adequately, which was verified by satellite remote sensing. In addition to this, we have successfully optimized 5 parameters, soil roughness coefficient, river roughness coefficient, effective porosity, saturated hydraulic conductivity, and effective rainfall by using Shuffled Complex Evolution method developed by University of Arizona (SCE-UA method), that is one of the optimization method for hydrological model. Increasing accuracy of peak discharge prediction of extreme typhoon events on river mouths is essential for continental-oceanic mutual interaction.

Climate induced variability of suspended matter and nutrient in the discharge of Kali river, central west coast of India

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Raghavan, B.R.; Chauhan, O.S.

to understand the influence of the SWM precipitation on estuarine and coastal processes. The seasonal discharge data of the river is obtained during 2004, which was a normal monsoon year. We find high nutrient load in the rivers, specially in the estuarine...

Developing a methodology for real-time trading of water withdrawal and waste load discharge permits in rivers.

Science.gov (United States)

Soltani, Maryam; Kerachian, Reza

2018-04-15

In this paper, a new methodology is proposed for the real-time trading of water withdrawal and waste load discharge permits in agricultural areas along the rivers. Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) is chosen as an indicator of river water quality and the TDS load that agricultural water users discharge to the river are controlled by storing a part of return flows in some evaporation ponds. Available surface water withdrawal and waste load discharge permits are determined using a non-linear multi-objective optimization model. Total available permits are then fairly reallocated among agricultural water users, proportional to their arable lands. Water users can trade their water withdrawal and waste load discharge permits simultaneously, in a bilateral, step by step framework, which takes advantage of differences in their water use efficiencies and agricultural return flow rates. A trade that would take place at each time step results in either more benefit or less diverted return flow. The Nucleolus cooperative game is used to redistribute the benefits generated through trades in different time steps. The proposed methodology is applied to PayePol region in the Karkheh River catchment, southwest Iran. Predicting that 1922.7 Million Cubic Meters (MCM) of annual flow is available to agricultural lands at the beginning of the cultivation year, the real-time optimization model estimates the total annual benefit to reach 46.07 million US Dollars (USD), which requires 6.31 MCM of return flow to be diverted to the evaporation ponds. Fair reallocation of the permits, changes these values to 35.38 million USD and 13.69 MCM, respectively. Results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology in the real-time water and waste load allocation and simultaneous trading of permits. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The impact of the Cyanamid Canada Co. discharges to benthic invertebrates in the Welland River in Niagara falls, Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Dickman, M; Rygiel, G

1993-06-01

: In 1986, the International Joint Commission (IJC) recommended that the Niagara River watershed should be declared an Area of Concern (AOC). This IJC recommendation was ratified by the 4 signatories of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. In order to delist an AOC, it is necessary to locate any areas of impairment within the watershed and carry out remediation projects that permit uses that were previously impaired. To this end we attempted to determine whether or not the sediments at 7 study sites near the Cyanamid Canada (Chemical) Co. were contaminated at levels that would result in the impairment of the natural biota which inhabit the watershed.The Cyanamid Canada (Chemical) Co. discharges ammonia wastes, cyanide, arsenic and a variety of heavy metals into treatment systems which ultimately discharge to the Welland River, the major Canadian tributary to the Niagara River. This portion of the Welland River near the factory was designated a Provincially significant (Class one) wetlands by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. In 1986, the mean discharge to a creek from Cyanamid Canada Co. was 27,342 m(3) per day (MOE, 1987). Similar discharge volumes occurred in 1989. In 1991, the total discharge was 25,000 m(3) per day (MOE, 1991).The majority of the benthic invertebrates collected from the study area were pollution tolerant taxa (e.g., sludge worms constituted 68% of all the organisms collected). The lowest chironomid densities were observed at stations 1, 2, and 4, which were the only stations situated close to Cyanamid's discharge pipes. The absence, of clams and mayflies which burrow to greater depths than do chironomids and sludge worms, probably reflects the inability of the deeper dwelling burrowers to tolerate the contaminants which we recorded at these 3 stations. The absence of all crustaceans from these same 3 stations (stations 1, 2 and 4) when coupled with their low biotic diversity and the elevated heavy metal concentrations in the

The n-by-T Target Discharge Strategy for Inpatient Units.

Science.gov (United States)

Parikh, Pratik J; Ballester, Nicholas; Ramsey, Kylie; Kong, Nan; Pook, Nancy

2017-07-01

Ineffective inpatient discharge planning often causes discharge delays and upstream boarding. While an optimal discharge strategy that works across all units at a hospital is likely difficult to identify and implement, a strategy that provides a reasonable target to the discharge team appears feasible. We used observational and retrospective data from an inpatient trauma unit at a Level 2 trauma center in the Midwest US. Our proposed novel n-by-T strategy-discharge n patients by the Tth hour-was evaluated using a validated simulation model. Outcome measures included 2 measures: time-based (mean discharge completion and upstream boarding times) and capacity-based (increase in annual inpatient and upstream bed hours). Data from the pilot implementation of a 2-by-12 strategy at the unit was obtained and analyzed. The model suggested that the 1-by-T and 2-by-T strategies could advance the mean completion times by over 1.38 and 2.72 h, respectively (for 10 AM ≤ T ≤ noon, occupancy rate = 85%); the corresponding mean boarding time reductions were nearly 11% and 15%. These strategies could increase the availability of annual inpatient and upstream bed hours by at least 2,469 and 500, respectively. At 100% occupancy rate, the hospital-favored 2-by-12 strategy reduced the mean boarding time by 26.1%. A pilot implementation of the 2-by-12 strategy at the unit corroborated with the model findings: a 1.98-h advancement in completion times (Pstrategies, such as the n-by-T, can help substantially reduce discharge lateness and upstream boarding, especially during high unit occupancy. To sustain implementation, necessary commitment from the unit staff and physicians is vital, and may require some training.

Discharge Coefficient of Rectangular Short-Crested Weir with Varying Slope Coefficients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuejun Chen

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Rectangular short-crested weirs are widely used for simple structure and high discharge capacity. As one of the most important and influential factors of discharge capacity, side slope can improve the hydraulic characteristics of weirs at special conditions. In order to systemically study the effects of upstream and downstream slope coefficients S1 and S2 on overflow discharge coefficient in a rectangular short-crested weir the Volume of Fluid (VOF method and the Renormalization Group (RNG κ-ε turbulence model are used. In this study, the slope coefficient ranges from V to 3H:1V and each model corresponds to five total energy heads of H0 ranging from 8.0 to 24.0 cm. Comparisons of discharge coefficients and free surface profiles between simulated and laboratory results display a good agreement. The simulated results show that the difference of discharge coefficients will decrease with upstream slopes and increase with downstream slopes as H0 increases. For a given H0, the discharge coefficient has a convex parabolic relation with S1 and a piecewise linearity relation with S2. The maximum discharge coefficient is always obtained at S2 = 0.8. There exists a difference between upstream and downstream slope coefficients in the influence range of free surface curvatures. Furthermore, a proposed discharge coefficient equation by nonlinear regression is a function of upstream and downstream slope coefficients.

Assessment of Estimation Methods ForStage-Discharge Rating Curve in Rippled Bed Rivers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Maleki

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Interactionbetweenwater flow characteristics andthe bed erodibilityplays an important role in sediment transport process. In order to reach stability, rivers with deposition or bottom erosion make a different bed form in the riverbed. One way to identify thebehavior of therivers is to study the structure and formation of bed forms within them. Ripples are the smallest of the bed forms. The longitudinal cross section of ripples are usually not symmetrical. The upstream face is long and has a gentle slope, and the downstream face is short and steep. The height of ripples is usually between 0.5 cm and 2 cm; the height ripple is not more than 5 cm. The wave lengths normally do not exceed 30cm, and they are usually within the range of 1 cm to 15 cm. Their occurrence is the result of the unstable viscous layer near the boundary. They can form in both shallow and deep water.With an increase of the flow velocity, the plan form of the ripples gradually develops form straight line to curves and then to a pattern like fish scales, symmetrical or unsymmetrical, as shown in Fig 1. Figure1-The patterndevelopment oftheripple Raudkivi (1966 was the first person that, the flow structure over ripples was investigated experimentally.Hethenestablishseveraldifferent conditionsonthemovingsandbedinanlaboratorychannelconsisted of a rectangular cross-section with base width of 70cm, wasable toform arow ofripples , he wassucceed toform arow ofripples.JafariMianaei and Keshavarzi(2008,studied the turbulentflow betweentwoartificialripples for investigate the change of kinetic energyandshearstress on overripples. The stage- discharge rating curve is one of the most important tools in the hydraulic studies. In alluvial rivers,bed rippled are formed and significantly affect the stage- discharge rating curve. In this research, the effects of two different type of ripples (parallel and flakeshape onthe hydraulic characteristicsof flow were experimentally studied

Discharge estimation combining flow routing and occasional measurements of velocity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Corato

2011-09-01

Full Text Available A new procedure is proposed for estimating river discharge hydrographs during flood events, using only water level data at a single gauged site, as well as 1-D shallow water modelling and occasional maximum surface flow velocity measurements. One-dimensional diffusive hydraulic model is used for routing the recorded stage hydrograph in the channel reach considering zero-diffusion downstream boundary condition. Based on synthetic tests concerning a broad prismatic channel, the "suitable" reach length is chosen in order to minimize the effect of the approximated downstream boundary condition on the estimation of the upstream discharge hydrograph. The Manning's roughness coefficient is calibrated by using occasional instantaneous surface velocity measurements during the rising limb of flood that are used to estimate instantaneous discharges by adopting, in the flow area, a two-dimensional velocity distribution model. Several historical events recorded in three gauged sites along the upper Tiber River, wherein reliable rating curves are available, have been used for the validation. The outcomes of the analysis can be summarized as follows: (1 the criterion adopted for selecting the "suitable" channel length based on synthetic test studies has proved to be reliable for field applications to three gauged sites. Indeed, for each event a downstream reach length not more than 500 m is found to be sufficient, for a good performances of the hydraulic model, thereby enabling the drastic reduction of river cross-sections data; (2 the procedure for Manning's roughness coefficient calibration allowed for high performance in discharge estimation just considering the observed water levels and occasional measurements of maximum surface flow velocity during the rising limb of flood. Indeed, errors in the peak discharge magnitude, for the optimal calibration, were found not exceeding 5% for all events observed in the three investigated gauged sections, while the

Impact of untreated wastewater on a major European river evaluated with a combination of in vitro bioassays and chemical analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

König, Maria; Escher, Beate I; Neale, Peta A; Krauss, Martin; Hilscherová, Klára; Novák, Jiří; Teodorović, Ivana; Schulze, Tobias; Seidensticker, Sven; Kamal Hashmi, Muhammad Arslan; Ahlheim, Jörg; Brack, Werner

2017-01-01

Complex mixtures of micropollutants, including pesticides, pharmaceuticals and industrial chemicals emitted by wastewater effluents to European rivers may compromise the quality of these water resources and may pose a risk to ecosystem health and abstraction of drinking water. In the present study, an integrated analytical and bioanalytical approach was applied to investigate the impact of untreated wastewater effluents from the city of Novi Sad, Serbia, into the River Danube. The study was based on three on-site large volume solid phase extracted water samples collected upstream and downstream of the untreated wastewater discharge. Chemical screening with liquid chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) was applied together with a battery of in vitro cell-based bioassays covering important steps of the cellular toxicity pathway to evaluate effects on the activation of metabolism (arylhydrocarbon receptor AhR, peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma PPARγ), specific modes of action (estrogen receptor ERα, androgen receptor AR) and adaptive stress responses (oxidative stress, inflammation). Increased effects, significantly changed contamination patterns and higher chemical concentrations were observed downstream of the wastewater discharge. A mass balance approach showed that enhanced endocrine disruption was in good agreement with concentrations of detected hormones, while only a smaller fraction of the effects on xenobiotic metabolism (<1%) and adaptive stress responses (0-12%) could be explained by the detected chemicals. The chemical and effects patterns observed upstream of the discharge point were fairly re-established at about 7 km downstream, demonstrating the enormous dilution capacity of this large river. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The influence of the macro-sediment from the mountainous area to the river morphology in Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, S. C.; Wu, C.; Shih, P.

2012-12-01

Chen, Su-Chin scchen@nchu.edu.tw Wu, Chun-Hung* chwu@mail.nchu.edu.tw Dept. Soil & Water Conservation, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan. The Chenyulan River was varied changed with the marco-sediment yielded source area, Shenmu watershed, with 10 debris flow events in the last decade, in Central Taiwan. Multi-term DEMs, the measurement data of the river topographic profile and aerial photos are adopted to analyze the decade influences of the marco-sediment to the river morphology in Chenyulan River. The changes of river morphology by observing the river pattern, calculating the multi-term braided index, and estimating the distribution of sediment deposition and main channel in the river. The response for the macro-sediment from the mountainous areas into the river in the primary stage is the increase in river width, the depth of sediment deposition and volume of sediment transport. The distribution of sediment deposition from upstream landslide and river bank erosion along the river dominates the change of river morphology in the primary stage. The river morphology achieves stable gradually as the river discharge gradually decreases in the later stage. Both of the braided index and the volume of sediment transport decrease, and the river flow maintains in a main channel instead of the braided pattern in this stage. The decade sediment deposition depth is estimated as > 0.5 m, especially > 3.5 m in the sections closed to the sediment-yield source areas, the mean river width increases 15%, and the sediment with a total volume of 8×107 tons has been transported in last decade in Chenyulan River. The river morphology in Chenyulan River maintains a short-term stable, i.e. 2 or 3 years, and changes again because of the flooding events with a large amount of sediment caused by frequently heavy rainfall events in Taiwan. Furthermore, the response of river morphology in Chenyulan River due to the heavy rainfall with a total precipitation of around 860 mm

Characterization of sediment transport upstream and downstream from Lake Emory on the Little Tennessee River near Franklin, North Carolina, 2014–15

Science.gov (United States)

Huffman, Brad A.; Hazell, William F.; Oblinger, Carolyn J.

2017-09-06

Federal, State, and local agencies and organizations have expressed concerns regarding the detrimental effects of excessive sediment transport on aquatic resources and endangered species populations in the upper Little Tennessee River and some of its tributaries. In addition, the storage volume of Lake Emory, which is necessary for flood control and power generation, has been depleted by sediment deposition. To help address these concerns, a 2-year study was conducted in the upper Little Tennessee River Basin to characterize the ambient suspended-sediment concentrations and suspended-sediment loads upstream and downstream from Lake Emory in Franklin, North Carolina. The study was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with Duke Energy. Suspended-sediment samples were collected periodically, and time series of stage and turbidity data were measured from December 2013 to January 2016 upstream and downstream from Lake Emory. The stage data were used to compute time-series streamflow. Suspended-sediment samples, along with time-series streamflow and turbidity data, were used to develop regression models that were used to estimate time-series suspended-sediment concentrations for the 2014 and 2015 calendar years. These concentrations, along with streamflow data, were used to compute suspended-sediment loads. Selected suspended-sediment samples were collected for analysis of particle-size distribution, with emphasis on high-flow events. Bed-load samples were also collected upstream from Lake Emory.The estimated annual suspended-sediment loads (yields) for the upstream site for the 2014 and 2015 calendar years were 27,000 short tons (92 short tons per square mile) and 63,300 short tons (215 short tons per square mile), respectively. The annual suspended-sediment loads (yields) for the downstream site for 2014 and 2015 were 24,200 short tons (75 short tons per square mile) and 94,300 short tons (292 short tons per square mile), respectively. Overall, the

Interacting effects of discharge and channel morphology on transport of semibuoyant fish eggs in large, altered river systems.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas A Worthington

Full Text Available Habitat fragmentation and flow regulation are significant factors related to the decline and extinction of freshwater biota. Pelagic-broadcast spawning cyprinids require moving water and some length of unfragmented stream to complete their life cycle. However, it is unknown how discharge and habitat features interact at multiple spatial scales to alter the transport of semi-buoyant fish eggs. Our objective was to assess the relationship between downstream drift of semi-buoyant egg surrogates (gellan beads and discharge and habitat complexity. We quantified transport time of a known quantity of beads using 2-3 sampling devices at each of seven locations on the North Canadian and Canadian rivers. Transport time was assessed based on median capture time (time at which 50% of beads were captured and sampling period (time period when 2.5% and 97.5% of beads were captured. Habitat complexity was assessed by calculating width∶depth ratios at each site, and several habitat metrics determined using analyses of aerial photographs. Median time of egg capture was negatively correlated to site discharge. The temporal extent of the sampling period at each site was negatively correlated to both site discharge and habitat-patch dispersion. Our results highlight the role of discharge in driving transport times, but also indicate that higher dispersion of habitat patches relates to increased retention of beads within the river. These results could be used to target restoration activities or prioritize water use to create and maintain habitat complexity within large, fragmented river systems.

Kootenai River white sturgeon investigations. Chapter 1: Kootenai River white sturgeon spawning and recruitment evaluation; Annual report, January 1--December 31, 1996

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paragamian, V.L.; Kruse, G.; Wakkinen, V.

1997-09-01

Test flows for Kootenai River white sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus spawning, scheduled for June 1996, were postponed until July. However, an estimated 126% snow pack and unusually heavy precipitation created conditions for sturgeon spawning that were similar to those occurring before construction of Libby Dam. Discharge in the Kootenai River at Bonners Ferry rose to nearly 1,204 m 3 /s (42,500 cfs) during May and water temperature ranged from 5.8 C to 8.4 C (42 F to 47 F). Migration of adult white sturgeon into spawning areas occurred in late May during a rising hydrograph. Discharge and water temperature were rising and had reached approximately 1,077 m 3 /s (38,000 cfs) and 8 C (46 F). Discharge at Bonners Ferry peaked at about 1,397 m 3 /s (49,300 cfs) on June 5. A total of 348 eggs (and one egg shell) were collected with 106,787 h of mat effort during the flow events. The first white sturgeon eggs were collected on June 8 and continued through June 30. Staging of eggs and back-calculating to spawning dates indicated there were at least 18 spawning episodes between June 6 and June 25. Discharge on June 6 was 1,196 m 3 /s (42,200 cfs) and decreased steadily to 850 m 3 /s (30,000 cfs) by June 26. Although sturgeon spawned in the same reach of river that they had during 1994 and 1995, the majority of eggs were found significantly (P = 0.0001) farther upstream than 1994 and 1995 and this in turn may be related to elevation of Kootenay Lake

Food poisoning associated with ingestion of wild wasp broods in the upstream region of the Lancang river valley, Yunnan province, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Li; Huang, Tian

2018-04-01

Food poisoning due to wild wasp broods ingestion has long been noted in the upstream region of the Lancang river valley, Yunnan province, China. This study describes the epidemiological and clinical features of the poisoning and possible causes. Surveillance data collected between 2008 and 2016 were analyzed to produce demographic data on patients, information on clinical presentations, wasp species identification, and estimations of possible risk factors for symptomatic cases. Eleven poisoning events were associated with the ingestion of wild wasp broods, including 46 exposed persons with 31 symptomatic living cases and 8 deceased cases that were reported in the Yunnan province between 2008 and 2016. Poisoning cases were only detected in the upstream region of the Lancang river valley in the autumn. The severity of the symptoms was correlated with an evident dose-effect relationship regarding the quantity ingested. The mean latent period from wild wasp broods ingestion to the onset of the symptoms was 10 h for symptomatic living cases and 7 h for deceased cases, respectively. Both gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms were commonly observed in the poisoning cases. The toxin source may be indirectly caused by the wasp broods due to the prevalence of local poisonous plants, such as Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F, Tripterygium hypoglaucum Hutch and Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb. Educational programs at the start of wasp harvest season in September in the high-risk area should be carried out to reduce the incidence of poisonings. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The role of discharge variation in scaling of drainage area and food chain length in rivers

Science.gov (United States)

Sabo, John L.; Finlay, Jacques C.; Kennedy, Theodore A.; Post, David M.

2010-01-01

Food chain length (FCL) is a fundamental component of food web structure. Studies in a variety of ecosystems suggest that FCL is determined by energy supply, environmental stability, and/or ecosystem size, but the nature of the relationship between environmental stability and FCL, and the mechanism linking ecosystem size to FCL, remain unclear. Here we show that FCL increases with drainage area and decreases with hydrologic variability and intermittency across 36 North American rivers. Our analysis further suggests that hydrologic variability is the mechanism underlying the correlation between ecosystem size and FCL in rivers. Ecosystem size lengthens river food chains by integrating and attenuating discharge variation through stream networks, thereby enhancing environmental stability in larger river systems.

Upstream effects of dams on alluvial channels: state-of-the-art and future challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Liro, Maciej

2017-04-01

More than 50,000 large dams (with the height above 15 m) operate all over the world and, thus, they significantly disturb water and sediment transport in river systems. These disturbances are recognized as one of the most important factors shaping river morphology in the Anthropocene. Downstream effects of dams have been well documented in numerous case studies and supported by predictions from existing models. In contrast, little is known on the upstream effects of dams on alluvial channels. This review highlights the lack of studies on sedimentological, hydromorphological and biogeomorphological adjustments of alluvial rivers in the base-level raised zones of backwater upstream of dam reservoirs where water level fluctuations occur. Up to date, it has been documented that backwater effects may facilitate fine and coarse sediment deposition, increase groundwater level, provide higher and more frequent channel and floodplain inundation and lead to significant morphological changes. But there have been no studies quantifying short- and long-term consequences of these disturbances for the hydromorphological and biogeomorphological feedbacks that control development of alluvial channels. Some recent studies carried out on gravel-bed and fine-grained bed rivers show that the above mentioned disturbances facilitate vegetation expansion on exposed channel sediments and floodplain influencing river morphology, which suggests that backwater area of alluvial rivers may be treated as the hotspot of bio-geomorphological changes in a fluvial system. To set the stage for future research on upstream effects of dams, this work presents the existing state-of-art and proposes some hypotheses which may be tested in future studies. This study was carried out within the scope of the Research Project 2015/19/N/ST10/01526 financed by the National Science Centre of Poland

How Do Morphodynamic Signatures Vary Along the Ucayali, a Large Transitional River?

Science.gov (United States)

Dauer, K.; Frias, C. E.; Abad, J. D.; Paredes, J.; Vizcarra, J.; Holguin, C.

2013-12-01

The Ucayali River, with an average discharge of 11, 260 m3 ● s-1 at the Requena station, is one of the largest rivers in Peru, and at its confluence with the Maranon River, the Amazon River is born. The Ucayali River transitions from purely meandering to quasi-anabranching planform near the confluence with the Marañon River. In addition, it carries large amounts of suspended sediment and has been shown to display high rates of migration. Prompted by evidence of changing trends in rainfall and discharge in the Amazon basin, where the Ucayali is located, we have performed a baseline characterization of the planform metrics, thus to determine if effects of climatic change on the morphodynamics are happening in this transitional river, which is a vital transportation route for cities in the jungle such as Iquitos, Peru. Herein, the morphodynamics of the Ucayali River are characterized from its upstream end in Atalaya, Peru to its confluence with the Marañon near Nauta City. First, the migration rates along the Ucayali River are calculated from temporal Landsat images. Then migration rates and planform characteristics, such as wavelength and sinuosity, along the river are compared with the slope along the river to distinguish spatial dominant scales. In addition, bathymetry and velocity measurements taken in 2013 along the Ucayali River help us to understand the complex morphodynamics of the river. Specific case studies have been done at Pucallpa and Jenaro-Herrera, Peru using hydrodynamic and bathymetric measurements complemented with high-resolution shallow water modeling to understand the process of cutoff formation in different locations along the river. This study discusses the frequency at which meanders along the Ucayali River shift from low sinuosity to complete maturity in order to produce cutoffs.

Dynamics of turbidity plumes in Lake Ontario. [Welland Canal and Niagara, Genesee, and Oswego Rivers

Science.gov (United States)

Pluhowski, E. J. (Principal Investigator)

1975-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Large turbidity features along the 275 km south shore of Lake Ontario were analyzed using LANDSAT-1 images. The Niagara River plume, ranging from 30 to 500 sq km in area is, by far, the largest turbidity feature in the lake. Based on image tonal comparisons, turbidity in the Welland Canal is usually higher than that in any other water course discharging into the lake during the shipping season. Less turbid water enters the lake from the Port Dalhousie diversion channel and the Genesee River. Relatively clear water resulting from the deposition of suspended matter in numerous upstream lakes is discharged by the Niagara and Oswego Rivers. Plume analysis corroborates the presence of a prevailing eastward flowing longshore current along the entire south shore. Plumes resulting from beach erosion were detected in the images. Extensive areas of the south shore are subject to erosion but the most severely affected beaches are situated between Fifty Mile Point, Ontario and Thirty Mile Point, New York along the Rochester embayment, and between Sodus Bay and Nine Mile Point.

Groundwater Discharge to Upper Barataria Basin Driven by Mississippi River Stage

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Phenomena and characteristics of barrier river reaches in the middle and lower Yangtze River, China

Science.gov (United States)

You, Xingying; Tang, Jinwu

2017-06-01

Alluvial river self-adjustment describes the mechanism whereby a river that was originally in an equilibrium state of sediment transport encounters some disturbance that destroys the balance and results in responses such as riverbed deformation. A systematic study of historical and recent aerial photographs and topographic maps in the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River (MLYR) shows that river self-adjustment has the distinguishing feature of transferring from upstream to downstream, which may affect flood safety, waterway morphology, bank stability, and aquatic environmental safety over relatively long reaches downstream. As a result, it is necessary to take measures to control or block this transfer. Using the relationship of the occurrence time of channel adjustments between the upstream and downstream, 34 single-thread river reaches in the MLYR were classified into four types: corresponding, basically corresponding, basically not corresponding, not corresponding. The latter two types, because of their ability to prevent upstream channel adjustment from transferring downstream, are called barrier river reaches in this study. Statistics indicate that barrier river reaches are generally single thread and slightly curved, with a narrow and deep cross-sectional morphology, and without flow deflecting nodes in the upper and middle parts of reaches. Moreover, in the MLYR, barrier river reaches have a hydrogeometric coefficient of {}1.2‱, a silty clay content of the concave bank {>}{9.5}%, and a median diameter of the bed sediment {>}{0.158} mm. The barrier river reach mechanism lies in that can effectively centralise the planimetric position of the main stream from different upstream directions, meaning that no matter how the upper channel adjusts, the main stream shows little change, providing relatively stable inflow conditions for the lower reaches. Regarding river regulation, it is necessary to optimise the benefits of barrier river reaches; long river

Modeling hydrodynamics, water temperature, and water quality in the Klamath River upstream of Keno Dam, Oregon, 2006-09

Science.gov (United States)

Sullivan, Annett B.; Rounds, Stewart A.; Deas, Michael L.; Asbill, Jessica R.; Wellman, Roy E.; Stewart, Marc A.; Johnston, Matthew W.; Sogutlugil, I. Ertugrul

2011-01-01

A hydrodynamic, water temperature, and water-quality model was constructed for a 20-mile reach of the Klamath River downstream of Upper Klamath Lake, from Link River to Keno Dam, for calendar years 2006-09. The two-dimensional, laterally averaged model CE-QUAL-W2 was used to simulate water velocity, ice cover, water temperature, specific conductance, dissolved and suspended solids, dissolved oxygen, total nitrogen, ammonia, nitrate, total phosphorus, orthophosphate, dissolved and particulate organic matter, and three algal groups. The Link-Keno model successfully simulated the most important spatial and temporal patterns in the measured data for this 4-year time period. The model calibration process provided critical insights into water-quality processes and the nature of those inputs and processes that drive water quality in this reach. The model was used not only to reproduce and better understand water-quality conditions that occurred in 2006-09, but also to test several load-reduction scenarios that have implications for future water-resources management in the river basin. The model construction and calibration process provided results concerning water quality and transport in the Link-Keno reach of the Klamath River, ranging from interesting circulation patterns in the Lake Ewauna area to the nature and importance of organic matter and algae. These insights and results include: * Modeled segment-average water velocities ranged from near 0.0 to 3.0 ft/s in 2006 through 2009. Travel time through the model reach was about 4 days at 2,000 ft3/s and 12 days at 700 ft3/s flow. Flow direction was aligned with the upstream-downstream channel axis for most of the Link-Keno reach, except for Lake Ewauna. Wind effects were pronounced at Lake Ewauna during low-flow conditions, often with circulation in the form of a gyre that rotated in a clockwise direction when winds were towards the southeast and in a counterclockwise direction when winds were towards the northwest

Factors influencing development of management strategies for the Abou Ali River in Lebanon I: spatial variation and land use.

Science.gov (United States)

Massoud, May A; El-Fadel, Mutasem; Scrimshaw, Mark D; Lester, John N

2006-06-01

Surface water bodies are progressively subject to increasing stress as a result of environmentally degrading processes primarily related to anthropogenic activities. This study assesses and examines the impact of land use and land-based activities on the spatial variation in water quality of the Abou Ali River in North Lebanon. It is the first detailed study of its kind in Lebanon and adds to the existing knowledge by shedding light on a relatively small Mediterranean river in a developing country where there is a paucity of such studies. The assessment was conducted at the end of the dry season in 2002 and 2003 and the end of the wet season in 2003 and 2004. The study has demonstrated the importance of anthropogenic influences on the water quality of the Abou Ali River Basin, as concentrations of most contaminants were higher at locations with greatest human activity. The most adversely affected area was the section of the river that flows through an entirely urbanized and highly populated region, the Tripoli conurbation. Upstream rural sites were enriched by contaminants primarily from non-point sources such as agricultural runoff and poultry litter whereas contaminant concentrations at the urban sites were enriched by a combination of sewage discharge and flow of contaminants from upstream. If the Abou Ali River is to be utilized as a managed water resource and its water quality sustained, point source discharges will require treatment and land use management must be planned to minimize the impact of diffuse source pollution on the river. A high priority should be given to the implementation and enforcement of the precautionary and polluter pays principles. Moreover, an effective legal, economic and institutional framework is required to encourage investment in waste reduction and control and to introduce environmentally sound practices.

Preliminary Analysis of the Role of Wetlands and Rivers in the Groundwater Discharge of the Guarani Aquifer System in NE Argentina

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vives, L.; Rodriguez, L.; Manzano, M.; Valladares, A.; Agarwaal, P.; Araguas, L.

2011-01-01

The Guarani Aquifer System (GAS) is a transboundary aquifer occupying parts of Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina, covering some 1200000 km''2. The location and magnitude of recharge and the magnitude of regional discharges are uncertain. Regional groundwater flow modeling suggests that some discharge may occur through selected reaches of the Parana and Uruguay rivers and their tributaries, and perhaps, through the Ibera wetland system within Argentina. Preliminary findings of hydrochemical and isotopic sampling and analysis from surface water and groundwater in the Southern GAS region, studying the role of rivers and wetlands in the aquifer discharge and revising the conceptual model, are presented.

Discharge controls on the sediment and dissolved nutrient transport flux of the lowermost Mississippi River: Implications for export to the ocean and for delta restoration

Science.gov (United States)

Allison, Mead A.; Pratt, Thad C.

2017-12-01

Lagrangian longitudinal surveys and fixed station data are utilized from the lowermost Mississippi River reach in Louisiana at high and low discharge in 2012-2013 to examine the changing stream power, sediment transport capacity, and nitrate conveyance in this backwater reach of the river. Nitrate appears to remain conservative through the backwater reach at higher discharges (>15,000 m3/s), thus, nitrate levels supplied from the catchment are those exported to the Gulf of Mexico, fueling coastal hypoxia. At lower discharges, interaction with fine sediments and organic matter stored on the bed due to estuarine and tidal processes, likely elevates nitrate levels prior to entering the Gulf: a further 1-2 week long spike in nitrate concentrations is associated with the remobilization of this sediments during the rising discharge phase of the Mississippi. Backwater characteristics are clearly observed in the study reach starting at river kilometer 703 (Vicksburg) in both longitudinal study periods. Stream power at the lowermost station is only 16% of that at Vicksburg in the high discharge survey, and 0.6% at low flow. The high-to-low discharge study differential in unit stream power at a station increases between Vicksburg and the lowermost station from a factor of 3 to 47-50 times. At high discharge, ∼30% of this energy loss can be ascribed to the removal of water to the Atchafalaya at Old River Control. Suspended sediment flux decreases downstream in the studied reach in both studies: the lowermost station has 75% of the flux at Vicksburg in the high discharge study, and 0.9% in the low discharge study. The high discharge values, given that this study was conducted during the highest rising hydrograph of the water year, are augmented by sediment resuspended from the bed that was deposited in the previous low discharge phase. Examination of this first detailed field observation studies of the backwater phenomenon in a major river, shows that observed suspended

Lower Charles River Bathymetry: 108 Years of Fresh Water

Science.gov (United States)

Yoder, M.; Sacarny, M.

2017-12-01

The Lower Charles River is a heavily utilized urban river that runs between Cambridge and Boston in Massachusetts. The recreational usage of the river is dependent on adequate water depths, but there have been no definitive prior studies on the sedimentation rate of the Lower Charles River. The river transitioned from tidal to a freshwater basin in 1908 due to the construction of the (old) Charles River Dam. Water surface height on the Lower Charles River is maintained within ±1 foot through controlled discharge at the new Charles River Dam. The current study area for historical comparisons is from the old Charles River Dam to the Boston University Bridge. This study conducted a bathymetric survey of the Lower Charles River, digitized three prior surveys in the study area, calculated volumes and depth distributions for each survey, and estimated sedimentation rates from fits to the volumes over time. The oldest chart digitized was produced in 1902 during dam construction deliberations. The average sedimentation rate is estimated as 5-10 mm/year, which implies 1.8-3.5 feet sedimentation since 1908. Sedimentation rates and distributions are necessary to develop comprehensive management plans for the river and there is evidence to suggest that sedimentation rates in the shallow upstream areas are higher than the inferred rates in the study area.

Tracing Mississippi River influences in estuarine food webs of coastal Louisiana.

Science.gov (United States)

Wissel, Björn; Fry, Brian

2005-08-01

The Breton Sound estuary in southern Louisiana receives large amounts of Mississippi River water via a controlled diversion structure at the upstream end of the estuary. We used stable isotopes to trace spatial and seasonal responses of the downstream food web to winter and spring introductions of river water. Analysis of delta13C, delta15N, and delta34S in the common local consumers such as grass shrimp (Palaemonetes sp.), barnacles (Balanus sp.), and small plankton-feeding fish (bay anchovies, Anchoa mitchilli) showed that the diversion was associated with two of the five major source regimes that were supporting food webs: a river regime near the diversion and a river-influenced productive marsh regime farther away from the diversion. Mixing models identified a third river-influenced source regime at the marine end of the estuary where major natural discharge from the Bird's Foot Delta wraps around into estuarine waters. The remaining two source regimes represented typical estuarine conditions: local freshwater sources especially from precipitation and a brackish source regime representing higher salinity marine influences. Overall, the Mississippi River diversion accounted for 75% of food web support in the upper estuary and 25% in the middle estuary, with influence strongest along known flow pathways and closest to the diversion. Isotopes also traced seasonal changes in river contributions, and indicated increased plant community productivity along the major flow path of diversion water. In the Breton Sound estuary, bottom-up forcing of food webs is strongly linked to river introductions and discharge, occurring in spatial and temporal patterns predictable from known river input regimes and known hydrologic circulation patterns.

Surface water of Little River basin in southeastern Oklahoma (with a section on quality of water by R. P. Orth)

Science.gov (United States)

Westfall, A.O.; Orth, Richard Philip

1963-01-01

This report summarizes basic hydrologic data of the surface water resources of Little River basin above the Oklahoma-Arkansas state line near Cerrogordo, Okla., and by analysis and interpretation, presents certain streamflow characteristics at specified points in the basin. Little River basin above the state line includes 2,269 square miles, of which about 250 square miles of the Mountain Fork River is in Arkansas. The climate is humid and the annual precipitation averages about 46 inches. Gross annual lake evaporation averages 49 inches per year. There are three reservoirs totaling 2,831,800 acre-feet of storage, either authorized or under construction in the basin. The average annual discharge at the gaging stations for the period 1930-61 is 674,900 acre-feet for Little River near Wright City; 1,273,000 acre-feet for Little River below Lukfata Creek, near Idabel; and 989,000 acre-feet for Mountain Fork River near Eagletown. The average annual discharge of Little River at the Oklahoma-Arkansas state line near Cerrogordo is 2,401,000 acre-feet. Flow-duration curves have been developed from daily records for the gaging stations. These curves show the percentage of time various rates of discharge have been equaled or exceeded. Procedures for defining the frequency of annual floods at any point in the basin are given. Low-flow frequency curves for the gaging stations defining the recurrence intervals of 7, 14 or 15, 30, 60, and 120 day mean flows have been prepared. Curves showing the relation of instantaneous discharge at specified upstream points to the daily mean discharge at two gaging stations are presented. The storage requirements for suplementing natural flows have been prepared for the gaging-station sites. Chemical analyses show that the surface water in the basin is suitable for domestic and industrial uses.

Restoring the longitudinal connectivity of the Rur Delta into the river Meuse; Herstellung der Durchgaengigkeit des Muendungsdeltas der Rur in die Maas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hermens, Gereon; Keuneke, Rita [Ingenieurbuero Floecksmuehle, Aachen (Germany)

2012-07-01

The delta where the Eifelrur (NL:Roer) flows into the river Meuse is located in the Dutch city of Roermond and divides into two branches. While the branch that flows through the city runs the hydro power plant ECI-Centrale, the second branch - called Hambeek - is used mainly for flood protection. Until the year 2007, the only existing upstream migration facility was installed in the Hambeek branch, but its traceability was unsatisfactory. In addition, biological studies revealed a constrained passability at the spot. The hydro power plant, which carries the highest discharge for the greatest part of the year, had no upstream migration facility. Since the Rur is an important tributary to the river Meuse, an ambitious project was launched to equip both branches with large migration facilities that meet current Dutch standards and now ensure connectivity in the delta. (orig.)

Geospatial database of estimates of groundwater discharge to streams in the Upper Colorado River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia, Adriana; Masbruch, Melissa D.; Susong, David D.

2014-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey, as part of the Department of the Interior’s WaterSMART (Sustain and Manage America’s Resources for Tomorrow) initiative, compiled published estimates of groundwater discharge to streams in the Upper Colorado River Basin as a geospatial database. For the purpose of this report, groundwater discharge to streams is the baseflow portion of streamflow that includes contributions of groundwater from various flow paths. Reported estimates of groundwater discharge were assigned as attributes to stream reaches derived from the high-resolution National Hydrography Dataset. A total of 235 estimates of groundwater discharge to streams were compiled and included in the dataset. Feature class attributes of the geospatial database include groundwater discharge (acre-feet per year), method of estimation, citation abbreviation, defined reach, and 8-digit hydrologic unit code(s). Baseflow index (BFI) estimates of groundwater discharge were calculated using an existing streamflow characteristics dataset and were included as an attribute in the geospatial database. A comparison of the BFI estimates to the compiled estimates of groundwater discharge found that the BFI estimates were greater than the reported groundwater discharge estimates.

Hydraulic Characteristics of the Lower Snake River during Periods of Juvenile Fall Chinook Salmon Migration, 2002-2006 Final Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cook, C.; Dibrani, B.; Richmond, M.; Bleich, M.; Titzler, P..; Fu, T. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

2006-01-01

This report documents a four-year study to assess hydraulic conditions in the lower Snake River. The work was conducted for the Bonneville Power Administration, U.S. Department of Energy, by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Cold water released from the Dworshak Reservoir hypolimnion during mid- to late-summer months cools the Clearwater River far below equilibrium temperature. The volume of released cold water augments the Clearwater River, and the combined total discharge is on the order of the Snake River discharge when the two rivers meet at their confluence near the upstream edge of Lower Granite Reservoir. With typical temperature differences between the Clearwater and Snake rivers of 10 C or more during July and August, the density difference between the two rivers during summer flow augmentation periods is sufficient to stratify Lower Granite Reservoir as well as the other three reservoirs downstream. Because cooling of the river is desirable for migrating juvenile fall Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) during this same time period, the amount of mixing and cold water entrained into Lower Granite Reservoir's epilimnion at the Clearwater/Snake River confluence is of key biological importance. Data collected during this project indicates the three reservoirs downstream of Lower Granite also stratify as direct result of flow augmentation from Dworshak Reservoir. These four reservoirs are also heavily influenced by wind forcing at the water's surface and during periods of low river discharge often behave like a two-layer lake. During these periods of stratification, lower river discharge, and wind forcing, the water in the upper layer of the reservoir is held in place or moves slightly upstream. This upper layer is also exposed to surface heating and may warm up to temperatures close to equilibrium temperature. The thickness (depth) of this upper warm layer and its direction of travel may be of key biological importance to juvenile

Water pollution of Sabarmati River--a harbinger to potential disaster.

Science.gov (United States)

Haldar, Soumya; Mandal, Subir Kumar; Thorat, R B; Goel, Sangita; Baxi, Krushnakant D; Parmer, Navalsang P; Patel, Vipul; Basha, S; Mody, K H

2014-04-01

River Sabarmati is one of the biggest and major river of Gujarat that runs through two major cities of Gujarat, Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad and finally meets the Gulf of Khambhat (GoK) in the Arabian Sea. A study was conducted to evaluate the water quality of this river, as it could possibly be one of the major sources for filling up Kalpasar, the proposed man-made freshwater reservoir supposed to be the biggest one in the world. A total of nine sampling stations were established covering 163 km stretch of the river from upstream of Gandhinagar city to Vataman near Sabarmati estuary. Physicochemical (temprature, pH, salinity, chloride, total dissolved solids, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, phenol, and petroleum hydrocarbons), biological (phytoplankton), and microbiological (total and selective bacterial count) analyses indicated that the river stretch from Ahmedabad-Vasana barriage to Vataman was highly polluted due to perennial waste discharges mainly from municipal drainage and industries. An implementation of sustainable management plan with proper treatment of both municipal and industrial effluents is essential to prevent further deterioration of the water quality of this river.

Occurrence and distribution of antibiotics in coastal water of the Bohai Bay, China: impacts of river discharge and aquaculture activities.

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Shichun; Xu, Weihai; Zhang, Ruijie; Tang, Jianhui; Chen, Yingjun; Zhang, Gan

2011-10-01

The presence of 21 antibiotics in six different groups was investigated in coastal water of the Bohai Bay. Meantime, to illuminate the potential effects caused by the river discharge and aquaculture activities, wastewater from three breeding plants and surface water from six rivers flowing into the Bohai Bay were also analyzed for the selected antibiotics. The result revealed that measured antibiotics in the North Bobai Bay were generally higher than those in the South, highlighting the remarkable effects of high density of human activities on the exposure of antibiotics in environment. The antibiotics found in the six rivers were generally higher than those in the Bohai Bay reflecting the important antibiotics source of river discharge. This study reveals that the high consumption of some antibiotics in aquaculture activities may pose high ecological risk to the bay. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design and maintenance of a network for collecting high-resolution suspended-sediment data at remote locations on rivers, with examples from the Colorado River

Science.gov (United States)

Griffiths, Ronald E.; Topping, David J.; Andrews, Timothy; Bennett, Glenn E.; Sabol, Thomas A.; Melis, Theodore S.

2012-01-01

Management of sand and finer sediment in fluvial settings has become increasingly important for reasons ranging from endangered-species habitat to transport of sediment-associated contaminants. In all rivers, some fraction of the suspended load is transported as washload, and some as suspended bed material. Typically, the washload is composed of silt-and-clay-size sediment, and the suspended bed material is composed of sand-size sediment. In most rivers, as a result of changes in the upstream supply of silt and clay, large, systematic changes in the concentration of the washload occur over time, independent of changes in water discharge. Recent work has shown that large, systematic, discharge-independent changes in the concentration of the suspended bed material are also present in many rivers. In bedrock canyon rivers, such as the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, changes in the upstream tributary supply of sand may cause large changes in the grain-size distribution of the bed sand, resulting in changes in both the concentration and grain-size distribution of the sand in suspension. Large discharge-independent changes in suspended-sand concentration coupled to discharge-independent changes in the grain-size distribution of the suspended sand are not unique to bedrock canyon rivers, but also occur in large alluvial rivers, such as the Mississippi River. These systematic changes in either suspended-silt-and-clay concentration or suspended-sand concentration may not be detectable by using conventional equal-discharge- or equal-width-increment measurements, which may be too infrequently collected relative to the time scale over which these changes in the sediment load are occurring. Furthermore, because large discharge-independent changes in both suspended-silt-and-clay and suspended-sand concentration are possible in many rivers, methods using water discharge as a proxy for suspended-sediment concentration (such as sediment rating curves) may not produce

Long-term study of an estuarine mudflat subjected to petro-chemical discharges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McLusky, D.A.; Martins, T.

1998-01-01

The Kinneil intertidal area, situated in the middle reaches of the Forth estuary, eastern Scotland, has been subject to the effects of industrial discharges, principally from petro-chemical industries (oil refinery and chemical works) since the 1920s. The intertidal fauna has been studied annually since 1976 using consistent methodology. The study continues, now providing over 20 yrs of data. During the study period the discharges from the industrial sources have been reduced substantially through a combination of plant closure and modernization and the installation of effluent treatment works. Furthermore, the River Avon which flows across the area has experienced substantial improvements in water quality, attributed to improvements in waste treatment works at localities upstream from the estuarine site. Overall, however, the clearest trends have been increases in diversity, expressed either as mean number of species per station, or as diversity indices. These increases in diversity are shown to be a clear community response to the improvements made to the petro-chemical wastes discharged to the area. (author)

Traveltime and dispersion data, including associated discharge and water-surface elevation data, Kanawha River West Virginia, 1991

Science.gov (United States)

Wiley, J.B.

1993-01-01

This report presents results of a study by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Virginia Environmental Endowment, Marshall University Research Corporation, and the West Virginia Depart- ment of Environmental Protection, to evaluate traveltime of a soluble dye on the Kanawha River. The Kanawha River originates in south-central West Virginia and flows northwestward to the Ohio River. Knowledge of traveltime and dispersion of a soluble dye could help river managers mitigate effects of an accidental spill. Traveltime and dispersion data were collected from June 20 through July 4, 1991, when river discharges decreased from June 24 through July 3, 1991. Daily mean discharges decreased from 5,540 ft 3/s on June 24 to 2,790 ft3/s on July 2 at Kanawha Falls and from 5,680 ft3/s on June 24 to 3,000 ft3/s on July 2 at Charleston. Water-surface elevations in regulated pools indicated a loss of water storage during the period. A spill at Gauley Bridge under similar streamflow conditions of this study is estimated to take 15 days to move beyond Winfield Dam. Estimated time of passage (elapsed time at a particular location) at Marmet Dam and Winfield Dam is approximately 2.5 days and 5.5 days, respectively. The spill is estimated to spend 12 days in the Winfield pool.

Zooplankton and zoobenthos of the Mokra Sura river

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Yakovenko

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose. To study the spatial distribution of structural and functional indicators of zooplankton and zoobenthos during the period of maximum development of hydrobiocenosis in the contaminated and conditionally clean sites of the Mokra Sura river being under antropogenic pressure. Methodology. During the collection and subsequent laboratory processing of zooplankton and zoobenthos samples, we used the standard conventional hydrobiological methods. In order to rank the studied river sites, we used the combined index of the community state (CICS based on the structural-functional indicators of zoobenthos. Findings. The research results have shown that the species composition of zoobenthos and zooplankton of the Mokra Sura river included many saprobiontic species such as oligochaetes, chironomids and rotifers, which were developed significantly in some sites under the effect of eutrophication and silt accumulation in the presence of anthropogenic pollution. The above-mentioned processes cause inhibition of the life activity of such filter feeders as mollusks and crustaceans being the most powerful zooplanktonic and zoobenthic agents of self-cleaning. The highest numbers of zooplankton and zoobenthos development were recorded in front of the point of the emergency discharge of right-bank sewage water (stimulating effect of organic pollution while the lowest numbers were registered near the tire plant (combined effect of both chemical sewage pollution and silt accumulation. In the «Dnipro - Zaporizhzhia highway» site, low numbers of zooplankton development were the result of silt accumulation, whereas the zoobenthos biomass turned out to be the highest due to the intensive development of oligochaetes. Planktonic saprobiontic rotifers dominated in the site located in front of the sewage discharge whereas bdelloid rotifers dominated in the upstream sites of the river. The dominance of planktonic and benthic saprobiontic rotifers caused the highest

Historical trends in precipitation and stream discharge at the Skjern River catchment, Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Karlsson, Ida Bjørnholt; Sonnenborg, Torben Obel; Jensen, Karsten Høgh

2014-01-01

for undercatch. The degree of change in the climatic variables is examined using the non-parametric Mann–Kendall test. During the last 133 yr the area has experienced a significant change in precipitation of 26% and a temperature change of 1.4°C, leading to increases in river discharge of 52% and groundwater...... outside the calibration period. The results showed a reduced model fit, especially for recent time periods (after the 1980s), and not all hydrological changes could be explained. This might indicate that hydrological models cannot be expected to predict climate change impacts on discharge as accurately...... in the future, compared to the performance under present conditions, where they can be calibrated. The (simulated) stream discharge was subsequently analysed using high flow and drought indices based on the threshold method. The extreme signal was found to depend highly on the period chosen as reference...

Locating Ground-Water Discharge in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, D.R.; Geist, D.R.; Saldi, K.; Hartwig, D.; Cooper, T.

1997-01-01

A bottom-contacting probe for measuring electrical conductivity at the sediment-water interface was used to scan the bed of the Columbia River adjacent to the Hanford Site in southeast Washington State during a 10-day investigation. Four river-sections, each about a kilometer in length, were scanned for variations in electrical conductivity. The probe was towed along the riverbed at a speed of 1 m/s and is position was recorded using a Global Positioning System. The bottom tows revealed several areas of elevated electrical conductivity. Where these anomalies were relatively easy to access, piezometers were driven into the riverbed and porewater electrical conductivity ranged from 111 to 150 uS/cm. The piezometers, placed in electrical conductivity ''hotspots'' yielded chemical or isotopic data consistent with previous analyses of water taken from monitoring wells and visible shoreline seeps. Tritium, nitrate, and chromium exceeded water quality standards in some porewaters. The highest tritium and nitrate levels were found near the Old Hanford Townsite at 120,000 pCi/L (+ 5,880 pCi/L total propagated analytical uncertainty) and ug/L (+ 5,880 ug/L), respectively. The maximum chromium (total and hexavalent) levels were found near 100-H reactor area where unfiltered porewater total chromium was 1,900 ug/L (+ 798 ug/L) and hexavalent chromium was 20 ug/L. The electrical conductivity probe provided rapid, cost-effective reconnaissance for ground-water discharge areas when used in combination with conventional piezometers. It may be possible to obtain quantitative estimates of both natural and contaminated ground-water discharge in the Hanford Reach with more extensive surveys of river bottom

Decline of Yangtze River water and sediment discharge: Impact from natural and anthropogenic changes

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, S. L.; Xu, K. H.; Milliman, J. D.; Yang, H. F.; Wu, C. S.

2015-01-01

The increasing impact of both climatic change and human activities on global river systems necessitates an increasing need to identify and quantify the various drivers and their impacts on fluvial water and sediment discharge. Here we show that mean Yangtze River water discharge of the first decade after the closing of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) (2003–2012) was 67 km3/yr (7%) lower than that of the previous 50 years (1950–2002), and 126 km3/yr less compared to the relatively wet period of pre-TGD decade (1993–2002). Most (60–70%) of the decline can be attributed to decreased precipitation, the remainder resulting from construction of reservoirs, improved water-soil conservation and increased water consumption. Mean sediment flux decreased by 71% between 1950–1968 and the post-TGD decade, about half of which occurred prior to the pre-TGD decade. Approximately 30% of the total decline and 65% of the decline since 2003 can be attributed to the TGD, 5% and 14% of these declines to precipitation change, and the remaining to other dams and soil conservation within the drainage basin. These findings highlight the degree to which changes in riverine water and sediment discharge can be related with multiple environmental and anthropogenic factors. PMID:26206169

Untreated urban waste contaminates Indian river sediments with resistance genes to last resort antibiotics.

Science.gov (United States)

Marathe, Nachiket P; Pal, Chandan; Gaikwad, Swapnil S; Jonsson, Viktor; Kristiansson, Erik; Larsson, D G Joakim

2017-11-01

Efficient sewage treatment is critical for limiting environmental transmission of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In many low and middle income countries, however, large proportions of sewage are still released untreated into receiving water bodies. In-depth knowledge of how such discharges of untreated urban waste influences the environmental resistome is largely lacking. Here, we highlight the impact of uncontrolled discharge of partially treated and/or untreated wastewater on the structure of bacterial communities and resistome of sediments collected from Mutha river flowing through Pune city in India. Using shotgun metagenomics, we found a wide array (n = 175) of horizontally transferable antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) including carbapenemases such as NDM, VIM, KPC, OXA-48 and IMP types. The relative abundance of total ARGs was 30-fold higher in river sediments within the city compared to upstream sites. Forty four ARGs, including the tet(X) gene conferring resistance to tigecycline, OXA-58 and GES type carbapenemases, were significantly more abundant in city sediments, while two ARGs were more common at upstream sites. The recently identified mobile colistin resistance gene mcr-1 was detected only in one of the upstream samples, but not in city samples. In addition to ARGs, higher abundances of various mobile genetic elements were found in city samples, including integron-associated integrases and ISCR transposases, as well as some biocide/metal resistance genes. Virulence toxin genes as well as bacterial genera comprising many pathogens were more abundant here; the genus Acinetobacter, which is often associated with multidrug resistance and nosocomial infections, comprised up to 29% of the 16S rRNA reads, which to our best knowledge is unmatched in any other deeply sequenced metagenome. There was a strong correlation between the abundance of Acinetobacter and the OXA-58 carbapenemase gene. Our study shows that uncontrolled discharge of untreated urban

Changes in discharge dynamics under the constraints of local and global changes in the Chao Lake basin (China)

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Y.; Salles, C.; Rodier, C.; Crès, F.-N.; Huang, L.; Tournoud, M.-G.

2012-04-01

Located on the Yangtze basin, the Chao Lake is the fifth largest freshwater lake in China and of great importance in terms of water resources and aquaculture. Its catchment (9130 km2) includes the city of Hefei and large extends of agricultural and rural areas. Fast changes are expected in land uses and agricultural practices for the future, due to the touristic appeal of the Chao Lake shore and the growth of the city of Hefei. Climate changes are also expected in this region, with a high impact on rainfall regime. The consequences of these changes on the sustainability of the water inflows into the lake are a major issue for the economical development of the Chao Lake area even though they are little-known. Our study aims to give tools for estimating such consequences, accounting for uncertainties in scenario data and model parameters. The dynamics of rivers flowing into the Chao Lake is not very well-known, except for the Fengle River. The Fengle catchment (1480 km2) is mainly rural. River discharges are recorded at Taoxi station, upstream its outlet into the lake. 20-year records of daily discharges are available. Nine rain gauges, with daily data, daily temperature and evapotranspiration data are also available. The current dynamics of the Fengle River is characterized in terms of flood frequencies on discharge-duration-frequency curves. The ATHYS freely available hydrological tool (www.athys-soft.org) is used to calibrate and validate a distributed model of the Fengle catchment. Four calibration runs are done on four independent 5-year discharge records. Four different sets of model parameters are discussed. The model is then run for validation. The uncertainties in model predictions are evaluated in terms of errors in the simulated discharges during the validation period, with regards to the 5-year period used for calibration. The model is then applied on scenarios of changes in land uses and climate. Uncertainties in scenarios of changes are estimated

Biomass production in the Lower Mississippi River Basin: Mitigating associated nutrient and sediment discharge to the Gulf of Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Ha, Miae; Zhang, Zhonglong; Wu, May

2018-04-24

A watershed model was developed using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) that simulates nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment loadings in the Lower Mississippi River Basin (LMRB). The LMRB SWAT model was calibrated and validated using 21 years of observed flow, sediment, and water-quality data. The baseline model results indicate that agricultural lands within the Lower Mississippi River Basin (LMRB) are the dominant sources of nitrogen and phosphorus discharging into the Gulf of Mexico. The model was further used to evaluate the impact of biomass production, in the presence of riparian buffers in the LMRB, on suspended-sediment and nutrient loading discharge from the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico. The interplay among land use, riparian buffers, crop type, land slope, water quality, and hydrology were anlyzed at various scales. Implementing a riparian buffer in the dominant agricultural region within the LMRB could reduce suspended sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus loadings at the regional scale by up to 65%, 38%, and 39%, respectively. Implementation of this land management practice can reduce the suspended-sediment content and improve the water quality of the discharge from the LMRB into the Gulf of Mexico and support the potential production of bioenergy and bio-products within the Mississippi River Basin. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Impact of upstream river inputs and reservoir operation on phosphorus fractions in water-particulate phases in the Three Gorges Reservoir.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Chaonan; Zheng, Binghui; Qin, Yanwen; Ma, Yingqun; Yang, Chenchen; Liu, Zhichao; Cao, Wei; Chi, Minghui

2018-01-01

The impoundment of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) has changed water-sand transport regime, with inevitable effects on phosphorus transport behavior in the TGR. In this study, we measured phosphorus fractions in water and suspended particles transported from upstream rivers of the TGR (the Yangtze River, the Jialing River and the Wu River) to reservoir inner region over the full operation schedule of the TGR. The aim was to determine how phosphorus fractions in water and particulate phases varied in response to natural hydrological processes and reservoir operations. The results showed that total phosphorus concentration (TP) in water in the TGR inner region was 0.17±0.05mg/L, which was lower than that in the Yangtze River (0.21±0.04mg/L) and the Wu River (0.23±0.03mg/L), but higher than that in the Jialing River (0.12±0.07mg/L). In the TGR inner region, there was no clear trend of total dissolved phosphorus (TDP), but total particulate phosphorus (TPP) showed a decreasing trend from tail area to head area because of particle deposition along the TGR mainstream. In addition, the concentrations of TPP in water and particulate phosphorus in a unit mass of suspended particles (PP) in the TGR inner region were higher in October 2014 and January 2015 (the impounding period and high water level period) than that in July 2015 (the low water level period). The temporal variations of PP and TPP concentrations in the TGR may be linked to the change of particle size distribution of suspended particles in the TGR. The particle size tended to be finer due to large-size particle deposition under stable hydrodynamic conditions in the process of TGR impoundment, resulting in high adsorption capacities of phosphorus in suspended particles. The results implied that phosphorus temporal variations in the TGR could exert different impacts on water quality in the TGR tributaries. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Satellite Derived Water Quality Observations Are Related to River Discharge and Nitrogen Loads in Pensacola Bay, Florida

OpenAIRE

John C. Lehrter; John C. Lehrter; Chengfeng Le

2017-01-01

Relationships between satellite-derived water quality variables and river discharges, concentrations and loads of nutrients, organic carbon, and sediments were investigated over a 9-year period (2003–2011) in Pensacola Bay, Florida, USA. These analyses were conducted to better understand which river forcing factors were the primary drivers of estuarine variability in several water quality variables. Remote sensing reflectance time-series data were retrieved from the MEdium Resolution Imaging ...

River Discharge and Local Scale Habitat Influence LIFE Score Macroinvertebrate LIFE Scores

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dunbar, Michael J.; Pedersen, Morten Lauge; Cadman, Dan

2010-01-01

Midlands of the U.K., we describe how local-scale habitat features (indexed through River Habitat Survey or Danish Habitat Quality Survey) and changing river flow (discharge) influence the response of a macroinvertebrate community index. The approach has broad applicability in developing regional flow...... Invertebrate index for Flow Evaluation (LIFE), an average of abundance-weighted flow groups which indicate the microhabitat preferences of each taxon for higher velocities and clean gravel/cobble substrata or slow/still velocities and finer substrata. 3. For the Danish fauna, the LIFE score responded to three...... of the channel (negative). In both cases, LIFE responded negatively to features associated with historical channel modification. We suggest that there are several mechanisms for these relationships, including the narrower tolerances of taxa preferring high velocity habitat; these taxa are also continually...

SEASONAL DISCHARGE REGIME OF THE RIVERS IN THE TRANSYLVANIAN SUBCARPATHIANS AND THE ADJACENT MOUNTAINOUS SPACE BETWEEN TÂRNAVA MARE AND NIRAJ

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

VICTOR SOROCOVSCHI

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Seasonal discharge regime of the rivers in the Transylvanian Subcarpathians and the adjacent mountainous space between Târnava Mare and Niraj. The studied region is situated in the North-East of the Transylvanian Depression and includes two distinct units: the Transylvanian Subcarpathians and the Moldavo-Transylvanian Carpathians, comprised between the valleys of Târnava Mare and Niraj. The study is based upon the processing and interpretation of data coming from 13 hydrometric stations. In order to emphasize the particuliarities of the seasonal discharge regime, we took into account three periods (1950-1967, 1950-2009 and 1970-2009. The characteristics of the geographic coating from the studied area, especially the climatic and geomorphic ones, are clearly reflected in the discharge regime of river waters. Thus, on all rivers, spring discharge is predominant, and winter and autumn are the seasons with the lowest weight of the multiannual average volume. We have underlined the particuliarities of the three subtypes of seasonal regime and we have defined the limits of the corresponding display areas. The variation of the seasonal discharge on a multiannual level was outlined with the help of variation coefficients. Likewise, we also determined the discharge tendencies for the three studied intervals. The analysis carried out has revealed the fact that the rhythmic structure of the hydric system reflects the local characteristics of the supplying sources, of geological, as well as morphological and morphometrical conditions of the relief.

Instream flow characterization of Upper Salmon River basin streams, central Idaho, 2005

Science.gov (United States)

Maret, Terry R.; Hortness, Jon E.; Ott, Douglas S.

2006-01-01

Anadromous fish populations in the Columbia River Basin have plummeted in the last 100 years. This severe decline led to Federal listing of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) stocks as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the 1990s. Historically, the upper Salmon River Basin (upstream of the confluence with the Pahsimeroi River) in Idaho provided migration corridors and significant habitat for these ESA-listed species, in addition to the ESA-listed bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus). Human development has modified the original streamflow conditions in many streams in the upper Salmon River Basin. Summer streamflow modifications resulting from irrigation practices, have directly affected quantity and quality of fish habitat and also have affected migration and (or) access to suitable spawning and rearing habitat for these fish. As a result of these ESA listings and Action 149 of the Federal Columbia River Power System Biological Opinion of 2000, the Bureau of Reclamation was tasked to conduct streamflow characterization studies in the upper Salmon River Basin to clearly define habitat requirements for effective species management and habitat restoration. These studies include collection of habitat and streamflow information for the Physical Habitat Simulation System (PHABSIM) model, a widely applied method to determine relations between habitat and discharge requirements for various fish species and life stages. Model simulation results can be used by resource managers to guide habitat restoration efforts by evaluating potential fish habitat and passage improvements by increasing or decreasing streamflow. In 2005, instream flow characterization studies were completed on Big Boulder, Challis, Bear, Mill, and Morgan Creeks. Continuous streamflow data were recorded upstream of all diversions on Big Boulder. Instantaneous measurements of discharge were also made at selected sites. In

Potentially toxic metals in rivers upstream of Pantanal Norte

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Geizibel Campos de Magalhães

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Cuiabá (CBA and São Lourenço (SL rivers are considered strategic once they integrate regions, which are economically, socially and environmentally relevant for Brazil and the world. However, several activities developed in their watersheds may represent sources of metals and be a threat to the environmental quality. Thus, in this study we evaluated the spatial and temporal variability of potentially toxic metals in water and sediment and the relationship of their concentration with water quality parameters. Surface water samples were collected monthly in 15 points and bottom sediment in nine points distributed throughout both rivers from August 2012 to July 2013. Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn were determined in water by inducted coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry and in sediment by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Fe, Mn, Pb and Cr had high concentrations in water and sediment but only Pb and Cr represent environmental risk. Fe and Mn were in higher concentrations in at the upper points of SL River and Cu and Pb in the urban area of both rivers. Temporally, the metal concentrations were associated with precipitation variation. The observed correlations amongst metal concentrations indicate common sources. Thus, the metals occurrence and concentrations in water and sediment of both rivers showed a natural contribution, as a reflex of soil type associated to the region's precipitation regimen as well as the anthropic contribution due to agricultural and cattle breeding activities, and disposal of untreated urban effluents.

Dissolved organic matter composition of winter flow in the Yukon River basin: Implications of permafrost thaw and increased groundwater discharge

Science.gov (United States)

O'Donnell, Jonathan A.; Aiken, George R.; Walvoord, Michelle Ann; Butler, Kenna D.

2012-01-01

Groundwater discharge to rivers has increased in recent decades across the circumpolar region and has been attributed to thawing permafrost in arctic and subarctic watersheds. Permafrost-driven changes in groundwater discharge will alter the flux of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in rivers, yet little is known about the chemical composition and reactivity of dissolved organic matter (DOM) of groundwater in permafrost settings. Here, we characterize DOM composition of winter flow in 60 rivers and streams of the Yukon River basin to evaluate the biogeochemical consequences of enhanced groundwater discharge associated with permafrost thaw. DOC concentration of winter flow averaged 3.9 ± 0.5 mg C L−1, yet was highly variable across basins (ranging from 20 mg C L−1). In comparison to the summer-autumn period, DOM composition of winter flow had lower aromaticity (as indicated by specific ultraviolet absorbance at 254 nm, or SUVA254), lower hydrophobic acid content, and a higher proportion of hydrophilic compounds (HPI). Fluorescence spectroscopy and parallel factor analysis indicated enrichment of protein-like fluorophores in some, but not all, winter flow samples. The ratio of DOC to dissolved organic nitrogen, an indicator of DOM biodegradability, was positively correlated with SUVA254 and negatively correlated with the percentage of protein-like compounds. Using a simple two-pool mixing model, we evaluate possible changes in DOM during the summer-autumn period across a range of conditions reflecting possible increases in groundwater discharge. Across three watersheds, we consistently observed decreases in DOC concentration and SUVA254 and increases in HPI with increasing groundwater discharge. Spatial patterns in DOM composition of winter flow appear to reflect differences in the relative contributions of groundwater from suprapermafrost and subpermafrost aquifers across watersheds. Our findings call for more explicit consideration of DOC loss and stabilization

Columbia River Statistical Update Model, Version 4. 0 (COLSTAT4): Background documentation and user's guide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Whelan, G.; Damschen, D.W.; Brockhaus, R.D.

1987-08-01

Daily-averaged temperature and flow information on the Columbia River just downstream of Priest Rapids Dam and upstream of river mile 380 were collected and stored in a data base. The flow information corresponds to discharges that were collected daily from October 1, 1959, through July 28, 1986. The temperature information corresponds to values that were collected daily from January 1, 1965, through May 27, 1986. The computer model, COLSTAT4 (Columbia River Statistical Update - Version 4.0 model), uses the temperature-discharge data base to statistically analyze temperature and flow conditions by computing the frequency of occurrence and duration of selected temperatures and flow rates for the Columbia River. The COLSTAT4 code analyzes the flow and temperature information in a sequential time frame (i.e., a continuous analysis over a given time period); it also analyzes this information in a seasonal time frame (i.e., a periodic analysis over a specific season from year to year). A provision is included to enable the user to edit and/or extend the data base of temperature and flow information. This report describes the COLSTAT4 code and the information contained in its data base.

Evaluation of the Biological Effects of the Northwest Power Conservation Council's Mainstem Amendment on the Fisheries Upstream and Downstream of Libby Dam, Montana, 2007-2008 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sylvester, Ryan; Stephens, Brian; Tohtz, Joel [Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks

2009-04-03

A new project began in 2005 to monitor the biological and physical effects of improved operations of Hungry Horse and Libby Dams, Montana, called for by the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NPCC) Mainstem Amendment. This operating strategy was designed to benefit resident fish impacted by hydropower and flood control operations. Under the new operating guidelines, July through September reservoir drafts will be limited to 10 feet from full pool during the highest 80% of water supply years and 20 feet from full pool during the lowest 20% of water supply (drought) years. Limits were also established on how rapidly discharge from the dams can be increased or decreased depending on the season. The NPCC also directed the federal agencies that operate Libby and Hungry Horse Dams to implement a new flood control strategy (VARQ) and directed Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks to evaluate biological responses to this operating strategy. The Mainstem Amendment operating strategy has not been fully implemented at the Montana dams as of June 2008 but the strategy will be implemented in 2009. This report highlights the monitoring methods used to monitor the effects of the Mainstem Amendment operations on fishes, habitat, and aquatic invertebrates upstream and downstream of Libby Dam. We also present initial assessments of data and the effects of various operating strategies on physical and biological components of the systems upstream and downstream of Libby Dam. Annual electrofishing surveys in the Kootenai River and selected tributaries, along with gill net surveys in the reservoir, are being used to quantify the impacts of dam operations on fish populations upstream and downstream of Libby Dam. Scales and otoliths are being used to determine the age structure and growth of focal species. Annual population estimates and tagging experiments provide estimates of survival and growth in the mainstem Kootenai River and selected tributaries. Radio telemetry will be used to

Fates of dissolved and particulate materials from the Mississippi river immediately after discharge into the northern Gulf of Mexico, USA, during a period of low wind stress

Science.gov (United States)

Dagg, M. J.; Bianchi, T.; McKee, B.; Powell, R.

2008-07-01

In June 2003, we conducted a two-part field exercise to examine biogeochemical characteristics of water in the lower Mississippi river during the 4 days prior to discharge and in the Mississippi river plume over 2 days after discharge. Here we describe the fates of materials immediately after their discharge through Southwest Pass of the Mississippi delta into the northern Gulf of Mexico. Changes in surface water properties immediately after discharge were much larger and more rapid than changes prior to discharge. Total suspended matter (TSM) declined, probably due to sinking, dissolved macronutrients were rapidly diminished by mixing and biological uptake, and phytoplankton populations increased dramatically, and then declined. This decline appeared to begin at salinities of approximately 10 and was nearly complete by 15. A large increase in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) occurred over approximately the same salinity range. Weak winds (releasing large amounts of DOC. Macronutrients from the river were utilized by the river phytoplankton community in the extensive freshwater lens. This contrasted with the more typical situation in which river nutrients stimulate a marine phytoplankton bloom at salinities in the mid-20s. We concluded that the direct effects of dissolved and particulate bio-reactive materials discharged by the Mississippi river were spatially restricted at this time to low-salinity water, at least as surface phenomena. After being transported through the lower river essentially unaltered, these materials were biogeochemically processed within days and tens of km. More generally, the mixing rate of plume water with receiving oceanic water has profound effects on the food web structure and biogeochemical cycling in the plume.

Water quality responses to the interaction between surface water and groundwater along the Songhua River, NE China

Science.gov (United States)

Teng, Yanguo; Hu, Bin; Zheng, Jieqiong; Wang, Jinsheng; Zhai, Yuanzheng; Zhu, Chen

2018-03-01

Investigation of surface water and groundwater interaction (SW-GW interaction) provides basic information for regional water-resource protection, management, and development. In this survey of a 10-km-wide area along both sides of the Songhua River, northeast China, the hydrogeochemical responses to different SW-GW interactions were studied. Three types of SW-GW interactions were identified—"recharge", "discharge", and "flow-through"—according to the hydraulic connection between the surface water and groundwater. The single factor index, principal component analysis, and hierarchical cluster analysis of the hydrogeochemistry and pollutant data illuminated the hydrogeochemical response to the various SW-GW interactions. Clear SW-GW interactions along the Songhua River were revealed: (1) upstream in the study area, groundwater usually discharges into the surface water, (2) groundwater is recharged by surface water downstream, and (3) discharge and flow-through coexist in between. Statistical analysis indicated that the degree of hydrogeochemical response in different types of hydraulic connection varied, being clear in recharge and flow-through modes, and less obvious in discharge mode. During the interaction process, dilution, adsorption, redox reactions, nitrification, denitrification, and biodegradation contributed to the pollutant concentration and affected hydrogeochemical response in the hyporheic zone.

Occurrence of Organic Compounds and Trace Elements in the Upper Passaic and Elizabeth Rivers and Their Tributaries in New Jersey, July 2003 to February 2004: Phase II of the New Jersey Toxics Reduction Workplan for New York-New Jersey Harbor

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Timothy P.; Bonin, Jennifer L.

2008-01-01

Samples of surface water and suspended sediment were collected from the Passaic and Elizabeth Rivers and their tributaries in New Jersey from July 2003 to February 2004 to determine the concentrations of selected chlorinated organic and inorganic constituents. This sampling and analysis was conducted as Phase II of the New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary Workplan?Contaminant Assessment and Reduction Program (CARP), which is overseen by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Phase II of the New Jersey Workplan was conducted to define upstream tributary and point sources of contaminants in those rivers sampled during Phase I work, with special emphasis on the Passaic and Elizabeth Rivers. Samples were collected from three groups of tributaries: (1) the Second, Third, and Saddle Rivers; (2) the Pompton and upper Passaic Rivers; and (3) the West Branch and main stem of the Elizabeth River. The Second, Third, and Saddle Rivers were sampled near their confluence with the tidal Passaic River, but at locations not affected by tidal flooding. The Pompton and upper Passaic Rivers were sampled immediately upstream from their confluence at Two Bridges, N.J. The West Branch and the main stem of the Elizabeth River were sampled just upstream from their confluence at Hillside, N.J. All tributaries were sampled during low-flow discharge conditions using the protocols and analytical methods for organic constituents used in low-flow sampling in Phase I. Grab samples of streamflow also were collected at each site and were analyzed for trace elements (mercury, methylmercury, cadmium, and lead) and for suspended sediment, particulate organic carbon, and dissolved organic carbon. The measured concentrations and available historical suspended-sediment and stream-discharge data (where available) were used to estimate average annual loads of suspended sediment and organic compounds in these rivers. Total suspended-sediment loads for 1975?2000 were estimated using rating

Streamflow, water quality, and contaminant loads in the lower Charles River Watershed, Massachusetts, 1999-2000

Science.gov (United States)

Breault, Robert F.; Sorenson, Jason R.; Weiskel, Peter K.

2002-01-01

loads that appear to exceed the river?s assimilative capacity. Annual contaminant loads from stormwater discharges directly to the lower Charles River are large, but most dry-weather and stormwater contaminant loads measured in this study originate from upstream of the Watertown Dam and are delivered to the lower Charles River in mainstem flows. An exception is fecal coliform bacteria. Stony Brook, a large tributary influenced by combined sewer overflow, contributed almost half of the annual fecal coliform load to the lower Charles River for Water Year 2000. Much of this fecal coliform bacteria load is discharged from Stony Brook to the lower Charles River during rain-storms. Estimated stormwater loads for future conditions suggest that sewer separation in the Stony Brook Subbasin might reduce loads of constituents associated with sewage but increase loads of constituents associated with street runoff. The unique environment offered by the lower Charles River must be considered when the environmental implications of large contaminant loads are interpreted. In particular, the lower Charles River has low hydraulic gradients, a lack of tidal flushing, a lack of natural uncontaminated sediment from erosion of upstream uncontaminated soils, and an anoxic, sulfide-rich bottom layer that forms a non-tidal salt wedge in the downstream part of the lower Charles River. Individually and in combination, these characteristics may increase the likelihood of adverse effects of some contaminants on the water, biota, and sediment of the lower Charles River.

The effects of precipitation, river discharge, land use and coastal circulation on water quality in coastal Maine.

Science.gov (United States)

Tilburg, Charles E; Jordan, Linda M; Carlson, Amy E; Zeeman, Stephan I; Yund, Philip O

2015-07-01

Faecal pollution in stormwater, wastewater and direct run-off can carry zoonotic pathogens to streams, rivers and the ocean, reduce water quality, and affect both recreational and commercial fishing areas of the coastal ocean. Typically, the closure of beaches and commercial fishing areas is governed by the testing for the presence of faecal bacteria, which requires an 18-24 h period for sample incubation. As water quality can change during this testing period, the need for accurate and timely predictions of coastal water quality has become acute. In this study, we: (i) examine the relationship between water quality, precipitation and river discharge at several locations within the Gulf of Maine, and (ii) use multiple linear regression models based on readily obtainable hydrometeorological measurements to predict water quality events at five coastal locations. Analysis of a 12 year dataset revealed that high river discharge and/or precipitation events can lead to reduced water quality; however, the use of only these two parameters to predict water quality can result in a number of errors. Analysis of a higher frequency, 2 year study using multiple linear regression models revealed that precipitation, salinity, river discharge, winds, seasonality and coastal circulation correlate with variations in water quality. Although there has been extensive development of regression models for freshwater, this is one of the first attempts to create a mechanistic model to predict water quality in coastal marine waters. Model performance is similar to that of efforts in other regions, which have incorporated models into water resource managers' decisions, indicating that the use of a mechanistic model in coastal Maine is feasible.

Topographical change caused by moderate and small floods in a gravel bed ephemeral river - a depth-averaged morphodynamic simulation approach

Science.gov (United States)

Lotsari, Eliisa S.; Calle, Mikel; Benito, Gerardo; Kukko, Antero; Kaartinen, Harri; Hyyppä, Juha; Hyyppä, Hannu; Alho, Petteri

2018-03-01

In ephemeral rivers, channel morphology represents a snapshot at the end of a succession of geomorphic changes caused by floods. In most cases, the channel shape and bedform migration during different phases of a flood hydrograph cannot be identified from field evidence. This paper analyses the timing of riverbed erosion and deposition of a gravel bed ephemeral river channel (Rambla de la Viuda, Spain) during consecutive and moderate- (March 2013) and low-magnitude (May 2013) discharge events, by applying a morphodynamic model (Delft3D) calibrated with pre- and post-event surveys by RTK-GPS points and mobile laser scanning. The study reach is mainly depositional and all bedload sediment supplied from adjacent upstream areas is trapped in the study segment forming gravel lobes. Therefore, estimates of total bedload sediment mass balance can be obtained from pre- and post-field survey for each flood event. The spatially varying grain size data and transport equations were the most important factors for model calibration, in addition to flow discharge. The channel acted as a braided channel during the lower flows of the two discharge events, but when bars were submerged in the high discharges of May 2013, the high fluid forces followed a meandering river planform. The model results showed that erosion and deposition were in total greater during the long-lasting receding phase than during the rising phase of the flood hydrographs. In the case of the moderate-magnitude discharge event, deposition and erosion peaks were predicted to occur at the beginning of the hydrograph, whereas deposition dominated throughout the event. Conversely, the low-magnitude discharge event only experienced the peak of channel changes after the discharge peak. Thus, both type of discharge events highlight the importance of receding phase for this type of gravel bed ephemeral river channel.

A licence to discharge cooling waters in tidal rivers, examplified by the 'Nuclear Power Station Unterweser'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kunz, H.

1976-01-01

Illustrated by the example of the lower Weser, aspects for automatic control, supervision measurements, and measurements for the securing of evidence, all in connection with cooling water discharges, are presented. The particularities of tidal rivers and the conditions for measuring systems resulting therefrom are explained. The cooling water discharge of the Kernkraftwerk Unterweser has been assigned an extensive measurement system for the automatic compilation of hydrologic data. The measurement systems design, the measurement stations, and the central station are described. (orig.) [de

Channel morphology and its impact on flood passage, the Tianjiazhen reach of the middle Yangtze River

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Yafeng; Zhang, Qiang; Chen, Zhongyuan; Jiang, Tong; Wu, Jinglu

2007-03-01

The Tianjiazhen reach of the middle Yangtze is about 8 km long, and characterized by a narrow river width of 650 m and local water depth of > 90 m in deep inner troughs, of which about 60 m is below the mean sea level. The troughs in the channel of such a large river are associated with regional tectonics and local lithology. The channel configuration plays a critical role in modifying the height and duration of river floods and erosion of the riverbed. The formation of the troughs in the bed of the Yangtze is considered to be controlled by sets of NW-SE-oriented neotectonic fault zones, in which some segments consist of highly folded thick Triassic limestone crossed by the Yangtze River. Several limestone hills, currently located next to the river channel, serve as nodes that create large vortices in the river, thereby accelerating downcutting on the riverbed composed of limestone highly susceptible to physical corrosion and chemical dissolution. Hydrological records indicate that the nodal hills and channel configuration at Tianjiazhen do not impact on normal flow discharges but discharges > 50,000 m 3s - 1 are slowed down for 2-3 days. Catastrophic floods are held up for even longer periods. These inevitably result in elevated flood stages upstream of prolonged duration, affecting large cities such as Wuhan and a very large number of people.

Changes in streamflow and summary of major-ion chemistry and loads in the North Fork Red River basin upstream from Lake Altus, northwestern Texas and western Oklahoma, 1945-1999

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, S. Jerrod; Wahl, Kenneth L.

2003-01-01

Upstream from Lake Altus, the North Fork Red River drains an area of 2,515 square miles. The quantity and quality of surface water are major concerns at Lake Altus, and water-resource managers and consumers need historical information to make informed decisions about future development. The Lugert-Altus Irrigation District relies on withdrawals from the lake to sustain nearly 46,000 acres of agricultural land. Kendall's tau tests of precipitation data indicated no statistically significant trend over the entire 100 years of available record. However, a significant increase in precipitation occurred in the last 51 years. Four streamflow-gaging stations with more than 10 years of record were maintained in the basin. These stations recorded no significant trends in annual streamflow volume. Two stations, however, had significant increasing trends in the base-flow index, and three had significant decreasing trends in annual peak flows. Major-ion chemistry in the North Fork Red River is closely related to the chemical composition of the underlying bedrock. Two main lithologies are represented in the basin upstream from Lake Altus. In the upper reaches, young and poorly consolidated sediments include a range of sizes from coarse gravel to silt and clay. Nearsurface horizons commonly are cemented as calcium carbonate caliche. Finer-grained gypsiferous sandstones and shales dominate the lower reaches of the basin. A distinct increase in dissolved solids, specifically sodium, chloride, calcium, and sulfate, occurs as the river flows over rocks that contain substantial quantities of gypsum, anhydrite, and dolomite. These natural salts are the major dissolved constituents in the North Fork Red River.

Comparing sulfur and oxygen isotope variability of sulfate in the Mississippi River during high and low discharge from 2009-2011

Science.gov (United States)

Killingsworth, B.; Kohl, I. E.; Bao, H.

2011-12-01

S and O isotope compositions of ocean and river sulfate, SO42-, reflect Earth surface processes and can thus be used to understand the Earth's dynamic past. It has been estimated that riverine SO42- is 22% evaporite (SO42-riv-evap), 11% oxidative weathering (SO42-riv-ow), and 54% atmospheric and agricultural pollution [1]. Two parameters are poorly constrained: 1) the ratio of SO42-riv-evap to SO42-riv-ow, and 2) the extent of human influence on SO42- flux. Furthermore, for isotopic modeling, natural riverine SO42- O and S isotope compositions, δ18OSO4-riv and δ34SSO4-riv, have large measured ranges (e.g. δ18OSO4-riv from -2% to +7% [2]) that are based on limited empirical data with variable and unconstrained influence from human activities. In the lower Mississippi River Basin (MRB) we have sampled river water SO42- biweekly since 2009. Our isotope dataset is used in conjunction with US Geological Survey and US Army Corps of Engineers SO42- concentration and river discharge data. In comparison to MRB low discharge periods, the periods of annual high water discharge are characterized by 1) a doubling in water discharge 2) a concomitant high MRB SO42- flux (>1100 kg/s) 3) an average SO42- concentration at 85% of the low discharge concentrations and 4) a more constrained variability of SO42- isotope composition. The δ18OSO4-riv ranges from +3.2% to +5.5% at high discharge and from +2.6% to +8.8% at low discharge. The δ34SSO4-riv ranges from -4.3% to -0.4 at high discharge and from -6.3% to -0.2% at low discharge. Atmospheric SO42- is estimated from 2009 National Atmospheric Deposition Program maps to contribute only ~10% of total MRB SO42-. We conclude that during annual high discharge a large river basin such as the MRB is less sensitive to variable sub-basin input and that average MRB SO42- isotope composition is best represented by a δ18OSO4-riv value of ~+4.0% and δ34SSO4-riv value of ~-3.0%. MRB SO42- concentration during high discharge is diluted less

Seiche-induced unsteady flows in the Huron-Erie Corridor: Spectral analysis of oscillations in stage and discharge in the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, P. Ryan; Contantinescu, G.; Garcia, M.; Hanes, D.

2016-01-01

Animations of highly dynamic water-surface profiles through the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers have identified transient disturbances propagating from Lakes Huron and Erie into the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers, respectively. To determine any relation to seiche and tidal oscillations on Lakes Huron and Erie, a spectral analysis was performed on stage and discharge data from the Huron-Erie Corridor. There is excellent agreement between the observed oscillations in stage and discharge in the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers and the documented frequencies of oscillations in Lakes Huron and Erie. The fundamental seiche, some higher-order seiche modes, and the semidiurnal tide from Lakes Huron and Erie are evident in the stage and discharge records at gages along the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers, respectively. Lake St. Clair appears to act as a damper in the system. If not accounted for, these oscillations may complicate monitoring, modeling, and restoration of this system.

Water quality of Cisadane River based on watershed segmentation

Science.gov (United States)

Effendi, Hefni; Ayu Permatasari, Prita; Muslimah, Sri; Mursalin

2018-05-01

The growth of population and industrialization combined with land development along river cause water pollution and environmental deterioration. Cisadane River is one of the river in Indonesia where urbanization, industrialization, and agricultural are extremely main sources of pollution. Cisadane River is an interesting case for investigating the effect of land use to water quality and comparing water quality in every river segment. The main objectives with this study were to examine if there is a correlation between land use and water quality in Cisadane River and there is a difference in water quality between the upstream section of Cisadane River compared with its downstream section. This study compared water quality with land use condition in each segment of river. Land use classification showed that river segment that has more undeveloped area has better water quality compared to river segment with developed area. in general, BOD and COD values have increased from upstream to downstream. However, BOD and COD values do not show a steady increase in each segment Water quality is closely related to the surrounding land use.Therefore, it can not be concluded that the water quality downstream is worse than in the upstream area.

Inundation and draining of the Trinity River floodplain associated with extreme precipitation from Hurricane Harvey, east Texas, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Hassenruck-Gudipati, H. J.; Goudge, T. A.; Mohrig, D. C.

2017-12-01

Rivers swelled up beyond their historic high-water marks due to precipitation from Hurricane Harvey. We used Harvey-induced flooding to investigate the flow connectivity between the coastal Trinity River and its floodplain by measuring water depth and velocity, as well as sediment-transporting conditions on the natural levee that separates the two. River discharge within the study area peaked at a historic high of 3600 cubic meters per second on September 1, 2017. The levees on two river bends were investigated on September 3 and 4 in order to characterize the hydraulic connectivity between the channel and its floodplain during the early falling limb of this flood. On September 3, a river bend located approximately 28km upstream of the river mouth was visited. Water was overtopping the levee crest at this location, 30m away from the levee crest. This overland flow only experienced about a threefold reduction in average velocity to 0.16 m/s (in 2.2 m of water) 600m away from the levee crest. On September 4, a river bend approximately 59km upstream of the river mouth was investigated. Even though the river stage was at the National Weather Service major flood stage, the levee crest separating the river and floodplain was emergent. Regardless of this local disconnect between the river and its floodplain, substantial and variable drainage velocities were measured depending on drainage patterns controlled by local topography. Velocities measured in shallow water immediately adjacent to the emergent levee were low (< 0.05 m/s in 0.2 m of water). The highest drainage velocity ( 0.18 m/s in 1.7 m of water) associated with the upstream river-bend was measured at 750m from the channel and was similar in magnitude to those recorded for the distal inundating overland flow a day before on the downstream river-bend. Results from this work highlight the maintenance of high flow velocities across the distal floodplain even during its drainage phase. The transport of sediment

FLOOD MODELING OF THE VUKA RIVER SECTION UPSTREAM OF ITS CONFLUENCE WITH THE DANUBE RIVER

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dario Marić

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a section of the Vuka River from its confluence with the Danube River in Vukovar to 3 + 630 rkm was modeled. The possibility and size of floods in the surrounding area were analyzed for different return periods (2, 5, 10, 50, and 100 yrs. Although the high-water levels of the Danube River are lower than the terrain elevation of Vukovar, they cause backwater in the Vuka River and in its tributary, the Bobotski canal. In that indirect way, the surrounding area is endangered and the efficiency of drainage systems is reduced. The existing riverbed of the analyzed Vuka River section was digitalized based on a digital terrain model using the geographic information system (GIS software ArcGIS and the HEC-GeoRAS toolbar. A mathematical model of the steady-state flow of the Vuka river section using the digitized riverbed was executed in the HEC-RAS software using different return periods. The obtained velocities and water levels were analyzed using HEC-RAS, and the sizes of the flooded areas were calculated and observed in ArcGIS.

Polyfluoroalkyl substance exposure in the Mid-Ohio River Valley, 1991-2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Herrick, Robert L; Buckholz, Jeanette; Biro, Frank M; Calafat, Antonia M; Ye, Xiaoyun; Xie, Changchun; Pinney, Susan M

2017-09-01

Industrial discharges of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) to the Ohio River, contaminating water systems near Parkersburg, WV, were previously associated with nearby residents' serum PFOA concentrations above US general population medians. Ohio River PFOA concentrations downstream are elevated, suggesting Mid-Ohio River Valley residents are exposed through drinking water. Quantify PFOA and 10 other per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Mid-Ohio River Valley resident sera collected between 1991 and 2013 and determine whether the Ohio River and Ohio River Aquifer are exposure sources. We measured eleven PFAS in 1608 sera from 931 participants. Serum PFOA concentration and water source associations were assessed using linear mixed-effects models. We estimated between-sample serum PFOA using one-compartment pharmacokinetics for participants with multiple samples. In serum samples collected as early as 1991, PFOA (median = 7.6 ng/mL) was detected in 99.9% of sera; 47% had concentrations greater than US population 95th percentiles. Five other PFAS were detected in greater than 82% of samples; median other PFAS concentrations were similar to the US general population. Serum PFOA was significantly associated with water source, sampling year, age at sampling, tap water consumption, pregnancy, gravidity and breastfeeding. Serum PFOA was 40-60% lower with granular activated carbon (GAC) use. Repeated measurements and pharmacokinetics suggest serum PFOA peaked 2000-2006 for participants using water without GAC treatment; where GAC was used, serum PFOA concentrations decreased from 1991 to 2012. Mid-Ohio River Valley residents appear to have PFOA, but not other PFAS, serum concentrations above US population levels. Drinking water from the Ohio River and Ohio River Aquifer, primarily contaminated by industrial discharges 209-666 km upstream, is likely the primary exposure source. GAC treatment of drinking water mitigates, but does not eliminate, PFOA exposure. Copyright

Flood recovery maps for the White River in Bethel, Stockbridge, and Rochester, Vermont, and the Tweed River in Stockbridge and Pittsfield, Vermont, 2014

Science.gov (United States)

Olson, Scott A.

2015-01-01

From August 28 to 29, 2011, Tropical Storm Irene delivered rainfall ranging from about 4 inches to more than 7 inches in the White River Basin. The rainfall resulted in severe flooding throughout the basin and significant damage along the White River and Tweed River. In response to the flooding, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, conducted a new flood study to aid in the flood recovery and restoration. This flood study includes a 20.7-mile reach of the White River from the downstream end at about 2,000 feet downstream from the State Route 107 bridge in the Village of Bethel, Vermont, to the upstream end at about 1,000 feet upstream from the River Brook Drive bridge in the Village of Rochester, Vt., and a 7.9-mile reach of the Tweed River from its mouth in Stockbridge, Vt., to the confluence of the West and South Branches of the Tweed River and continuing upstream on the South Branch Tweed River to the Pittsfield, Vt., town line.

Instream flow characterization of upper Salmon River Basin streams, Central Idaho, 2003

Science.gov (United States)

Maret, Terry R.; Hortness, Jon E.; Ott, Douglas S.

2004-01-01

Anadromous fish populations in the Columbia River Basin have plummeted in the last 100 years. This severe decline led to Federal listing of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) stocks as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the 1990s. Historically, the upper Salmon River Basin (upstream from the confluence with the Pahsimeroi River) in Idaho provided migration corridors and significant habitat for these ESA-listed species, in addition to the federally listed bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus). Human development has modified the original streamflow conditions in many streams in the upper Salmon River Basin. Summer streamflow modifications, as a result of irrigation practices, have directly affected the quantity and quality of fish habitat and also have affected migration and (or) access to suitable spawning and rearing habitat for these fish. As a result of these ESA listings and Action 149 of the Federal Columbia River Power System Biological Opinion of 2000, the Bureau of Reclamation was tasked to conduct streamflow characterization studies in the upper Salmon River Basin to clearly define habitat requirements for effective species management and habitat restoration. These studies include the collection of habitat and streamflow information for the Physical Habitat Simulation (PHABSIM) model, a widely applied method to determine relations between habitat and discharge requirements for various fish species and life stages. Model results can be used by resource managers to guide habitat restoration efforts in the evaluation of potential fish habitat and passage improvements by increasing streamflow. Instream flow characterization studies were completed on Pole, Fourth of July, Elk, and Valley Creeks during 2003. Continuous streamflow data were collected upstream from all diversions on each stream. In addition, natural summer streamflows were estimated for each study site using regression

Topographical change caused by moderate and small floods in a gravel bed ephemeral river – a depth-averaged morphodynamic simulation approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. S. Lotsari

2018-03-01

Full Text Available In ephemeral rivers, channel morphology represents a snapshot at the end of a succession of geomorphic changes caused by floods. In most cases, the channel shape and bedform migration during different phases of a flood hydrograph cannot be identified from field evidence. This paper analyses the timing of riverbed erosion and deposition of a gravel bed ephemeral river channel (Rambla de la Viuda, Spain during consecutive and moderate- (March 2013 and low-magnitude (May 2013 discharge events, by applying a morphodynamic model (Delft3D calibrated with pre- and post-event surveys by RTK-GPS points and mobile laser scanning. The study reach is mainly depositional and all bedload sediment supplied from adjacent upstream areas is trapped in the study segment forming gravel lobes. Therefore, estimates of total bedload sediment mass balance can be obtained from pre- and post-field survey for each flood event. The spatially varying grain size data and transport equations were the most important factors for model calibration, in addition to flow discharge. The channel acted as a braided channel during the lower flows of the two discharge events, but when bars were submerged in the high discharges of May 2013, the high fluid forces followed a meandering river planform. The model results showed that erosion and deposition were in total greater during the long-lasting receding phase than during the rising phase of the flood hydrographs. In the case of the moderate-magnitude discharge event, deposition and erosion peaks were predicted to occur at the beginning of the hydrograph, whereas deposition dominated throughout the event. Conversely, the low-magnitude discharge event only experienced the peak of channel changes after the discharge peak. Thus, both type of discharge events highlight the importance of receding phase for this type of gravel bed ephemeral river channel.

Evaluation of synthetic rainfall application with respect to the flow volume at upstream Brantas watershed, East Java Province of Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Limantara Lily Montarcih

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Indonesian Technical Implementation Unit (UPT of Synthetic Rainfall has modified climate by generating synthetic rainfall from 9th May until 4th June 2013. This unit has cooperated with the Department of Technological Study and Application (BPPT of Indonesia and Perum Jasa Tirta I and TNI AU Lanud Abdulrachman Saleh. This study intended to increase reservoirs water level in upstream Brantas watershed, one of them is Sutami reservoir. Successive grade evaluation of synthetic rainfall used the method of Double Ratio and Flow Discharge. The target area is upstream Brantas watershed that is represented by 12 rainfall stations and the control area is in the distance of ±30 km from the boundary of upstream Brantas watershed and is represented by 5 rainfall stations. Results show rainfall increasing by 152.05% according to the Double Ratio method and the increase of flow discharge from Sutami reservoir by 74.19% according to the Flow Discharge method.

Spatial and temporal trends in PCBs in sediment along the lower Rhone River, France

Science.gov (United States)

Desmet, Marc; Mourier, Brice; Mahler, Barbara J.; Van Metre, Peter C.; Roux, Gwenaelle; Persat, Henri; Lefevre, Irene; Peretti, Annie; Chapron, Emmanuel; Anaelle, Simonneau; Miege, Cecile; Babut, Marc

2012-01-01

Despite increasingly strict control of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) releases in France since the mid-1970s, PCB contamination of fish recently has emerged as a major concern in the lower Rhone River basin. We measured PCB concentrations in Rhone sediment to evaluate the effects of PCB releases from major urban and industrial areas, sediment redistribution by large floods, and regulatory controls on PCB trends from 1970 to present. Profiles of PCBs (the sum of seven indicator PCB congeners) were reconstructed from sediment cores collected from an off-river rural reference site and from three depositional areas along the Rhone upstream and downstream from the city of Lyon, France. Core chronology was determined from radionuclide profiles and flood deposits. PCB concentrations increased progressively in the downstream direction, and reached a maximum concentration in 1991 of 281 μg/kg at the most downstream site. At the rural reference site and at the upstream Rhone site, PCB concentrations peaked in the 1970s (maximum concentration of 13 and 78 μg/kg, respectively) and have decreased exponentially since then. PCB concentrations in the middle and downstream cores were elevated into the early 1990s, decreased very rapidly until 2000, and since then have remained relatively stable. Congener profiles for three time windows (1965–80, 1986–93, and 2000–08) were similar in the three sediment cores from the Rhone and different from those at the rural reference site. The results indicate that permitted discharges from a hazardous-waste treatment facility upstream from Lyon might have contributed to high concentrations into the 1980-90s, but that industrial discharges from the greater Lyon area and tributaries to the Rhone near Lyon have had a greater contribution since the 1990s. There is little indication that PCB concentration in sediments downstream from Lyon will decrease over at least the short term.

Effect of water flux and sediment discharge of the Yangtze River on PAHs sedimentation in the estuary.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Rufeng; Feng, Chenghong; Wang, Dongxin; He, Maozhi; Hu, Lijuan; Shen, Zhenyao

2016-12-01

Historical distribution characteristics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their carriers (i.e., organic matter and mineral particles) in the sediment cores of the Yangtze Estuary were investigated, with emphasis laid on the role of the Yangtze River. Grain size component of sediments (clay, silt, and sand) and organic carbon (black carbon and total organic carbon) in the sediment cores were markedly affected by water flux and sediment discharge of the Yangtze River. Qualitative and quantitative analysis results showed that sands and black carbon acted as the main carriers of PAHs. The sedimentation of two-ring to three-ring PAHs in the estuary had significant correlations with water flux and sediment discharge of the Yangtze River. The relative lower level of the four-ring and five-ring to six-ring PAHs concentrations appeared around the year 2003 and remained for the following several years. This time period accorded well with the water impoundment time of the Three Gorges Reservoir. The decreased level of two-ring to three-ring PAHs occurred in the year 1994, and the peak points around the year 2009 indicated that PAHs sedimentation in the estuary also had close relationship to severe drought and flood in the catchments. The findings presented in this paper could provide references for assessing the impacts of water flux and sediment discharge on the historical deposition of PAHs and their carriers in the Yangtze Estuary.

Downscaling climate projections for the Peruvian coastal Chancay-Huaral Basin to support river discharge modeling with WEAP

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taru Olsson

2017-10-01

New hydrological insights for the region: On average, GCMs indicate increased annual mean temperatures by 3.1 °C (RCP4.5 and by 4.3 °C (RCP8.5 and precipitation sum by 20% (RCP4.5 and by 28% (RCP8.5. With increasing total precipitation, river discharges are also found to increase, but the variability among the GCMs is considerable. The largest increases in monthly discharge are projected to occur in the wet season (November − April − with up to 31% increase of December multi-model mean. Despite the larger annual discharge for the mean multi-model result, discharges in the dry season may decrease according to some GCMs, showing the need for an adapted future water management.

Physical biological coupling in the Pearl River Estuary

Science.gov (United States)

Harrison, Paul J.; Yin, Kedong; Lee, J. H. W.; Gan, Jianping; Liu, Hongbin

2008-07-01

The Pearl River Estuary is a subtropical estuary and the second largest in China based on discharge volume from the Pearl River. Processes in the estuary vary spatially and temporally (wet vs dry season). In the dry season at the head of the estuary, hypoxic and nearly anoxic conditions occur and NH 4 reaches >600 μM, NO 3 is ˜300 μM and nitrite is ˜60 μM indicating that nitrification and denitrification may be important dry season processes in the region extending 40 km upstream of the Humen outlet. There are very few biological studies conducted in this upper section of the estuary in either the dry or wet seasons and hence there is a need for further research in this region of the river. In the wet season, the salinity wedge extends to the Hongqimen outlet and oxygen is low (35-80% saturation). Nitrate is ˜100 μM, silicate ˜140 μM; and phosphate is relatively low at ˜0.5 μM, yielding an N:P ratio up to ˜200:1 in summer. Nutrients decrease in the lower estuary and primary productivity may become potentially P-limited. Eutrophication is not as severe as one would expect from the nutrient inputs from the Pearl River and from Hong Kong's sewage discharge. This estuary shows a remarkable capacity to cope with excessive nutrients. Physical processes such as river discharge, tidal flushing, turbulent dispersion, wind-induced mixing, and estuarine circulation play an important role in controlling the production and accumulation of algal blooms and the potential occurrence of hypoxia. Superimposed on the physical processes of the estuary are the chemical and biological processes involved in the production of the bloom. For example, the 100N:1P ratio indicates that P potentially limits the amount of algal biomass (and potential biological oxygen demand) in summer. While extended periods of hypoxia are rare in Hong Kong waters, episodic events have been reported to occur during late summer due to factors such as low wind, high rainfall and river discharge which

Impact of heated waters on water quality and macroinvertebrate community in the Narew River (Poland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krolak Elzbieta

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The effect of heated waters from coal-burning power stations on the water parameters and the occurrence of macroinvertebrates depends on the individual characteristics of the river to which the heated waters are discharged. The objective of the study was to assess the impact of heated water from the Ostrołęka Power Station on selected water properties and the macroinvertebrate community in the Narew River. Samples were collected in years: 2013-2016 along two river stretches: upstream and downstream of the canal. The water temperature was higher and the oxygen concentrations were lower at the downstream sites compared to the upstream sites of the canal. The values of conductivity, concentrations of nitrates, phosphates, chlorides and calcium were similar at the sampling sites. A total of 33 families of macrozoobenthos were found. The numbers of families were positively correlated with the temperature and conductivity and negatively correlated with oxygen. The heated waters were found to have no effect on the Shannon-Wiener diversity index. The inflow of heated waters increased the percentage of Gammaridae, represented by species Dikerogammarus haemobaphes (Eichwald, 1841 and decreased the percentage of Chironomidae. The presence of the thermophilous bivalve Sinanodonta woodiana (Lea, 1934 was noted downstream of the canal.

Modelling the fate of the Tijuana River discharge plume

Science.gov (United States)

van Ormondt, M.; Terrill, E.; Hibler, L. F.; van Dongeren, A. R.

2010-12-01

After rainfall events, the Tijuana River discharges excess runoff into the ocean in a highly turbid plume. The runoff waters contain large suspended solids concentrations, as well as high levels of toxic contaminants, bacteria, and hepatitis and enteroviruses. Public health hazards posed by the effluent often result in beach closures for several kilometers northward along the U.S. shoreline. A Delft3D model has been set up to predict the fate of the Tijuana River plume. The model takes into account the effects of tides, wind, waves, salinity, and temperature stratification. Heat exchange with the atmosphere is also included. The model consists of a relatively coarse outer domain and a high-resolution surf zone domain that are coupled with Domain Decomposition. The offshore boundary conditions are obtained from the larger NCOM SoCal model (operated by the US Navy) that spans the entire Southern California Bight. A number of discharge events are investigated, in which model results are validated against a wide range of field measurements in the San Diego Bight. These include HF Radar surface currents, REMUS tracks, drifter deployments, satellite imagery, as well as current and temperature profile measurements at a number of locations. The model is able to reproduce the observed current and temperature patterns reasonably well. Under calm conditions, the model results suggest that the hydrodynamics in the San Diego Bight are largely governed by internal waves. During rainfall events, which are typically accompanied by strong winds and high waves, wind and wave driven currents become dominant. An analysis will be made of what conditions determine the trapping and mixing of the plume inside the surfzone and/or the propagation of the plume through the breakers and onto the coastal shelf. The model is now also running in operational mode. Three day forecasts are made every 24 hours. This study was funded by the Office of Naval Research.

Forested wetland mitigation resulting from discharges of cooling water into streams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, E.A.

1993-01-01

The Savannah River Swamp is a 3020-ha forested wetland on the floodplain of the Savannah River and is located on the US Department of Energy's Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, South Carolina. Historically, the swamp consisted of ∼50% bald cypress-water tupelo stands, 40% mixed bottomland hardwood stands, and 10% shrub, marsh, and open water. The hydrology was controlled by flooding the Savannah River and by flow from four creeks that drain into the swamp prior to flow into the Savannah River. Upstream dams have caused some alteration of the water levels and timing of flooding within the floodplain. Major impacts to the swamp hydrology occurred with the completion of the production reactors and one coal-fired powerhouse at the SRS in the early 1950s. Water, often in excess of 40 to 50 degrees C was discharged into one of the small streams from 1954 to 1988, at various levels, ranging from 20 to 40 times the prior flow rate of the stream. This had a major impact on the adjacent swamp land, with erosion, silting, and vegetation destruction. The Final Environmental Impact Statement, Continued Operation of K, L, and P Reactors, Savannah River Site, Aiken, South Carolina, and the subsequent record of decision directed that these areas be restored to functional forested wetland status to the extent possible. This paper describes work begun to reach that objective

A new correlation for two-phase critical discharge coefficient

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Jong Woon; Chun, Moon Hyun

1989-01-01

A new simple correlation for subcooled and two-phase critical flow discharge coefficient has been developed by stepwise regression technique. The new discharge coefficient has three independent variables and they are length to hydraulic diameter ratio, degree of subcooling, and stagnation temperature. The new discharge coefficient is applied as a multiplier to homogeneous equilibrium model and Abauf's single phase critical mass flux calculation equation. This method has been tested for its accuracy by comparing with experimental data. Results of the comparison show that the agreement between the predictions with new correlation and the experimental data is good for pipes and nozzles with vertical upward flow for subcooled upstream condition and nozzles with horizontal configuration for two-phase upstream condition

Operational river discharge forecasting in poorly gauged basins: the Kavango River Basin case study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bauer-Gottwein, Peter; Jensen, Iris Hedegaard; Guzinski, R.

2014-01-01

to support integrated water resources management in Africa and to facilitate the use of satellite earth observation data in water management. We present an operational probabilistic forecasting approach which uses public-domain climate forcing data and a hydrologic–hydrodynamic model which is entirely based......Operational probabilistic forecasts of river discharge are essential for effective water resources management. Many studies have addressed this topic using different approaches ranging from purely statistical black-box approaches to physically-based and distributed modelling schemes employing data...... on open-source software. Data assimilation techniques are used to inform the forecasts with the latest available observations. Forecasts are produced in real time for lead times of 0 to 7 days. The operational probabilistic forecasts are evaluated using a selection of performance statistics and indicators...

Hydroclimatic variability in East Asia: A case study in the Yangtze river basin

Science.gov (United States)

Chun, K. P.; Fok, H. S.; Sapriza Azuri, G.; Klaus, J.; Mamet, S.

2017-12-01

New regional patterns of droughts and flooding are emerging at south and east Asia river basins, but the causal climatic mechanisms underlying these new hydrological extreme events are yet unknown. The Southern Oscillation, monsoons, and sea surface temperatures affect hydrological conditions in Asia at different spatiotemporal scales. During the negative phase of the Southern Oscillation, anticyclone systems occur more frequently and modulate precipitation patterns near the southeast coast of China. Monsoons related to the Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) locations have been used to explain regional droughts and flooding. Moreover, sea surface temperatures affect wind anomalies and thermocline adjustments across the Pacific and Indian oceans. Here we propose using a major catchment in China, the Yangtze river basin, to understand regional modes of climate variability influencing local hydrological dynamics in Asia. By decomposing the variance of precipitation and hydrological time series, we are able to quantify the relative contributions of the Southern Oscillation, monsoons, and sea surface temperatures to the Yangtze river discharges. Our results suggest that the Southern Oscillation has a relatively weak effect on discharges, whereas the Indian and western North Pacific monsoons are important for the upstream and downstream Yangtze river, respectively. Furthermore, rising Pacific sea surface temperatures may be related to more intensive precipitation at the downstream basin. Based on the hydroclimatic relationships identified here, we discuss future scenarios of changing environmental conditions in the region.

Anthropogenic impact on biogenic substance distribution and bacterial community in sediment along the Yarlung Tsangpo River on Tibet Plateau, China

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, C.; Peifang, W.; Wang, X.; Hou, J.; Miao, L.

2017-12-01

Lotic river system plays an important part in water-vapor transfer and biogenic substances migration and transformation. Anthropogenic activities, including wastewater discharging and river damming, have altered river ecosystem and continuum. However, as the longest alpine river in China and suffered from increasing anthropogenic activities, the Yarlung Tsangpo River has been rarely studied. Recently, more attention has also been paid to the bacteria in river sediment as they make vital contributions to the biogeochemical nutrient cycling. Here, the distribution of biogenic substances, including nitrogen, phosphorus, silicon and carbon, was explored in both water and sediment of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. By using the next generation 16S rRNA sequencing, the bacterial diversity and structure in river sediment were presented. The results indicated that the nutrient concentrations increased in densely populated sites, revealing that biogenic substance distribution corresponded with the intensity of anthropogenic activity along the river. Nitrogen, phosphorus, silicon and carbon in water and sediment were all retained by the Zangmu Dam which is the only dam in the mainstream of the river. Moreover, the river damming decreased the biomass and diversity of bacteria in sediment, but no significant alteration of community structure was observed upstream and downstream of the dam. The most dominant bacteria all along the river was Proteobacteria. Meanwhile, Verrucomicrobia and Firmicutes also dominated the community composition in upstream and downstream of the river, respectively. In addition, total organic carbon (TOC) was proved to be the most important environmental factor shaping the bacterial community in river sediment. Our study offered the preliminary insights into the biogenic substance distribution and bacterial community in sediment along an alpine river which was affected by anthropogenic activities. In the future, more studies are needed to reveal the

Chronological trends in maximum and minimum water flows of the Teesta River, Bangladesh, and its implications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Md. Sanaul H. Mondal

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Bangladesh shares a common border with India in the west, north and east and with Myanmar in the southeast. These borders cut across 57 rivers that discharge through Bangladesh into the Bay of Bengal in the south. The upstream courses of these rivers traverse India, China, Nepal and Bhutan. Transboundary flows are the important sources of water resources in Bangladesh. Among the 57 transboundary rivers, the Teesta is the fourth major river in Bangladesh after the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna and Bangladesh occupies about 2071 km2 . The Teesta River floodplain in Bangladesh accounts for 14% of the total cropped area and 9.15 million people of the country. The objective of this study was to investigate trends in both maximum and minimum water flow at Kaunia and Dalia stations for the Teesta River and the coping strategies developed by the communities to adjust with uncertain flood situations. The flow characteristics of the Teesta were analysed by calculating monthly maximum and minimum water levels and discharges from 1985 to 2006. Discharge of the Teesta over the last 22 years has been decreasing. Extreme low-flow conditions were likely to occur more frequently after the implementation of the Gozoldoba Barrage by India. However, a very sharp decrease in peak flows was also observed albeit unexpected high discharge in 1988, 1989, 1991, 1997, 1999 and 2004 with some in between April and October. Onrush of water causes frequent flash floods, whereas decreasing flow leaves the areas dependent on the Teesta vulnerable to droughts. Both these extreme situations had a negative impact on the lives and livelihoods of people dependent on the Teesta. Over the years, people have developed several risk mitigation strategies to adjust with both natural and anthropogenic flood situations. This article proposed the concept of ‘MAXIN (maximum and minimum flows’ for river water justice for riparian land.

Natural 222Rn and 220Rn indicate the impact of the Water–Sediment Regulation Scheme (WSRS) on submarine groundwater discharge in the Yellow River estuary, China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Bochao; Xia, Dong; Burnett, William C.; Dimova, Natasha T.; Wang, Houjie; Zhang, Longjun; Gao, Maosheng; Jiang, Xueyan; Yu, Zhigang

2014-01-01

Highlights: • 220 Rn and 222 Rn were combined to locate intensive SGD sites. • Influence of WSRS to SGD was found for the first time. • SGD was a dominant nutrient pathway in the Yellow River estuary. - Abstract: Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) in estuaries brings important influences to coastal ecosystems. In this study, we observed significant SGD in the Yellow River estuary, including a fresh component, during the Water–Sediment Regulation Scheme (WSRS) period. We used the 222 Rn and 220 Rn isotope pair to locate sites of significant SGD within the study area. Three apparent SGD locations were found during a non-WSRS period, one of which became much more pronounced, according to the remarkably elevated radon levels, during the WSRS. Increased river discharge (from 245 m 3 s −1 to 3560 m 3 s −1 ) and the elevated river water level (from 11 m to 13 m) during the WSRS led to a higher hydraulic head, enhancing groundwater discharge in the estuary. Our results suggest that high river discharge (>3000 m 3 s −1 ) might be necessary for elevated fresh submarine groundwater discharging (FSGD). Vertical profiles of salinity, DO and turbidity anomalies along the benthic boundary layer also indicated significant FSGD in the estuary during the WSRS. Nutrient concentrations had positive correlations with 222 Rn during a 24-h observation, which indicates that SGD is a dominant nutrient pathway in this area

Emerging and Conventional Contaminants in River Waters Discharging into the Black Sea along the Ukrainian Coast

Science.gov (United States)

The major rivers of Ukraine, including the Dnieper, Dniester, Southern Bug and Danube, discharge approximately 8500 m3/s of freshwater into the northern and western portions of the Black Sea. As one of the largest countries in Europe, Ukraine also has one of the largest human po...

Integration of fluvial erosion factors for predicting landslides along meandering rivers

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yi-chin; Chang, Kang-tsung; Ho, Jui-yi

2015-04-01

River incision and lateral erosion are important geomorphologic processes in mountainous areas of Taiwan. During a typhoon or storm event, the increase of water discharge, flow velocity, and sediment discharge enhances the power of river erosion on channel bank. After the materials on toe of hillslope were removed by river erosion, landslides were triggered at outer meander bends. Although it has been long expected that river erosion can trigger landslide, studies quantifying the effects of river erosion on landslide and the application of river erosion index in landslide prediction are still overlooked. In this study, we investigated the effect of river erosion on landslide in a particular meanders landscape of the Jhoukou River, southern Taiwan. We developed a semi-automatic model to separate meandering lines into several reach segments based on the inflection points and to calculate river erosion indexes, e.g. sinuosity of meander, stream power, and stream order, for each reach segment. This model, then, built the spatial relationship between the reaches and its corresponding hillslopes, of which the toe was eroded by the reach. Based on the spatial relationship, we quantified the correlations between these indexes and landslides triggered by Typhoon Morakot in 2009 to examine the effects of river erosion on landslide. The correlated indexes were then used as landslide predictors in logistic regression model. Results of the study showed that there is no significant correlation between landslide density and meander sinuosity. This may be a result of wider channel dispersing the erosion at a meandering reach. On the other hand, landslide density at concave bank is significantly higher than that at convex bank in the downstream (stream order > 3), but that is almost the same in the upstream (stream order bank. In contrast, river sediment in the downstream is an erosion agent eroding the concave bank laterally, but also depositing on the concave side and protecting

Extracting Prior Distributions from a Large Dataset of In-Situ Measurements to Support SWOT-based Estimation of River Discharge

Science.gov (United States)

Hagemann, M.; Gleason, C. J.

2017-12-01

The upcoming (2021) Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) NASA satellite mission aims, in part, to estimate discharge on major rivers worldwide using reach-scale measurements of stream width, slope, and height. Current formalizations of channel and floodplain hydraulics are insufficient to fully constrain this problem mathematically, resulting in an infinitely large solution set for any set of satellite observations. Recent work has reformulated this problem in a Bayesian statistical setting, in which the likelihood distributions derive directly from hydraulic flow-law equations. When coupled with prior distributions on unknown flow-law parameters, this formulation probabilistically constrains the parameter space, and results in a computationally tractable description of discharge. Using a curated dataset of over 200,000 in-situ acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) discharge measurements from over 10,000 USGS gaging stations throughout the United States, we developed empirical prior distributions for flow-law parameters that are not observable by SWOT, but that are required in order to estimate discharge. This analysis quantified prior uncertainties on quantities including cross-sectional area, at-a-station hydraulic geometry width exponent, and discharge variability, that are dependent on SWOT-observable variables including reach-scale statistics of width and height. When compared against discharge estimation approaches that do not use this prior information, the Bayesian approach using ADCP-derived priors demonstrated consistently improved performance across a range of performance metrics. This Bayesian approach formally transfers information from in-situ gaging stations to remote-sensed estimation of discharge, in which the desired quantities are not directly observable. Further investigation using large in-situ datasets is therefore a promising way forward in improving satellite-based estimates of river discharge.

Water quality and the composition of fish and macroinvertebrate communities in the Devils and Pecos Rivers within and upstream from the Amistad National Recreation Area, Texas, 2005-7

Science.gov (United States)

Moring, J. Bruce

2012-01-01

To gain a better understanding of the water quality and status of fish and macroinvertebrate communities, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the National Park Service and Amistad National Recreation Area, completed a reconnaissance-level survey of the water quality and fish and macroinvertebrate communities in the Devils and Pecos Rivers in and upstream from the Amistad National Recreation Area in southwest Texas during 2005–7. Water-quality conditions during the spring and summer months of 2005 in the Devils and Pecos Rivers were assessed at locations just upstream from the Amistad National Recreation Area, and the composition of fish and macroinvertebrate communities were assessed during 2006 and 2007 in and upstream from the Amistad National Recreation Area and Amistad Reservoir. Water-quality samples were collected at one site on both the Devils and Pecos Rivers. Fish and macroinvertebrates were collected at the water-quality sampling site on each river and at three additional sites on each river. The water-quality constituents of primary concern were total dissolved solids, chloride, sulfate, ammonia plus organic nitrogen, nitrate plus nitrite, orthophosphate, phosphorus, selenium, and selected pesticides. During the spring and summer of 2005, the concentrations of total dissolved solids ranged from 208 to 232 milligrams per liter (mg/L) in samples from the Devils River compared to 1,460 to 2,390 mg/L in samples from the Pecos River. Total dissolved solid concentrations measured in samples collected from the Devils River and Pecos River did not exceed the proposed State of Texas water-quality standard applicable for the segments of each river where samples were collected. During the spring and summer of 2005, chloride concentrations measured in samples collected in 2005 from the Devils River ranged from 11.6 to 12.9 mg/L, compared to chloride concentrations measured in samples collected from the Pecos River, which ranged from 519 to 879 mg

Island development impacts on the Nile River morphology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nahla Sadek

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The greater Cairo area has many islands formed after the Aswan High Dam construction. Ministry of water resources and irrigation is interested in studying the development and evolution of these islands in order to reflect the esthetic aspects and improvement of the environment surrounding the islands. This study focuses on Shubra El-Khaima Island which is located upstream Delta Barrage in the back water curve region. The study aims to propose different alternatives for island development. GSTAR3.0 model is the most recent version of a series of numerical models for simulating flow of water and sediment transport and prediction of morphological changes in alluvial rivers. This model was used to simulate and examine different alternatives for Shubra island development on river morphology according to different discharges scenarios. The optimum alternative was proposed. Also, the future required precautions to mitigate the effects of this development on the stability of watercourse were suggested.

Nitrogen inputs to a river course in a heavily impacted watershed: a combined hydrochemical and isotopic evaluation (Oglio River Basin, N Italy).

Science.gov (United States)

Delconte, C A; Sacchi, E; Racchetti, E; Bartoli, M; Mas-Pla, J; Re, V

2014-01-01

This study aims at evaluating sources and processes affecting NO₃(-) concentrations in the Oglio River. Five sampling campaigns considered the main watercourse, tributaries, point pollution sources, springs, and groundwater. Physico-chemical parameters, N forms, B, Sr(2+), stable isotopes (δ(2)HH₂O, δ(18)OH₂O, δ(15)NNO₃, δ(18)ONO₃, δ(11)B) and discharge were measured. Hydrological modelling was performed using mass balance and End Member Mixing Analysis equations. During the irrigation period, in the upstream reach, up to 90% of the natural river flow is diverted for irrigation and industrial purposes; excess water drained from agricultural fields is returned to river in the downstream reach. Results evidenced, in the middle reach, a large input of NO₃(-)-rich groundwater which could be quantified using hydrological modelling. Groundwater inputs are responsible for the sharp, tenfold increase in NO₃(-) in the river water, from 2.2-4.4 up to 33.5 mgL(-1), and are more evident in summer, when discharge is lower. Nevertheless, river water preserves its natural B isotopic composition, indicating that the two tracers do not have a common origin and are not co-migrant. In the lower plain, surface-groundwater interconnections and human disturbances in the water cycle favour the recycling of the compounds in the environment, and lead to a similarity in composition of the different water bodies (Oglio River, tributaries and groundwater). The long lasting agronomical practices have profoundly modified the surface-groundwater equilibrium and chemical characteristics, resulting in a highly buffered system. Infiltrating irrigation water leaches down NO₃(-) which is subsequently denitrified; when returned to the Oglio River, groundwater modifies the river water composition by dilution, in the case of NO₃(-), or by addition, for other constituents (e.g. Cl(-), B). The results of this study indicate that, in order to reduce the NO3(-) transport towards the

Seasonal variations and resilience of bacterial communities in a sewage polluted urban river.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tamara García-Armisen

Full Text Available The Zenne River in Brussels (Belgium and effluents of the two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs of Brussels were chosen to assess the impact of disturbance on bacterial community composition (BCC of an urban river. Organic matters, nutrients load and oxygen concentration fluctuated highly along the river and over time because of WWTPs discharge. Tag pyrosequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes revealed the significant effect of seasonality on the richness, the bacterial diversity (Shannon index and BCC. The major grouping: -winter/fall samples versus spring/summer samples- could be associated with fluctuations of in situ bacterial activities (dissolved and particulate organic carbon biodegradation associated with oxygen consumption and N transformation. BCC of the samples collected upstream from the WWTPs discharge were significantly different from BCC of downstream samples and WWTPs effluents, while no significant difference was found between BCC of WWTPs effluents and the downstream samples as revealed by ANOSIM. Analysis per season showed that allochthonous bacteria brought by WWTPs effluents triggered the changes in community composition, eventually followed by rapid post-disturbance return to the original composition as observed in April (resilience, whereas community composition remained altered after the perturbation by WWTPs effluents in the other seasons.

The influence of Congo River discharges in the surface and deep layers of the Gulf of Guinea

OpenAIRE

Vangriesheim, A.; Pierre, C.; Aminot, A.; Metzl, N.; Baurand, François; Caprais, J. C.

2009-01-01

The main feature of the Congo-Angola margin in the Gulf of Guinea is the Congo (ex-Zaire) deep-sea fan composed of a submarine canyon directly connected to the Congo River, a channel and a [sediment] lobe area. During the multi-disciplinary programme called BIOZAIRE conducted by Ifremer from 2000 to 2005, two CTD-O2 sections with discrete water column samples were performed (BIOZAIRE3 cruise: 2003-2004) to study the influence of the Congo River discharges, both in the surface layer and in the...

Biomarker as an Indicator of River Water Quality Degradation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dwina Roosmini

2006-11-01

Full Text Available Generally physical and chemical methods are use in river water quality monitoring; currently biomarker is developed as alternative biomonitoring method. The aim of this study is to look at the probability using aquatic species in monitoring river water pollutants exposure. This study was done by using Hyposarcus pardalis as biomarker to analyze river water quality in Upstream Citarum River. Hyposarcus pardalis were taken along the river at five sampling point and look at the Cu and Zn concentration. Results from this study show that there was an indication that river water quality has been degrading along the river from upstream to downstream. Zn concentration in Hyposarcus pardalis were increasing as well as Cu concentration. The increase of Zn concentration in Hyposarcus pardalis indicating that the river was polluted by Zn. Secondary data and observation at sampling location shown that textile was the dominant industry which may contribute the Zn concentration in river as they received the effluent. Cu is use in metal coating process, as well as textile industry metal industries were identified at Majalaya, Bantar Panjang, Dayeuh Kolot and Katapang in Bandung-Indonesia. As a receiving water from many activities along the river, upstream Citarum River water quality become degrading as the increasing of heavy metal Zn and Cu concentration in Hyposarcus pardalis.

River flow controls on tides an tide-mean water level profiles in a tidel freshwater river

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sassi, M.G.; Hoitink, A.J.F.

2013-01-01

[1] Tidal rivers feature oscillatory and steady gradients in the water surface, controlled by interactions between river flow and tides. The river discharge attenuates the tidal motion, and tidal motion increases tidal-mean friction in the river, which may act as a barrier to the river discharge.

Patterns of floodplain sediment deposition along the regulated lower Roanoke River, North Carolina: annual, decadal, centennial scales