scholarly journals Increasing Hydroperiod in a Karst-depression Wetland Based on 165 Years of Simulated Daily Water Levels

Wetlands ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Cartwright ◽  
William J. Wolfe
Keyword(s):  
Hydrologic Model ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Forested Wetland ◽  
Climatic Data ◽  
Climatic Fluctuations ◽  
Karst Depression ◽  
Depression Wetlands ◽  
Daily Water ◽  
Depression Wetland

AbstractThe hydrology of seasonally inundated depression wetlands can be highly sensitive to climatic fluctuations. Hydroperiod—the number of days per year that a wetland is inundated—is often of primary ecological importance in these systems and can vary interannually depending on climate conditions. In this study we re-examined an existing hydrologic model to simulate daily water levels in Sinking Pond, a 35-hectare seasonally inundated karst-depression wetland in Tennessee, USA. We recalibrated the model using 22 years of climate and water-level observations and used the recalibrated model to reconstruct (hindcast) daily water levels over a 165-year period from 1855 to 2019. A trend analysis of the climatic data and reconstructed water levels over the hindcasting period indicated substantial increases in pond hydroperiod over time, apparently related to increasing regional precipitation. Wetland hydroperiod increased on average by 5.9 days per decade between 1920 and 2019, with a breakpoint around the year 1970. Hydroperiod changes of this magnitude may have profound consequences for wetland ecology, such as a transition from a forested wetland to a mostly open-water pond at the Sinking Pond site. More broadly, this study illustrates the needs for robust hydrologic models of depression wetlands and for consideration of model transferability in time (i.e., hindcasting and forecasting) under non-stationary hydroclimatic conditions. As climate change is expected to influence water cycles, hydrologic processes, and wetland ecohydrology in the coming decades, hydrologic model projections may become increasingly important to detect, anticipate, and potentially mitigate ecological impacts in depression wetland ecosystems.

scholarly journals Using satellite-based evapotranspiration estimates to improve the structure of a simple conceptual rainfall–runoff model

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 879-896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tirthankar Roy ◽  
Hoshin V. Gupta ◽  
Aleix Serrat-Capdevila ◽  
Juan B. Valdes
Keyword(s):  
Model Performance ◽  
Hydrologic Model ◽  
Actual Evapotranspiration ◽  
Hydrologic Models ◽  
Catchment Scale ◽  
Model Driven ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Precipitation Estimates ◽  
Daily Water ◽  
Rainfall Runoff Model

Abstract. Daily, quasi-global (50° N–S and 180° W–E), satellite-based estimates of actual evapotranspiration at 0.25° spatial resolution have recently become available, generated by the Global Land Evaporation Amsterdam Model (GLEAM). We investigate the use of these data to improve the performance of a simple lumped catchment-scale hydrologic model driven by satellite-based precipitation estimates to generate streamflow simulations for a poorly gauged basin in Africa. In one approach, we use GLEAM to constrain the evapotranspiration estimates generated by the model, thereby modifying daily water balance and improving model performance. In an alternative approach, we instead change the structure of the model to improve its ability to simulate actual evapotranspiration (as estimated by GLEAM). Finally, we test whether the GLEAM product is able to further improve the performance of the structurally modified model. Results indicate that while both approaches can provide improved simulations of streamflow, the second approach also improves the simulation of actual evapotranspiration significantly, which substantiates the importance of making diagnostic structural improvements to hydrologic models whenever possible.

scholarly journals Past, current, and projected landscape configurational effects on streamflow within the Rocky River HUC-8 watershed of the Charlotte metropolitan region

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-130
Author(s):  
Allen D. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Model Performance ◽  
Hydrologic Model ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Landscape Configuration ◽  
Climatic Data ◽  
Watershed Model ◽  
Performance Predictors ◽  
Unit Code ◽  
Hydrologic Unit Code ◽  
Hydrologic Unit

AbstractThis study examined past, current, and projected landscape configuration (LC) impacts on streamflow within a 3,553 square kilometer (km2) Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC)-8 Rocky River (RR) watershed of the Charlotte, North Carolina metropolitan region (CMR). Utilizing a monthly model, Thornthwaite Water Balance (TWB) simulations incorporating LC (blended contagion (CON)-adjusted curve numbers (CNs)) derived from two previous (2001, 2006) and one current (2011) US scale land cover/land use (LC/LU) time snapshots outperformed a blended original (ORG) CN watershed model during the 15-year (180-month) period from January 1999 to December 2013. Findings were confirmed using evaluations from several statistically based, hydrologic model performance predictors. Five-year comparisons of the 2001 time snapshot with the 2006 time snapshot and 2011 time snapshot indicated the least underestimation/overestimation of measured streamflow occurred during the 2001 time snapshot. This period had the highest measured runoff and points towards LC influences on streamflow simulation being potentially more quantifiable during periods of greater watershed precipitation. Watershed LC/LU and climatic data were also projected to the 2030 time snapshot under five different scenarios. Streamflow was projected to be about 2.6% higher in volume than what was estimated for the current (2011) time snapshot using a blended CON-adjusted TWB model.

Tree-ring analysis of wetlands of the upper St. Lawrence River, Quebec: response to hydrology and climate

1996 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 482-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Jean ◽  
André Bouchard
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
Significant Relationship ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Water Level Fluctuations ◽  
Climatic Fluctuations ◽  
Climatic Variations ◽  
Temperature And Precipitation ◽  
Growth Variation ◽  
St Lawrence River

A dendrochronological analysis of three tree species colonizing a swamp along the St. Lawrence River was undertaken to (a) study the extent to which water-level fluctuations have an impact on tree growth in comparison to climatic variations; (b) compare the responses of three species (Acerrubrum L., Larixlaricina (Du Roi) K. Koch, and Thujaoccidentalis L.) with hydrologic and climatic variations; and (c) examine the duration of the influence of water-level fluctuations on tree growth. Tree cores from 78 stands were cross-dated and verified with COFECHA and a master chronology for each species was produced using ARSTAN. Response function analyses were used to measure the influence of climate (temperature and precipitation) and water level on tree growth. Water-level fluctuations have a significant influence on A. rubrum growth, accounting for 30% of the tree growth variation. A significant relationship exists between L. laricina and water-level fluctuations, but only 9% of the tree growth is explained by hydrology. No significant relationship was found between water levels and T. occidentalis growth. Climatic fluctuations are a more important influence on growth for all three species, accounting for 46% to 51% of the tree growth variation not explained by water levels.

Forecast of daily water levels for Lake Kimieret, Israel

1995 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. KHAVICH ◽  
A. BEN-ZVI
Keyword(s):  
Water Levels ◽  
Daily Water

scholarly journals Hydropeaking by Small Hydropower Facilities Affects Flow Regimes on Tributaries to the Pantanal Wetland of Brazil

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliane Stella M. C. de Figueiredo ◽  
Ibraim Fantin-Cruz ◽  
Geovanna Mikaelle S. Silva ◽  
Renato Leandro Beregula ◽  
Pierre Girard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flow Regimes ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Small Hydropower ◽  
Paraguay River ◽  
Daily Data ◽  
Downstream Flow ◽  
The Individual

Hydroelectric facilities often release water at variable rates over the day to match electricity demand, resulting in short-term variability in downstream discharge and water levels. This sub-daily variability, known as hydropeaking, has mostly been studied at large facilities. The ongoing global proliferation of small hydropower (SHP) facilities, which in Brazil are defined as having installed capacities between 5 and 30 MW, raises the question of how these facilities may alter downstream flow regimes by hydropeaking. This study examines the individual and cumulative effects of hydropower facilities on tributaries in the upland watershed of the Pantanal, a vast floodplain wetland system located on the upper Paraguay River, mostly in Brazil. Simultaneous hourly discharge measurements from publicly available reference and downstream gage stations were analyzed for 11 reaches containing 24 hydropower facilities. Most of the facilities are SHPs and half are run-of-river designs, often with diversion channels (headraces). Comparison of daily data over an annual period, summarized by indicators of hydrological alteration (HA) that describe the magnitude, frequency, rate of change, and duration of flows, revealed differences at sub-daily scales attributable to hydropeaking by the hydropower facilities. Results showed statistically significant sub-daily HA in all 11 reaches containing hydropower facilities in all months. Discharge indicators that showed the highest percentage of days with increased variability were the mean rates of rise and fall, amplitude, duration of high pulses, maximum discharge, and number of reversals. Those that showed higher percentages of decreased variability included minimum discharge, number of high pulses, duration of stability, and number of low pulses. There was no correlation between HA values and physical characteristics of rivers or hydropower facilities (including installed capacity), and reaches with multiple facilities did not differ in HA from those with single facilities. This study demonstrates that SHPs as well as larger hydropower facilities cause hydrological alterations attributable to hydropeaking. Considering the rapid expansion of SHPs in tropical river systems, there is an urgent need to understand whether the ecological impacts of hydropeaking documented in temperate biomes also apply to these systems.

scholarly journals Daily water-level variations of supraglacial lakes in the southern Inylchek Glacier, Central Asia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoki Sakurai ◽  
Chiyuki Narama ◽  
Mirlan Daiyrov ◽  
Muhammed Esenamanov ◽  
Zarylbek Usekov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
Drainage Water ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Supraglacial Lakes ◽  
Surface Models ◽  
Increase Rate ◽  
Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Water Level Variations ◽  
Daily Water ◽  
Lake Drainage

Abstract. To better understand the storage in and drainage through supraglacial lakes and englacial conduits, we investigated the daily water-level variations of supraglacial lakes on the southern Inylchek Glacier in Kyrgyzstan. To examine these variations, we used daily aerial digital images over three years (22 July–15 August 2017, 8–29 July 2018, and 12–19 July 2019) from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that were converted to digital surface models (DSMs) and ortho-images. Our main results are as follows. 1) When one lake drained, the water levels of other lakes might simultaneously increase, indicating that drainage water is shared with several lakes through a main englacial conduit. In one drainage event, a branch englacial conduit clearly connected to a main englacial conduit. 2) Sometimes, several lakes discharged simultaneously, indicating that several lakes had connected to a main englacial conduit that had opened. Such a case can cause larger-scale drainage than that from the opening of a branch englacial conduit. 3) Several lakes discharged twice in the same year, each time through a different conduit, indicating that the main englacial conduit can be abandoned and reused. 4) In some lakes, the water level gradually increased with nearly the same increase rate just before drainage. Such an increase may be an indicator of imminent lake drainage.

scholarly journals Combat climate change challenges in considering climatic vulnerabilities and risk factors for wheat production

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-149
Author(s):  
MM Rahman ◽  
MG Miah ◽  
SR Saha
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Variability ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Agricultural Drought ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Climatic Data ◽  
Wheat Production ◽  
Combat Climate Change ◽  
Northwest Region

The present study was undertaken for assessing the impacts of climate variability on wheat production as well as the field based suggestions opined by the wheat growers to combat the future challenges particularly climate variability during November 2014 to March 2015. The study was conducted at northwest region at Dinajpur sadar and Kaharul upazilas in Dinajpur of Bangladesh. One hundred sixty wheat farmers were selected by using previously pre-tested interview schedules adopting multistage proportionate systematic random sampling technique. Climatic variability was assessed by analysis of long term data of local meteorological station. Assessment of long term climatic data particularly for wheat growing season revealed that minimum temperature has been increased, while maximum temperature and rainfall were decreased. Farmer’s opinions on these aspects were almost similar. Farmers opined that both surface and ground water levels have been decreased, resulting agricultural drought. Farmer’s also opined regarding suitable technology to combat climate change impact on wheat production revealed the use of newly recommended varieties. Finally, the outcome of the results could help researchers as well as government and NGOs to take appropriate climate change adaptation policy thus facilitating farmers in sustaining their livelihoods against changing climate in the near future of Northwest region in Bangladesh.SAARC J. Agri., 14(2): 137-149 (2016)

Potential synergy between solar energy and biodiversity 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sacha de Rijk ◽  
Ruurd Noordhuis ◽  
Bas van den Boogaard ◽  
Ineke Roell
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Freshwater Lake ◽  
Solar Panels ◽  
Multiple Use ◽  
Solar Module ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Nature Restoration

<p>Like other countries The Netherlands are facing several societal challenges. As space is very scarce in the Netherlands it is vital to find chances for synergy in solutions to the challenges. It is investigated whether an upgrade of natural values in a large Dutch freshwater lake could go together with installing solar panels on water and thus generate sustainable energy. Our first exploration shows that this kind of synergy has potential for both biodiversity and renewable energy. The presentation will show the design, requirements, uncertainties, chances and risks.</p><p>The area of interest is Lake IJssel, a freshwater lake covering an area of 1,100 km<sup>2</sup> with an average depth of 5.5 m. Lake IJssel was constructed by the completion of a dam in 1932, transforming the former brackish water of the Zuiderzee into a lake. The water levels are precisely controlled, and the lake provides several ecosystem services. The present ecosystem is imbalanced with low productivity and low biodiversity.</p><p>To strengthen the delta nature in the Dutch waters a national Program for nature restoration has been launched. Goal for Lake IJssel is creating more natural transitions: from wet to dry and from fresh to salt. This is done by creating the missing habitats necessary for a healthy ecosystem like shallows with submerged vegetation and wetlands with a natural fluctuation of water levels. At the same time, the region surrounding Lake IJssel is trying to find opportunities for generation of renewable energy. Solar panels on the open water of the lake is one of the options. We have developed a design consisting of a cluster of artificial island modules.</p><p>The entire design consists of seven modules of which four modules provide space for solar panels. Each solar module consists of a constructed ring dike with an open connection to the lake providing a water surface where wave action is greatly reduced so thatsolar panels can be installed safely. In this exploration, we opted for a panel coverage percentage of 50% of the surface. If we decrease the water depth by one or two meters under the solar panels with local sediment, the light can penetrate to the lake floor. This creates a favorable environment for aquatic plants. Under the panels, a relatively open, structure-rich vegetation of mainly pondweeds is expected, which is interesting for growing young fish in the summer due to a combination of food supply and shelter. In winter, when the vegetation has disappeared, these waters are expected to be attractive for the wintering of (larger) fish. In addition, the mounting structures of the panels also contribute, providing a substrate for mussels and other invertebrates.</p><p>The idea has not yet been tested in practice. The possibility of multiple use of space for ecology and energy is so far based on the judgement of the best available experts and experiences. A pilot study and monitoring are required to gain more insights in the ecological impacts of solar panels in this ecosystem.</p>

scholarly journals Calibration and sequential updating of a coupled hydrologic-hydraulic model using remote sensing-derived water stages

2009 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Montanari ◽  
R. Hostache ◽  
P. Matgen ◽  
G. Schumann ◽  
L. Pfister ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Microwave Remote Sensing ◽  
Hydrologic Model ◽  
Hydraulic Model ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Storm Event ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
Flood Inundation ◽  
Rainfall Runoff

Abstract. Two of the most relevant components of any flood forecasting system, namely the rainfall-runoff and flood inundation models, increasingly benefit from the availability of spatially distributed Earth Observation data. With the advent of microwave remote sensing instruments and their all weather capabilities, new opportunities have emerged over the past decade for improved hydrologic and hydraulic model calibration and validation. However, the usefulness of remote sensing observations in coupled hydrologic and hydraulic models still requires further investigations. Radar remote sensing observations are readily available to provide information on flood extent. Moreover, the fusion of radar imagery and high precision digital elevation models allows estimating distributed water levels. With a view to further explore the potential offered by SAR images, this paper investigates the usefulness of remote sensing-derived water stages in a modelling sequence where the outputs of hydrologic models (rainfall-runoff models) serve as boundary condition of flood inundation models. The methodology consists in coupling a simplistic 3-parameter conceptual rainfall-runoff model with a 1-D flood inundation model. Remote sensing observations of flooded areas help to identify and subsequently correct apparent volume errors in the modelling chain. The updating of the soil moisture module of the hydrologic model is based on the comparison of water levels computed by the coupled hydrologic-hydraulic model with those estimated using remotely sensed flood extent. The potential of the proposed methodology is illustrated with data collected during a storm event on the Alzette River (Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg). The study contributes to assess the value of remote sensing data for evaluating the saturation status of a river basin.

Developing Cleanup Endpoints for Inland Oil Spills

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 1267-1280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Whelan ◽  
Josie Clark ◽  
Gary Andrew ◽  
Jacqueline Michel ◽  
Bradford Benggio
Keyword(s):  
Marine Environment ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Sediment Quality ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Environmental Benefit ◽  
Appropriate Treatment ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Water Recreation

ABSTRACT Achieving consensus on cleanup endpoints for inland oil spills can be difficult. They tend to be more stringent than those applied to spills in the marine environment and often require more intensive cleanup methods with the risk of increased ecological impacts. There are limited data on which to evaluate net environmental benefit considerations, weighing the consequences between ecological versus human-use priorities. Inland habitats often lack some of the dynamic physical processes (such as waves and tidal fluctuations) that can speed the rate of natural removal of oil residues. The direct human uses of inland habitats, such as for drinking water, recreation, industrial use, and irrigation, require a higher degree of treatment than may be required in the marine environment to avoid human health and socio-economic impacts. Spills in close proximity to where people live, work, or recreate also often require treatment to a higher level. Inland spills can affect smaller water bodies where there are slower rates of dilution and degradation. There may be large-scale differences in water levels during the response, causing oil to be stranded well above normal levels where it can pose hazards to wildlife as well as humans using these areas. Many states perform risk assessments and develop endpoints for sediment quality and/or surface and groundwater guidelines that must be met as part of the remediation phase after the emergency response is completed. Case studies are used to illustrate these issues. Guidelines are provided for developing appropriate cleanup endpoints for inland oil spills and selection of appropriate treatment methods to reach them.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document