Identifying flow transience in the hyporheic zone by Electric Resistivity Tomography

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joakim Riml ◽  
Liwen Wu ◽  
Robert Earon ◽  
Stefan Krause ◽  
Theresa Blume
Keyword(s):  
Hyporheic Zone ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Stream Water ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Hyporheic Exchange ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Tracer Injection ◽  
Resistivity Tomography ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Flood Hydrograph

<p>The importance of hydrological interactions between groundwater and surface waters and the consequential transport of mass and energy across the streambed – water interface has gained significant research attention lately. In this phenomenological study we investigated the transient nature of hyporheic exchange as a response to flood events by performing a stream manipulation experiment in a small boreal stream within the Krycklan catchment, Sweden. The stream flow was manipulated in order to create a flood event and investigate the responding dynamically changing spatial extent of the hyporheic zone. The artificial flood caused an approximately 5-fold increase in stream discharge.</p><p>The experimental set-up consisted of both geophysical and hydrological methods, including time-lapse Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) along the thalweg of a 6.3 m long stream section, with a 0.1 m longitudinal spacing of the electrodes. A constant stream water electric conductivity (EC) was obtained throughout the experiment by using a variable rate tracer injection of chloride. Additional measurements of background EC in the streambed sediments as well as streambed topography (from a total station) and subsurface structures (from Ground Penetrating Radar) were used to support the results from the ERT.</p><p>With combined experimental and numerical modeling approaches, the hyporheic response to transient hydrologic boundary conditions and small scale streambed heterogeneities were investigated. Results indicated that a quick response of the hyporheic zone to the changing pressure distribution on the streambed was strongly controlled by the shape of the flood hydrograph. Moreover, the response resulted in an alteration of the hyporheic flowpaths, which increased the hyporheic zone depth and contributed to a dynamically-changing residence time distribution within the hyporheic zone. This alteration was further complicated by the local streambed heterogeneities. The observed substantial variabilities in the hyporheic fluxes over the time span of a flood hydrograph and longitudinally over the measured stream section has direct consequences on the biogeochemical and hydro-ecological functioning of the hyporheic zone, which would be inadequately estimated using homogenous, steady-state approaches.</p>

Effects of riffle–step restoration on hyporheic zone chemistry in N-rich lowland streams

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamao Kasahara ◽  
Alan R Hill
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Hyporheic Zone ◽  
Stream Water ◽  
Ion Concentration ◽  
Hyporheic Exchange ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Exchange Flow ◽  
Nutrient Inputs ◽  
Lowland Streams ◽  
Hyporheic Zones

Stream restoration projects that aim to rehabilitate ecosystem health have not considered surface–subsurface linkages, although stream water and groundwater interaction has an important role in sustaining stream ecosystem functions. The present study examined the effect of constructed riffles and a step on hyporheic exchange flow and chemistry in restored reaches of several N-rich agricultural and urban streams in southern Ontario. Hydrometric data collected from a network of piezometers and conservative tracer releases indicated that the constructed riffles and steps were effective in inducing hyporheic exchange. However, despite the use of cobbles and boulders in the riffle construction, high stream dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations were depleted rapidly with depth into the hyporheic zones. Differences between observed and predicted nitrate concentrations based on conservative ion concentration patterns indicated that these hyporheic zones were also nitrate sinks. Zones of low hydraulic conductivity and the occurrence of interstitial fines in the restored cobble-boulder layers suggest that siltation and clogging of the streambed may reduce the downwelling of oxygen- and nitrate-rich stream water. Increases in streambed DO levels and enhancement of habitat for hyporheic fauna that result from riffle–step construction projects may only be temporary in streams that receive increased sediment and nutrient inputs from urban areas and croplands.

scholarly journals Assessment of Hydrologic Transient Storage of Three Streams

2003 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 79-80
Author(s):  
Michael Gooseff
Keyword(s):  
Porous Media ◽  
Hyporheic Zone ◽  
Stream Water ◽  
Stream Sediments ◽  
Hyporheic Exchange ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Main Stream ◽  
Stream Channel ◽  
Ample Opportunity ◽  
Biogeochemical Transformations

Stream sediments are important locations of biogeochemical transformations upon which many stream ecosystem functions depend. Stream water is often exchanged between the stream channel and surrounding subsurface locations - this process is known as hyporheic exchange. While stream water is moving through the hyporheic zone, solutes and nutrients may undergo important chemical reactions that are not possible in the main stream channel. Further, because the hyporheic zone is composed of porous media (sand, sediment, alluvium, etc.), flow inherently slows down and the exchanging water has ample opportunity to interact with mineral grain surfaces and biofilms.

scholarly journals Insight into the influence of local streambed heterogeneity on hyporheic-zone flow characteristics

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (8) ◽  
pp. 2697-2712
Author(s):  
Robert Earon ◽  
Joakim Riml ◽  
Liwen Wu ◽  
Bo Olofsson
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Penetration Depth ◽  
Hyporheic Zone ◽  
Flow Characteristics ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Hyporheic Exchange ◽  
Tracer Injection ◽  
Hyporheic Flow ◽  
Exchange Processes

AbstractInteraction between surface water and groundwater plays a fundamental role in influencing aquatic chemistry, where hyporheic exchange processes, distribution of flow paths and residence times within the hyporheic zone will influence the transport of mass and energy in the surface-water/groundwater system. Geomorphological conditions greatly influence hyporheic exchange, and heterogeneities such as rocks and clay lenses will be a key factor for delineating the hyporheic zone. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) were used to investigate the streambed along a 6.3-m-long reach in order to characterise geological layering and distinct features which may influence parameters such as hydraulic conductivity. Time-lapse ERT measurements taken during a tracer injection demonstrated that geological features at the meter-scale played a determining role for the hyporheic flow field. The penetration depth of the tracer into the streambed sediment displayed a variable spatial pattern in areas where the presence of highly resistive anomalies was detected. In areas with more homogeneous sediments, the penetration depth was much more uniformly distributed than observed in more heterogeneous sections, demonstrating that ERT can play a vital role in identifying critical hydraulic features that may influence hyporheic exchange processes. Reciprocal ERT measurements linked variability and thus uncertainty in the modelled resistivity to the spatial locations, which also demonstrated larger variability in the tracer penetration depth, likely due to local heterogeneity in the hydraulic conductivity field.

Seasonal variations in surface water groundwater interaction alter the relation of solute transport and biogeochemical processes in the hyporheic zone

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lara-Maria Schmitgen ◽  
Tobias Schuetz
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
Boundary Conditions ◽  
Hyporheic Zone ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Hyporheic Exchange ◽  
Waste Water Treatment Plant ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Vertical Profiles ◽  
Surface Water And Groundwater ◽  
Exchange Flux

<p>The hyporheic interstitial as interface between surface water and groundwater offers a unique environment for contaminant attenuation and nutrient cycling, with steep chemical gradients and high retention times. Disentangling the effect of seasonal dynamics in exchange flux intensities and directions, we carried out 19 measurement campaigns where we sampled the continuum surface water - hyporheic zone - groundwater and the climatic and hydraulic boundary conditions of a whole year. Groundwater, surface water and hyporheic zone pore water from four depths were sampled at two vertical profiles in a second order stream about 150 m downstream a municipal waste water treatment plant effluent. Samples were analyzed for physical water parameters, major anions, ammonium, iron, manganese, NPOC and five selected pharmaceuticals (diclofenac, carbamazepine, caffeine, ethinylestradiol and clofibric acid). Surface water and groundwater levels as well as river discharge were measured to quantify the hydraulic boundary conditions. In addition, three vertical profiles, each equipped with five newly developed probes (Truebner AG) allowed a parallel monitoring of continuous bulk water temperatures and bulk electrical conductivity dynamics over two years. Furthermore, continuous hyporheic exchange flux intensities and exchange depths were calculated using analytical and numerical model schemes to allow distinguishing between small scale transport and attenuation processes.</p><p>The typical behavior of the redox sensitive metals and nutrients with depth is visible in each single profile snapshot. The picture is not as clear for the examined pharmaceuticals, because dilution has a major effect on the observable low concentrations. However, a clear seasonal variation driven by hydraulic and climatic processes can be observed for all substances. We were able to trace the organic pollutants down to the groundwater. Furthermore, the influence of hyporheic exchange flux intensities and directions on nutrient and contaminant depth profiles is shown.</p>

Dissolved organic matter transformation in the hyporheic zone of a small lowland river

2010 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr Zieliński ◽  
Elżbieta Jekatierynczuk-Rudczyk
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Dissolved Organic Matter ◽  
Hyporheic Zone ◽  
Stream Water ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Lowland River ◽  
Organic Matter Transformation ◽  
Doc Concentration ◽  
Different Depths ◽  
Study Sites

Dissolved organic matter transformation in the hyporheic zone of a small lowland riverThe objective of this study was to examine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA) changes in porewaters that occur over a small scale (cm) in the hyporheic zone (HZ) of a lowland stream in the Knyszynska Forest in northeast Poland. Hyporheic zone porewaters were sampled at different depths of 10, 30, 50, 70 cm at two study sites with different sediment material. The results showed significant differences in DOC concentrations between the upper and lower stream HZ. The current results indicate that small lowland sediments provide both a source and a sink of DOC for stream water, depending on the river course. The higher DOC level observed in the hyporheic zone suggests that porewater can be an autonomic site of biogeochemical changes of dissolved organic matter, which is very clear in the SUVA fluctuations.

Reach-scale modeling of reaction cascades and spatially-dependent reactions in the hyporheic zone

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Roche ◽  
Jennifer Drummond ◽  
Nicole Sund ◽  
Rina Schumer ◽  
Marco Dentz
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Activity ◽  
Hyporheic Zone ◽  
Reaction Rates ◽  
Breakthrough Curves ◽  
Reaction Pathways ◽  
Aerobic Respiration ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Tracer Injection ◽  
Respiration Rates ◽  
Reaction Cascades

<p>Stream tracer injection experiments are widely used  to characterize reach-scale transport and reaction in rivers. Results from tracer injection experiments (i.e., concentration vs. time profiles, or breakthrough curves) are often used to estimate reach-averaged processes controlling solute fate. Advances in both tracer technology have greatly improved our ability to infer finer scale processes from the integrated, reach-scale result. However, to better meet the demands of improved tracer technology and the small-scale processes they elucidate, we need a model that incorporates process-based understanding of solute transport and reactivity. In brief, smarter tracers require smarter models. </p><p>A noteworthy example of the disconnect between measurement and modeling capabilities is the resazurin-resorufin (Raz-Rru) tracer system. Raz is a fluorescent chemical that transforms irreversibly to Rru at a rate proportional to the local rate of aerobic metabolic activity. Co-injections of Raz and a conservative tracer provide experimentalists with a “smart tracer” system that is commonly used to estimate aerobic metabolic activity in streams, particularly within the hyporheic zone. At present, aerobic respiration rates are challenging to estimate from breakthrough curves for two reasons. First, multiple reaction pathways are possible beyond the target parent-to-daughter transformation of Raz to Rru. This implies that aerobic respiration rates inferred from breakthrough curve concentrations may be confounded by additional, zone-specific reactions such as the abiotic degradation of Rru after it is created. Second, field campaigns using the Raz-Rru system have demonstrated that aerobic respiration rates vary strongly with depth in the hyporheic zone. Nevertheless, existing reach-scale models assume uniform reaction rates throughout the hyporheic zone for analytical tractability. This assumption biases the rates of metabolic activity inferred from tracer injection experiments in streams where metabolic rates are spatially variable. </p><p>Here, we present recent advances in reach-scale analytical modeling that address both challenges. We generalize a classic mobile-immobile model to account for multiple reaction pathways of Raz (e.g., via aerobic metabolic activity and abiotic decay) and Rru (e.g., via Raz transformation and abiotic decay). We then extend this framework to account for spatial variability in the hyporheic zone, and we validate semi-analytical model solutions against reach-scale simulations for reactive transport. Together, these advances provide a simple way to estimate reactivity of the benthic biolayer – a known hotspot of reach-scale ecosystem respiration – using established methods. The new framework also opens the door for modeling other chemical constituents transformed through reaction cascades in streams. </p>

Dissolved oxygen gradients in hyporheic zones depend on fine sediment and associated respiration rates

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Piatka ◽  
Romy Wild ◽  
Jürgen Geist ◽  
Robin Kaule ◽  
Ben Gilfedder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dissolved Oxygen ◽  
Hyporheic Zone ◽  
Stream Water ◽  
Stable Carbon Isotope ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Fine Sediment ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Order Stream ◽  
Respiration Rates ◽  
Sediment Fraction

<p>Dissolved oxygen (DO) in the hyporheic zone (HZ) is a crucial parameter for the survival of many stream organisms and is involved in a multitude of aerobic chemical reactions. However, HZ DO budgets are easily perturbed by climate change and anthropogenic processes that have caused increased deposition of fine sediments (< 2 mm) in many stream beds. The fine sediment fraction hampers exchange of DO-rich stream water with the HZ. In this study we performed a raster sampling approach (0.90 cm length x 1.50 cm width; 30 cm distance between sampling points) at sediment depths of 10 and 25 cm with a focus on DO and its stable isotopes (δ<sup>18</sup>O<sub>DO</sub>). The aim was to analyze small-scale turnover patterns in a forested (site 1) and an anthropogenically influenced stream section (site 2) in a 3<sup>rd</sup> order stream in southern Germany. Grain size analyses showed similar average fine sediment fractions at site 1 (42.5 ±13.7 %) and site 2 (46.3 ±10.8 %). They increased with depth at both sites (38.5 ± 6.3 %, 0-15 cm; 46.5 ± 17.4 %, 15-30 cm at site 1 and 40.6 ±4.5 %, 0-15 cm; 52.0 ±12.2 %, 15-30 cm at site 2). DO concentrations in the HZ ranged from 1.4 to 4.5 mg L<sup>-1</sup> (2.0 ±0.7 mg L<sup>-1</sup>) and 1.5 to 1.8 mg L<sup>-1</sup> (1.7 ±0.1 mg L<sup>-1</sup>) at site 1 and from 1.2 to 2.9 mg L<sup>-1</sup> (1.6 ±0.5) and 1.0 to 2.4 mg L<sup>-1</sup> (1.6 ±0.4) at site 2 at 10 and 25 cm depth, respectively. The low DO concentrations in the HZ suggest high DO consumption rates and reduced exchange with stream water. This is possibly a result of increased fine sediment proportions. However, other factors such as organic carbon contents and increased respiration rates may also influence DO gradients. In contrast, the stream water had an average DO concentration of 9.8 ±0.2 mg L<sup>-1</sup>. Associated δ<sup>18</sup>O<sub>DO</sub> values of the open water (23.4 ±0.1 ‰) differed from those of sediment waters that showed averages of +22.5 ±0.5 ‰ and +22.4 ±0.3 ‰ at site 1 and +22.5 ±0.4 ‰ and +22.3 ±0.2 ‰ at site 2 at 10 and 25 cm depth, respectively. These sedimentary values indicated dominant photosynthesis, even though due to absence of light in the subsurface this process seems unlikely. Therefore, kinetically-driven processes such as diffusion, interactions with Fe or unknown DO sources within the HZ might have caused such <sup>16</sup>O-enriched values. Our findings suggest that the analyses of DO, δ<sup>18</sup>O<sub>DO</sub> and fine sediment gradients in the HZ should be combined with stable carbon isotope measurements to further our understanding of hyporheic processes relevant for stream biota.</p><p> </p>

scholarly journals Groundwater–Stream Connectivity Mediates Metal(loid) Geochemistry in the Hyporheic Zone of Streams Impacted by Historic Mining and Acid Rock Drainage

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beth Hoagland ◽  
Alexis Navarre-Sitchler ◽  
Rory Cowie ◽  
Kamini Singha
Keyword(s):  
Iron Oxides ◽  
Hyporheic Zone ◽  
Conceptual Models ◽  
Acid Rock Drainage ◽  
Stream Water ◽  
Mining District ◽  
Tracer Injection ◽  
Groundwater System ◽  
Acid Rock ◽  
Hyporheic Zones

High concentrations of trace metal(loid)s exported from abandoned mine wastes and acid rock drainage pose a risk to the health of aquatic ecosystems. To determine if and when the hyporheic zone mediates metal(loid) export, we investigated the relationship between streamflow, groundwater–stream connectivity, and subsurface metal(loid) concentrations in two ~1-km stream reaches within the Bonita Peak Mining District, a US Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site located near Silverton, Colorado, USA. The hyporheic zones of reaches in two streams—Mineral Creek and Cement Creek—were characterized using a combination of salt-tracer injection tests, transient-storage modeling, and geochemical sampling of the shallow streambed (<0.7 m). Based on these data, we present two conceptual models for subsurface metal(loid) behavior in the hyporheic zones, including (1) well-connected systems characterized by strong hyporheic mixing of infiltrating stream water and upwelling groundwater and (2) poorly connected systems delineated by physical barriers that limit hyporheic mixing. The comparatively large hyporheic zone and high hydraulic conductivities of Mineral Creek created a connected stream–groundwater system, where mixing of oxygen-rich stream water and metal-rich groundwater facilitated the precipitation of metal colloids in the shallow subsurface. In Cement Creek, the precipitation of iron oxides at depth (~0.4 m) created a low-hydraulic-conductivity barrier between surface water and groundwater. Cemented iron oxides were an important regulator of metal(loid) concentrations in this poorly connected stream–groundwater system due to the formation of strong redox gradients induced by a relatively small hyporheic zone and high fluid residence times. A comparison of conceptual models to stream concentration–discharge relationships exhibited a clear link between geochemical processes occurring within the hyporheic zone of the well-connected system and export of particulate Al, Cu, Fe, and Mn, while the poorly connected system did not have a notable influence on metal concentration–discharge trends. Mineral Creek is an example of a hyporheic system that serves as a natural dissolved metal(loid) sink, whereas poorly connected systems such as Cement Creek may require a combination of subsurface remediation of sediments and mitigation of upstream, iron-rich mine drainages to reduce metal export.

scholarly journals Omnipresent distribution of herbicides and their transformation products in all water body types of an agricultural landscape in the North German Lowland

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uta Ulrich ◽  
Matthias Pfannerstill ◽  
Guido Ostendorp ◽  
Nicola Fohrer
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Oxalic Acid ◽  
Water Body ◽  
Sulfonic Acid ◽  
Stream Water ◽  
Parent Compound ◽  
Shallow Groundwater ◽  
Transformation Products ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Rainfall Events

AbstractThe research of the environmental fate of pesticides has demonstrated that applied compounds are altered in their molecular structure over time and are distributed within the environment. To assess the risk for contamination by transformation products (TP) of the herbicides flufenacet and metazachlor, the following four water body types were sampled in a small-scale catchment of 50 km2 in 2015/2016: tile drainage water, stream water, shallow groundwater, and drinking water of private wells. The TP were omnipresent in every type of water body, more frequently and in concentrations up to 10 times higher than their parent compounds. Especially metazachlor sulfonic acid, metazachlor oxalic acid, and flufenacet oxalic acid were detected in almost every drainage and stream sample. The transformation process leads to more mobile and more persistent molecules resulting in higher detection frequencies and concentrations, which can even occur a year or more after the application of the parent compound. The vulnerability of shallow groundwater and private drinking water wells to leaching compounds is proved by numerous positives of metazachlor-TP with maximum concentrations of 0.7 μg L−1 (drinking water) and 20 μg L−1 (shallow groundwater) of metazachlor sulfonic acid. Rainfall events during the application period cause high discharge of the parent compound and lower release of TP. Later rainfall events lead to high displacement of TP. For an integrated risk assessment of water bodies, the environmental behavior of pesticide-TP has to be included into regular state-of-the-art water quality monitoring.

scholarly journals The effect of purified sewage discharge from a sewage treatment plant on the physicochemical state of water in the receiver

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-284
Author(s):  
Włodzimierz Kanownik ◽  
Agnieszka Policht-Latawiec ◽  
Magdalena Wiśnios
Keyword(s):  
Water Saturation ◽  
Stream Water ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Sewage Treatment Plant ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Municipal Sewage ◽  
Stream Water Quality ◽  
Sewage Discharge ◽  
Physicochemical State

Abstract The paper presents changes in the contents of physicochemical indices of the Sudół stream water caused by a discharge of purified municipal sewage from a small mechanical-biological treatment plant with throughput of 300 m3·d−1 and a population equivalent (p.e.) – 1,250 people. The discharge of purified sewage caused a worsening of the stream water quality. Most of the studied indices values increased in water below the treatment plant. Almost a 100-fold increase in ammonium nitrogen, 17-fold increase in phosphate concentrations and 12-fold raise in BOD5 concentrations were registered. Due to high values of these indices, the water physicochemical state was below good. Statistical analysis revealed a considerable effect of the purified sewage discharge on the stream water physicochemical state. A statistically significant increase in 10 indices values (BOD5, COD-Mn, EC, TDS, Cl−, Na+, K+, PO43−, N-NH4+ and N-NO2) as well as significant decline in the degree of water saturation with oxygen were noted below the sewage treatment plant. On the other hand, no statistically significant differences between the water indices values were registered between the measurement points localised 150 and 1,000 m below the purified sewage discharge. It evidences a slow process of the stream water self-purification caused by an excessive loading with pollutants originating from the purified sewage discharge.

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