Journal of the American Water Resources Association

ABSTRACT: The Pica Shan, a mountainous region located on the northern periphery of central Asia, has a wide range of climatic and hydrological conditions. On the basis of long term data from 348 meteorological and glaciological stations, the annual distribution of precipitation in different regions and elevational zones of the Tien Shan was calculated. Major climatic features are the entrance of moisture during spring‐summer, small winter precipitation, decrease of precipitation towards the east and the center of the mountains or with distance up valleys, and increase of precipitation with altitude up to crest‐lines of ranges. Annual total evaporation from snow can be 50–60 mm per year, reaching 30 percent of snow accumulation.

Four main groups of rivers were identified: rivers with mainly snow nourishment, rivers with mainly glacial nourishment, rivers with mainly rain nourishment, and rivers with mainly ground water nourishment. Coefficient of runoff variation in Tien Shan's rivers is about 0.20, and coefficient of glacial runoff variation is about 0.15. Glacial runoff is 15–20 percent of the total volume of river runoff.

Geographically isolated wetlands (GIWs) are wetlands completely surrounded by uplands. While common throughout the United States (U.S.), there have heretofore been no nationally available, spatially explicit estimates of GIW extent, complicating efforts to understand the myriad biogeochemical, hydrological, and habitat functions of GIWs and hampering conservation and management efforts at local, state, and national scales. We used a 10‐m geospatial buffer as a proxy for hydrological or ecological connectivity of National Wetlands Inventory palustrine and lacustrine wetland systems to nationally mapped and available stream, river, and lake data. We identified over 8.3 million putative GIWs across the conterminous U.S., encompassing nearly 6.5 million hectares of wetland resources (average size 0.79 ± 4.81 ha, median size 0.19 ha). Putative GIWs thus represent approximately 16% of the freshwater wetlands of the conterminous U.S. The water regime for the majority of the putative GIWs was temporarily or seasonally flooded, suggesting a vulnerability to ditching or hydrologic abstraction, sedimentation, or alterations in precipitation patterns. Additional analytical applications of this readily available geospatially explicit mapping product (e.g., hydrological modeling, amphibian metapopulation, or landscape ecological analyses) will improve our understanding of the abundance and extent, effect, connectivity, and relative importance of GIWs to other aquatic systems of the conterminous U.S.

In 2007, a 1.5‐year field‐scale study was initiated by the U.S. Geological Survey to evaluate the dissipation of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) following a first agronomic biosolids application to nonirrigated farmland. CECs with the greatest decrease in concentration in the surface biosolids at 180 days post‐application included indole, d‐limonene, p‐cresol, phenol, and skatol. CECs that were present in the largest concentration in 180‐day‐weathered biosolids included stanols, nonylphenols, bisphenol A, bis(2‐ethylhexyl) phthalate, hexahydrohexamethyl cyclopenta‐benzopyran (HHCB), and triclosan. CECs that were detected in pre‐application soil were 3‐beta coprostanol, skatol, acetophenone, beta‐sitosterol, beta‐stigmastanol, cholesterol, indole, p‐cresol, and phenol, most of which are biogenic sterols or fragrances that have natural plant sources in addition to anthropogenic sources, yet their concentrations increased (in some cases, substantially) following biosolids application. Preliminary data indicate the nonylphenols (including NPEO1, NPEO2), OPEO1, benzo[a]pyrene, diethyl phthalate, d‐limonene, HHCB, triclosan, and possibly 3‐beta coprostanol, skatol, beta‐sitosterol, cholesterol, indole, and p‐cresol, migrated downward through the soil by 468 days post‐application, but indicated little uptake by mature wheat plants. This study indicates that some CECs are sufficiently persistent and mobile to be vertically transported into the soil column following biosolids applications to the land surface, even in semiarid regions.

Nonpoint source pollution from agriculture and urbanization is increasing globally at the same time climate extremes have increased in frequency and intensity. We review >200 studies of hydrologic and gaseous fluxes and show how the interaction between land use and climate variability alters magnitude and frequency of carbon, nutrient, and greenhouse gas pulses in watersheds. Agricultural and urban watersheds respond similarly to climate variability due to headwater alteration and loss of ecosystem services to buffer runoff and temperature changes. Organic carbon concentrations/exports increase and organic carbon quality changes with runoff. Nitrogen and phosphorus exports increase during floods (sometimes by an order of magnitude) and decrease during droughts. Relationships between annual runoff and nitrogen and phosphorus exports differ across land use. CH₄ and N₂O pulses in riparian zones/floodplains predominantly increase with: flooding, warming, low oxygen, nutrient enrichment, and organic carbon. CH₄, N₂O, and CO₂ pulses in streams/rivers increase due to similar factors but effects of floods are less known compared to base flow/droughts. Emerging questions include: (1) What factors influence lag times of contaminant pulses in response to extreme events? (2) What drives resistance/resilience to hydrologic and gaseous pulses? We conclude with eight recommendations for managing watershed pulses in response to interactive effects of land use and climate change.

Abstract:  The accuracy of streamflow forecasts depends on the uncertainty associated with future weather and the accuracy of the hydrologic model that is used to produce the forecasts. We present a method for streamflow forecasting where hydrologic model parameters are selected based on the climate state. Parameter sets for a hydrologic model are conditioned on an atmospheric pressure index defined using mean November through February (NDJF) 700‐hectoPascal geopotential heights over northwestern North America [Pressure Index from Geopotential heights (PIG)]. The hydrologic model is applied in the Sprague River basin (SRB), a snowmelt‐dominated basin located in the Upper Klamath basin in Oregon. In the SRB, the majority of streamflow occurs during March through May (MAM). Water years (WYs) 1980‐2004 were divided into three groups based on their respective PIG values (high, medium, and low PIG). Low (high) PIG years tend to have higher (lower) than average MAM streamflow. Four parameter sets were calibrated for the SRB, each using a different set of WYs. The initial set used WYs 1995‐2004 and the remaining three used WYs defined as high‐, medium‐, and low‐PIG years. Two sets of March, April, and May streamflow volume forecasts were made using Ensemble Streamflow Prediction (ESP). The first set of ESP simulations used the initial parameter set. Because the PIG is defined using NDJF pressure heights, forecasts starting in March can be made using the PIG parameter set that corresponds with the year being forecasted. The second set of ESP simulations used the parameter set associated with the given PIG year. Comparison of the ESP sets indicates that more accuracy and less variability in volume forecasts may be possible when the ESP is conditioned using the PIG. This is especially true during the high‐PIG years (low‐flow years).

ABSTRACT: To adequately manage impacts of ongoing or future land use changes in a watershed, the magnitude of their hydrologic impacts needs to be assessed. A grid based daily streamflow model was calibrated with two years of observed streamflow data, using time periods when land use data are available and verified by comparison of model predictions with observed streamflow data. Streamflow data were separated into direct runoff and baseflow to estimate the impacts of urbanization on each hydrologic component. Analysis of the ratio between direct runoff and total runoff from 30 years of simulation results and the change in these ratios with urbanization shows that estimated annual direct runoff increased from 49.2 percent (1973) to 63.1 percent (1984) and 65.0 percent (1991), indicating the effects of urbanization are greater on direct runoff than on total runoff. The direct runoff ratio also varies with annual rainfall, with dry year ratios larger than those for wet years. This suggests that the impact of urbanization on areas that are sensitive to runoff ratios, such as stream ecosystems, might be more serious during drier years than in wetter years in terms of water quality and water yield. This indicates that sustainable base‐flow is important to maintaining sound stream ecosystems.

ABSTRACT: Color of natural waters strongly influences their aesthetic appeal, suitability for recreational use, and aquatic habitat, but methods for routine specification of color have been lacking. An improved method has been developed for specifying water colors in the field. The water color, seen through an underwater viewer, is matched directly to Munsell standard patches observed simultaneously. The Munsell color‐matching method was verified versus measurements of the underwater light field, made with a submersible spectroradiometer in 20 different natural waters in New Zealand (mainly lakes), which varied widely in color and other optical characteristics. Hue, the most important color attribute of natural waters, could be matched accurately; the saturation and brightness less so. Color standard patches are not available covering the full range of typically dark water colors, but fortunately, brightness can be measured with simple submersible light sensors. The Munsell color matching method seems suitable for routine water resources survey and monitoring.

ABSTRACT: The NRCS curve number approach to runoff estimation has traditionally been to average or “lump” spatial variability into a single number for purposes of expediency and simplicity in calculations. In contrast, the weighted runoff curve number approach, which handles each individual pixel within the watershed separately, tends to result in larger estimates of runoff than the lumped approach. This work proposes further enhancements that consider not only spatial variability, but also the orientation of this variability with respect to the flow aggregation pattern of the drainage network. Results show that the proposed enhancements lead to much reduced estimates of runoff production. A revised model that considers overland flow lengths, consistent with existing NRCS concepts is proposed, which leads to only mildly reduced runoff estimates. Although more physically‐based, this revised model, which accounts directly for spatially distributed curve numbers and flow aggregation, leads to essentially the same results as the original, lumped runoff model when applied to three study watersheds. Philosophical issues and implications concerning the appropriateness of attempting to disaggregate lumped models are discussed.