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 Hyporheic hydraulic geometry: Conceptualizing relationships among hyporheic exchange, storage, and water age

PLoS ONE ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. e0262080
Author(s):  
Geoffrey C. Poole ◽  
S. Kathleen Fogg ◽  
Scott J. O’Daniel ◽  
Byron E. Amerson ◽  
Ann Marie Reinhold ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hyporheic Zone ◽  
Quantitative Description ◽  
Hyporheic Exchange ◽  
Water Volume ◽  
Mathematical Framework ◽  
Hydraulic Geometry ◽  
Water Age ◽  
Mathematical Basis ◽  
Hyporheic Zones ◽  
Improved Accuracy

Hyporheic exchange is now widely acknowledged as a key driver of ecosystem processes in many streams. Yet stream ecologists have been slow to adopt nuanced hydrologic frameworks developed and applied by engineers and hydrologists to describe the relationship between water storage, water age, and water balance in finite hydrosystems such as hyporheic zones. Here, in the context of hyporheic hydrology, we summarize a well-established mathematical framework useful for describing hyporheic hydrology, while also applying the framework heuristically to visualize the relationships between water age, rates of hyporheic exchange, and water volume within hyporheic zones. Building on this heuristic application, we discuss how improved accuracy in the conceptualization of hyporheic exchange can yield a deeper understanding of the role of the hyporheic zone in stream ecosystems. Although the equations presented here have been well-described for decades, our aim is to make the mathematical basis as accessible as possible and to encourage broader understanding among aquatic ecologists of the implications of tailed age distributions commonly observed in water discharged from and stored within hyporheic zones. Our quantitative description of “hyporheic hydraulic geometry,” associated visualizations, and discussion offer a nuanced and realistic understanding of hyporheic hydrology to aid in considering hyporheic exchange in the context of river and stream ecosystem science and management.

scholarly journals Is the Hyporheic Zone Relevant beyond the Scientific Community?

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 2230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörg Lewandowski ◽  
Shai Arnon ◽  
Eddie Banks ◽  
Okke Batelaan ◽  
Andrea Betterle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hyporheic Zone ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Major Research ◽  
Research Gaps ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Scientific Disciplines ◽  
Hyporheic Zones ◽  
Reactive Interface ◽  
River Corridors

Rivers are important ecosystems under continuous anthropogenic stresses. The hyporheic zone is a ubiquitous, reactive interface between the main channel and its surrounding sediments along the river network. We elaborate on the main physical, biological, and biogeochemical drivers and processes within the hyporheic zone that have been studied by multiple scientific disciplines for almost half a century. These previous efforts have shown that the hyporheic zone is a modulator for most metabolic stream processes and serves as a refuge and habitat for a diverse range of aquatic organisms. It also exerts a major control on river water quality by increasing the contact time with reactive environments, which in turn results in retention and transformation of nutrients, trace organic compounds, fine suspended particles, and microplastics, among others. The paper showcases the critical importance of hyporheic zones, both from a scientific and an applied perspective, and their role in ecosystem services to answer the question of the manuscript title. It identifies major research gaps in our understanding of hyporheic processes. In conclusion, we highlight the potential of hyporheic restoration to efficiently manage and reactivate ecosystem functions and services in river corridors.

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>

scholarly journals A River Temperature Model to Assist Managers in Identifying Thermal Pollution Causes and Solutions

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1060 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reza Abdi ◽  
Theodore Endreny
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Riparian Vegetation ◽  
Thermal Loading ◽  
Riparian Forest ◽  
Thermal Pollution ◽  
Hyporheic Exchange ◽  
Exchange Flow ◽  
Storm Events ◽  
River Temperature ◽  
Riparian Shading

Thermal pollution of rivers degrades water quality and ecosystem health, and cities can protect rivers by decreasing warmer impervious surface stormwater inflows and increasing cooler subsurface inflows and shading from riparian vegetation. This study develops the mechanistic i-Tree Cool River Model and tests if it can be used to identify likely causes and mitigation of thermal pollution. The model represents the impacts of external loads including solar radiation in the absence of riparian shade, multiple lateral storm sewer inflows, tributaries draining reservoirs, groundwater flow, and hyporheic exchange flow in dry weather steady flows and wet weather unsteady flows. The i-Tree Cool River Model estimates the shading effects of the riparian vegetation and other features as a function of heights and distances as well as solar geometry. The model was tested along 1500 m of a New York mountain river with a riparian forest and urban areas during 30 h with two summer storm events in 2007. The simulations were sensitive to the inflows of storm sewers, subsurface inflows, as well as riparian shading, and upstream boundary temperature inflows for steady and unsteady conditions. The model simulated hourly river temperature with an R2 of 0.98; when shading was removed from the simulation the R2 decreased 0.88, indicating the importance of riparian shading in river thermal modeling. When stormwater inflows were removed from the simulation, the R2 decreased from 0.98 to 0.92, and when subsurface inflows were removed, the R2 decreased to 0.94. The simulation of thermal loading is important to manage against pollution of rivers.

scholarly journals How does daily groundwater table drawdown affect the diel rhythm of hyporheic exchange?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liwen Wu ◽  
Jesus D. Gomez-Velez ◽  
Stefan Krause ◽  
Anders Wörman ◽  
Tanu Singh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Exchange Rates ◽  
Hyporheic Zone ◽  
Temperature Fluctuations ◽  
Groundwater Table ◽  
Spatiotemporal Variability ◽  
Hyporheic Exchange ◽  
Coupled Flow ◽  
River Temperature ◽  
Hyporheic Zones ◽  
Tightly Coupled

Abstract. Groundwater table dynamics extensively modify the volume of the hyporheic zone and the rate of hyporheic exchange processes. Understanding the effects of daily groundwater table fluctuations on the tightly coupled flow and heat transport within hyporheic zones is crucial for water resources management. With this aim in mind, a physically based model is used to explore hyporheic responses to varying groundwater table fluctuation scenarios. Effects of different timing and amplitude of groundwater table daily drawdowns under gaining and losing conditions are explored in hyporheic zones influenced by natural flood events and diel river temperature fluctuations. We find that both diel river temperature fluctuations and daily groundwater table drawdowns play important roles in determining the spatiotemporal variability of hyporheic exchange rates, temperature of exfiltrating hyporheic fluxes, mean residence times, and hyporheic denitrification potentials. Groundwater table dynamics present substantially distinct impacts on hyporheic exchange under gaining or losing conditions. The timing of groundwater withdrawal has a direct influence on hyporheic exchange rates and hyporheic buffering capacity on thermal disturbances. Consequently, the selection of aquifer pumping regimes has significant impacts on the dispersal of pollutants in the aquifer and thermal heterogeneity in the sediment.

Mapping increases in hyporheic exchange from channel-spanning logjams

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamini Singha ◽  
Megan Doughty ◽  
Sawyer McFadden ◽  
Audrey Hucks Sawyer ◽  
Ellen Wohl
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Modeling ◽  
Hyporheic Zone ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Tracer Tests ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Hyporheic Exchange ◽  
Exchange Flow ◽  
Stream Monitoring ◽  
Solute Retention ◽  
Flow Pathways

<p>Logjams increase hydraulic resistance and create hydraulic head gradients along the streambed that drive groundwater-surface water exchange. Here, we quantify changes in hyporheic exchange flow due to channel-spanning logjams using field measurements and numerical modeling in MODFLOW and MT3DMS. Electrical resistivity (ER) imaging was used to monitor the transport of solutes into the hyporheic zone during a series of in-stream tracer tests supplemented by in-stream monitoring. We conducted experiments in a variety of reaches in Little Beaver Creek, Colorado (USA) of varying complexity: a control reach with no logjams, a reach with a single, channel-spanning logjam, and additional jams with greater logjam complexity. Our results show that 1) higher hyporheic exchange flow occurs at reach with logjams, 2) logjams create complex hyporheic exchange flow pathways that can cause bimodal solute breakthrough behavior downstream, and 3) higher discharge rates associated with spring snowmelt increase the extent and magnitude of hyporheic exchange flow. The numerical modeling supports all three field findings, and also suggest that lower flows increase solute retention in streams, although this last conclusion is not strongly supported by field results. This study represents the first use of ER to explore hyporheic exchange flow around a naturally occurring logjam over different stream discharges and has implications for understanding how logjams influence the transport of solutes, the health of stream ecosystems, and stream restoration and conservation efforts.</p>

Impacts of engineering baffles on the hyporheic exchange in a straight channel with floodplain

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Huang ◽  
Ting Fong May Chui
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Flow ◽  
Hyporheic Zone ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Surface Flow ◽  
Hyporheic Exchange ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Straight Channel ◽  
Coupled Models ◽  
Overlying Water ◽  
Stream Width

<p>The hyporheic zone (HZ) is the region of saturated sediment surrounding a stream which connects surface water and groundwater flow. The overlying water with dissolved matters infiltrates into the HZ, stays there for some time and interacts with groundwater, and exfiltrates out of the HZ, resulting in hyporheic exchanges (HEs). The HEs support physicochemical and biological reactions that are essential to river ecosystem functions. In recent decades, more and more stream restoration projects involve the recovery of HE, however, effective guidance in restoring HE is still missing. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effectiveness of different engineering baffle designs in restoring HZ in a straight channel with floodplain. Both flume and numerical models coupling stream and groundwater flow were built. The flume model was built in a recirculating box to simulate different hydrological conditions (e.g., streamflow and groundwater flow) and baffle designs (e.g., baffle amplitude, interval). Tracer experiments were performed, and results were used to quantify the impacts of baffles designs on the HE fluxes. For the numerical models, the surface flow was simulated by solving Reynold-average Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations in two phases using volume of fluid method (VoF) in Fluent, while the groundwater flow was simulated by solving Richard’s equation in COMSOL. The numerical models were calibrated with experiments, and could output the flux, scale and median residence time (MRT) of the HE. For fixed baffle interval of four times the stream width, the flux and scale of HE peaked at baffle amplitude of around one third of stream width, while the MRT increased with increasing amplitude. For fixed baffle amplitude of one third of the stream width, the flux of HE peaked at baffle interval of around four times the stream width, the scale of HE was positively correlated to interval while the MTR had the lowest value at the interval of around two times the stream width. The results of this study directly benefit the development of practical baffle designs of river restoration.  The coupled models developed are also generally applicable to investigate the efficiency of different stream rehabilitation designs in restoring HZ.</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 How daily groundwater table drawdown affects the diel rhythm of hyporheic exchange

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 1905-1921
Author(s):  
Liwen Wu ◽  
Jesus D. Gomez-Velez ◽  
Stefan Krause ◽  
Anders Wörman ◽  
Tanu Singh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Exchange Rates ◽  
Hyporheic Zone ◽  
Temperature Fluctuations ◽  
Groundwater Table ◽  
Spatiotemporal Variability ◽  
Hyporheic Exchange ◽  
Coupled Flow ◽  
River Temperature ◽  
Hyporheic Zones ◽  
Tightly Coupled

Abstract. Groundwater table dynamics extensively modify the volume of the hyporheic zone and the rate of hyporheic exchange processes. Understanding the effects of daily groundwater table fluctuations on the tightly coupled flow and heat transport within hyporheic zones is crucial for water resources management. With this aim in mind, a physically based model is used to explore hyporheic responses to varying groundwater table fluctuation scenarios. The effects of different timing and amplitude of groundwater table daily drawdowns under gaining and losing conditions are explored in hyporheic zones influenced by natural flood events and diel river temperature fluctuations. We find that both diel river temperature fluctuations and daily groundwater table drawdowns play important roles in determining the spatiotemporal variability of hyporheic exchange rates, temperature of exfiltrating hyporheic fluxes, mean residence times, and hyporheic denitrification potentials. Groundwater table dynamics present substantially distinct impacts on hyporheic exchange under gaining or losing conditions. The timing of groundwater table drawdown has a direct influence on hyporheic exchange rates and hyporheic buffering capacity on thermal disturbances. Consequently, the selection of aquifer pumping regimes has significant impacts on the dispersal of pollutants in the aquifer and thermal heterogeneity in the sediment.

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