Continuous estimation of baseflow in snowmelt-dominated streams and rivers in the upper Colorado River Basin: A chemical hydrograph separation approach

Water Resources Research

Volumn 50, Issue 8, 2014, Pages 6986-6999

  Miller, Matthew P ^a   Susong, David D ^a   Shope, Christopher L ^a   Heilweil, Victor M ^a   Stolp, Bernard J ^a  

^a U S GEOLOGICAL SURVEY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

AERODYNAMICS; BUDGET CONTROL; CLIMATE MODELS; FLOWMETERS; LAND USE; RESERVOIRS (WATER); SNOW MELTING SYSTEMS; WATER MANAGEMENT; WATER RESOURCES; WATERSHEDS;

COLORADO RIVER BASIN; HYDROGRAPH SEPARATION; HYDROLOGIC CONDITIONS; IRRIGATION RETURN FLOWS; LOW FLOW CONDITION; QUANTITATIVE MEASURES; SCIENCE-BASED MANAGEMENT; SPECIFIC CONDUCTANCE;

RIVERS;

EID: 84906360204     PISSN: 00431397     EISSN: 19447973     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1002/2013WR014939     Document Type: Article

References (47)

1. Arrigoni, A. S., M. C. Greenwood, and J. N. Moore (2010), Relative impact of anthropogenic modifications versus climate change on the natural flow regimes of rivers in the Northern Rocky Mountains, United States, Water Resour. Res., 65, W12542, doi:10.1029/2010WR009162.
2. Bauch, N. J., J. L. Moore, K. R. Schaffrath, and J.A. Dupree (2012), Water-quality assessment and macroinvertebrate data for the Upper Yampa River watershed, Colorado, 1975 through 2009, U.S. Geol. Surv. Sci. Invest. Rep., 2012-5214, 129 pp.
3. Beck, H. E., A. I. J. M. van Dijk, D. G. Miralles, R. A. M. de Jeu, L. A. Brijnzeel, T. R. McVicar, and J. Schellekens (2013), Global patterns in base flow index and recession based streamflow observations from 3394 catchments, Water Resour. Res., 49, 7843-7863, doi:10.1002/2013WR013918.
4. Bloomfield, J. P., D. J. Allen, and K. J. Griffiths (2009), Examining geological controls on baseflow index (BFI) using regression analysis: An illustration from the Thames Basin, UK, J. Hydrol., 373, 164-176, doi:10.1016/j.hydrol.2009.04.025.
5. Burns, D. A. (1998), Retention of math formula in an upland stream environment: A mass balance approach, Biogeochemistry, 40, 73-96, doi:10.1023/a:1005916102026.
6. Burns, D. A., J. J. McDonnel, R. P. Hooper, N. E. Peters, J. E. Freer, C. Kendall, and K. Beven (2001), Quantifying contributions to storm runoff through end-member mixing analysis and hydrologic measurements at the Panola Mountain Research Watershed (Georgia, USA), Hydrol. Processes, 14, 1903-1924, doi:10.1002/hyp.246.
7. Caine, N. (1989), Hydrograph separation in a small alpine basin based on inorganic solute concentrations, J. Hydrol., 112, 89-101.
8. Cassie, D., T. L. Pollock, and R. A. Cunjak (1996), Variation in stream water chemistry and hydrograph separation in a small drainage basin, J. Hydrol., 178, 137-157, doi:10.1016/0022-1694(95)02806-4.
9. Chafin, D. T. (2003), Effect of the Paradox Valley Unit on the dissolved-solids load of the Dolores River near Bedrock, Colorado, 1988-2001, U.S. Geol. Surv. Water Resour. Invest. Rep., 2002-4275, 6 pp.
10. Christopherson, N., and R.P. Hooper (1992), Multivariate analysis of stream water chemical data: The use of principal components analysis for the end-member mixing problem, Water Resour. Res., 28, 99-107, doi:10.1029/91WR02518.
11. Covino, T. P., and B. L. McGlynn (2007), Stream gains and losses across a mountain-to-valley transition: Impacts on watershed hydrology and stream water chemistry, Water Resour. Res., 43, W10431, doi:10.1029/2006WR005544.
12. Dahm, C. N., M. A. Baker, D. I. Moore, and J. R. Thibault (2003), Coupled biogeochemical and hydrological response of streams and rivers to drought, Freshwater Biol., 48, 1219-1231, doi:10.1046/j.1365-2427.2003.01082.x.
13. Dinçer, T., B. R. Payne, T. Florkowski, J. Martinec, and E. Tongiorgi (1970), Snowmelt runoff from measurements of tritium and oxygen-18, Water. Resour. Res., 6, 110-124, doi:10.1029/WR006i001p00110.
14. Eckhardt, K. (2005) How to construct recursive digital filters for baseflow separation, Hydrol. Processes, 19, 507-515, doi:10.1002/hyp.5675.
15. Gates, T. K., L. A. Garcia, R. A. Hemphill, E. D. Morway, and A. Elhaddad (2012), Irrigation practices, water consumption, and return flows in Colorado's lower Arkansas River Valley, Color. Water Inst. Tech. Comp. Rep., 221, 115 pp.
16. Genereux, D. (1998), Quantifying uncertainty in tracer-based hydrograph separations, Water Resour. Res., 34, 915-919, doi:10.1029/98WR00010.
17. Genereux, D., and R. P. Hooper (1998), Oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in rainfall-runoff studies, in Isotope Tracers In Catchment Hydrology, edited by C. Kendall and J. J. McDonnell, pp. 319-346, Elsevier, Amsterdam.
18. Hooper, R. P., and C. A. Shoemaker (1986), A comparison of chemical and isotopic hydrograph separation, Water Resour. Res., 22, 1444-1454, doi:10.1029/WR022i010p01444.
19. Huntington, J. L., and R. G. Niswonger (2012), Role of surface-water and groundwater interactions on projected summertime streamflow in snow dominated regions: An integrated modeling approach, Water Resour. Res., 48, W11524, doi:10.1029/2012WR012319.
20. Inamdar, S., G. Dhillon, S. Singh, S. Dutta, D. Levia, D. Scott, M. Mitchell, J. Van Stan, and P. McHale (2013), Temporal variation in end-member chemistry and its influence on runoff mixing patterns in a forested, Piedmont catchment, Water Resour. Res., 49, 1828-1844, doi:10.1002/wrcr.20158.
21. Kendall, K. A., J. B. Shanley, and J. J. McDonnell (1999), A hydrometric and geochemical approach to test the transmissivity feedback hypothesis during snowmelt, J. Hydrol., 219, 188-205, doi:10.1016/S0022-1694(99)00059-1.
22. Kendall, S., and E. A. Caldwell (1998), Fundamentals of isotope geochemistry, in Isotope Tracers In Catchment Hydrology, edited by C. Kendall and J. J. McDonnell, pp. 51-86, Elsevier, Amsterdam.
23. Liu, F., M. W. Williams, and N. Caine (2004), Source-waters and flow paths in an alpine catchment, Colorado Front Range, United States, Water Resour. Res., 40, W09401, doi:10.1029/2004WR003076.
24. Lott, D. A., and M. T. Stewart (2012), A power function method for estimating base flow, Ground Water, 51, 442-451, doi:10.1111/j.1745-6584.2012.00980.x.
25. Magilligan, F. J., and K. H. Nislow (2005), Change in hydrologic regime by dams, Geomorphology, 71, 61-78, doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2004.08.017.
26. McNamara, J. P., D. L. Kane, and L. D. Hinzman (1997), Hydrograph separations in an Arctic watershed using mixing model and graphical techniques, Water. Resour. Res., 44, 1707-1719, doi:10.1029/97WR01033.
27. Nathan, R. J., and T. A. McMahon (1990), Evaluation of automated techniques for base flow and recession analysis, Water Resour. Res., 26, 1465-1473, doi:10.1029/WR026i007p01465.
28. Pellerin B. A., W. M. Wollheim, X. Fend, and C. J. Vörösmarty (2007), The application of electrical conductivity as a tracer for hydrograph separation in urban catchments, Hydrol. Processes, 22, 1810-1818, doi:10.1002/hyp.6786.
29. Pinder G. F., and J. F. Jones (1969), Determination of the ground-water component of peak discharge from the chemistry of total runoff, Water Resour. Res., 5, 438-44, doi:10.1029/WR005i002p00438.
30. Poff, N. L., J. D. Olden, D. M. Merritt, and D. M. Pepin (2007), Homogenization of regional river dynamics by dams and global biodiversity implications, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A., 104, 5732-5737, doi:10.1073/pnas.0609812104.
31. Sanford, W. E., D. L. Nelms, J. P. Pope, and D. L. Selnick (2011), Quantifying components of the hydrologic cycle in Virginia using chemical hydrograph separation and multiple regression analysis, U.S. Geol. Surv. Sci. Invest. Rep., 2011-5198, 78 pp.
32. Santhi, C.P., P. M. Allen, R. S. Muttiah, J. G. Arnold, and P. Tuppad (2008), Regional estimation of base flow for the conterminous United States by hydrologic landscape regions, J. Hydrol., 351, 139-153, doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2007.13.018.
33. Schaffrath, K. R. (2012), Surface-water salinity in the Gunnison River Basin, Colorado, water years 1989 through 2007, U.S. Geol. Surv. Sci. Invest. Rep., 2012-5128, 47 pp.
34. Sklash, M. G., and R. N. Farvolden (1979), The role of groundwater in storm runoff, J. Hydrol., 43, 45-65, doi:10.1016/S0167-5648(09)70009-7.
35. Stanton, J. S., S. M. Peterson, and M. N. Fienen (2010), Simulation of groundwater flow and effects of groundwater irrigation on stream base flow in the Elkhorn and Loup River Basins, Nebraska, 1895-2055: Phase Two, U.S. Geol. Surv. Sci. Invest. Rep., 2010-5149, 78 pp.
36. Stewart, M., J. Cimino, and M. Ross (2007), Calibration of baseflow separation methods with streamflow conductivity, Ground Water, 45, 17-27, doi:10.1111/j.1745-6584.2006.00263.x.
37. Stottlemyer, R. S., and C. A. Troendle (1999), Effect of subalpine canopy removal on snowpack, soil solution, and nutrient export, Fraser Experimental Forest, CO, Hydrol. Processes, 13, 2287-2299.
38. Stottlemyer, R. (2001), Processes regulating watershed chemical export during snowmelt, Fraser Experimental Forest, Colorado, J. Hydrol., 245, 177-195, doi:10.1016/S0022-1694(01)00342-3.
39. Sueker, J. K., J. N. Ryan, C. Kendall, and R. D. Jarrett (2000), Determination of hydrologic pathways during snowmelt for alpine/subalpine basins, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, Water Resour. Res., 36, 63-75, doi:10.1029/1999WR900296.
40. Uhlenbrook, S., M. Frey, C. Leibundgut, and P. Maloszewski (2002), Hydrograph separations in a mesoscale mountainous basin at event and seasonal timescales, Water Resour. Res., 38(6), 1096, doi:10.1029/2001WR000938.
41. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (2012), Colorado River Basin water supply and demand study, study report, 95 pp., U.S. Dep. of the Inter., Washington, D. C. [Available at http://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/programs/crbstudy/finalreport/studyrpt.html.]
42. Wagner, R. J., R. W. Boulger Jr., C. J. Oblinger, and B. A. Smith (2006), Guidelines and standard procedures for continuous water-quality monitors-Station operation, record computation, and data reporting, U.S. Geol. Surv. Tech. Meth., 1-D3, 51 pp.
43. Wahl, K. L., and T. L. Wahl (1988), Effects of regional ground water declines on streamflows in the Oklahoma Panhandle, in Proceedings of Symposium on Water-Use Data for Water Resource Management, pp. 239-249, Am. Water Resour. Assoc., Tucson, Ariz.
44. Wigley, T. M. L., and P. D. Jones (1985) Influences of precipitation changes and direct CO2 effects on streamflow, Nature, 314, 149-152, doi:10.1038/314149a0.
45. Williams, M. W., and J. M. Melack (1991), Precipitation chemistry in and ionic loading to an alpine basin, Sierra Nevada, Water Resour. Res., 27, 1563-1574, doi:10.1029/90WR02773.
46. Winter, T. C., J. W. Harvey, O. L. Franke, and W. M. Alley (1998), Ground water and surface water: A single resource, U.S. Geol. Circ., 1139, 79 pp.
47. Wolock, D. M. (2003), Base-flow index grid for the conterminous United States, U.S. Geol. Surv. Open File Rep., 03-263.