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Geochemical Exports to River From the Intrameander Hyporheic Zone Under Transient Hydrologic Conditions: East River Mountainous Watershed, Colorado

Journal Article · · Water Resources Research
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2018WR023377· OSTI ID:1544196
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [2];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [3];  [1]
  1. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  2. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  3. The Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV (United States)
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To understand how redox processes influence carbon, nitrogen, and iron cycling within the intrameander hyporheic zone, we developed a biotic and abiotic reaction network and incorporated it into the reactive transport simulator PFLOTRAN. Additionally, two-dimensional reactive flow and transport simulations were performed (1) to evaluate how transient hydrological conditions control the lateral redox zonation within an intrameander region of the East River in Colorado and (2) to quantify the impact of a single meander on subsurface exports of carbon and other geochemical species to the river. The meander's overall contribution to the river was quantified by integrating geochemical outfluxes along the outside of the meander bend. The model was able to capture the field-observed trends of dissolved oxygen, nitrate, iron, pH, and total inorganic carbon along a 2-D transect. Consistent with field observations, simulated dissolved oxygen and nitrate decreased along the intrameander flow paths while iron (Fe2+) concentration increased. The simulation results further demonstrated that the reductive potential of the lateral redox zonation was controlled by groundwater velocities resulting from river stage fluctuations, with low-water conditions promoting reducing conditions. The sensitivity analysis results showed that permeability had a more significant impact on biogeochemical zonation compared to the reaction pathways under transient hydrologic conditions. Lastly, the simulation results further indicated that the meander acted as a sink for organic and inorganic carbon as well as iron during the extended baseflow and high-water conditions; however, these geochemical species were released into the river during the falling limb of the hydrograph.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER) (SC-23)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1544196
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1563962
OSTI ID: 1480138
Journal Information:
Water Resources Research, Journal Name: Water Resources Research Journal Issue: 10 Vol. 54; ISSN 0043-1397
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union (AGU)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (5)

Dam Operations and Subsurface Hydrogeology Control Dynamics of Hydrologic Exchange Flows in a Regulated River Reach journal April 2019
Hydrogeologic Controls of Surface Water‐Groundwater Nitrogen Dynamics Within a Tidal Freshwater Zone journal November 2019
Hyporheic Zone Microbiome Assembly Is Linked to Dynamic Water Mixing Patterns in Snowmelt‐Dominated Headwater Catchments journal November 2019
Depth‐ and Time‐Resolved Distributions of Snowmelt‐Driven Hillslope Subsurface Flow and Transport and Their Contributions to Surface Waters journal November 2019
The effect of unsteady streamflow and stream-groundwater interactions on oxygen consumption in a sandy streambed journal December 2019

Figures / Tables (16)

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Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
carbon
hyporheic zone
iron
meanders
nitrogen
redox processes