Hydrologic characteristics of Walker Branch Watershed

Conference · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1977

OSTI ID:7112632

Henderson, G S; Huff, D D; Grizzard, T

Walker Branch Watershed, a 97.5 ha deciduous forest catchment on dolomitic terrain, received annual precipitation averaging 151.1 cm over a six-year period from 1970-1976. Approximately 56 percent of this precipitation left the watershed as streamflow. Soil evaporation and canopy interception with subsequent evaporation loss were well represented by relationships derived for eastern hardwoods and amounted to about 12 percent of precipitation. Transpiration accounted for the remainder (31 percent) of the water loss from the watershed. Seasonal precipitation-streamflow balances show that precipitation is relatively uniformly distributed throughout the year, while streamflow varies seasonally with high flows from December through May and low flows from June through November. Baseflow discharge patterns from the two subcatchments are different, the smaller basin yielding relatively more than the larger one. This difference is thought to be due to groundwater exchange between the two through channels in the dolomitic bedrock. The hydrologic data base is used extensively in nutrient and trace element cycling studies and in development of mechanistic hydrologic models.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-26
• OSTI ID: 7112632
• Report Number(s): CONF-770209-2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

510100* -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Basic Studies-- (-1989)
520100 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Basic Studies-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
AQUIFERS
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
BIOMASS
ECOSYSTEMS
ENERGY SOURCES
EVAPORATION
FLUID FLOW
FORESTS
GROUND WATER
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROLOGY
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
PLANTS
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
ROCKS
SEASONAL VARIATIONS
SOILS
STREAMS
SURFACE WATERS
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
TRANSPIRATION
VARIATIONS
WATER
WATERSHEDS