Best practices for continuous monitoring of temperature and flow in wadeable streams (original) (raw)
Related papers
2009b. Analysis of stream temperature data from Miller Creek
2020
This report summarizes an analysis of stream temperature and associated climate data for Miller Creek, a trout stream in Duluth, MN. The study was undertaken in support of an MPCAmandated temperature TMDL. The main goals of the analysis were 1) to characterize the spatial and temporal variations of stream temperature and 2) to determine the main drivers of stream temperature exceedances in Miller Creek. Stream temperature and flow data from 1997-98, 2003-05, and 2007-08 were analyzed at hourly to annual time scales. Included were water temperature data from the main stem of Miller Creek, its tributaries, and from storm sewer outlets to Miller Creek. Stream temperature in Miller Creek was found to be highly correlated to air temperature from the Duluth Airport at daily to annual time scales. Temperature exceedances (T > 20 ºC) were found to be caused mainly by strong atmospheric heat transfer to the stream due to low channel shading in the middle reaches of Miller Creek. Only 5 to 10% of all temperature exceedances appear to be associated with surface runoff from rainfall events, and even fewer are associated solely with surface runoff. Little evidence was found that lower stream flow leads to increased stream temperature and more frequent temperature exceedances. In mid summer tributaries of Miller Creek are typically at a lower temperature than the main stem of Miller Creek. The tributary at Chambersburg Ave. appears to measurably lower the temperature of the main stem, up to several degrees Celsius. The roles of groundwater and wetlands in the water (flow) and heat budgets of Miller Creek can not be quantified based on the available stream temperature records
River Research and Applications, 2013
Previous studies of climate change impacts on stream fish distributions commonly project the potential patterns of habitat loss and fragmentation due to elevated stream temperatures at a broad spatial scale (e.g. across regions or an entire species range). However, these studies may overlook potential heterogeneity in climate change vulnerability within local stream networks. We examined fine-scale stream temperature patterns in two headwater brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis stream networks (7.7 and 4.4 km) in Connecticut, USA, by placing a combined total of 36 pairs of stream and air temperature loggers that were approximately 300 m apart from each other. Data were collected hourly from March to October 2010. The summer of 2010 was hot (the second hottest on record) and had well below average precipitation, but stream temperature was comparable with those of previous 2 years because streamflow was dominated by groundwater during base-flow conditions. Nonlinear regression models revealed stream temperature variation within local stream networks, particularly during warmest hours of the day (i.e. late afternoon to evening) during summer. Thermal variability was primarily observed between stream segments, versus within a stream segment (i.e. from confluence to confluence). Several cold tributaries were identified in which stream temperature was much less responsive to air temperature. Our findings suggested that regional models of stream temperature would not fully capture thermal variation at the local scale and may misrepresent thermal resilience of stream networks. Groundwater appeared to play a major role in creating the fine-scale spatial thermal variation, and characterizing this thermal variation is needed for assessing climate change impacts on headwater species accurately. Figure 2. July-August daily mean stream and air temperature of 20 loggers in Jefferson Hill-Spruce Brook (JHSB) and 16 loggers in Kent Falls Brook (KFB). Each line represents a temperature logger Y. KANNO ET AL. Values represent the mean across 864 regressions (i.e. 36 loggers  24 h). NSC, Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient.
Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 2015
Study focus: Statewide interest in thermal patterns and increasing data collection efforts provides Alaska's scientific and resource management communities an opportunity to meet broader regional-scale data needs. A basic set of stream temperature monitoring standards is needed for Alaskans to begin building robust datasets suitable for regional analyses. The goal of this project is to define minimum (base) standards for collecting freshwater temperature data in Alaska that must be met so that observations can support regional assessment of status and recent trends in freshwater temperatures and predictions of future patterns of change in these aquatic thermal regimes using downscaled climate projections. New hydrological insights for the region: We defined 10 minimum data collection standards for continuous stream temperature data in Alaska. The standards cover data logger accuracy and range, data collection sampling frequency and duration, site selection, logger accuracy checks, data evaluation, file formats, metadata, and data sharing. We hope that the adoption of minimum standards will encourage rapid, but structured, growth in comparable stream temperature monitoring efforts in Alaska that will be used to understand current and future trends in thermal regimes.
Ground Water Monitoring and Remediation, 2005
Increasing numbers of studies are recording detailed temperature data for characterization of ground water-stream exchange. We examined laboratory and field operation of a small-diameter, stand-alone and inexpensive temperature logger capable of investigating stream-ground water exchange was examined. The Thermochron iButton is a 17.35-mm-diameter by 6-mm-thick instrument that costs <$10 when ordered in quantity. Testing of the loggers in a controlled temperature bath revealed a precision of 60.4°C and an accuracy of 60.5°C for a group of 201. More than 500 loggers have been installed in channels and in subchannel and floodplain ground water environments in two gravel-bedded rivers in the western United States. Loggers were placed as single devices and in vertical arrays in monitoring wells with diameters of 10.16, 5.08, 2.54, and 1.9 cm. We determined that the loggers have four principal advantages over more commonly used wired and currently available stand-alone logging devices: (1) the wireless nature does not require the instrument location to be associated with a control-recording system; (2) the small size allows for installation in small hand-driven or direct-push monitoring wells and thus intimate contact of the instruments with the hydrologic environment; (3) multiple loggers are easily suspended in a single fully perforated monitoring well, allowing for the collection of high-resolution temperature profile data; and (4) the low cost of the loggers allows for the deployment of large numbers, thus improving spatial resolution in shallow ground water floodplain scale studies.
Freshwater Biology, 2013
1. Temperature is a major driver of ecological processes in stream ecosystems, yet the dynamics of thermal regimes remain poorly described. Most work has focused on relatively simple descriptors that fail to capture the full range of conditions that characterise thermal regimes of streams across seasons or throughout the year. 2. To more completely describe thermal regimes, we developed several descriptors of magnitude, variability, frequency, duration and timing of thermal events throughout a year. We evaluated how these descriptors change over time using long-term (1979-2009), continuous temperature data from five relatively undisturbed cold-water streams in western Oregon, U.S.A. In addition to trends for each descriptor, we evaluated similarities among them, as well as patterns of spatial coherence, and temporal synchrony. 3. Using different groups of descriptors, we were able to more fully capture distinct aspects of the full range of variability in thermal regimes across space and time. A subset of descriptors showed both higher coherence and synchrony and, thus, an appropriate level of responsiveness to examine evidence of regional climatic influences on thermal regimes. Most notably, daily minimum values during winter-spring were the most responsive descriptors to potential climatic influences. 4. Overall, thermal regimes in streams we studied showed high frequency and low variability of cold temperatures during the cold-water period in winter and spring, and high frequency and high variability of warm temperatures during the warm-water period in summer and autumn. The cold and warm periods differed in the distribution of events with a higher frequency and longer duration of warm events in summer than cold events in winter. The cold period exhibited lower variability in the duration of events, but showed more variability in timing. 5. In conclusion, our results highlight the importance of a year-round perspective in identifying the most responsive characteristics or descriptors of thermal regimes in streams. The descriptors we provide herein can be applied across hydro-ecological regions to evaluate spatial and temporal patterns in thermal regimes. Evaluation of coherence and synchrony of different components of thermal regimes can facilitate identification of impacts of regional climate variability or local human or natural influences.
Hydrological Processes, 2014
Assessment of potential climate change impacts on stream water temperature (T s ) across large scales remains challenging for resource managers because energy exchange processes between the atmosphere and the stream environment are complex and uncertain, and few long-term datasets are available to evaluate changes over time. In this study, we demonstrate how simple monthly linear regression models based on short-term historical T s observations and readily available interpolated air temperature (T a ) estimates can be used for rapid assessment of historical and future changes in T s . Models were developed for 61 sites in the southeastern USA using ≥18 months of observations and were validated at sites with longer periods of record. The T s models were then used to estimate temporal changes in T s at each site using both historical estimates and future T a projections. Results suggested that the linear regression models adequately explained the variability in T s across sites, and the relationships between T s and T a remained consistent over 37 years. We estimated that most sites had increases in historical annual mean T s between 1961 and 2010 (mean of +0.11°C decade À1 ). All 61 sites were projected to experience increases in T s from 2011 to 2060 under the three climate projections evaluated (mean of +0.41°C decade À1 ). Several of the sites with the largest historical and future T s changes were located in ecoregions home to temperature-sensitive fish species. This methodology can be used by resource managers for rapid assessment of potential climate change impacts on stream water temperature.
Water Resources Research, 1999
To project mean weekly stream temperature changes in response to global climate warming and for studies of freshwater ecosystems, a four-parameter nonlinear function of weekly air temperatures was used. One parameter, the upper bound stream temperature, was obtained by extreme value analysis from stream temperature data, and the other three parameters were obtained by least squares regression analysis. The least squares regression function was developed separately for the warming season and the cooling season (hysteresis) to take heat storage due to snowmelt or reservoir operations into account. There were very weak correlations between model parameters and annual or seasonal air temperatures. To project weekly stream temperatures under a 2 x CO2 climate scenario, weekly air temperature data from 166 weather stations, incremented by the output of the Canadian Center of Climate Modelling (CCC) general circulation model (GCM), were applied to nonlinear stream temperature models developed for 803 stream gaging stations. An error analysis indicated that only 39 stream gaging stations would not exhibit a significant change under the CCC-GCM 2 x CO2 climate scenario. The projections at the remaining 764 stream gaging stations showed that mean annual stream temperatures in the contiguous United States would increase by 2ø-5øC, least near the West Coast and most in the Missouri River and Ohio River basins. On average, there would be a 1ø-3øC increase in the maximum and minimum weekly stream temperatures under the 2 x CO2 climate scenario, most in the central United States. It was also found that most streams would experience the maximum change in weekly stream temperatures in spring (March-June). The minimum changes in stream temperatures are projected to occur in winter (December and January) and summer (July and August) throughout the United States.
Water Resources Research, 2013
Management of water temperatures in the Columbia River Basin (Washington) is critical because water projects have substantially altered the habitat of Endangered Species Act listed species, such as salmon, throughout the basin. This is most important in tributaries to the Columbia, such as the Methow River, where the spawning and rearing life stages of these cold water fishes occurs. Climate change projections generally predict increasing air temperatures across the western United States, with less confidence regarding shifts in precipitation. As air temperatures rise, we anticipate a corresponding increase in water temperatures, which may alter the timing and availability of habitat for fish reproduction and growth. To assess the impact of future climate change in the Methow River, we couple historical climate and future climate projections with a statistical modeling framework to predict daily mean stream temperatures. A K‐nearest neighbor algorithm is also employed to: (i) adjust...
Journal of Hydrology, 2020
Despite decades of research into air and stream temperature dynamics, paired air-water annual temperature signals have been underutilized to characterize watershed processes. Annual stream temperature dynamics are useful in classifying fundamental thermal regimes and can enhance process-based interpretation of stream temperature controls, including deep and shallow groundwater discharge, when paired with air signals. In this study, we investigated multi-scale variability in annual paired air-water temperature patterns using sine-wave linear regressions of multi-year daily temperature data from streams of various sizes. A total of 311 sites from two spatially intensive regional datasets (Shenandoah National Park and Olympic Experimental State Forest) and a spatially extensive national dataset spanning the contiguous United States (U.S. Geological Survey gages) were evaluated. We calculated three annual air-water thermal metrics (mean ratio, phase lag, and amplitude ratio) to deduce the influence of groundwater and other watershed processes on stream thermal regimes at multiple spatial scales. Site-specific values of the three annual air-water thermal metrics ranged from 0.69 to 5.29 (mean ratio), −9 to 40 days (phase lag), and 0.29 to 1.12 (amplitude ratio). Regional patterns in the annual thermal metrics revealed persistent yet spatially variable influences of shallow groundwater discharge and high levels of thermal variability within watersheds, indicating the importance of local hydrogeological controls on stream temperature. Furthermore, annual thermal metric patterns from the regional datasets were generally concordant with the national dataset suggesting the utility of these annual thermal metrics for analysis at multiple scales. Analysis of the national dataset showed that previously defined thermal regimes based on water temperature alone could be further refined using air-water metrics and these metrics were related to physiographic watershed characteristics such as contributing area, elevation, and slope. This research demonstrates the importance of spatial scale and heterogeneity for inferring hydrological process in streams and provides guidance for the interpretation of annual air-water temperature metrics that can be efficiently applied to the growing database of multi-year temperature records. Results from this research can aid in the prediction of future thermal habitat suitability for coldwater-adapted species at ecologically and management-relevant spatial scales with readily available data. 1. Introduction As climate change and other anthropogenic alterations to watersheds transform the natural thermal regime of streams and rivers (Bassar et al., 2016; Isaak et al., 2012; Kaushal et al., 2010; Kędra and Wiejaczka, 2018), understanding the sensitivity and vulnerability of stream segments to these changes is increasingly imperative for long-term ecological management. Temperature is one of the most important properties controlling the water quality of streams (Caissie, 2006). Almost all physical, chemical, and biological processes of the stream corridor are influenced by temperature, including fish development and metabolism, dissolved oxygen concentration, biogeochemical cycling, and organic matter decomposition. Absent hydrologic alteration, channel water temperature is driven by meteorological and