Surface-water hydrodynamics and regimes of a small mountain stream–lake ecosystem

The hydrology of streams and lakes has been well studied as separate ecosystems; however, the behavior and implications of hydrologic linkages between these ecosystems have been little considered. We analyzed the surface-water hydrodynamics of a stream–lake ecosystem for 3 years in the Sawtooth Moun...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of hydrology (Amsterdam) 2006-10, Vol.329 (3), p.500-513
Main Authors: Arp, Christopher D., Gooseff, Michael N., Baker, Michelle A., Wurtsbaugh, Wayne
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
base flow
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Flooding
floods
Flow regimes
hydrodynamics
hydrology
Hydrology. Hydrogeology
Idaho
Lake morphometry
Lakes
Littoral zone
overbank flooding
rain
River regulation
runoff
Sawtooth Mountains
snowmelt
stormwater
stream flow
Streams
surface water
surface water level
water flow
watershed hydrology
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Summary:The hydrology of streams and lakes has been well studied as separate ecosystems; however, the behavior and implications of hydrologic linkages between these ecosystems have been little considered. We analyzed the surface-water hydrodynamics of a stream–lake ecosystem for 3 years in the Sawtooth Mountains, Idaho, USA to understand how this coupled aquatic ecosystem behaved hydrologically. This analysis included quantifying streamflow regimes above and below the lake, the expansion and contraction of the lake, stream, and floodplain, and downstream responses to snowmelt and rainstorm events. Our results showed that flow regime metrics from both hydrology and ecology were similar between above and below-lake reaches, but analysis that considered channel capacity and overbank flooding showed 2× more frequent and >5× longer duration floods below the lake compared to upstream reaches. The lake surface area expanded by as much as 19% during snowmelt runoff because of a 0.5 m rise in the lake level, and the littoral zone expanded by an even greater proportion. The lake had little influence on peakflows during spring snowmelt, though the inlet stream in the delta had a reduced flood magnitude compared to upstream stations. However, during large summer rainstorms when potential storage capacity was maximized, the lake strongly attenuated peakflows downstream from the lake. Water level changes at seven other stream–lake ecosystems in the region showed a similar range of variation. Our results provide a case study of how coupled aquatic ecosystems behave hydrodynamically and underscore the need to consider the hydrologic connections and interactions that drive aquatic ecosystems.
ISSN:0022-1694
1879-2707
DOI:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2006.03.006