H13H-1206:
Transient Storage Parameterization of Wetland-dominated Stream Reaches
Monday, 15 December 2014
Sophie M Wilderotter1, Anne Lightbody1, Linda H Kalnejais2 and Wilfred M Wollheim3, (1)University of New Hampshire, Earth Sciences, Durham, NH, United States, (2)University of New Hampshire, Earth Sciences; Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space (EOS), Durham, NH, United States, (3)University of New Hampshire, Natural Resources and the Environment; Earth Science Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space (EOS), Durham, NH, United States
Abstract:
Current understanding of the importance of transient storage in fluvial wetlands is limited. Wetlands that have higher connectivity to the main stream channel are important because they have the potential to retain more nitrogen within the river system than wetlands that receive little direct stream discharge. In this study, we investigated how stream water accesses adjacent fluvial wetlands in New England coastal watersheds to improve parameterization in network-scale models. Break through curves of Rhodamine WT were collected for eight wetlands in the Ipswich and Parker (MA) and Lamprey River (NH) watersheds, USA. The curves were inverse modeled using STAMMT-L to optimize the connectivity and size parameters for each reach. Two approaches were tested, a single dominant storage zone and a range of storage zones represented using a power-law distribution of storage zone connectivity. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to relate transient storage parameters to stream discharge, area, length-to-width ratio, and reach slope. Resulting regressions will enable more accurate parameterization of surface water transient storage in network-scale models.
