Hyporheic Temperature Dynamics: Predicting Hyporheic Temperatures Based on Travel Time Assuming Instantaneous Water-Sediment Conduction

Abstract:

Recently developed conceptual frameworks and new observations have improved our understanding of hyporheic temperature dynamics and their effects on channel temperatures. However, hyporheic temperature models that are both simple and useful remain elusive. As water moves through hyporheic pathways, it exchanges heat with hyporheic sediment through conduction, and this process dampens the diurnal temperature wave of the water entering from the channel. This study examined the mechanisms underlying this behavior, and utilized those findings to create two simple models that predict temperatures of water reentering the channel after traveling through hyporheic pathways for different lengths of time. First, we developed a laboratory experiment to represent this process and determine conduction rates for various sediment size classes (sand, fine gravel, coarse gravel, and a proportional mix of the three) by observing the time series of temperature changes between sediment and water of different initial temperatures. Results indicated that conductions rates were near-instantaneous, with heat transfer being completed on the scale of seconds to a few minutes of the initial interaction. Heat conduction rates between the sediment and water were therefore much faster than hyporheic flux rates, rendering reasonable an assumption of instantaneous conduction. Then, we developed two simple models to predict time series of hyporheic water based on the initial diurnal temperature wave and hyporheic travel distance. The first model estimates a damping coefficient based on the total water-sediment heat exchange through each diurnal cycle. The second model solves the heat transfer equation assuming instantaneous conduction using a simple finite difference algorithm. Both models demonstrated nearly complete damping of the sine wave over the distance traveled in four days. If hyporheic exchange is substantial and travel times are long, then hyporheic damping may have large effects on channel temperature. This underscores the importance of maintaining channel complexity for stream thermal heterogeneity and temperature regulation.