Using Distributed Temperature Sensing to Locate and Quantify Thermal Refugia: Insights Into Radiative & Hydrologic Processes

Stream temperature plays a critical role in determining the overall structure and function of stream ecosystems. Aquatic fauna are particularly vulnerable to projected increases in the magnitude and duration of elevated stream temperatures from global climate change. Northern California cold water salmon and trout fisheries have been declared thermally impacted by the California State Water Resources Control Board. This study employed Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) to detect stream heating and cooling at one meter resolution along a one kilometer section of the North Fork of the Salmon River, a tributary of the Klamath River, northern California, USA. The Salmon River has an extensive legacy of hydraulic gold mining tailing which have been reworked into large gravel bars; creating shallow wide runs, possibly filling in pools and disrupting riparian vegetation recruitment. Eight days of temperature data were collected at 15 minute intervals during July 2012. Three remote weather stations were deployed during the study period. The main objectives of this research were: one, quantify thermal inputs that create and maintain thermal refugia for cold water fishes; two, investigate the role of riparian and topographic shading in buffering peak summer temperatures; and three, create and validate a physically based stream heating model to predict effects of riparian management, drought, and climate change on stream temperature. DTS was used to spatially identify cold water seeps and quantify their contribution to the stream's thermal regime. Along the one kilometer reach, hyporheic flow was identified using DTS. The spring was between 16-18°C while the peak mainstem temperature above the spring reached a maximum of 23°C. The study found a diel heating cycle of 5°C with a Maximum Weekly Average Temperature (MWAT) of over 22°C; exceeding salmon and trout protective temperature standards set by USEPA Region 10. Twenty intensive fish counts over five days were conducted to assess the relative abundance of Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), coho (O. kisutch), and steelhead (O. mykiss) use of thermal refugia. The North Fork Salmon River is the largest river to be instrumented with DTS technology. The researchers will use the DTS data and thermal model to make suggestions for management actions to improve the Salmon River's thermal regime.