An Investigation Into the Ecohydrology of Riparian Wetlands Along the Gila River, NM, USA
Abstract
The dynamism of the Gila River, in southwestern New Mexico, USA, has resulted in the creation of a topographically diverse floodplain that supports an array of riparian wetlands. The purpose of this study is to investigate the ecohydrologic and ecohydraulic processes of two of these wetlands, in order to predict their potential response to anthropogenic or natural changes in hydrology. One represents a natural wetland and the other a wetland that exists only as a result of an anthropogenic modification to the river system. A network of 30 wells and 2 weather stations were installed in early 2013 to provide a high resolution of data on surface water and ground water hydrologic conditions. Phreatic surface contour maps were produced to aid in the visualization of sub-surface gradients. Based on these results, an electrical resistivity investigation was conducted to identify paleoflow channels as well as depth to bedrock and other potential areas of interest. These data formed the development of three dimensional ModFlow models that were used to investigate potential future stream flow scenarios on wetland hydrology. The model outputs are being used in tandem with the results of quarterly ecological surveys on vegetation, algae, benthic, and bird communities, to make predictions of potential changes in community structure and function.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013AGUFM.H33F1454S
- Keywords:
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- 1830 HYDROLOGY Groundwater/surface water interaction;
- 1829 HYDROLOGY Groundwater hydrology;
- 1848 HYDROLOGY Monitoring networks;
- 1952 INFORMATICS Modeling