Henry Pai

High resolution synoptic salinity mapping to identify groundwater--surface water discharges in lowland rivers.

Quantifying distributed lateral groundwater contributions to surface water (GW-SW discharges) is a key aspect of tracking nonpoint-source pollution (NPSP) within a watershed. In this study, we characterized distributed GW-SW discharges and associated salt loading using elevated GW specific conductance (SC) as a tracer along a 38 km reach of the Lower Merced River in Central California. High resolution longitudinal surveys for multiple flows (1.3-150 m(3) s(-1)) revealed river SC gradients that mainly decreased with increasing flow, suggesting a dilution effect and/or reduced GW-SW discharges due to hydraulic gradient reductions. However, exceptions occurred (gradients increasing with increasing flow), pointing to complex spatiotemporal influences on GW-SW dynamics. The surveys revealed detailed variability in salinity gradients, from which we estimated distributed GW-SW discharge and salt loading using a simple mixing model. Modeled cumulative GW discharges for two surveys unaffected by ungauged SW discharges were comparable in magnitude to differential gauging-based discharge estimates and prior GW-SW studies along the same river reach. Ungauged lateral inlets and sparse GW data limited the study, and argue for enhancing monitoring efforts. Our approach provides a rapid and economical method for characterizing NPSP for gaining rivers in the context of integrated watershed modeling and management.

Transverse spatiotemporal variability of lowland river properties and effects on metabolic rate estimates

Transverse spatio-temporal variability of lowland river properties and effects on metabolic rates estimates Sandra R. Villamizar*, Henry Pai, Christopher A. Butler, and Thomas C. Harmon Environmental Systems Program & Sierra Nevada Research Institute University of California, Merced Final version published in Water Resources Research January, 2014 *Corresponding author: Sandra R. Villamizar School of Engineering University of California, Merced 5200 North Lake Road Merced, CA 95343 svillamizar_amaya@ucmerced.edu