WATER QUALITY MODEL OUTPUT UNCERTAINTY AS AFFECTED BY SPATIAL RESOLUTION OF INPUT DATA1

ABSTRACT: Resolution of the input GIS data used to parameterize distributed‐parameter hydrologic/water quality models may affect uncertainty in model outputs and impact the subsequent application of model results in watershed management. In this study we evaluated the impact of varying spatial resolutions of DEM, land use, and soil data (30 × 30 m, 100 × 100 m, 150 × 150 m, 200 × 200 m, 300 × 300 m, 500 × 500 m, and 1,000 × 1,000 m) on the uncertainty of SWAT predicted flow, sediment, NO₃‐N, and TP transport. Inputs included measured hydrologic, meteorological, and watershed characteristics as well as water quality data from the Moores Creek watershed in Washington County, Arkansas. The SWAT model output was most affected by input DEM data resolution. A coarser DEM data resolution resulted in decreased representation of watershed area and slope and increased slope length. Distribution of pasture, forest, and urban areas within the watershed was significantly affected at coarser resolution of land use and resulted in significant uncertainty in predicted sediment, NO₃‐N, and TP output. Soils data resolution had no significant effect on flow and NO₃‐N predictions; however, sediment was overpredicted by 26 percent, and TP was underpredicted by 26 percent at 1,000 m resolution. This may be due to change in relative distribution of various hydrologic soils groups (HSGs) in the watershed. Minimum resolution for input GIS data to achieve less than 10 percent model output error depended upon the output variable of interest. For flow, sediment, NO₃‐N, and TP predictions, minimum DEM data resolution should range from 30 to 300 m, whereas minimum land use and soils data resolution should range from 300 to 500 m.     

PACIFIC NORTHWEST REGIONAL ASSESSMENT: THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE VARIABILITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE WATER RESOURCES OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN1

ABSTRACT: The Pacific Northwest (PNW) regional assessment is an integrated examination of the consequences of natural climate variability and projected future climate change for the natural and human systems of the region. The assessment currently focuses on four sectors: hydrology/water resources, forests and forestry, aquatic ecosystems, and coastal activities. The assessment begins by identifying and elucidating the natural patterns of climate vanability in the PNW on interannual to decadal timescales. The pathways through which these climate variations are manifested and the resultant impacts on the natural and human systems of the region are investigated. Knowledge of these pathways allows an analysis of the potential impacts of future climate change, as defined by IPCC climate change scenarios. In this paper, we examine the sensitivity, adaptability and vulnerability of hydrology and water resources to climate variability and change. We focus on the Columbia River Basin, which covers approximately 75 percent of the PNW and is the basis for the dominant water resources system of the PNW. The water resources system of the Columbia River is sensitive to climate variability, especially with respect to drought. Management inertia and the lack of a centralized authority coordinating all uses of the resource impede adaptability to drought and optimization of water distribution. Climate change projections suggest exacerbated conditions of conflict between users as a result of low summertime streamfiow conditions. An understanding of the patterns and consequences of regional climate variability is crucial to developing an adequate response to future changes in climate.     

Dispersal limitation and environmental heterogeneity shape scale-dependent diversity patterns in plant communities

Understanding the large-scale distribution of species diversity requires distinguishing two of the primary factors that cause compositional differences: dispersal limitation and environmental variation. In a community with a naturally discontinuous spatial structure, we asked (1) at what scale(s) nonrandom variation in species composition occurs and (2) at what scale(s) such variation is associated with spatial separation, indicative of dispersal limitation, and at what scale(s) variation is associated with environmental heterogeneity? We sampled 50 seeps (small wetlands) on five serpentine outcrops. Using a randomization model, we showed that additive beta diversity (a measure of community dissimilarity) was lower than random within seeps and higher than random among both seeps and outcrops. Using Mantel tests, we showed that plant community dissimilarity, in both the full seep assemblage as well as in a subset of seep endemics, at the two larger scales was associated with different forms of environmental heterogeneity and, at the largest scale, was also associated with geographic distance. We conclude that diversity in this system is shaped by multiple scales of heterogeneity and by dispersal limitation at the largest scale.     

Mechanism for the destruction of carbon tetrachloride and chloroform DNAPLs by modified Fenton's reagent

The destruction of a carbon tetrachloride DNAPL and a chloroform DNAPL was investigated in reactions containing 0.5 mL of DNAPL and a solution of modified Fenton's reagent (2M H2O2 and 5mM iron(III)-chelate). Carbon tetrachloride and chloroform masses were followed in the DNAPLs, the aqueous phases, and the off gasses. In addition, the rate of DNAPL destruction was compared to the rate of gas-purge dissolution. Carbon tetrachloride DNAPLs were rapidly destroyed by modified Fenton's reagent at 6.5 times the rate of gas purge dissolution, with 74% of the DNAPL destroyed within 24h. Use of reactions in which a single reactive oxygen species (hydroxyl radical, hydroperoxide anion, or superoxide radical anion) was generated showed that superoxide is the reactive species in modified Fenton's reagent responsible for carbon tetrachloride DNAPL destruction. Chloroform DNAPLs were also destroyed by modified Fenton's reagent, but at a rate slower than the rate of gas purge dissolution. Reactions generating a single reactive oxygen species demonstrated that chloroform destruction was the result of both superoxide and hydroxyl radical activity. Such a mechanism of chloroform DNAPL destruction is in agreement with the slow but relatively equal reactivity of chloroform with both superoxide and hydroxyl radical. The results of this research demonstrate that modified Fenton's reagent can rapidly and effectively destroy DNAPLs of contaminants characterized by minimal reactivity with hydroxyl radical, and should receive more consideration as a DNAPL cleanup technology.     

Orientation of plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) in the open sea: evidence for the use of external directional clues

We studied the orientation of plaice (Pleuronectes platessa L.) in the open sea (Southern Bight of the North Sea) during May and June of 1979 and 1980, using continuous, on-line data from 6 fish equipped with transponding acoustic compass tags. During the day, fish swimming in midwater did not maintain their heading. At night, the same fish maintained their heading in a way that was consistent with active orientation to some external directional clue, but inconsistent with the use of an inertial guidance system. We believe this to be the first analysis to demonstrate the use of external guidance clues by fish in the open sea. Because fish were able to maintain a consistent heading in midwater by night, in the apparent absence of both visual and tactile clues, the external reference is likely to be geophysical. Possible clues include the electrical field generated by the flow of sea water through the geomagnetic field and the earth's magnetic field itself.     

URBANIZATION,FLOOD FREQUENCY,AND SALMON ABUNDANCE IN PUGET LOWLAND STREAMS1

ABSTRACT: Urbanization history and flood frequencies were determined in six low-order streams in the Puget Lowlands, Washington, for the period between the 1940150s and the 1980190s. Using discharge records from USGS gauging stations, each basin was separated into periods prior to and after urban expansion. Four of the study basins exhibited significant changes in urbanized area, whereas two of the study basins exhibited only limited change in urbanized area and effectively serve as control basins. Each of the basins that experienced a significant increase in urbanized area exhibited increased flood frequency; pre-urbanization 10-year recurrence interval discharges correspond to 1 to 4-year recurrence interval events in post-urbanization records. In contrast, no discernible shift in flood frequency was observed in either of the control basins. Spawner survey data available for three of the study basins reveal systematic declines in salmon abundance in two urbanizing basins and no evidence for decreases in a control basin. These data imply a link between ongoing salmon population declines and either increased flood frequency or associated changes in habitat structure.