Hyporheic zone

Last updated

The hyporheic zone is the region of sediment and porous space beneath and alongside a stream bed, where there is mixing of shallow groundwater and surface water. The flow dynamics and behavior in this zone (termed hyporheic flow or underflow) is recognized to be important for surface water/groundwater interactions, as well as fish spawning, among other processes. [1] As an innovative urban water management practice, the hyporheic zone can be designed by engineers and actively managed for improvements in both water quality and riparian habitat. [2]

Contents

The assemblages of organisms that inhabits this zone are called hyporheos .

The term hyporheic was originally coined by Traian Orghidan [3] in 1959 by combining two Greek words: hypo (below) and rheos (flow).

Hyporheic zone and hydrology

Hyporheic zone process Zona iporreica processo.gif
Hyporheic zone process

The hyporheic zone is the area of rapid exchange, where water is moved into and out of the stream bed and carries dissolved gas and solutes, contaminants, microorganisms and particles with it. [4] Depending on the underlying geology and topography, the hyporheic zone can be only several centimeters deep, or extend up to tens of meters laterally or deep.

The conceptual framework of the hyporheic zone as both a mixing and storage zone are integral to the study of hydrology. The first key concept related to the hyporheic zone is that of residence time; water in the channel moves at a much faster rate compared to the hyporheic zone, so this flow of slower water effectively increases the water residence time within the stream channel. Water residence times influence nutrient and carbon processing rates. Longer residence times promote dissolved solute retention, which can be later released back into the channel, delaying or attenuating the signals produced by the stream channel. [5]

The other key concept is that of hyporheic exchange, [6] [7] or the speed at which water enters or leaves the subsurface zone. Stream water enters the hyporheic zone temporarily, but eventually the stream water reenters the surface channel or contributes to groundwater storage. The rate of hyporheic exchange is influenced by streambed structure, with shorter water flow paths created by streambed roughness. [8] [9] Longer flowpaths are induced by geomorphic features, such as stream meander patterns, pool-riffle sequences, large woody debris dams, and other features.

The hyporheic zone and its interactions influence the volume of stream water that is moved downstream. Gaining reaches indicate that groundwater is discharged into the stream as water moves downstream, so that the volume of water in the main channel increases from upstream to downstream. Conversely, when surface water infiltrates into the groundwater zone (thereby resulting in a net loss of surface water), then that stream reach is considered to be "losing" water.

The hyporheic zone provides a variety of ecological benefits. Examples include: [10]

Studying the hyporheic zone

A stream or river ecosystem is more than just the flowing water that can be seen on the surface: rivers are connected to the adjacent riparian areas. [11] Therefore, streams and rivers include the dynamic hyporheic zone that lies below and lateral to the main channel. Because the hyporheic zone lies underneath the surface water, it can be difficult to identify, quantify, and observe. However, the hyporheic zone is a zone of biological and physical activity, and therefore has functional significance for stream and river ecosystems. [12] Researchers use tools such as wells and piezometers, conservative and reactive tracers, [13] and transport models that account for advection and dispersion of water in both the stream channel and the subsurface. [14] These tools can be used independently to study water movement through the hyporheic zone and to the stream channel, but are often complementary for a more accurate picture of water dynamics in the channel as a whole.

Biogeochemical significance

The hyporheic zone is an ecotone between the stream and subsurface: it is a dynamic area of mixing between surface water and groundwater at the sediment-water interface. From a biogeochemical perspective, groundwater is often low in dissolved oxygen but carries dissolved nutrients. Conversely, stream water from the main channel contains higher dissolved oxygen and lower nutrients. This creates a biogeochemical gradient, which can exist at varying depths depending on the extent of the hyporheic zone. Often, the hyporheic zone is dominated by heterotrophic microorganisms that process the dissolved nutrients exchanged at this interface.

Hyporheic zone: main characteristics and causes of the hyporheic exchange

The main differences between the surface water and groundwater concern the oxygen concentration, the temperature and the pH. [15] As interface region between the main stream and the groundwater the hyporheic zone is subjected to physic-chemical gradients generating biochemical reactions able to regulate the behavior of the chemical compounds and the aquatic organisms within the exchange area. [16] The hyporheic zone provides an important contribution to the attenuation of contaminants dissolved in the channel water [17] and to the cycle of energy, nutrients and organic compounds. [18] Moreover, it exhibits a significant control on the transport of pollutants across the river basin. [19]

The main factors affecting the hyporheic exchange are: [20]

Related Research Articles

Soil moisture is the water content of the soil. It can be expressed in terms of volume or weight. Soil moisture measurement can be based on in situ probes or remote sensing methods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Analytic element method</span>

The analytic element method (AEM) is a numerical method used for the solution of partial differential equations. It was initially developed by O.D.L. Strack at the University of Minnesota. It is similar in nature to the boundary element method (BEM), as it does not rely upon the discretization of volumes or areas in the modeled system; only internal and external boundaries are discretized. One of the primary distinctions between AEM and BEMs is that the boundary integrals are calculated analytically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meltwater</span> Water released by the melting of snow or ice

Meltwater is water released by the melting of snow or ice, including glacial ice, tabular icebergs and ice shelves over oceans. Meltwater is often found during early spring when snow packs and frozen rivers melt with rising temperatures, and in the ablation zone of glaciers where the rate of snow cover is reducing. Meltwater can be produced during volcanic eruptions, in a similar way in which the more dangerous lahars form.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydrological model</span>

A hydrologic model is a simplification of a real-world system that aids in understanding, predicting, and managing water resources. Both the flow and quality of water are commonly studied using hydrologic models.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dissolved load</span>

Dissolved load is the portion of a stream's total sediment load that is carried in solution, especially ions from chemical weathering. It is a major contributor to the total amount of material removed from a river's drainage basin, along with suspended load and bed load. The amount of material carried as dissolved load is typically much smaller than the suspended load, though this is not always the case, particularly when the available river flow is mostly harnessed for purposes such as irrigation or industrial uses. Dissolved load comprises a significant portion of the total material flux out of a landscape, and its composition is important in regulating the chemistry and biology of the stream water.

Hydrological optimization applies mathematical optimization techniques to water-related problems. These problems may be for surface water, groundwater, or the combination. The work is interdisciplinary, and may be done by hydrologists, civil engineers, environmental engineers, and operations researchers.

Three components that are included in the load of a river system are the following: dissolved load, wash load and bed material load. The bed material load is the portion of the sediment that is transported by a stream that contains material derived from the bed. Bed material load typically consists of all of the bed load, and the proportion of the suspended load that is represented in the bed sediments. It generally consists of grains coarser than 0.062 mm with the principal source being the channel bed. Its importance lies in that its composition is that of the bed, and the material in transport can therefore be actively interchanged with the bed. For this reason, bed material load exerts a control on river channel morphology. Bed load and wash load together constitute the total load of sediment in a stream. The order in which the three components of load have been considered – dissolved, wash, bed material – can be thought of as progression: of increasingly slower transport velocities, so that the load peak lags further and further behind the flow peak during any event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glacial stream</span> Body of liquid water that flows down a channel formed by a glacier

A glacier stream is a channelized area that is formed by a glacier in which liquid water accumulates and flows. Glacial streams are also commonly referred to as "glacier stream" or/and "glacial meltwater stream". The movement of the water is influenced and directed by gravity and the melting of ice. The melting of ice forms different types of glacial streams such as supraglacial, englacial, subglacial and proglacial streams. Water enters supraglacial streams that sit at the top of the glacier via filtering through snow in the accumulation zone and forming slush pools at the FIRN zone. The water accumulates on top of the glacier in supraglacial lakes and into supraglacial stream channels. The meltwater then flows through various different streams either entering inside the glacier into englacial channels or under the glacier into subglacial channels. Finally, the water leaves the glacier through proglacial streams or lakes. Proglacial streams do not only act as the terminus point but can also receive meltwater. Glacial streams can play a significant role in energy exchange and in the transport of meltwater and sediment.

Bioclogging or biological clogging is the clogging of pore space in soil by microbial biomass; their body and their byproducts such as extracellular polymeric substance (EPS). The microbial biomass blocks the pathway of water in the pore space, forming a certain thickness of the impermeable layer in the soil, and it reduces the rate of infiltration of water remarkably.

Heidi Nepf is an American engineer known for her research on fluid flows around aquatic vegetation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noam Weisbrod</span>

Noam Weisbrod is a Hydrology Professor at the Department of Environmental Hydrology and Microbiology of the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research (ZIWR), which is part of the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research (BIDR) at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU). Weisbrod served as director of ZIWR from 2015 to 2018. In 2018 he became director of BIDR and was reelected for a second term in summer 2022.

Vulnerable waters refer to geographically isolated wetlands (GIWs) and to ephemeral and intermittent streams. Ephemeral and intermittent streams are seasonally flowing and are located in headwater position. They are the outer and smallest stems of hydrological networks. Isolated wetlands are located outside floodplain and show poor surface connection to tributaries or floodplains. Geographically isolated wetlands encompass saturated depressions that are the result of fluvial, aeolian, glacial and/or coastal geomorphological processes. They may be natural landforms or the result of human interventions. Vulnerable waters represent the major proportion of river networks.

Shirley Jean Dreiss (1949–1993) was an American scientist working in the fields of hydrology and hydrogeology. After gaining her PhD from Stanford University, she joined the faculty of the University of California at Santa Cruz, where she became Professor and Chair of the Department of Earth Sciences. She made important contributions to the understanding of water flow through karst aquifers and fluid flow in subduction zones. At the time of her early death in a car accident, she was studying the groundwater system of Mono Lake in California. She was awarded the Birdsall Distinguished Lectureship from the Geological Society of America, which was renamed the Birdsall-Dreiss Distinguished Lectureship after her death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kamini Singha</span> American hydrogeologist

Kamini Singha is a Professor in the department of Geology and Geological Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines, where she works on questions related to hydrogeology.

Nandita B. Basu is a scientist and professor at the University of Waterloo. Her research is centered on anthropogenic effects on water availability and quality via changes in land use and climate. Basu is recognized for her work on discovering the impact of nutrient legacies and proposed solutions to improving water quality of lakes and coastal zones. She is a member of Robert E. Horton Medal Committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audrey H. Sawyer</span> American hydrogeologist researcher

Audrey Hucks Sawyer is an American hydrogeologist and Assistant Professor of Earth Science at Ohio State University. Her work has focused on quantifying the role of groundwater - surface water interactions in transporting nutrients, contaminants, and heat in rivers and coastal settings. Sawyer has won multiple awards, including the National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2018 and the Kohout Early Career Award in 2016.

Efi Foufoula-Georgiou is a Distinguished Professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering department at the University of California, Irvine. She is well known for her research on the applications of wavelet analysis in the fields of hydrology and geophysics and her many contributions to academic journals and national committees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fault zone hydrogeology</span>

Fault zone hydrogeology is the study of how brittlely deformed rocks alter fluid flows in different lithological settings, such as clastic, igneous and carbonate rocks. Fluid movements, that can be quantified as permeability, can be facilitated or impeded due to the existence of a fault zone. This is because different mechanisms that deform rocks can alter porosity and permeability within a fault zone. Fluids involved in a fault system generally are groundwater and hydrocarbons.

Christa Peters-Lidard is an American hydrologist known for her work on integrating land surface modeling and data assimilation, particularly with remotely sensed measurements of precipitation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coastal hydrogeology</span> Branch of hydrogeology

Coastal Hydrogeology is a branch of Hydrogeology that focuses on the movement and the chemical properties of groundwater in coastal areas. Coastal Hydrogeology studies the interaction between fresh groundwater and seawater, including seawater intrusion, sea level induced groundwater level fluctuation, submarine groundwater discharge, human activities and groundwater management in coastal areas.

References

  1. ↑ Lewandowski, Jörg (2019). "Is the hyporheic zone relevant beyond the scientific community?". Water. 11 (11): 2230. doi: 10.3390/w11112230 .
  2. ↑ Lawrence, J.E.; M. Skold; F.A. Hussain; D. Silverman; V.H. Resh; D.L. Sedlak; R.G. Luthy; J.E. McCray (14 August 2013). "Hyporheic Zone in Urban Streams: A Review and Opportunities for Enhancing Water Quality and Improving Aquatic Habitat by Active Management". Environmental Engineering Science. 47 (8): 480–501. doi:10.1089/ees.2012.0235.
  3. ↑ Orghidan, T. (1959). "Ein neuer Lebensraum des unterirdischen Wassers: Der hyporheische Biotop". Archiv für Hydrobiologie. 55: 392–414.
  4. ↑ Bencala, Kenneth E. (2000). "Hyporheic zone hydrological processes". Hydrological Processes. 14 (15): 2797–2798. Bibcode:2000HyPr...14.2797B. doi:10.1002/1099-1085(20001030)14:15<2797::AID-HYP402>3.0.CO;2-6. ISSN   1099-1085.
  5. ↑ Grimm, Nancy B.; Fisher, Stuart G. (1984-04-01). "Exchange between interstitial and surface water: Implications for stream metabolism and nutrient cycling". Hydrobiologia. 111 (3): 219–228. doi:10.1007/BF00007202. ISSN   1573-5117. S2CID   40029109.
  6. ↑ Findlay, Stuart (1995). "Importance of surface-subsurface exchange in stream ecosystems: The hyporheic zone". Limnology and Oceanography. 40 (1): 159–164. Bibcode:1995LimOc..40..159F. doi: 10.4319/lo.1995.40.1.0159 . ISSN   1939-5590.
  7. ↑ Bencala, Kenneth E. (2006), "Hyporheic Exchange Flows", Encyclopedia of Hydrological Sciences, American Cancer Society, doi:10.1002/0470848944.hsa126, ISBN   9780470848944
  8. ↑ Kasahara, Tamao; Wondzell, Steven M. (2003). "Geomorphic controls on hyporheic exchange flow in mountain streams". Water Resources Research. 39 (1): SBH 3–1–SBH 3-14. Bibcode:2003WRR....39.1005K. doi: 10.1029/2002WR001386 . ISSN   1944-7973.
  9. ↑ Harvey, Judson W.; Bencala, Kenneth E. (1993). "The Effect of streambed topography on surface-subsurface water exchange in mountain catchments". Water Resources Research. 29 (1): 89–98. Bibcode:1993WRR....29...89H. doi:10.1029/92WR01960. ISSN   1944-7973.
  10. ↑ The hyporheic handbook: a handbook on the groundwater-surface water interface and hyporheic zone for environment managers. Environment Agency. 2009. ISBN   978-1-84911-131-7.
  11. ↑ Stanford, Jack A.; Ward, James V. (March 1993). "An ecosystem perspective of alluvial rivers: connectivity and the hyporheic corridor | Scinapse | Academic search engine for paper". Journal of the North American Benthological Society. 12 (1): 48–60. doi:10.2307/1467685. JSTOR   1467685. S2CID   84122703 . Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  12. ↑ Boulton, Andrew J.; Findlay, Stuart; Marmonier, Pierre; Stanley, Emily H.; Valett, H. Maurice (1998-11-01). "The functional significance of the hyporheic zone in streams and rivers". Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics. 29 (1): 59–81. doi:10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.29.1.59. ISSN   0066-4162.
  13. ↑ Mulholland, Patrick J.; Tank, Jennifer L.; Sanzone, Diane M.; Wollheim, Wilfred M.; Peterson, Bruce J.; Webster, Jackson R.; Meyer, Judy L. (2000). "Nitrogen Cycling in a Forest Stream Determined by a 15n Tracer Addition". Ecological Monographs. 70 (3): 471–493. doi:10.1890/0012-9615(2000)070[0471:NCIAFS]2.0.CO;2. hdl: 10919/46856 . ISSN   1557-7015.
  14. ↑ Bencala, Kenneth E.; Walters, Roy A. (1983). "Simulation of solute transport in a mountain pool-and-riffle stream: A transient storage model". Water Resources Research. 19 (3): 718–724. Bibcode:1983WRR....19..718B. doi:10.1029/WR019i003p00718. hdl: 2027/uc1.31210024756569 . ISSN   1944-7973.
  15. ↑ The hyporheic handbook : a handbook on the groundwater-surface water interface and hyporheic zone for environment managers. Environment Agency. 2009. ISBN   9781849111317.
  16. ↑ Brunke, Matthias; Gonser, Tom (1997). "The ecological significance of exchange processes between rivers and groundwater". Freshwater Biology. 37 (1): 1–33. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2427.1997.00143.x. ISSN   1365-2427.
  17. ↑ Gandy, C. J.; Smith, J. W. N.; Jarvis, A. P. (15 February 2007). "Attenuation of mining-derived pollutants in the hyporheic zone: A review". Science of the Total Environment. 373 (2): 435–446. Bibcode:2007ScTEn.373..435G. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2006.11.004. ISSN   0048-9697. PMID   17173955.
  18. ↑ White, David S. (1 March 1993). "Perspectives on Defining and Delineating Hyporheic Zones". Journal of the North American Benthological Society. 12 (1): 61–69. doi:10.2307/1467686. ISSN   0887-3593. JSTOR   1467686. S2CID   83923428.
  19. ↑ Smith, J. W. N.; Surridge, B. W. J.; Haxton, T. H.; Lerner, D. N. (15 May 2009). "Pollutant attenuation at the groundwater–surface water interface: A classification scheme and statistical analysis using national-scale nitrate data". Journal of Hydrology. 369 (3): 392–402. Bibcode:2009JHyd..369..392S. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2009.02.026. ISSN   0022-1694.
  20. ↑ Harvey, F. Edwin; Lee, David R.; Rudolph, David L.; Frape, Shaun K. (November 1997). "Locating groundwater discharge in large lakes using bottom sediment electrical conductivity mapping". Water Resources Research. 33 (11): 2609–2615. Bibcode:1997WRR....33.2609H. doi:10.1029/97WR01702. S2CID   131345414.
  21. ↑ Freeze, R. Allan; Witherspoon, P. A. (1967). "Theoretical analysis of regional groundwater flow: 2. Effect of water-table configuration and subsurface permeability variation". Water Resources Research. 3 (2): 623–634. Bibcode:1967WRR.....3..623F. doi:10.1029/WR003i002p00623. ISSN   1944-7973.
  22. ↑ Winter, Thomas C. (1995). "Recent advances in understanding the interaction of groundwater and surface water". Reviews of Geophysics. 33 (S2): 985–994. Bibcode:1995RvGeo..33S.985W. doi:10.1029/95RG00115. ISSN   1944-9208.
  23. ↑ Pinder, George F.; Sauer, Stanley P. (1971). "Numerical Simulation of Flood Wave Modification Due to Bank Storage Effects". Water Resources Research. 7 (1): 63–70. Bibcode:1971WRR.....7...63P. doi:10.1029/WR007i001p00063. ISSN   1944-7973.
  24. ↑ Harvey, Judson W.; Bencala, Kenneth E. (1993). "The Effect of streambed topography on surface-subsurface water exchange in mountain catchments". Water Resources Research. 29 (1): 89–98. Bibcode:1993WRR....29...89H. doi:10.1029/92WR01960. ISSN   1944-7973.
  25. ↑ Cardenas, M. Bayani (2009). "A model for lateral hyporheic flow based on valley slope and channel sinuosity". Water Resources Research. 45 (1): W01501. Bibcode:2009WRR....45.1501C. doi: 10.1029/2008WR007442 . ISSN   1944-7973.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.