Geology topics

J. P. McNamara

Publications and source records attributed to J. P. McNamara.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2011

Storage as a Metric of Catchment Comparison

The volume of water stored within a catchment, and its partitioning among groundwater, soil moisture, snowpack, vegetation, and surface water are the variables that ultimately characterize the state of the hydrologic system. Accordingly, storage may provide useful metrics for catchment comparison. Unfortunately, measuring and predicting the amount of water present in a catchment is seldom done; tracking the dynamics of these stores is even rarer. Storage moderates fluxes and exerts critical controls on a wide range of hydrologic and biologic functions of a catchment. While understanding runoff generation and other processes by which catchments release water will always be central to hydrologic science, it is equally essential to understand how catchments retain water. We have initiated a catchment comparison exercise to begin assessing the value of viewing catchments from the storage perspective. The exercise is based on existing data from five watersheds, no common experimental design, and no integrated modelling efforts. Rather, storage was estimated independently for each site. This briefing presents some initial results of the exercise, poses questions about the definitions and importance of storage and the storage perspective, and suggests future directions for ongoing activities.

Hydrological Processes↗

USGS2009

Estimating 3D variation in active-layer thickness beneath arctic streams using ground-penetrating radar

We acquired three-dimensional (3D) ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data across three stream sites on the North Slope, AK, in August 2005, to investigate the dependence of thaw depth on channel morphology. Data were migrated with mean velocities derived from multi-offset GPR profiles collected across a stream section within each of the 3D survey areas. GPR data interpretations from the alluvial-lined stream site illustrate greater thaw depths beneath riffle and gravel bar features relative to neighboring pool features. The peat-lined stream sites indicate the opposite; greater thaw depths beneath pools and shallower thaw beneath the connecting runs. Results provide detailed 3D geometry of active-layer thaw depths that can support hydrological studies seeking to quantify transport and biogeochemical processes that occur within the hyporheic zone.

Journal of Hydrology↗

USGS2009

Multi-offset GPR methods for hyporheic zone investigations

Porosity of stream sediments has a direct effect on hyporheic exchange patterns and rates. Improved estimates of porosity heterogeneity will yield enhanced simulation of hyporheic exchange processes. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) velocity measurements are strongly controlled by water content thus accurate measures of GPR velocity in saturated sediments provides estimates of porosity beneath stream channels using petrophysical relationships. Imaging the substream system using surface based reflection measurements is particularly challenging due to large velocity gradients that occur at the transition from open water to saturated sediments. The continuous multi-offset method improves the quality of subsurface images through stacking and provides measurements of vertical and lateral velocity distributions. We applied the continuous multi-offset method to stream sites on the North Slope, Alaska and the Sawtooth Mountains near Boise, Idaho, USA. From the continuous multi-offset data, we measure velocity using reflection tomography then estimate water content and porosity using the Topp equation. These values provide detailed measurements for improved stream channel hydraulic and thermal modelling. ?? 2009 European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers.

Conference Paper↗

USGS2005

Association of ice and river channel morphology determined using ground-penetrationg radar in the Kuparuk River, Alaska

We collected ground-penetrating radar data at 10 sites along the Kuparuk River and its main tributary, the Toolik River, to detect unfrozen water beneath river ice. We used 250 MHz and 500 MHz antennas to image both the ice-water interface and the river channel in late April 2001, when daily high temperatures were consistently freezing and river ice had attained its maximum seasonal thickness. The presence of water below the river ice appears as a strong, horizontal reflection observed in the radar data and is confirmed by drill hole data. A downstream transition occurs from ice that is frozen to the bed, called bedfast ice, to ice that is floating on unfrozen water, called floating ice. This transition in ice type corresponds to a downstream change in channel size that was detected in previously conducted hydraulic geometry surveys of the Kuparuk River. We propose a conceptual model wherein the downstream transition from bedfast ice to floating ice is responsible for an observed step change in channel size due to enhanced bank erosion in large channels by floating ice.

Alaska↗