HR: 15:10h
AN: H12F-07    [PDF]
TI: Use of Thermal Information to Estimate Stream Baseflow
AU: Ambrose, H
EM: hambrose@acsu.buffalo.edu
AF: Dept. of Geology, Univ. at Buffalo, State University of New York, 876 NSC, Buffalo, NY 14260
AU: * Becker, M W
EM: mwbecker@geology.buffalo.edu
AF: Dept. of Geology, Univ. at Buffalo, State University of New York, 876 NSC, Buffalo, NY 14260
AU: Siniscalchi, J
EM: jharder_1@yahoo.com
AF: Dept. of Geology, Univ. at Buffalo, State University of New York, 876 NSC, Buffalo, NY 14260
AU: Georgian, T
EM: GEORGIAN@sbu.edu
AF: Department of Biology, St. Bonaventure University, St. Bonaventure, NY 14778
AB: During most times of the year, ground-water has a distinctly different temperature than the streams to which it discharges. As a result, areas of enhanced ground-water discharge (baseflow) may appear as thermal anomalies in the stream water or stream bed temperature. Stream water temperatures monitored in the thermal infrared range, implying that it may be possible to characterize stream baseflow through air- or space-borne thermal sensing. There are a number of impediments to this approach, however, including vertical mixing in the water column, heat exchanges with the atmosphere and stream bed, differential solar heating, and stream water dilution. Stream water dilution is particularly important because the heat balance on a stream reach requires knowledge of streamflow into the reach. Temperature surveys and streambed profiles were collected on a slow-moving stream in Southwestern New York State. Estimates of baseflow from temperature data were compared to estimates from differential current meter readings along four stream reaches. The approaches compared well, but errors depended greatly upon the acquisition of concurrent temperature and stream velocity information. Thermal profiles were not indicative of ground-water inflow, probably due to local variations in streambed permeability or the presence of focused discharge areas. Integration of streamflow modeling (based upon digitial elevation models and aerial photographs) and thermal imaging may lead to the ability to remotely predict baseflow. Further field testing and development of data assimilation techniques will be required, however, before this technique becomes generally practical.
DE: 1827 Glaciology (1863)
DE: 1860 Runoff and streamflow
DE: 1894 Instruments and techniques
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting