HR: 1330h
AN: H42D-1115    [PDF]
TI: Stream order and fractal as scaling factors for watershed water quality
AU: * Lin, H
EM: henrylin@psu.edu
AF: Pennsylvania State University, 116 ASI Dept. of Crop & Soil Sciences, University Park, PA 16802
AU: Kang, S
AF: Pennsylvania State University, 116 ASI Dept. of Crop & Soil Sciences, University Park, PA 16802
AU: Gburek, W J
AF: USDA-ARS Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research Unit, Building 3702, Curtin Road, University Park, PA 16802
AU: Folmar, G J
AF: USDA-ARS Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research Unit, Building 3702, Curtin Road, University Park, PA 16802
AU: Sharpley, A N
AF: USDA-ARS Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research Unit, Building 3702, Curtin Road, University Park, PA 16802
AB: Scaling of water quality in watersheds would facilitate effective monitoring and modeling of nutrients and pollutants in stream networks. Stream baseflow nitrate concentration and loading were studied based on stream order and related landscape factors in two agricultural watersheds. The watersheds were delineated into numerous sub-basins based on stream orders. With increasing stream order, nitrate-nitrogen loading increased in a power function, while nitrate and total nitrogen concentration showed a decreasing trend. Landscape characteristics as a function of stream order were also analyzed based on land use, surface geology, topography, and soil properties. Our preliminary results show that stream order and fractal nature of river basin could be used to aid in scaling nitrate concentration and loading during baseflow periods. Landscape variables explain the observed variations within the same stream orders.
DE: 1800 HYDROLOGY
DE: 1824 Geomorphology (1625)
DE: 1860 Runoff and streamflow
DE: 1871 Surface water quality
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting