HR: 1340h
AN: H13C-0449    [Abstracts]
TI: Wenatchee River, Washington, Water Temperature Modeling and Assessment Using Remotely Sensed Thermal Infrared and Instream Recorded Data
AU: * Cristea, N C
EM: cristn@u.washington.edu
AF: University of Washington, 160 Wilcox Hall, Box 352700, Seattle, WA 98195-2700 United States
AU: Burges, S J
EM: sburges@u.washington.edu
AF: University of Washington, 160 Wilcox Hall, Box 352700, Seattle, WA 98195-2700 United States
AB: The stream water spatial and temporal temperature patterns of the Wenatchee River, WA are assessed based on temperature data recorded by instream data loggers in the dry season of 2002 and thermal infrared imagery from August 16th 2002. To gain insights into the possible thermal behavior of the river, the stream temperature model Qual2K (Chapra and Pelletier, 2003) is extended beyond its calibration (10-16 August 2002) and confirmation (9-11 September 2002) periods for use with different meteorological, shade and flow conditions. The temperature longitudinal profile of the Wenatchee River is influenced by the temperature regime in Lake Wenatchee, the source of the Wenatchee River. Model simulations performed at 7-day average with 2-year return period flow conditions show that the potential (maximum average across all reaches) temperature (the temperature that would occur under natural conditions) is about 19.8 deg. C. For the 7-day average with 10-year return period flow conditions the potential temperature increases to about 21.2 deg. C. The simulation results show that under normal flow and meteorological conditions the water temperature exceeds the current water quality standards. Model simulations performed under the 7-day average with 10-year return period flow conditions and a climate change scenario show that the average potential temperature across all reaches can increase by as much as 1.3 deg. C compared to the case where climate change impact is not taken into account. Thermal infrared (TIR) derived stream temperature data were useful for describing spatial distribution patterns of the Wenatchee River water temperature. The TIR and visible band images are effective tools to map cold water refugia for fish and to detect regions that can be improved for fish survival. The images collected during the TIR survey and the TIR derived stream temperature longitudinal profile helps pinpoint additional instream monitoring locations that avoid regions of backwater, cool or warm pockets or regions affected by tributary influence, that are inappropriate for stream temperature monitoring. Groundwater input is difficult to detect from the TIR images in the case of a relatively large river such the Wenatchee River.
DE: 1871 Surface water quality
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting