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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #360496
Research Project: Improving Agroecosystem Services by Measuring, Modeling, and Assessing Conservation Practices

Location: Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory

Title: Establishing the connectivity of wetland surface hydrology to groundwater and stream flow dynamics

Author
item McCarty, Gregory
item LEE, S. - University Of Maryland
item Moglen, Glenn
item JONES, C.N. - University Of Maryland
item PALMER, M.A. - University Of Maryland
item LANG, M.W. - Fisheries & Wildlife

Submitted to: European Geophysical Society; American Geophysical Union; European Union of Geosciences
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/7/2019
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Wetlands can provide important hydrologic capacitance to water flow in watersheds and thereby mitigate spikes in stream flow during storm events. Establishing causal relationships between surface water dynamics in wetlands and groundwater/stream discharge dynamics is important for elucidating the connectivity of depressional wetlands to stream processes. To study these causal relationships, this study used in-situ observations to provide explicit evidence for the hydrologic connectivity of depressional wetlands with downstream waters through groundwater on the Coastal Plain of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Surface water level (SWL) and groundwater level (GWL) of two depressional wetlands were monitored using a well and piezometer, respectively. Two wetland water levels (SWL and GWL) were compared with streamflow at the outlet of the drainage area where the two depressional wetlands exist. Focusing on the groundwater connection, baseflow derived from streamflow was analyzed with wetland water levels. Our observations showed that depressional wetland water levels at the study site were strongly correlated with downstream baseflow. Temporal dynamics between two wetland water levels and downstream baseflow indicated high similarity as well as significant relationships with coefficients of determination (R2) between 0.69 and 0.91. Using in-situ observations, this study verified the strong groundwater connection between depressional wetlands and downstream baseflow regardless of whether surface water connections were present or not. This implies that management of upstream, depressional wetlands are important for maintenance of downstream function.