Longitudinal and Synoptic Sampling of River and Wetland Ecosystems: An Alternative to Classical Fixed-Site Sampling

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the University of Arizona cosponsored a special session on "Longitudinal and Synoptic Sampling of River and Wetland Ecosystems: An Alternative to Classical Fixed-Site Sampling" at the American Geophysical Union Annual Fall Meeting, San Francisco, California, December 5-9, 2005. The session provided information on the approaches to monitoring the water quality of streams and rivers that is applicable to regulatory programs related to the Clean Water Act.

Session Description

Classical hydrology has emphasized the importance of sampling at fixed sites, often at fixed-time intervals, for estimation of hydrological budgets. Unfortunately, sampling sites and intervals that are appropriate for water budgets may fail to capture variability associated with natural and anthropogenic "hotspots" and "hot moments" in biogeochemical cycles. The growing appreciation of the importance of these spatially and or temporally localized foci of biogeochemical reactions, combined with the high cost of water-quality monitoring in large watersheds, has resulted in reconsideration of how best to characterize streams at various scales. Several approaches have emerged. One is to conduct longitudinal (Lagrangian) transects of chemistry and hydrology along a stream reach. Another approach is large-scale synoptics like EMAP and REMAP. The intent of this session is to encourage the discussion of a wide range of field-based and conceptual studies where longitudinal, regional, synoptic, or diel sampling has illuminated our understanding of aquatic ecosystems. Additionally, we solicit examples of how such approaches can be combined to improve studies of river/wetlands ecosystems and be integrated with modelling studies.

USGS Presentations

• Assessing Diurnal Variability in Riverine Dissolved Organic Carbon and Nitrate with Discrete and High Frequency In Situ Monitoring, by Pellerin, B.A., USGS, Kraus, T., USGS, Downing, B.D., USGS, Bergamaschi, B.A., USGS
• Diel Stable Isotopic Variation of Dissolved Oxygen, Carbon, Nitrate and Particulate Organic Matter in the San Joaquin River, California, by Doctor, D.H., USGS , Rollog, M.E., USGS, Silva, S.R., USGS , Kendall, C., USGS
• A Comparison of Isotopic Variation of Particulate Organic Matter on Daily and Seasonal Scales in the San Joaquin River, by Silva, S., USGS , Doctor, D., USGS
• Tracing Sources of Organic Matter and Nitrate in the San Francisco Bay-Delta-River Ecosystem Using Isotopic Techniques: Comparison of Insights Gained from Fixed-site, Synoptic, and Diel Sampling Strategies, by Kendall, C., USGS , Silva, S.R., USGS, Doctor, D.H., USGS, Wankel, S.D., USGS, Chang, C.C., USGS, Bergamaschi, B.A., USGS, Kratzer, C.R., USGS, Dahlgren, R.A., University of California-Davis, Fleenor, W.E., University of California-Davis
• Is There Biogeochemical and Stable Isotopic Evidence of Canal Water Intrusion in the A.R.M. Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge?, by Chang, C.C., USGS, Kendall, C., USGS, McCormick, P., USGS, Wankel, S., USGS, Doctor, D., USGS, Elliiott, E., USGS, Newman, S., South Florida Water Management District
• Effects of mountain resort development on streamwater nitrogen export: Importance of spatial location of land use /land cover change, by Gardner, K., Montana State University, McGlynn, B.L., Montana State University, Patten, D., Montana State University, Shanley, J.B., USGS
• A Brief History of the Collection amd Analysis of Data From Large Fixed-Station Monitoring Networks, by Smith, R.A., USGS, Alexander, R.B., USGS, Schwarz, G.E., USGS
• Thermal Profiling of Long River Reaches to Characterize Ground-Water Discharge and Preferred Salmonid Habitat, Vaccaro, J.J., USGS, Maloy, K.J., Oregon State University
• River Mixing in the Mississippi River Below the Confluence with the Ohio River, by Rostad, C.E., USGS, Rathbun, R.E., USGS

Conveners

• Carol Kendall, USGS
• Paul D. Brooks, University of Arizona

Session Information

• Agenda Part I
• Agenda Part II
• Full Session Description
• General Meeting Information

More Information

• Isotope Tracers of Biogeochemical and Hydrologic Processes
• Agricultural Chemicals in the Upper Midwest
• Emerging Contaminants in the Environment
• National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA)
• SPARROW -SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed Attributes -- Modeling of Surface-Water Quality
• National Water Quality Monitoring Council
• USGS Water Information Coordination Program
• NWISWeb - National Water Information System Web - Online access to USGS water-resources data collected at approximately 1.5 million sites in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

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