Coupled Transport and Geochemical Processes Determining the Fate of Chemicals in Surface Waters

Coupled transport and biogeochemical processes determine the fate of chemicals both naturally present in surface waters and those introduced through anthropogenic activities. In mountainous environments, coupled processes operate at scales which can be years and kilometers in watersheds or minutes and decimeters in the hyporheic zone. Although individual processes are often well understood in isolation, the ability to quantify chemical fate across the stream-watershed continuum requires development in design of field experiments and mechanistic formulations to integrate interpretation of multiple processes. This project will develop experimental field techniques and mechanistic formulations to quantitatively identify rates and extents of transport within the stream- watershed continuum. It will focus on transport processes which most influence the fate of chemicals introduced from the surrounding watershed into pristine streams (for example, natural dissolved organic materials and nutrients, as well as, acid mine drainage).

Read about

• The application (OTIS) of the Transient Storage concept for stream solute transport in the context of stream-catchment connections.
• Transient storage & selected related hyporheic zone references.
• OTIS (One Dimensional Transport with Inflow and Storage): A solute transport model for streams and rivers (Runkel, 1998).
• Use of tracer injections and synoptic sampling to measure metal loading from acid mine drainage.
• Use of tracer injections and synoptic sampling to measure metal loading from acid mine drainage (Kimball, 1996).
• A Rhodamine WT reader: Readings on the reactivity and transport characteristics of this tracer.
• A bromide reader: readings on the use of bromide as a stream tracer.
• Publications of USGS standard methods for stream tracer injection studies.

REPORTS PUBLISHED 1999-2008

Caruso, B.S., Cox, T.J., Runkel, R.L., Velleux, M.L., Bencala, K.E., Nordstrom, D.K., Julien, P.Y., Butler, B.A., Alpers, C.N., Marion, A., and Smith, K.S., 2008, Metals fate and transport modelling in streams and watersheds: state of the science and USEPA workshop review: Hydrological Processes, v. 22, p. 4011-4021.

Gooseff, M.N., Bencala, K.E., and Wondzell, S.M., 2008, Solute transport along stream and river networks, in Rice, S.P., Roy, A.G., and Rhoads, B.L., eds., River Confluences, Tributaries and the Fluvial Network: Chicester, John WIley & Sons, Ltd., Chap. 18, p. 395-417.

Cox, M.H., and Schemel, L.E., 2007, Chemical and hydrologic data from the Cement Creek and upper Animas River confluence and mixing zone, Silverton, Colorado, September 1997: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007-1048. (on-line abstract or on-line report in pdf format, 242 KB; on-line data file in excel format, 80 KB)

Schemel, L.E., and Cox, M.H., 2007, Floodwater chemistry in the Yolo Bypass during winter and spring, 1998: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007-1025, 13 p. (on-line abstract or on-line report in pdf format, 486, KB)

Schemel, L.E., Kimball, B.A., Runkel, R.L., and Cox, M. H.., 2007, Formation of mixed Al–Fe colloidal sorbent and dissolved-colloidal partitioning of Cu and Zn in the Cement Creek - Animas River Confluence,Silverton, Colorado: Applied Geochemistry, v. 22, no. 7, p. 1,467-1,484. (on-line abstract of journal article)

Bencala, K.E. , Hamilton, D.B. and Petersen, J.H., 2006, Science for maintaining riverine ecosystems: Actions for the USGS identified in the workshop “Analysis of Flow and Habitat for Aquatic Communities”: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2006-1256, 13 p. (on-line executive summary or on-line report in pdf format, 849 kb)

Schemel, L.E., Cox, M.H., Runkel, R.L., Kimball, B.A., 2006, Multiple injected and natural conservative tracers quantify mixing in a stream confluence affected by acid mine drainage near Silverton, Colorado: Hydrological Processes, v. 20, no. 13, p. 2727-2743. (on-line abstract or on-line article in pdf format - published on-line in 2006 by John Wiley & Sons as a U.S. government work in the public domain)

Bencala, K.E., 2005, Hyporheic exchange flows, in Anderson, M., ed., Encyclopedia of Hydrological Sciences, v. 3, part 10, chapter 113: New Jersey, John Wiley and Sons, p. 1,733-1,740. (on-line article - US Government work, in the public domain)

Gooseff, M.N., Bencala, K.E., Scott, D.T., Runkel, R.L., and McKnight, D.M., 2005, Sensitivity analysis of conservative and reactive stream transient storage models applied to field data from multiple-reach experiments: Advances in Water Resources, v. 28, p. 479-492. (on-line abstract of journal article)

Schemel, L.E., and Cox, M.H., 2005, Descriptions of the Animas River-Cement Creek confluence and mixing zone near Silverton, Colorado, during the late summers of 1996 and 1997: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2005-1064, 4 p. (on-line report)

American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, 2003, Emerging Research Questions for Limnology - Study of Inland Waters: Workshop, Dec, 2002, American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, Waco, Texas, 48 p.

Cox, M.H., and Hatch, C., 2003, Water temperature, streamflow, and ground-water elevation in and adjacent to the Russian River between Hopland and Guerneville, CA from 1998-2002: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 03-454. (on-line report)

Cox, M.H., Mendez, G.O., Kratzer, C.R., and Reichard, E.G., 2003, Evaluation of tracer tests completed in 1999 and 2000 on the upper Santa Clara River, Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, California: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 03-4277. (on-line abstract or to download report in pdf format - 5.8 MB)

Scott, D.T., Gooseff, M.N., Bencala, K.E., and Runkel,R.L., 2003, Automated calibration of a stream solute transport model: implications for interpretation of biogeochemical parameters:Journal of the North American Benthological Society, v. 22, no. 4, p. 492-510. (on-line abstract)

Cox, M., Rosenberry, D.O., Su, G., Conlon, T., Lee, K. and Constanz, J.E., 2002, Comparison of methods to estimate streambed seepage rates, in Kenny, J.E., ed., Ground Water/Surface Water Interactions: AWRA 2002 Summer Specialty Conference Proceedings, American Water Resources Association, Middleburg VA, p. 519-523.

Kimball, B.A., Runkel, R.L., Walton-Day, K., and Bencala, K.E., 2002, Assessment of metal loads in watersheds affected by acid mine drainage by using tracer injection synoptic sampling: Cement Creek, Colorado, USA: Applied Geochemistry, v. 17, no. 9, p. 1183-1207. (on-line abstract)

McKnight, D.M., Hornberger, G.M., Bencala, K.E., Boyer, E.W., 2002, In-stream sorption of fulvic acid in an acidic stream: A stream-scale transport experiment: Water Resources Research, v.. 38, no. 1, p. 6-1 - 6-12. (on-line abstract)

Brooks, P.D., McKnight, D.M., and Bencala, K.E., 2001, Annual maxima in Zn concentrations during spring snowmelt in streams impacted by mine drainage: Environmental Geology, no 11/12, p. 1447-1454. (on-line abstract)

Hinkle, S.R., Duff, J.H., Triska, F.J., Laenen, A., Gates, E.B., Bencala, K.E., Wentz, D.A., Silva, S.R., 2001, Linking hyporheic flow and nitrogen cycling near the Willamette River - a large river in Oregon, USA: Journal of Hydrology, v. 244, p. 157-180. (on-line abstract)

Laenan, A., and Bencala, K.E., 2001, Transient storage assessments of dye-tracer injections in rivers of the Willamette Basin, Oregon: Journal of the American Water Resources Association, v. 37, p. 367-377.

Ortiz, R.F., and Bencala, K.E., 2001, Determination of instream metal loads using tracer-injection and synoptic-sampling techniques in Wightman Fork, southwestern Colorado, September 1997: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 00-4154, 26 p. (on-line abstract)

Bencala, K.E., 2000, Invited Commentary: Hyporheic zone hydrological processes: Hydrological Processes, v. 14, p. 2,797-2,798. (on-line article in pdf format, US Government work, in the public domain)

Boyer, E.W., Hornberger, G.M., Bencala, K.E., and McKnight, D.M., 2000, Effects of asynchronous snowmelt on flushing of dissolved organic carbon: A mixing model approach: Hydrological Processes, v. 14, p. 3,291-3,308. (on-line abstract or on-line article in pdf format)

Kimball, B.A., Bencala, K.E., and Runkel, R.L., 2000, Quantifying effects of metal loadings from mine drainage: Proceedings from the Fifth International Conference on Acid Rock Drainage, Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc., Littleton, Colo., p. 1381-1389.

Packman, A.I., and Bencala, K.E., 2000, Modeling surface - subsurface hydrologic interactions, in Jones, J.B., and Mulholland, P.J., eds., Streams and Ground Waters: Academic Press, p. 45-80.

Schemel, L.E., Kimball, B.A., and Bencala, K.E., 2000, Colloid formation and metal transport through two mixing zones affected by acid mine drainage near Silverton, Colorado: Applied Geochemistry, v.15, p. 1003-1018. (on-line abstract)

Walton-Day, K., Runkle, R.L., Kimball, B.A., and Bencala, K.E., 2000, Application of the solute-transport models OTIS and OTEQ and implications for remediation in a watershed affected by acid mine drainage, Cement Creek, Animas River Basin, Colorado: Proceedings from the Fifth International Conference on Acid Rock Drainage, Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc., Littleton, Colo., p. 389-399.

Bencala, K.E., and Ortiz, R.F., 1999, Theory and(or) reality: Analysis of sulfate mass-balance at Summitville, Colorado poses proces questions about the estimation of metal loadings, in Morganwalp, D.W., and Buxton, H.T., eds., U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Proggram--Proceedings of the Technical Meeting, Charleston, South Carolina, March 8-12, 1999: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 99-4018A, p. 119-122. (on-line abstract and to obtain report in pdf format)

Boyer, E.W., Mcknight, D.M., Bencala, K.E., Brooks, P.D., Anthony, M.W., Zellweger, G.W., and Harnish, R.E., 1999, Streamflow and water quality characteristics for the Upper Snake River and Deer Creek Catchments in Summit County, Colorado: Water Years 1980 to 1990: Occasional Paper No. 53, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, 81 p. + diskett. (on-line abstract)

Brooks, P.D., McKnight, D.M., and Bencala, K.E., 1999, The relationship between soil heterotrophic activity, soil dissolved carbon (DOC) leachate, and catchment-scale DOC export in headwater catchments: Water Resources Research, v. 35, p. 1895-1902. (on-line abstract)

Kimball, B.A., Runkel, R.L., Bencala, K.E., and Walton-Day, K., 1999, Use of tracer-injection and synoptic-sampling studies to quantify effects of metal loading from mine drainage, in Morganwalp, D.W., and Buxton, H.T., eds., U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program--Proceedings of the Technical Meeting, Charleston, South Carolina, March 8-12, 1999: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations report 99-4018A, p. 31-36. (on-line abstract and to obtain report in pdf format)

Kimball, B.A., Bencala, K.E., and Besser, J.M., 1999, Synthesis of watershed characterization for making remediation decisions in Morganwalp, D.W., and Buxton, H.T., eds., U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program--Proceedings of the Technical Meeting, Charleston, South Carolina, March 8-12, 1999: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations report 99-4018A, p. 3-7. (on-line abstract and to obtain report in pdf format)

Runkel, R.L., Bencala, K.E., and Kimball, B.A., 1999, Modeling solute transport and geochemistry in streams and rivers using OTIS and OTEQ, in Morganwalp, D.W., and Buxton, H.T., eds., U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program--Proceedings of the Technical Meeting, Charleton, South Carolina, March 8-12, 1999: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 99-4018A, p. 109-118. (on-line abstract and to obtain report in pdf format)

Runkel, R.L., Kimball, B.A., McKnight, D.M., and Bencala, K.E., 1999, Reactive solute transport in streams: A surface complexation approach for trace metal sorption. Water Resources Research, v. 35, no. 12, p. 3829-3840. (on-line abstract)

Schemel, L.E, Cox, M.H., Kimball, B.A., and Bencala, K.E., Partitioning of zinc between dissolved and colloidal phases in the Animas River near Silverton, Colorado, in Morganwalp, D.W., and Buxton, H.T., eds., U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program--Proceedings of the Technical Meeting, Charleton, South Carolina, March 8-12, 1999: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 99-4018A, p. 63-66. (on-line abstract and to obtain report in pdf format)

Schemel, L.E., Kimball, B.A., and Bencala, K.E., 1999, Colloid formation and the transport of aluminum and iron in the Animas River near Silverton, Colorado, in Morganwalp, D.W., and Buxton, H.T., eds., U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program--Proceedings of the Technical Meeting, Charleston, South Carolina, March 8-12, 1999: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 99-4018A, p. 59-62. (on-line abstract and to obtain report in pdf format)

Walton-Day, K., Runkel, R.L., Kimball, B.A., and Bencala, K.E., 1999, Application fo the solute-transport models OTIS and OTEQ and implications for remediation in a watershed affected by acid mine drainage, in Morganwalp, D.W., and Buxton, H.T., eds., U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program--Proceedings of the Technical Meeting, Charleston, South Carolina, March 8-12, 1999: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 99-4018A, p. 37-46 (on-line abstract)

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PROJECT, CONTACT:
Kenneth E. Bencala
U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Rd, MS 439, Menlo Park, CA 94025
Email: kbencala@usgs.gov
Telephone: 650-329-4409

Marisa H.Cox
U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Rd, MS 439, Menlo Park, CA 94025
Email: mhcox@usgs.gov
Telephone: 650-329-4345

For information on additional projects in the National Research Program, see Indexes to NRP projects and bibliographies.