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Browsing Research Data - Other by Author "Scott, Daniel"

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    ItemOpen Access
    Dataset for Geomorphic regulation of floodplain soil organic carbon concentration in watersheds of the Rocky and Cascade mountains, USA
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018) Scott, Daniel; Wohl, Ellen
    Mountain rivers have shown the potential for high organic carbon (OC) storage in terms of retaining OC-rich soil. We characterize valley bottom morphology, floodplain soil, and vegetation in two disparate mountain river basins: the Middle Fork Snoqualmie, in the Cascade Mountains, and the Big Sandy, in the Wind River Range of the Rocky Mountains. We use this dataset to examine variability in OC concentration between these basins as well as within them, at multiple spatial scales. We find that although there are some differences between basins, much of the variability in OC concentration is due to local factors, such as soil moisture and valley bottom geometry. From this, we conclude that local factors likely play a dominant role in regulating OC concentration in valley bottoms, and that inter-basin trends in climate or vegetation characteristics may not translate directly to trends in OC storage. We also use analysis of OC concentration and soil texture by depth to infer that OC is input to floodplain soils mainly by decaying vegetation, not overbank deposition of fine, OC-bearing sediment. Geomorphology and hydrology play strong roles in determining the spatial distribution of soil OC in mountain river corridors.
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    ItemOpen Access
    Dataset for Geomorphology and climate interact to control organic carbon stock and age in mountain river valley bottoms
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018) Scott, Daniel; Wohl, Ellen
    Organic carbon (OC) stored in dead vegetation and soil represents a massive and relatively sensitive pool of carbon whose distribution and residence time affects global climate. Mountain river basins can store large OC stocks. However, the distribution, magnitude, and residence time of OC stored in mountain river valley bottoms remain unquantified on broad scales, hampering understanding of how these regions contribute to terrestrial OC cycling. We compare four disparate mountain river basins to show that mountain river valley bottoms store substantial OC stocks in floodplain soil and downed wood that vary with valley bottom form and geomorphic processes. We quantify soil OC radiocarbon age to show that soil burial is essential to preserving old OC. Valley bottom morphology, soil retention, and vegetation dynamics determine partitioning of valley bottom OC between soil and wood, implying that modern biogeomorphic process and the legacy of past erosion regulate the modern distribution of OC in river networks. The age of the floodplain soil OC pool and the distribution of OC between wood and soil imply that mountain rivers are highly sensitive to alterations in soil and wood retention, which may have both short- and long-term feedbacks with the distribution of OC between the land and atmosphere.
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    ItemOpen Access
    Dataset for Natural and anthropogenic controls on wood loads in river corridors of the Rocky, Cascade, and Olympic mountains, USA
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018) Scott, Daniel; Wohl, Ellen
    This dataset describes wood loads in four mountain river basins of the Western United States. In addition to wood load, this dataset includes valley bottom, topographic, and forest characteristics. Please see the accompanying article (DOI listed upon publication) for a full explanation of methods used to collect this data and resulting analysis.