Untangling the effects of seasonality and post-fire stream channel erosion on the hydrologic response of a burned mountain catchment
| dc.contributor.author | Gieschen, Michael, author | |
| dc.contributor.author | Nelson, Peter, advisor | |
| dc.contributor.author | Covino, Tim, committee member | |
| dc.contributor.author | Julien, Pierre, committee member | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2022-05-30T10:21:44Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2022-05-30T10:21:44Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2022 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Stream channel incision and deposition are common after wildfire, and these geomorphic changes may impact runoff mechanisms and the composition of pre-event and event water in runoff. To investigate this, we monitored discharge and electrical conductivity at 6 nested sites within a 15.5 km2 watershed in the northern Colorado Front Range that had recently burned, experienced large flooding, and well-documented and significant channel erosion and deposition. Over the study period, the watershed experienced seven precipitation events. For each hydrograph, we separate baseflow from runoff using a new method to characterize and account for the strong diurnal signal in the baseflow. Electrical conductivity is used as a tracer in a two-component end-member mixing analysis to separate the event hydrographs into event and pre-event water. Correlation coefficients were computed between key variables of the hydrologic response (such as runoff ratio, volumes of event and pre-event water) to storm and basin characteristics (including stream channel erosion/deposition, fraction of high/moderate burn severity, precipitation intensity, and antecedent precipitation). The strength and significance of correlations was found to vary seasonally. In the early season, event and pre-event volumes did not vary significantly with basin or storm characteristics. In the late season, antecedent precipitation correlated with a decrease in event runoff (R2 = 0.34) and total runoff (R2 = 0.40), increased precipitation intensity correlated with an increase in event runoff (R2 = 0.48), and local erosion correlated with an increase in pre-event runoff (R2 = 0.60) and total runoff (R2 = 0.53). These findings indicate that seasonality and post-fire stream channel erosion influence the makeup of runoff response, most likely through their impact on the gradient of the near-stream groundwater table. | |
| dc.format.medium | born digital | |
| dc.format.medium | masters theses | |
| dc.identifier | Gieschen_colostate_0053N_17205.pdf | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10217/235245 | |
| dc.language | English | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | |
| dc.publisher | Colorado State University. Libraries | |
| dc.relation.ispartof | 2020- | |
| dc.rights | Copyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright. | |
| dc.subject | erosion | |
| dc.subject | mountainous | |
| dc.subject | wildfire | |
| dc.subject | hydrology | |
| dc.subject | electrical conductivity | |
| dc.subject | runoff | |
| dc.title | Untangling the effects of seasonality and post-fire stream channel erosion on the hydrologic response of a burned mountain catchment | |
| dc.type | Text | |
| dcterms.rights.dpla | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/). You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Civil and Environmental Engineering | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | Colorado State University | |
| thesis.degree.level | Masters | |
| thesis.degree.name | Master of Science (M.S.) |
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