Springs ecosystem classification.

Springs ecosystems are globally abundant, geomorphologically diverse, and bio-culturally productive, but are highly imperiled by anthropogenic activities. More than a century of scientific discussion about the wide array of ecohydrological factors influencing springs has been informative, but has yielded little agreement on their classification. This lack of agreement has contributed to the global neglect and degradation of springs ecosystems by the public, scientific, and management communities.

Forest restoration as a strategy to mitigate climate impacts on wildfire, vegetation, and water in semiarid forests.

Climate change and wildfire are interacting to drive vegetation change and potentially reduce water quantity and quality in the southwestern United States, Forest restoration is a management approach that could mitigate some of these negative outcomes. However, little information exists on how restoration combined with climate change might influence hydrology across large forest landscapes that incorporate multiple vegetation types and complex fire regimes. We combined spatially explicit vegetation and fire modeling with statistical water and sediment yield models for a large forested landscape (335,000 ha) on the Kaibab Plateau in northern Arizona, USA.

Local vs. Regional Groundwater Flow Delineation from Stable Isotopes at Western North America Springs.

The recharge location for many springs is unknown because they can be sourced from proximal, shallow, atmospheric sources or long-traveled, deep, regional aquifers. The stable isotope ( O and H) geochemistry of springs water can provide cost-effective indications of relative flow path distance without the expense of drilling boreholes, conducting geophysical studies, or building groundwater flow models. Locally sourced springs generally have an isotopic signature similar to local precipitation for that region and elevation.

Semi-arid aquifer responses to forest restoration treatments and climate change.

The purpose of this study was to develop an interpretive groundwater-flow model to assess the impacts that planned forest restoration treatments and anticipated climate change will have on large regional, deep (>400 m), semi-arid aquifers. Simulations were conducted to examine how tree basal area reductions impact groundwater recharge from historic conditions to 2099. Novel spatial analyses were conducted to determine areas and rates of potential increases in groundwater recharge.

Electrical resistance sensors record spring flow timing, Grand Canyon, Arizona.

Springs along the south rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona, are important ecological and cultural resources in Grand Canyon National Park and are discharge points for regional and local aquifers of the Coconino Plateau. This study evaluated the applicability of electrical resistance (ER) sensors for measuring diffuse, low-stage (<1.0 cm) intermittent and ephemeral flow in the steep, rocky spring-fed tributaries of the south rim.