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Quantifying ephemeral streambed infiltration from downhole temperature measurements collected before and after streamflow

Charles E. Dowman, Ty P. A. Ferre, John P. Hoffmann, Dale F. Rucker and James B. Callegary
Quantifying ephemeral streambed infiltration from downhole temperature measurements collected before and after streamflow (in Advances in measurement and monitoring methods, Ty P. A. Ferre (editor) and Gerard J. Kluitenberg (editor))
Vadose Zone Journal (November 2003) 2 (4): 595-601

Abstract

A constant flux infiltration experiment was conducted to determine the feasibility of using downhole temperature measurements to estimate infiltration flux. Temperatures measured using a downhole thermistor within a 15.4-m-deep borehole compare well with temperatures measured with buried thermocouples in an adjacent borehole to 5 m depth. Numerical forward model simulations were conducted using VS2DI. A numerical sensitivity analysis showed that the temperature profile was most sensitive to the average temperature of the infiltrating water, the infiltration flux, and the specific heat capacity of dry soil. The high sensitivity of these variables allows for a simple sequential optimization to be used to estimate the average temperature of the infiltrating water, the water flux, and the specific heat capacity of dry soil from numerical inversion of temperature measurements. Downhole temperature measurements could be a useful complement to shallow streambed temperature methods, allowing for better quantification of the contribution of streambed infiltration to basin-scale recharge.


ISSN: 1539-1663
Serial Title: Vadose Zone Journal
Serial Volume: 2
Serial Issue: 4
Title: Quantifying ephemeral streambed infiltration from downhole temperature measurements collected before and after streamflow
Title: Advances in measurement and monitoring methods
Author(s): Dowman, Charles E., VFerre, Ty P. A.Hoffmann, John P.Rucker, Dale F.Callegary, James B.
Author(s): Ferre, Ty P. A.editor
Author(s): Kluitenberg, Gerard J.editor
Affiliation: U. S. Geological Survey, Tucson, AZ, United States
Affiliation: University of Arizona, Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, Tucson, AZ, United States
Pages: 595-601
Published: 200311
Text Language: English
Publisher: Soil Science Society of America, Madison, WI, United States
References: 26
Accession Number: 2004-026283
Categories: HydrogeologyApplied geophysics
Document Type: Serial
Bibliographic Level: Analytic
Annotation: Accessed on February 2, 2004
Illustration Description: illus. incl. 1 table
Source Medium: WWW
N32°15'00" - N32°15'00", W110°57'00" - W110°57'00"
Secondary Affiliation: Kansas State University, USA, United StatesUniversity of Arizona, USA, United States
Source Note: Includes papers from Special symposium on Physical measurements in the soil-plant-atmosphere system; 1, Advances in measurements at and below the ground surface; a tribute to Clarke Topp, Soil Science Society of America meeting, Nov. 10-14, 2002, Indianapolis, IN
Country of Publication: United States
Secondary Affiliation: GeoRef, Copyright 2018, American Geosciences Institute.
Update Code: 200408
Program Name: USGSOPNon-USGS publications with USGS authors
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