This document discusses how scientists measure the hydrologic cycle. It describes traditional methods like stream gaging stations, groundwater wells, and SNOTEL stations to monitor streams, groundwater levels, and snowpack. It also discusses newer geodetic methods like GPS and GRACE satellites that can measure subtle changes in gravity or ground movement related to water storage and flow. These comprehensive measurements across different reservoirs help scientists better understand the complex global hydrologic cycle.
Jigsaw hydrothermal-activity: Taking the Pulse of Yellowstone’s “Breathing” V...Shelley Olds
This interactive presentation is part of a jigsaw activity and includes notes with directions and explanations for students. See:
http://www.unavco.org/education/resources/educational-resources/lesson/gps-yellowstone/gps-yellowstone.html for complete activity
Jigsaw hydrothermal-activity: Taking the Pulse of Yellowstone’s “Breathing” V...Shelley Olds
This interactive presentation is part of a jigsaw activity and includes notes with directions and explanations for students. See:
http://www.unavco.org/education/resources/educational-resources/lesson/gps-yellowstone/gps-yellowstone.html for complete activity
These visuals were prepared to support a string quartet performance and panel on climate change at Northwestern University in February 2106.
A well-designed graphic can help audiences to quickly understand the main message embedded within a complex set of climate data and to retain those ideas longer than they would have if they were conveyed by words alone. But the visual aids used regularly by climate scientists also have their limitations: they are most easily understood by people who are already fluent in technical illustrations; they're usually static and sometimes do not tell an obvious story; and for many, they don't elicit a strong emotional response.
Music, by contrast, is inherently narrative and is known to exert a powerful influence on human emotions. Because of this, sonification — the transformation of data into acoustic signals — may have considerable promise as a tool to enhance the communication of climate science.
Daniel Crawford and Scott St. George report on a collaboration between scientists and artists that uses music to transmit the evidence of climate change in an engaging and visceral way.
Southern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation: impacts on Antarctic climate and...Andrew Russell
Presentation given at the PAGES symposium in Chile in October 2010. (NB I gave this talk before O'Donnell et al. was published so I'd probably do it differently now.)
How local-scale processes build up the large-scale response of butterflies to...Alison Specht
The presentation of the CESAB group LOLA-BMS at the 2016 french ecology conference in the FRB-CESAB session "Using a treasury of knowledge to tackle complex ecological questions." Presented by Reto Schmucki.
These visuals were prepared to support a string quartet performance and panel on climate change at Northwestern University in February 2106.
A well-designed graphic can help audiences to quickly understand the main message embedded within a complex set of climate data and to retain those ideas longer than they would have if they were conveyed by words alone. But the visual aids used regularly by climate scientists also have their limitations: they are most easily understood by people who are already fluent in technical illustrations; they're usually static and sometimes do not tell an obvious story; and for many, they don't elicit a strong emotional response.
Music, by contrast, is inherently narrative and is known to exert a powerful influence on human emotions. Because of this, sonification — the transformation of data into acoustic signals — may have considerable promise as a tool to enhance the communication of climate science.
Daniel Crawford and Scott St. George report on a collaboration between scientists and artists that uses music to transmit the evidence of climate change in an engaging and visceral way.
Southern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation: impacts on Antarctic climate and...Andrew Russell
Presentation given at the PAGES symposium in Chile in October 2010. (NB I gave this talk before O'Donnell et al. was published so I'd probably do it differently now.)
How local-scale processes build up the large-scale response of butterflies to...Alison Specht
The presentation of the CESAB group LOLA-BMS at the 2016 french ecology conference in the FRB-CESAB session "Using a treasury of knowledge to tackle complex ecological questions." Presented by Reto Schmucki.
Advances in bio-optical sensing on robotic platforms to elucidate ecosystem p...SeaBirdScientific
ABSTRACT
The global view of ocean productivity has been defined for the past three decades by satellite-derived images of optical properties of the ocean’s surface layer. Yet in most of the ocean, zones of enhanced phytoplankton production and nutrient recycling are located at depths below the view of optical satellites. In the subtropical gyres, the almost ubiquitous deep chlorophyll maximum is often located at depths exceeding 100m, along density interfaces at a boundary between the down welling light flux and upward transport of nutrients. Below the chlorophyll maximum heterotrophic production is the dominant process resulting in strong oxygen consumption and dissolved nutrient regeneration. Observing the physical forcing and biogeochemical dynamics that drive this system at the relevant time scales ranging from the diel to the seasonal has been a long-standing challenge in oceanography. In particular, measuring the processes occurring through perturbations to relaxation has often been more happenstance than design. In this presentation we describe advances in sensor systems deployed on autonomous robotic profilers to quantify carbon, oxygen and nutrient cycling within the interior ocean and present examples from the subtropical Indian Ocean and western Mediterranean.
Acknowledgements: Funding for CSIRO provided through the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund, OCE Postdoctoral fellowship scheme and Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre.
Present (2014) geochemical and microbial trends of underground water affecte...theijes
The International Journal of Engineering & Science is aimed at providing a platform for researchers, engineers, scientists, or educators to publish their original research results, to exchange new ideas, to disseminate information in innovative designs, engineering experiences and technological skills. It is also the Journal's objective to promote engineering and technology education. All papers submitted to the Journal will be blind peer-reviewed. Only original articles will be published.
The International Journal of Engineering and Science (The IJES)theijes
The International Journal of Engineering & Science is aimed at providing a platform for researchers, engineers, scientists, or educators to publish their original research results, to exchange new ideas, to disseminate information in innovative designs, engineering experiences and technological skills. It is also the Journal's objective to promote engineering and technology education. All papers submitted to the Journal will be blind peer-reviewed. Only original articles will be published.
The papers for publication in The International Journal of Engineering& Science are selected through rigorous peer reviews to ensure originality, timeliness, relevance, and readability
The International Journal of Engineering & Science is aimed at providing a platform for researchers, engineers, scientists, or educators to publish their original research results, to exchange new ideas, to disseminate information in innovative designs, engineering experiences and technological skills. It is also the Journal's objective to promote engineering and technology education. All papers submitted to the Journal will be blind peer-reviewed. Only original articles will be published.
The papers for publication in The International Journal of Engineering& Science are selected through rigorous peer reviews to ensure originality, timeliness, relevance, and readability.
Record warm water temperatures and low oxygen continue in Ecology’s Puget Sound marine monitoring station network. Record low stream flows result in visibly low river discharge into Puget Sound, in particular for the Puyallup River. Abundant sun and unusually warm water temperatures fuel phytoplankton blooms in many areas. Bright orange Noctiluca blooms are surfacing in the Commencement Bay area and around Port Madison. Finger inlets of South Sound support extensive patches of jellyfish.
ES 1010, Earth Science 1 Course Learning Outcomes for.docxaryan532920
ES 1010, Earth Science 1
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit V
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
7. Compare the geography, composition, circulation, and temporal cycles of the oceans.
Reading Assignment
Chapter 9:
Oceans: The Last Frontier
Chapter 10:
The Restless Ocean
Watch the following video:
Williams, C. [IDT-CSU]. (2015, August 7). Coastal processes [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://youtu.be/ZO07SgCFKWs
Click here to access a transcript of the video.
NASA Goddard. (2008, October 24). In the zone. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/lB1FADETAyg
Unit Lesson
It is easy to see why Earth is referred to as the “Blue
Planet”—71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by
oceans and seas. However, less than 5% of our
oceans have been explored (National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration [NOAA] 2014). So
essentially, most of our Earth is still unexplored and
largely unknown. We do know that oceans contain the
highest mountains, the deepest trenches, and the
longest mountain ranges. On average, the ocean
depth is about four times the average elevation of
continents. In fact, Lutgens & Tarbuck (2014) state that
if the Earth’s continents were perfectly flat, they would
be completely submerged under more than 2,000
meters of seawater!
Oceanography is the branch of science that studies
the world’s oceans. It includes geology, chemistry,
physics, and biology (Lutgens & Tarbuck, 2014).
Oceanographers started mapping the oceans floors as
early as 1872 by dropping weighted lines down to the
ocean bottom at random points. The use of sound navigation and ranging (sonar) began during World War I
to detect enemy submarines, and was later improved during World War II. Sonar uses the echo of sound
waves to plot the profile of the ocean floor. Satellite radar technology has also contributed to mapping the
ocean floor. Today, we have a fairly good picture of the ocean floor topography.
As we study the ocean floor, we notice three major features: continental margins, basin floors, and mid-
oceanic ridge. The continental margins can be classified as active or passive. Active margins are where the
UNIT V STUDY GUIDE
Oceans
An iceberg captured on camera during a 30-day mission in
2012 to map areas of the Arctic aboard the NOAA Ship
Fairweather (NOAA, 2013).
https://online.columbiasouthern.edu/CSU_Content/courses/General_Studies/ES/ES1010/15N/UnitV_CoastalProcesses.pdf
ES 1010, Earth Science
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
ocean lithosphere is subducted beneath the continental crust (recall what you learned in Units III and IV).
These are mainly found around the Pacific Ocean. Passive margins are those that are not experiencing plate
tectonic activity and have more stable topography. Basin floors make up about 30% of the Earth’s surface
(Lutgens & Tarbuck, 2014). These areas are between the margins and the mid-ocean ridges and include
deep trenches, under ...
1. This work is supported by the National Science Foundation’s
Directorate for Education and Human Resources TUES-1245025, IUSE-
1612248, IUSE-1725347, and IUSE-1914915. Questions, contact education-AT-unavco.org
EXPLORING THE RESERVOIRS, PATHWAYS, AND
METHODS TO MEASURE THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE
2. HYDROLOGIC CYCLE TERMINOLOGY
Cockell, 2008 Fig. 1-38
“Reservoirs” are places where water is stored in the
Earth system.
“Transport pathways” describe the mechanisms and
pathways that water moves among reservoirs in the
Earth system.
6. ANNUAL FLUXES FOR OCEAN RESERVOIR
Cockell, 2008 Fig. 1-38
IN = OUT
391 + 46 = 437
7. ANNUAL FLUXES FOR ATMOSPHERIC RESERVOIRS
Cockell, 2008 Fig. 1-38
IN = OUT
436.5 + 65.5 = 391 + 111
502 = 502
8. HOW DO SCIENTISTS MEASURE THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE?
• Examples of “traditional” hydrologic measurements:
– stream/river gaging stations
– depth to groundwater
– SNOTEL stations (snow mass)
• Examples of geodetic hydrologic measurements:
– Reflection GPS
– Vertical GPS
– GRACE
9. HOW DO SCIENTISTS MEASURE THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE?
STREAM/RIVER GAGING STATIONS
10. Used to calculate discharge (the volume of
water moving through the channel in a
given amount of time, i.e., flow rate)
EXAMPLE: USGS WILLOW CREEK GAGING STATION
06035000 NEAR HARRISON, MT
23. ALBRO LAKE SNOTEL SITE
State: Montana
Site Number: 916
County: Madison
Latitude: 45 deg; 36 min N
Longitude: 111 deg; 58 min W
Elevation: 8300 feet
Reporting since: 1996-09-11
24. ALBRO LAKE SNOTEL OBSERVATIONS
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020
Snow
water
equivalent
(in)
Year
Albro Lake SNOTEL Station - Snow Water Equivalent
Average snow pack
Peak snow pack
25. GEODESY IS…
25
…the science of accurately measuring the
Earth’s size, shape, orientation, mass
distribution and the variations of these with
time. Traditional geodesy:
Precise positioning of
points on the surface of the
Earth
Modern geodesy:
A toolbox of techniques to
better measure the Earth
wikipedia.org
JPL/NASA
31. GPS NETWORKS
Thousands of stations across continental United States
Data latency of ~1 day
http://geodesy.unr.edu/NGLStationPages/gpsnetmap/GPSNetMap.html
32. GPS DATA
Cycles in vertical position
are related to the seasonal
water changes.
33. GPS VERTICAL POSITION
The solid Earth responds elastically to changes in load, such as water
loss from regional groundwater pumping or drought
instantaneous, reversible, linear
Plate Boundary Observatory station P037
Satellite images of the snow pack in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in March 31, 2011 and 2015.
2015 was the depths of the exceptional drought that California experienced.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=86838&src=eoa-iotd
Major reservoirs: surface water (ocean/lakes/rivers/streams/inland seas), atmosphere, cryosphere, snow, vegetation/soil moisture, groundwater.
Major transport pathways: ET, condensation, precipitation, runoff, infiltration, groundwater outflow to rivers and ocean.
Same image that the students are working from for the exercise--in case it helps with qualitative discussions to be able to project the image.
More quantitative approach to the water cycle. These slide MAY NOT be appropriate for an introductory class but we include there here as an option.
There slides and the methods slides that follow are from the majors-level GETSI module “Measuring Water Resources” https://serc.carleton.edu/getsi/teaching_materials/water_resources/index.html
Many assumptions go into determining these fluxes and reservoir masses. Although other studies may give somewhat different numbers, the overall scale of the different residence times gives students a reasonable idea of where water resides for mere days-weeks or millennia. For simplicity, not all fluxes are included.
Fluxes and reservoir masses taken from: Oki & Kanae, 2006. Global hydrologic cycles and world water resources. Science, v 303, p 1068-1072. http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/313/5790/1068.full.pdf?ijkey=5C.sNh5aehB66&keytype=ref&siteid=sci.pdf
Background image: http://www.noaa.gov/resource-collections/water-cycle
Reservoirs are shown with black box around them.
Fluxes between reservoirs are plain black text. Not all fluxes are shown. Some are not well known.
Kg^3 is metric ton
Background image: http://www.noaa.gov/resource-collections/water-cycle
Example of fluxes in and out of the ocean reservoir in Earth’s hydrologic cycle.
Background image: http://www.noaa.gov/resource-collections/water-cycle
Example of fluxes in and out of the atmospheric reservoirs in Earth’s hydrologic cycle.
Background image: http://www.noaa.gov/resource-collections/water-cycle
Views of the Willow Creek gaging station, downstream is to the right (east).
Students are measuring the stream velocity to calculate the discharge for comparison to the values determined by the USGS for this station.
Images from Bruce Douglas
Data can be found at:
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mt/nwis/uv/?site_no=06035000&PARAmeter_cd=00060,00065,00010
Data from USGS. https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/rt
The opaque dots on this map show streamflow conditions as a percentile. Only stations with at least 30 years of record are used. The gray circles show stations that were not ranked in percentiles either because they have fewer than 30 years of record or because they report parameters other than streamflow. (Some stations, for example, measure stage only.)
Here is an example of a watershed which has a water balance monitored using a variety of traditional methods – stream gages, groundwater wells, SNOTEL, and metrological stations.
The Willow Creek Demonstration Watershed was instrumented for use as an educational resource as well as for research. It is the result of a cooperative between the Madison County Water Board, the US Forest Service, the NRCS, and Indiana University. It is typical of many of the watersheds in the Rocky Mountain and Far west regions where most of the water falls as snow during the winter months. The snow pack dictates the volume of water that is available within the watershed for the entire year; summer storms do add water, but not in significant amounts and these are often local events in only part of the watershed.
Image from Indiana University Geologic Field Station (Bruce Douglas)
http://www.indiana.edu/~iugfs/research_WC.html
Main point is to show students the variation in the discharge – reflects the big swings in local climate and snowpack.
No apparent trend.
Suggestion: Do not just show the students the data plots. Ask them questions in think-pair-share about the graphs so that they think about them more actively.
Note: Data are only collected during the time of significant flow; generally February/March until July/August since the early 1980s. Actual station data goes back to 1938 but isn’t shown here because of annual averages aren’t comparable.
Note: there are actually a number of irrigation ditches between the Snowtel station and the USGS gauging station so in this watershed, as with many in the western USA there would be a discrepancy between the amount of snow measured and the amount of water in the stream lower in the catchment.
Data from: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?site_no=06211500
The greatest amount of water in any given year is illustrated by annual peak discharge.
Data from: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?site_no=06211500
Traditionally groundwater levels have been measuring the depth to the water table in wells.
Left image: Shemin Ge (CU Boulder)
Right image: USGS (https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs07903/)
Groundwater wells give point-location information about the water below ground level.
This site has two wells that have been installed. The one shown on the right is completed down to a shallow surface aquifer with a total depth of 15 feet.
The other on the left has a steel casing to protect the PVC pipe from collapsing under the lateral load that exists in the lower portions of the well. The well is completed down to 75 feet.
Images: Bruce Douglas (Indiana University)
The USGS monitors over 1500 groundwater wells in real time. Archived data is available for over 2000 other wells that have been discontinued.
Typical annual record for the deep (dark blue) and shallow aquifer (light purple). The both well show a response in June that is similar to a snow melt stream hydrograph.
This is more appropriate for Unit 2, but some instructors may want to introduce the concepts of (a) seasonal cycles of groundwater depths; (b) the respective impacts of environmental and human activities on groundwater. These graphs can be used to help students walk through the concept that irrigation causes water lowering earlier in the year than we would expect if rainfall alone were the primary cause. For instance, based on the precipitation graph alone, the highest groundwater levels would be predicted to happen at a different time of year than the well data indicate. In addition, well levels drop quickly in May-June when precipitation levels are still high.
Left image data from: primarily National Climatic Data Center from the NOAA (via http://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/wyoming/united-states/3220)
Right image data from: https://groundwaterwatch.usgs.gov/InactiveHPNSites.asp?S=410111104223102&ncd=hpn
SNOTEL stations contain a variety of equipment.
The primary measurement is determination of snow mass through the pressure sensor within the pillow.
Other equipment collects snow depth (look-down sensor) and a variety of other meteorological equipment.
Image: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/id/snow/?cid=nrcs144p2_047776
The Albro Lake SNOTEL site provides a representative record of the amount of snow within the upper portions of the watershed.
http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/nwcc/site?sitenum=916&state=mt
Snow water equivalent data also shows considerable variability from year to year BUT actually much less variation than stream flow (~2x factor of change instead of 6x with stream flow).
Note: the years shown are USGS water years which runs Oct 1-Sept 30
Data from: http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/nwcc/site?sitenum=916&state=mt
25
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpegMod/PIA04235_modest.jpg (public domain)
Some notes on GRACE:
--2-6 month latency
--provides monthly data (some months missing)
--coarse spatial resolution (hundreds of km)
The original GRACE mission ran 2002-2017 (5-year expected duration was far outlived although by late 2016 GRACE was under modified operations to prolong battery life.) GRACE Follow-on mission launched May 2018.
This graphic from NASA is specifically illustrating the Caribbean Sea, Colombia, and Peru but can be used as a general explanation of how GRACE measures gravity. From https://gracefo.jpl.nasa.gov/resources/50/how-grace-fo-measures-gravity/ A simplified example of how the distance between the GRACE-FO satellites changes as they pass over areas with lower mass (example: the ocean) and areas with higher masses (example: land.)
Panel 1: When both spacecraft are over the ocean, the distance between them is relatively constant.
Panel 2: When the leading spacecraft encounters a more massive object (in this case, land), the more massive area’s higher gravity pulls it away from the trailing spacecraft, which is still over the less massive area.
Panel 3: Once the second satellite also encounters the more massive area, it too is pulled toward the higher mass and consequently toward the leading spacecraft. As the lead spacecraft moves past the more massive area, it is pulled back slightly by the higher gravity of that area.
Panel 4: When both spacecraft are over the less massive object (in this case, the ocean) again, the trailing spacecraft is slowed by land before returning to its original distance behind the leading spacecraft.
A decade of GRACE data shows the overall changes in aquifers across the USA.
Image from: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=82266
NASA site also includes a related article which instructors could use to bring in more aspects of specific societal challenges from groundwater loss.
GPS stations are widely distributed around the USA and most data are available with a day or so. Some are available with seconds.
Image from Nevada Geodetic Laboratory (http://geodesy.unr.edu/sitemap.php) and used with permission. Base map by Google Maps.
GPS stations such as those in the Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO; http://pbo.unavco.org/) were originally installed to measure things such as plate tectonic motion (horizontal motions shown in the left image). However, as the data came in, it became clear that elements of the vertical motion is related to changes in the terrestrial water storage (TWS) and there were much wider uses for GPS data than originally imagined.
Rear image: UNAVCO Velocity Viewer http://www.unavco.org/software/visualization/GPS-Velocity-Viewer/GPS-Velocity-Viewer.html (base image from Google Maps)
GPS and GPS data from https://www.unavco.org/instrumentation/networks/status/pbo/overview/CABL
This is not the same as the isostatic adjustment to surface loads (long time scale, spatial pattern affected by flexural characteristics of lithosphere, total magnitude depending on crust/mantle density contrast).
The reverse also happens: add groundwater, TWS increases, the land surface moves down
Image from UNAVCO (http://www.unavco.org/instrumentation/networks/status/pbo/overview/P037)
USGS time-series for vertical movement of stations P565 and P572 in the Central Valley of California.
GPS stations were originally installed to measure tectonic motions. Position is determined by calculating the distances from satellites using the direct incoming signals. Originally all signals that reflected off surrounding surfaces were considered noise and researchers did their best to filter them out. However, more recently researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder realized that the the reflected signal could be used to determine things such as changes in height or conditions of the surrounding ground.
Image from UNAVCO.
