Abundance, distribution, and geometry of naturally occurring streambank soil pipes

Hester, Erich T.; McEwen, Amiana M.; Kim, Byung-Jun; Rost, Emily A.

doi:10.1086/711655

Cited by 5 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 68 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Gravel veins and paleochannels are present in riparian zones, floodplains, and natural levees and can dominate water and solute transport (Bridge, 1985; Cardenas & Zlotnik, 2003; Duval & Hill, 2006; Fox et al, 2011; Heeren et al, 2010, 2014; Johnson et al, 2012; McArthur et al, 2008; Newman & Keim, 2013). Similarly, soil pipes are widespread in streambanks, riparian zones, hyporheic zones, and floodplains (Hester et al, 2020; Jones & Cottrell, 2007; Menichino & Hester, 2015; Menichino et al, 2015), enhancing flow and transport functions (Lotts & Hester, 2020; Menichino et al, 2014, 2015).…”

Section: Preferential Flow In Riparian Zone Groundwatermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The spatial orientation of preferential flow paths with riparian zone soils greatly affects solute transport. Preferential flow paths are often oriented horizontally and cross the riparian zone perpendicularly (Gormally et al, 2011; Heeren et al, 2014; Hester et al, 2020). These can greatly enhance water and solute transport from uplands to the channel both during baseflow periods (Angier & McCarty, 2008; Briggs & Hare, 2018; Briggs et al, 2016; O'Driscoll & DeWalle, 2010; Rosenberry et al, 2016) and storm events (Harr, 1977; Mosley, 1982; Whipkey, 1962; Wilson et al, 1990).…”

Section: Preferential Flow In Riparian Zone Groundwatermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Certain clues regarding flow path locations can be gleaned from mapping concentrated groundwater inputs to streams (Briggs et al, 2018), yet these may depend on certain meteorological conditions. Soil pipe openings can be mapped at the riverbank face (Hester et al, 2020; Menichino et al, 2015), but such mappings do not distinguish preferential flow paths significantly affecting flow across the riparian zone with much shorter dead ends. Remote sensing of river surface temperature can locate concentrated groundwater inputs (Hare et al, 2015) but must occur in certain seasons (e.g., summer) and cannot distinguish concentrated inputs from the riparian zone from those from deeper groundwater.…”

Section: Next Stepsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Certain clues regarding flow path locations can be gleaned from mapping concentrated groundwater inputs to streams , yet these may depend on certain meteorological conditions. Soil pipe openings can be mapped at the riverbank face (Hester et al, 2020;, but such mappings do not distinguish preferential flow paths significantly affecting flow across the riparian zone with much shorter dead ends.…”

Section: Next Stepsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Preferential Flow in Riparian Groundwater: Gateways for Watershed Solute Transport and Implications for Water Quality Management

Hester

Fox

2020

Water Resources Research

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Riparian zones are key gateways for solutes in watersheds, including nutrients and pollutants moving toward the stream network. In human-dominated landscapes, they are widely used as buffers to remove pollutants at substantial cumulative cost yet vary widely in their effectiveness, and much is unknown about the detailed processes involved and their controls. Preferential flow is widespread in riparian zones, oriented both horizontally toward the channel (often bypassing beneficial reactions in the soil during baseflow) or vertically (enhancing beneficial reactions by infiltrating surface flow during storms). Preferential flow thus contributes to widespread variability of riparian zone/buffer function, with implications for legacy nutrients stored in upland soils and aquifers. This creates a disconnect between functional riparian definitions based on flow and transport processes and common operational ones based on buffer width. Enhanced field characterization of preferential flow path spatial distribution and connectivity, together with developments in simulating preferential solute transport in soils, would allow better prediction of spatial and temporal variation in riparian zone function. Such prediction in turn would allow improved buffer function by tailoring buffer design to site specific conditions, thereby reconciling functional and operational viewpoints. 1. Riparian Zones as Watershed Gateways for Solutes Riparian zones are the interface between groundwater aquifers, the terrestrial landscape above them (e.g., fields and forests), and downgradient surface water (e.g., streams, ponds, and wetlands) (Jencso et al., 2009; McGlynn & Seibert, 2003). As water moves toward a stream, riparian zones intercept and filter groundwater coming from aquifers during baseflow conditions but also provide an opportunity for surface runoff during storms to infiltrate and become groundwater (Cey et al., 1998; Fox, 2019; McGlynn & McDonnell, 2003). Thus, shallow and deep groundwater flow paths in riparian zones are a key gateway for solutes including nutrients and pollutants moving toward the stream network (Briggs & Hare, 2018; Groffman et al., 2002) (Figure 1a). The width of the riparian zone gateway, the magnitude of flow crossing it, and importance of baseflow to watershed outflow (e.g., baseflow index) can all vary throughout watersheds and fluctuate over time (Figure 1b) (Jencso et al., 2009; Tesoriero et al., 2013). The conventional view holds that transport of water and solutes across riparian groundwater occurs via homogeneous matrix flow (Bosch et al., 1994; Jordan et al., 1993). Yet preferential flow in riparian groundwater is common (Allaire et al., 2015). 2. Preferential Flow in Riparian Zone Groundwater While frequently not acknowledged in practice, preferential flow is widespread in soil and groundwater. Preferential flow refers to the locally rapid movement of water and solutes (Beven & Germann, 1982, 2013) through areas of higher soil matrix hydraulic conductivity (K) such as gravel veins and paleochannels (...

show abstract

Section: Preferential Flow In Riparian Zone Groundwatermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Preferential Flow In Riparian Zone Groundwatermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Next Stepsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Next Stepsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Preferential Flow in Riparian Groundwater: Gateways for Watershed Solute Transport and Implications for Water Quality Management

Hester

Fox

2020

Water Resources Research

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We acknowledge that S 0 , w, and soil pipe density would not remain uniform throughout the reach, and clustering of soil pipes would occur (Hester et al, 2020; creating a similar effect as spacing (Figure 3b). Nonetheless, our model gives nascent insight into how these parameters relate to affect denitrification.…”

Section: Model Limitations and Future Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Pipe Dreams: The Effects of Stream Bank Soil Pipes on Hyporheic Denitrification Caused by a Peak Flow Event

Lotts

Hester

2022

Water Resources Research

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Peak flow events in gaining stream/river channels cause lung model hyporheic exchange with the banks (bank storage), which fosters beneficial reactions as polluted channel water cycles through riparian groundwater. Soil pipes are common along stream/riverbanks, and enhance exchange, yet their effect on reactions such as denitrification is unknown. We used MODFLOW with the Conduit Flow Package to simulate lung model exchange during a peak flow event in a section of stream bank/riparian soil with soil pipes, and MT3D‐USGS to estimate nitrate transport and denitrification. We varied soil matrix hydraulic conductivity (K) and first‐order reaction constant (k), as well as soil pipe density, length, and height above the initial channel water surface elevation (H). The addition of soil pipes enhanced stream bank (riparian) denitrification relative to banks without pipes, e.g., a 76% increase due to adding a single 1.5 m pipe. Denitrification increased linearly with pipe density but exhibited nonlinear trends with other parameters. Sensitivity analysis revealed length and density to be most influential. Soil pipe enhancement of denitrification was governed by hyporheic volume in most cases in our study. Exceptions included (a) coarse soil (K = 10−3 m/s) and (b) low k and H > 0. Scaling our results to the stream corridor scale estimated that five soil pipes per m cumulatively induced 3% nitrate removal along a 1 km reach. Overall, soil pipes enhanced advection of nitrate into the banks, and also increased residence times of that nitrate under certain conditions, which together enhanced denitrification. This enhancement has implications for excess nitrate management in watersheds.

show abstract

Take it to the bank: A numerical examination of the effects of soil pipes on bypass of riparian buffer nitrate removal capacity

Lotts

Hester

2023

Journal of Hydrology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abundance, distribution, and geometry of naturally occurring streambank soil pipes

Cited by 5 publications

References 68 publications

Preferential Flow in Riparian Groundwater: Gateways for Watershed Solute Transport and Implications for Water Quality Management

Preferential Flow in Riparian Groundwater: Gateways for Watershed Solute Transport and Implications for Water Quality Management

Pipe Dreams: The Effects of Stream Bank Soil Pipes on Hyporheic Denitrification Caused by a Peak Flow Event

Take it to the bank: A numerical examination of the effects of soil pipes on bypass of riparian buffer nitrate removal capacity

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About