Is This Steady State? Weathering and Critical Zone Architecture in Gordon Gulch, Colorado Front Range

Anderson, Suzanne P.; Kelly, Patrick J.; Hoffman, Noah G.; Barnhart, Katherine R.; Befus, K. M.; Ouimet, William B.

doi:10.1002/9781119563952.ch13

Cited by 8 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…Aspect-controlled differences in soil moisture, subsurface flow paths, and rock weathering have been reported at Gordon Gulch in several studies (Anderson et al, 2013(Anderson et al, , 2021Hinckley, Ebel, et al, 2014;Langston et al, 2015), providing motivation for the current study: Could aspect-controlled differences in soil freezing influence hydrology? Soil moisture data and hillslope-scale unsaturated flow modeling performed using a temperature-index snow model showed that the north-facing slope sustains high soil moisture because the snowpack melts continuously and delivers steady recharge to the subsurface, whereas the south-facing slope maintains low soil moisture because the snowpack melts in rapid events that deliver brief pulses of water to the subsurface (Langston et al, 2015).…”

Section: Field Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…The meteorological station on the south-facing slope is unobscured by forest canopy aside from a single ponderosa pine downslope from the station, whereas the meteorological station on the north-facing slope is located in a small clearing surrounded by dense coniferous forest. A map of the site is presented in Figure 3, and a thorough description of the site is provided by Anderson et al (2021), including a map of annual solar radiation.…”

Section: Field Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The domain consists of three layers: We initially divided the domain into "soil" and "weathered bedrock" layers to represent the thermal and hydrologic differences between soil and weathered bedrock; subsequently we added a third "saprolite" layer to smooth the transition between "weathered bedrock" and "soil" layers; this model layer is assigned the mean of the "soil" and "weathered bedrock" parameters. A saprolite horizon at Gordon Gulch has been identified during field campaigns and reported in multiple studies (Anderson et al, 2011(Anderson et al, , 2021Langston et al, 2015). Hydrologic parameters (Table 1) were selected based on a combination of existing studies at Gordon Gulch (Hinckley, Ebel, et al, 2014;Langston et al, 2015) as well as representative parameters from Charbeneau (2000).…”

Section: Domain and Soil Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A map of the site is presented in Figure 3, and a thorough description of the site is provided by Anderson et al. (2021), including a map of annual solar radiation.…”

Section: Field Site and Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Modeling Aspect‐Controlled Evolution of Ground Thermal Regimes on Montane Hillslopes

et al. 2021

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The thermal and hydrologic state of the ground controls a wide range of environmental processes in high elevation regions. For example, the seasonal evolution of soil temperature and moisture restricts the microbial and plant populations that may occupy the soil and their associated contributions to carbon and nitrogen cycles (Brooks et al., 1997;Donhauser & Frey, 2018). Soil ice formation contributes to downslope soil migration and influences the ability of liquid water to infiltrate (Matsuoka, 2001;Walvoord & Kurylyk, 2016). In seasonally snow-covered environments, the snowpack acts as an insulator, dampening the propagation of surface energy balance changes into the subsurface. In light of anticipated changes in air temperature and precipitation throughout high elevation regions, including higher winter precipitation, lower summer precipitation, and generally higher temperatures throughout the year (Liu et al., 2017), there is a need for process-based models that characterize the seasonal evolution of soil temperature and moisture as a step toward quantifying watershed-scale changes in hydrology, biogeochemistry, and geomorphology. While the models developed in this study are designed to reproduce annual soil temperature cycles, particular focus is given to the occurrence of frozen ground, which acts as a critical threshold for hydrologic, geomorphological, and biogeochemical processes in mountain environments.Hydrology and infiltration are influenced by seasonally frozen ground (SFG) (Hayashi, 2013). In contrast to permafrost, which remains at or below 0°C for at least 2 years, SFG freezes and thaws annually (Harris et al., 1988). Hydraulic conductivity decreases by orders of magnitude during the transition from unfrozen to frozen ground (

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Section: Field Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Section: Field Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Domain and Soil Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A map of the site is presented in Figure 3, and a thorough description of the site is provided by Anderson et al. (2021), including a map of annual solar radiation.…”

Section: Field Site and Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Modeling Aspect‐Controlled Evolution of Ground Thermal Regimes on Montane Hillslopes

et al. 2021

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“…Future research to test this would require quantifying animal burrowing between hillslopes with opposing aspects through field surveys (Dixon et al., 2009) and quantifying the sediment flux due to wind‐throw by a tree census (Šamonil et al., 2020) or estimating surface roughness with high resolution topographic data (Doane et al., 2021). Additionally, future work using cosmogenic radionuclides to measure hillslope erosion and soil production rates between hillslopes with opposing aspects over long time scales should be used to determine if rates are similar between hillslopes (Anderson et al., 2021; Granger et al., 1996; Heimsath et al., 1999).…”

Section: Discussion: Framework To Explain the Unexpected Symmetry In ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Symmetry in Hillslope Steepness and Saprolite Thickness Between Hillslopes With Opposing Aspects

et al. 2023

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The structure of the critical zone (CZ) is a product of feedbacks among hydrologic, climatic, biotic, and chemical processes. Past research within snow‐dominated systems has shown that aspect‐dependent solar radiation inputs can produce striking differences in vegetation composition, topography, and soil depth between opposing hillslopes. However, far fewer studies have evaluated the role of microclimates on CZ development within rain‐dominated systems, especially below the soil and into weathered bedrock. To address this need, we characterized the CZ of a north‐facing and south‐facing slope within a first‐order headwater catchment located in central coast California. We combined terrain analysis of vegetation distribution and topography with soil pit characterization, geophysical surveys and hydrologic measurements between slope‐aspects. We documented denser vegetation and higher shallow soil moisture on north facing slopes, which matched previously documented observations in snow‐dominated sites. However, average topographic gradients were 24° and saprolite thickness was approximately 6 m across both hillslopes, which did not match common observations from the literature that showed widespread asymmetry in snow‐dominated systems. These results suggest that dominant processes for CZ evolution are not necessarily transferable across regions. Thus, there is a continued need to expand CZ research, especially in rain‐dominated and water‐limited systems. Here, we present two non‐exclusive mechanistic hypotheses that may explain these unexpected similarities in slope and saprolite thickness between hillslopes with opposing aspects.

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Where Are We and Where Are We Going? Pedogenesis Through Chemical Weathering, Hydrologic Fluxes, and Bioturbation

Hunt

Egli

Faybishenko

2021

Hydrogeology, Chemical Weathering, and Soil Formation

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A review of the status of fundamental research into soil genesis and development is given, together with a discussion of the outstanding problems from various perspectives, such as the geological, hydrological, and soil ecological points of view. The urgency of understanding what soil is, how it forms and evolves, relates fundamentally to its connection with the cycling of water and those elements of deep significance to biology, e.g. carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, as well as to the uptake and fate of the (mostly) solar energy input. The coupling is inherent in the close relationships between soil genesis and the formative process of chemical weathering, together with its abiotic drawdown of atmospheric carbon, as well as the relationship between soil evolution and the biological processes that change the soil. Each of these phases links soils to the atmospheric carbon composition and the Earth's climate system. More recently, the link between soil formation and Earth's water cycle has become clearer with the recognition that field weathering rates are more likely flux-limited (water, organic acids, and reaction products) than kinetics-limited. While a link between water and CO2 drawdown appears explicit in the photosynthetic reaction, the relationship between plant productivity and transpiration fundamentally links water and cycling of elements such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. The summary is intended to place the works of the present book into the context of present research efforts and future goals.

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Is This Steady State? Weathering and Critical Zone Architecture in Gordon Gulch, Colorado Front Range

Cited by 8 publications

References 63 publications

Modeling Aspect‐Controlled Evolution of Ground Thermal Regimes on Montane Hillslopes

Modeling Aspect‐Controlled Evolution of Ground Thermal Regimes on Montane Hillslopes

Symmetry in Hillslope Steepness and Saprolite Thickness Between Hillslopes With Opposing Aspects

Where Are We and Where Are We Going? Pedogenesis Through Chemical Weathering, Hydrologic Fluxes, and Bioturbation

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