Temperature effects on nitrogen cycling and nitrate removal‐production efficiency in bed form‐induced hyporheic zones

Zheng, Linjin; Cardenas, M. Bayani; Wang, Linchun

doi:10.1002/2015jg003162

Cited by 69 publications

(88 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Temperature is another driver of biogeochemical transformation rates [ Zheng, et al ., 2016], providing another potential cause of the observed perturbation. However the temperatures recorded at the monitoring points, while correlated with changes in gradient, only varied by about 2°C over the study period, implying that temperature variations within the subsurface, and the corresponding reaction rate variations that would follow, are not the primary drivers of biogeochemical perturbation at this study site.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dissolved oxygen dynamics reveal biogeochemical tipping points driven by river corridor hydrology

Kaufman

Ghosh

Grate

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Riverbeds can have an important impact on large-scale fluxes of biogeochemically active solutes in river corridor systems. The hyporheic zone is an important area of both hydrology and biogeochemistry, particularly in a hydropeaked river system where rapid variations in river stage height, hydraulic gradients, and residence times occur. We measured several biogeochemical and hydrological parameters at three different subsurface depths in the riverbed of the Columbia River in Washington state, a complex hydropeaked river system with significant subsurface heterogeneity. During the study, episodes of significant dissolved oxygen (DO) change were observed. The DO signal changes were the most apparent, compared to more modest changes in other biogeochemical markers. While DO is often associated with biological activity, we ultimately found that the notable DO excursions were associated with hydrologic gradients. Here we describe hydrologic perturbations and biogeochemical responses in terms of hydrobiogeochemical regimes. Two different forms of DO response to hydraulic gradient perturbation were observed, defining different hydrobiogeochemical regimes. The system tips abruptly from one regime to the other, exhibiting threshold behavior that is uncaptured in current estimations of cumulative influences of subsurface processes from reach to earth system scales.Plain language summaryThe water in a river is constantly flowing in and out of the river’s bed. While it is in the bed, microbes process environmentally and ecologically important nutrients and other compounds. The exchange of water between the river and the riverbed is largely controlled by the stage of the river. Many processes, both natural and human, can cause rapid changes in the river stage. These rapid stage changes can cause abrupt changes in the riverbed’s ability to process nutrients and other compounds. In this study, we use dissolved oxygen as a window into riverbed microbial and chemical processing. We see that relatively rapid changes in river stage can cause abrupt changes in the concentrations of chemicals in the riverbed, indicating fundamental changes in how the riverbed processes are occurring. Understanding these abrupt and fundamental changes is important to our overall understanding of the ecological function of river corridor systems.3 key pointsA hydrobiogeochemical regime is defined by the functional form of the relationship of a hydrologic perturbation and biogeochemical marker.Short-term hydrologic perturbations drive tipping points between distinct hydrobiogeochemical regimes.Linear and hysteretic dissolved oxygen dynamics define distinct regimes as observed throughout the hyporheic zone.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dissolved oxygen dynamics reveal biogeochemical tipping points driven by river corridor hydrology

Kaufman

Ghosh

Grate

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…In particular, denitrification is of great importance because it enables the permanent removal of nitrogen from the aquatic system (Harvey & Bencala, ; Zarnetske et al, ). Whether the hyporheic zones acts as a nitrate source or sink also depends strongly on the ratio between the in‐stream concentrations of ammonium and nitrate (Marzadri et al, ; Zheng et al, ). In general, hyporheic exchange flows have a crucial impact on the health of our riparian ecosystems by increasing solute residence times and thus solute exposure to microbial communities, which in turn fosters biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and contaminants (Battin et al, ; Mulholland et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Detailed process‐based numerical models were developed at the scale of single geomorphological structures, also coupled with heat and solute transport, including multiple reacting and interacting species (e.g., Marzadri et al, ; Zheng et al, ). These models allow for a holistic investigation of exchange and transformation processes in the hyporheic zone.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These models allow for a holistic investigation of exchange and transformation processes in the hyporheic zone. Zheng et al () conducted a series of numerical reactive solute transport simulations of hyporheic processes within a dune with different uniform temperatures. Their simulations showed that increased sediment temperatures resulted in shallower oxic‐anoxic zone boundaries as a consequence of increased aerobic respiration and nitrification rates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Coupled Long‐Term Simulation of Reach‐Scale Water and Heat Fluxes Across the River‐Groundwater Interface for Retrieving Hyporheic Residence Times and Temperature Dynamics

Munz

Oswald

Schmidt

2017

Water Resources Research

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Flow patterns in conjunction with seasonal and diurnal temperature variations control ecological and biogeochemical conditions in hyporheic sediments. In particular, hyporheic temperatures have a great impact on many temperature‐sensitive microbial processes. In this study, we used 3‐D coupled water flow and heat transport simulations applying the HydroGeoSphere code in combination with high‐resolution observations of hydraulic heads and temperatures to quantify reach‐scale water and heat flux across the river‐groundwater interface and hyporheic temperature dynamics of a lowland gravel bed river. The model was calibrated in order to constrain estimates of the most sensitive model parameters. The magnitude and variations of the simulated temperatures matched the observed ones, with an average mean absolute error of 0.7°C and an average Nash Sutcliffe efficiency of 0.87. Our results indicate that nonsubmerged streambed structures such as gravel bars cause substantial thermal heterogeneity within the saturated sediment at the reach scale. Individual hyporheic flow path temperatures strongly depend on the flow path residence time, flow path depth, river, and groundwater temperature. Variations in individual hyporheic flow path temperatures were up to 7.9°C, significantly higher than the daily average (2.8°C), but still lower than the average seasonal hyporheic temperature difference (19.2°C). The distribution between flow path temperatures and residence times follows a power law relationship with exponent of about 0.37. Based on this empirical relation, we further estimated the influence of hyporheic flow path residence time and temperature on oxygen consumption which was found to partly increase by up to 29% in simulations.

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“…Recent reactive transport modelling of the HB site, which ignored temperature effects, confirms the importance of the flood‐induced exchange on reactions occurring within the bank (Shuai et al, ). Modelling by Zheng, Cardenas, and Wang () showed that temperature influences the depth of nitrification and denitrification reactions and whether the HZ in streambeds was acting as a net source or sink of nitrate. The study showed that even 5 °C changes in temperature, under relatively nutrient‐ and carbon‐rich conditions (just like at our sites) and with all other physico‐chemical factors remaining the same, could lead to ~50–100% changes in reaction rates.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of floods on the temperature of riparian groundwater

Watson

Cardenas

Ferencz

et al. 2018

Hydrological Processes

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The transition area between rivers and their adjacent riparian aquifers, which may comprise the hyporheic zone, hosts important biochemical reactions, which control water quality. The rates of these reactions and metabolic processes are temperature dependent. Yet the thermal dynamics of riparian aquifers, especially during flooding and dynamic groundwater flow conditions, has seldom been studied. Thus, we investigated heat transport in riparian aquifers during 3 flood events of different magnitudes at 2 sites along the same river. River and riparian aquifer temperature and water‐level data along the Lower Colorado River in Central Texas, USA, were monitored across 2‐dimensional vertical sections perpendicular to the bank. At the downstream site, preflood temperature penetration distance into the bank suggested that advective heat transport from lateral hyporheic exchange of river water into the riparian aquifer was occurring during relatively steady low‐flow river conditions. Although a small (20‐cm stage increase) dam‐controlled flood pulse had no observable influence on groundwater temperature, larger floods (40‐cm and >3‐m stage increases) caused lateral movement of distinct heat plumes away from the river during flood stage, which then retreated back towards the river after flood recession. These plumes result from advective heat transport caused by flood waters being forced into the riparian aquifer. These flood‐induced temperature responses were controlled by the size of the flood, river water temperature during the flood, and local factors at the study sites, such as topography and local ambient water table configuration. For the intermediate and large floods, the thermal disturbance in the riparian aquifer lasted days after flood waters receded. Large floods therefore have impacts on the temperature regime of riparian aquifers lasting long beyond the flood's timescale. These persistent thermal disturbances may have a significant impact on biochemical reaction rates, nutrient cycling, and ecological niches in the river corridor.

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Temperature effects on nitrogen cycling and nitrate removal‐production efficiency in bed form‐induced hyporheic zones

Cited by 69 publications

References 54 publications

Dissolved oxygen dynamics reveal biogeochemical tipping points driven by river corridor hydrology

Dissolved oxygen dynamics reveal biogeochemical tipping points driven by river corridor hydrology

Coupled Long‐Term Simulation of Reach‐Scale Water and Heat Fluxes Across the River‐Groundwater Interface for Retrieving Hyporheic Residence Times and Temperature Dynamics

The effects of floods on the temperature of riparian groundwater

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