Zoom
— October 22, 2021
Join us on October 22nd at 3:30 pm to hear NMT Graduate students, Ethan Williams (Hydrology), Katie McLain (Hydrology), and Marina Hein (Biology) present the following talks:
“Quantifying groundwater to surface water exchanges in the Belen reach of the MRGCD” by Ethan Williams
Abstract: Volumetric flow gauging and end member mixing analysis (EMMA) of sampled environmental tracers were performed on waters from irrigation drains and the Rio Grande in the Belen District of Middle Rio Grande Conservatory District (MRGCD) to determine the proportion and provenance of groundwater inflows to the Rio Grande River and associated riparian aquifer system. The 70-km project area overlies the distal end of the Albuquerque Basin of the Rio Grande Rift, where basin and sub-basin structure drives hydraulic flow to converge at the southern end of the basin. Previous work has generally focused on deep groundwater flow along the basin axis, or shallow modern flow. This study considers those end members as well as lateral groundwater inputs. Quantifying the volumetric contribution and spatial distribution of distinct water sources to the floodplain aquifer informs water management decisions, drought sensitivity, and salinization mechanics. EMMA was performed on hydrochemical datasets collected at various times throughout the 2021 water year. Preliminary analysis from March and May data shows that shallow modern flow was the primary source of inflow to most drains, but lateral groundwater inputs dominated certain sites and were generally more significant in the southern end of the basin. Groundwater inflow rates were as high as 23.0 m3/d/m, and most sites were in gaining reaches.
Speaker Bio:
Ethan Williams grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, moving to New Mexico in 2016 to complete an undergraduate degree in geology at UNM. After graduating in 2018, he was hired by Zeigler Geologic Consulting where he worked throughout New Mexico on a variety of groundwater management and other projects. In the fall of 2020, he began a masters degree in Hydrology at NMT, where he continues to work under his advisor Dr. Alex Rinehart.
"Flow Conveyance Losses on the Middle Rio Grande" by Katie McLain
"Vegetation Communities of the Middle Rio Grande" by Marina Hein
Abstract: The Middle Rio Grande experiences significant water loss in the reach from San Acacia to South Fort Craig, and while this quantity has been identified in the past, the cause of this loss is not fully understood. This area is extremely important for transporting water from northern New Mexico to the southern part of the state and Texas. By examining this issue through both a hydrological and biological lense, the results can inform water management decisions, ecological considerations, and yield a better understanding of riparian corridor ecohydrology. Prior research points to two significant sources of loss, a hydraulic gradient draining surface water into the groundwater, and evapotranspiration in the summer months. We use several techniques in our research such as water table monitoring using data loggers in wells, soil moisture monitoring using probes, water quality and field chemistry parameters from surface and ground waters, soil gas flux, vegetation surveys, and remote sensing.
It is our goal to investigate the interactions of the topography, hydrological conditions, weather, and vegetation to better define the processes that contribute to this conveyance loss. Hydrological 2-D modeling will build a better understanding of the interconnectedness between ground and surface water in the study reach using stage data. Remote sensing, in conjunction with vegetation survey data, can contribute to an estimate of water loss due to evapotranspiration of the surrounding riparian corridor.
Preliminary results indicate a losing reach within the study area as groundwater coming in from the east flows underneath the Rio Grande and westward into the Low Flow Conveyance Channel. This is partly due to pre-existing hydrogeology, but surficial topography resulting from 150 years of floodplain management has resulted in the river perched above the floodplain. Monitoring shows a gradient of decreasing groundwater temperatures away from the Rio Grande. Depth to water appears to be a control on the source of transpired water, with additional information provided by soil moisture monitoring. With the knowledge gained from this study, better decisions can be made to minimize the impacts of the increasing human demand of water in the Rio Grande, and provide better protection for the delicate ecology in this semi-arid environment.
Speaker Bio: Katie McLain grew up in Alexandria, Louisiana and received a bachelor's degree in Geological Engineering from the University of MIssissippi in 2020. At Ole Miss she was part of the Sally McDonald Barksdale honors college and wrote a thesis on the extinct Eocene crab, Neozanthopisis Americanus. She is now in her second year of graduate school, pursuing a Masters in HYdrology at New Mexico Tech, where she is studying flow conveyance losses along the MIddle Rio Grande.
Speaker Bio: Marina earned her B.S. at Wisconsin's Northland College in 2017. She received the Natural Resource Faculty Award for her work using linear mixed models to determine drivers of algae abundance in Great Lakes wetlands as part of EPA's Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Monitoring Program. After moving to Washington state, Marina developed the Reed Canarygrass Monitoring Program for the 10,000 Years Institute to study how invasive reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea) is changing the morphology, chemistry, and biology of streams earmarked by scientists as resilient to the effects of climate change and valuable spawning and rearing habitat for coldwater species, particularly salmonids. Currently, she is a collaborator on our project to study the effect of invasive plants in Rio Grande riparian areas on evapotranspiration and nitrogen biogeochemistry. Her research focuses on how soil microbial functional communities, water quality, and water quantity change between different vegetation communities along the Middle Rio Grande.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/98660993666
This is the10th and final presentation for the Aquifer Mapping Program 2021 Seminar Series: