Geology topics

Jorge Ramirez-Hernandez

Publications and source records attributed to Jorge Ramirez-Hernandez.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2017

A history of the 2014 Minute 319 environmental pulse flow asdocumented by field measurements and satellite imagery

As provided in Minute 319 of the U.S.-Mexico Water Treaty of 1944, a pulse flow of approximately 132 million cubic meters (mcm) was released to the riparian corridor of the Colorado River Delta over an eight-week period that began March 23, 2014 and ended May 18, 2014. Peak flows were released in the early part of the pulse to simulate a spring flood, with approximately 101.7 mcm released at Morelos Dam on the U.S.-Mexico border. The remainder of the pulse flow water was released to the riparian corridor via Mexicali Valley irrigation spillway canals, with 20.9 mcm released at Km 27 Spillway (41 km below Morelos Dam) and 9.3 mcm released at Km 18 Spillway (78 km below Morelos Dam). We used sequential satellite images, overflights, ground observations, water discharge measurements, and automated temperature, river stage and water quality loggers to document and describe the progression of pulse flow water through the study area. The rate of advance of the wetted front was slowed by infiltration and high channel roughness as the pulse flow crossed more than 40 km of dry channel which was disconnected from underlying groundwater and partially overgrown with salt cedar. High lag time and significant attenuation of flow resulted in a changing hydrograph as the pulse flow progressed to the downstream delivery points; two peak flows occurred in some lower reaches. The pulse flow advanced more than 120 km downstream from Morelos Dam to reach the Colorado River estuary at the northern end of the Gulf of California.

Ecological Engineering↗

USGS2017

Evapotranspiration by remote sensing: An analysis of the Colorado River Delta before and after the Minute 319 pulse flow to Mexico

The unique hydrologic conditions characterizing riparian ecosystems in dryland (arid and semi-arid) areas help maintain high biodiversity and support high levels of primary productivity compared to associated uplands. In western North America, many riparian ecosystems have been damaged by altered flow regimes (e.g., impoundments and diversions) and over utilization of water resources (e.g., groundwater pumping for agriculture and human consumption). This has led some state and national governments to provide occasional environmental flows to address the declining condition of such riparian systems. In a historic agreement between the United States and Mexico, 130 million cubic meters (mcm) of water was released to the lower Colorado River Delta in Mexico, with the intent to evaluate the hydrological and biological response of the ecosystem. We used the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) to estimate long term (2000–2014) and short term (pre- and post-pulse; 2013 and 2014) evapotranspiration (ET; used herein as an indicator of plant health) of the delta’s riparian corridor. We found the pulse flow helped reverse a decline in ET from 2011 to 2013, with a small, but statistically significant increase in 2014 (P < 0.05). ET was greater than 100 mcm in all years analyzed (even in years without surface flows) and exceeded surface flows in all years except 2000 (result of excess flows following an El Niño cycle in 1997) and 2014 (year of the pulse flow). Based on groundwater salinities and MODIS ET estimates, we estimated groundwater flow into the delta to be ∼103 mcm. Shallow groundwater salinities in the riparian zone increased from 1.30 g L −1 in the most upstream reach to 2.77 g L −1 in the most downstream reach we measured, partly due to uptake of water by riparian vegetation and partly to intrusion of saline agricultural return flows. The disparity between surface flows and ET can likely be explained by the predominantly phreatophytic plants characterizing the area, which draw water from the aquifer. These results also suggest that the deteriorated condition of vegetation within the riparian zone might not be reversed by a single pulse event and could instead require subsequent pulse flows as a long term strategy to restore vegetation in this riparian ecosystem.

Ecological Engineering↗

USGS2017

Groundwater response to the 2014 pulse flow in the Colorado River Delta

During the March-May 2014 Colorado River Delta pulse flow, approximately 102 × 10 6 m 3 (82,000 acre-feet) of water was released into the channel at Morelos Dam, with additional releases further downstream. The majority of pulse flow water infiltrated and recharged the regional aquifer. Using groundwater-level and microgravity data we mapped the spatial and temporal distribution of changes in aquifer storage associated with pulse flow. Surface-water losses to infiltration were greatest around the Southerly International Boundary, where a lowered groundwater level owing to nearby pumping created increased storage potential as compared to other areas with shallower groundwater. Groundwater levels were elevated for several months after the pulse flow but had largely returned to pre-pulse levels by fall 2014. Elevated groundwater levels in the limitrophe (border) reach extended about 2 km to the east around the midway point between the Northerly and Southerly International Boundaries, and about 4 km to the east at the southern end. In the southern part of the delta, although total streamflow in the channel was less due to upstream infiltration, augmented deliveries through irrigation canals and possible irrigation return flows created sustained increases in groundwater levels during summer 2014. Results show that elevated groundwater levels and increases in groundwater storage were relatively short lived (confined to calendar year 2014), and that depressed water levels associated with groundwater pumping around San Luis, Arizona and San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora cause large, unavoidable infiltration losses of in-channel water to groundwater in the vicinity.

Colorado River Basin↗

USGS2017

A large-scale environmental flow experiment for riparian restoration in the Colorado River delta

Managing streamflow is a widely-advocated approach to provide conditions necessary for seed germination and seedling establishment of trees in the willow family (Salicaceae). Experimental flow releases to the Colorado River delta in 2014 had a primary objective of promoting seedling establishment of Fremont cottonwood ( Populus fremontii ) and Goodding's willow ( Salix gooddingii ). We assessed seed germination and seedling establishment of these taxa as well as the non-native tamarisk ( Tamarix spp.) and native seepwillow shrubs ( Baccharis spp.) in the context of seedling requirements and active land management (land grading, vegetation removal) at 23 study sites along 87 river km. In the absence of associated active land management, experimental flows to the Colorado River delta were minimally successful at promoting establishment of new woody riparian seedlings, except for non-native Tamarix . Our results suggest that the primary factors contributing to low seedling establishment varied across space, but included low or no seed availability in some locations for some taxa, insufficient soil moisture availability during the growing season indicated by deep groundwater tables, and competition from adjacent vegetation (and, conversely, availability of bare ground). Active land management to create bare ground and favorable land grades contributed to significantly higher rates of Salicaceae seedling establishment in a river reach with high groundwater tables. Our results provide insights that can inform future environmental flow deliveries to the Colorado River delta and its ecosystems and other similar efforts to restore Salicaceae taxa around the world.

Colorado River↗

USGS2017

It takes more than water: Restoring the Colorado River Delta

Environmental flows have become important tools for restoring rivers and associated riparian ecosystems ( Arthington, 2012; Glenn et al., 2017 ). In March 2014, the United States and Mexico initiated a bold effort in restoration, delivering from Morelos Dam a “pulse flow” of water into the Colorado River in its delta for the purpose of learning about its environmental effects ( Flessa et al., 2013; Bark et al., 2016 ). Specifically, scientists evaluated whether the pulse flow, albeit minuscule compared to historical floods, could provide the ecological functions needed to establish native, flood-dependent vegetation to restore natural habitat along the riparian corridor.

Colorado River Delta↗