Geology topics

Kristin L. Jaeger

Publications and source records attributed to Kristin L. Jaeger.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

USGS2020

FLOwPER user guide—For collection of FLOw PERmanence field observations

The accurate mapping of streams and their streamflow conditions in terms of presence or absence of surface water is important to both understanding physical, chemical, and biological processes in streams and to managing land, water, and ecological resources. This document describes a field form, FLOwPER (FLOw PERmanence), available within a mobile application (app), for standardized data collection of the presence or absence of surface flow in streams. The FLOwPER Database is a publicly available geodataset that can be used for research and management applications. This document provides instructions on how to (1) access and download the FLOwPER field form within the mobile app service, (2) use and complete a FLOwPER field form, and (3) view and download data from the FLOwPER Database.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2019

An integrated framework for ecological drought across riverscapes of North America

Climate change is increasing the severity and extent of extreme droughts events, posing a critical threat to freshwater ecosystems, particularly with increasing human demands for diminishing water supplies. Despite the importance of drought as a significant driver of ecological and evolutionary dynamics, current understanding of drought consequences for freshwater biodiversity is very limited. We describe key barriers that hinder integrative drought research and monitoring across riverscapes. The primary constraint limiting understanding of ecological drought is an existing monitoring framework focused on human water consumption and flood risk in mainstem rivers. This approach is misaligned with escalating needs for research and data collection that illuminate exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity (i.e., vulnerability) of biota to drought across entire riverscapes. We present a hierarchical framework for integrated ecological drought monitoring and research that addresses drought vulnerability across riverscapes, and describe how this approach can directly inform natural-resource management.

BioScience↗

USGS2018

Water temperature in the Lower Quinault River, Olympic Peninsula, Washington, June 2016 - August 2017

The availability of cold-water refugia during summertime river-water temperature maximums is important for cold-water fish species including Endangered Species Act listed salmonids since water temperature influences metabolism, growth, and phenology. The U.S. Geological Survey monitored water temperature at 10 sites approximately evenly-spaced along the lower Quinault River on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington, from June 2016 to August 2017 to assess thermal conditions in the lower river. During this 15-month period, there was a near-continuous, 15-minute record at 7 of the sites; complications with thermistors at 3 of the 10 sites limited the temperature dataset to include only summer 2016. In addition, near-streambed and water-surface temperatures were measured along the lower river during a longitudinal survey from August 9 to 12, 2016, during summer baseflow conditions to potentially identify cold or cooler water regions. Measured August water temperatures were warmer than model-predicted August temperatures for the period, 1993–2011. Summertime (July–September) daily minimum temperatures exceeded established salmon habitat threshold temperatures of 16 °C (core summer season) and 17.5 °C (spawning, rearing, and migration periods) for 122 and 65 days, respectively, on average at all monitoring sites with a complete 15-month record that included two summer baseflow periods. Summertime water temperatures at those sites were generally cooler in the downstream direction along the lower Quinault River but became warmer in the downstream direction during the rest of the year, suggesting the river was influenced by diffuse discharge of groundwater with a relatively constant annual temperature. The August longitudinal temperature survey did not detect cold-water refugia (features more than 3 °C cooler than ambient stream water), although it did identify 11 cooler water features (CWF) approximately 100–800 m in length that were 0.1 °C cooler than adjacent upstream or downstream water. The CWFs appeared to correspond to local geomorphic conditions. In August 2017, 10 of the 11 CWFs were field surveyed, and 5 appeared to be influenced by shading from solar radiation by riparian vegetation or steep cliff banks. In addition, field observations suggest that finer scale (that is, less than 10 m) CWFs, specifically individual side pools associated with large, in-channel wood, increased in frequency in the downstream direction along the lower Quinault River. However, this study did not quantify the density or water temperatures associated with these fine-scale features that may serve as cool- or cold-water pockets or patches.

Washington↗

USGS2017

Suspended sediment, turbidity, and stream water temperature in the Sauk River Basin, western Washington, water years 2012-16

The Sauk River is a federally designated Wild and Scenic River that drains a relatively undisturbed landscape along the western slope of the North Cascade Mountain Range, Washington, which includes the glaciated volcano, Glacier Peak. Naturally high sediment loads characteristic of basins draining volcanoes like Glacier Peak make the Sauk River a dominant contributor of sediment to the downstream main stem river, the Skagit River. Additionally, the Sauk River serves as important spawning and rearing habitat for several salmonid species in the greater Skagit River system. Because of the importance of sediment to morphology, flow-conveyance, and ecosystem condition, there is interest in understanding the magnitude and timing of suspended sediment and turbidity from the Sauk River system and its principal tributaries, the White Chuck and Suiattle Rivers, to the Skagit River. Suspended-sediment measurements, turbidity data, and water temperature data were collected at two U.S. Geological Survey streamgages in the upper and middle reaches of the Sauk River over a 4-year period extending from October 2011 to September 2015, and at a downstream location in the lower river for a 5-year period extending from October 2011 to September 2016. Over the collective 5-year study period, mean annual suspended-sediment loads at the three streamgages on the upper, middle, and lower Sauk River streamgages were 94,200 metric tons (t), 203,000 t, and 940,000 t streamgages, respectively. Fine (smaller than 0.0625 millimeter) total suspended-sediment load averaged 49 percent at the upper Sauk River streamgage, 42 percent at the middle Sauk River streamgage, and 34 percent at the lower Sauk River streamgage.

Washington↗

USGS2017

Geomorphology and sediment regimes of intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams

The geomorphology and sediment regimes of intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES) are extremely diverse, owing in large part to the substantial spatiotemporal variability of the associated hydrological regimes. We describe the geomorphological character and sediment transport processes along IRES within the context of four geomorphological zones—upland, piedmont, lowland, and floodout—to illustrate the underpinning longitudinal trends of sediment production, transfer, and deposition that exist at the landscape scale. Many geomorphological features of IRES tend to be spatially discontinuous as a result of extended no or low-flow conditions that are punctuated by high-magnitude flood events. Diversity of geomorphology and sediment regimes both within and between the four geomorphological zones therefore promotes ecological processes and patterns in IRES that can be very distinct from perennial river systems.

Book chapter↗

USGS2017

Hydrological connectivity in intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams

In intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (hereafter, IRES), hydrological connectivity mediated by either flowing or nonflowing water extends along three spatial dimensions—longitudinal, lateral, and vertical—and varies over time. Flow intermittence disrupts this connectivity, operating through complex hydrological transitions (e.g., between flowing and nonflowing phases). These transitions occur concurrently and interact along all three spatial dimensions, primarily driven by flow regime and catchment geomorphology, modified by human activities. Longitudinally, streamflow cessation and drying interrupt hydrological connectivity, contributing to physicochemical patchiness, habitat isolation, and fragmentation of metapopulations and metacommunities. Laterally, hydrological connectivity established during overbank flows is lost when water levels fall, reducing water-mediated transfers of energy, materials, and organisms from the floodplain and riparian zone. Vertically, flow cessation impairs exchange of surface and shallow groundwater, severely altering hydrological, chemical, and microbial gradients within the sediments. Concurrent interactions and physical discontinuities in hydrological connectivity along these three dimensions produce complex mosaics of physicochemical patches at different scales whose boundaries fluctuate over time in response to the flow regime. This complex patchiness underpins the characteristic physical, chemical, and biological diversity at multiple scales along longitudinal, lateral, and vertical hydrological dimensions in IRES.

Book chapter↗