Geology topics

Research about San Miguel River

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including San Miguel River.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2015

Upscaling of U (VI) desorption and transport from decimeter‐scale heterogeneity to plume‐scale modeling

Scientifically defensible predictions of field scale U(VI) transport in groundwater requires an understanding of key processes at multiple scales. These scales range from smaller than the sediment grain scale (less than 10 μm) to as large as the field scale which can extend over several kilometers. The key processes that need to be considered include both geochemical reactions in solution and at sediment surfaces as well as physical transport processes including advection, dispersion, and pore-scale diffusion. The research summarized in this report includes both experimental and modeling results in batch, column and tracer tests. The objectives of this research were to: (1) quantify the rates of U(VI) desorption from sediments acquired from a uranium contaminated aquifer in batch experiments;(2) quantify rates of U(VI) desorption in column experiments with variable chemical conditions, and(3) quantify nonreactive tracer and U(VI) transport in field tests.

Colorado↗

USGS2000

High flow and riparian vegetation along the San Miguel River, Colorado

Riparian ecosystems are characterized by abundance of water and frequent flow related disturbance. River regulation typically decreases peak flows, reducing the amount of disturbance and altering the vegetation. The San Miguel River is one of the last relatively unregulated rivers remaining in the Colorado River Watershed. One goal of major landowners along the San Miguel including the Bureau of Land Management and The Nature Conservancy is to maintain their lands in a natural condition. Conservation of an entire river corridor requires an integrated understanding of the variability in ecosystems and external influences along the river. Therefore, the Bureau of Land Management and others have fostered a series of studies designed to catalogue that variability, and to characterize the processes that maintain the river as a whole. In addition to providing information useful to managers, these studies present a rare opportunity to investigate how a Colorado river operates in the absence of regulation.

Colorado↗