Juan Camacho / Earth & Environmental Sciences / Faculty Mentor: Ricardo Sanchez-Murillo
“After decades of hydrological studies concentrated in the hillslope-riparian-stream continuum, the spatial and temporal interactions between water sources in urban streams remain among the most poorly understood water cycle processes despite their paramount relevance for future urban water resilience and sustainability under global warming. We present a 2-year tracer study in an urban stream within the DFW metroplex. Isotopic compositions (18O and 2H) and solute concentrations (e.g., nitrate, iron, phosphorous, total organic carbon, tannin and lignin) are combined with air mass back trajectory modeling, and high-resolution hydrometric and imagery (gauge camera) data to evaluate the hydrological response of a highly altered urban stream during extreme rainfall events.
End-member mixing analysis conducted on the Rush creek from 15 storms reveals that stormwater fluctuates from 50% to 90 % during peak flow to 17 to 84% during the recession limb (higher for heavy rainfall events) with a mean value of 57.56 ± 24.8%. Solute concentrations will be correlated with the image’s HSV values during peak and baseflow to identify changes in color indicative of variations in water quality.
The results obtained from this study can be used to a) assess urban stream restoration and conservation practices, and b) determine the impact of emergent contaminants transport during extreme rainfall events.”
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