Abstract
Flow and water quality of rivers are highly dynamic. Water quantity and quality are subjected to simultaneous physical, chemical and biological processes making it difficult to accurately assess lotic ecosystems. Our study investigated net ecosystem production (NEP) relying on high-frequency data of hydrology, hydrodynamics and water quality. The Kanawha River, West Virginia was investigated along 52.8 km to estimate NEP. Water quality data were collected along the river using three distributed multiprobe sondes that measured water temperature, dissolved oxygen, dissolved oxygen saturation, specific conductance, turbidity and ORP hourly for 71 days. Flows along the river were predicted by means of the hydrologic and hydrodynamic models in Hydrologic Simulation Program in Fortran (HSPF). It was found that urban local inflows were correlated with NEP. However, under hypoxic conditions, local inflows were correlated with specific conductance. Thus, our approach represents an effort for the systematic integration of data derived from models and field measurements with the aim of providing an improved assessment of lotic ecosystems.
Highlights
Physicochemical and hydro-morphological properties of a river combined with biological communities [1,2] cause simultaneous physical, chemical and biological processes
Data from two climate stations were averaged instead of segmenting the watershed according to the area of influence, since both stations were in proximity
For the segment of the river between Q2 and Q3, we found that WQ2–Q3 was mainly correlated with specific conductance and net ecosystem production (NEP)
Summary
Physicochemical and hydro-morphological properties of a river combined with biological communities [1,2] cause simultaneous physical, chemical and biological processes. Spatiotemporal variation is under an endless search for equilibrium by means of interactions between biotic and abiotic factors [3,4]. Those interactions can be assessed using the net ecosystem production (NEP) [5], which has been successfully applied to rivers for several decades [6]. NEP must balance reaeration rates with photosynthetic production, respiratory consumption and all processes that can cause changes to dissolved oxygen [7,8,9].
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