CAREER: Advancing predictive understanding of hydrologic exchange in the river corridor

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The specific knowledge necessary to predict and manage the fate and transport of contaminants within rivers is currently inadequate. This project will utilize a conceptual river corridor perspective that considers the surface water, near-surface sediments, the flood zone, the hillslope catchment and contributing groundwater aquifers as a continuum. The project will consider the exchange of water, solutes, energy and materials across a range of spatial and temporal scales and across these various compartments. The project focusses on three primary goals: (1) improve our understanding of dynamic exchange processes in the river corridor; (2) develop methods to scale findings from geomorphic features to the reach and network scales; and (3) improve predictive capacity that can be readily implemented without extensive field characterization of sites of interest. Results of this research will improve our ability to predict the transport and fate of contaminants in river corridors, enabling more effective management of water resources. The integrated education and research plans will inspire a diverse group of K-12 and undergraduate students to pursue careers in STEM fields. The project goal is to develop an integrated program of research and education focused on advancing the understanding of hydrologic exchange in river corridors and the associated ecosystem services and functions. The project will utilize a river corridor perspective that considers the surface stream, its hyporheic zone, riparian zone, hillslope, and aquifer as a continuum, exchanging water, solutes, energy and materials across a range of spatial and temporal scales. The proposed research will quantify spatial and temporal heterogeneity in river corridor exchange at the scale of individual geomorphic features and study reaches, and will synthesize results to develop predictive relationships of river corridor exchange along naturally occurring gradients in geologic setting and under hydrologic forcing. This research will specifically address three research questions: (1) What relatively static characteristics of geologic setting and hydrologic forcing cause predictable variation in river corridor exchange?; (2) To what extent is river corridor exchange controlled by the dynamic interaction between geologic setting and hydrologic forcing?; and (3) How transferrable are predictive relationships and models of river corridor exchange? Research efforts are integrated with educational activities including K-12 education, mentoring high-school and undergraduate researchers, and teaching courses on River Corridor Science and Management at the graduate level.