Storage-yield dynamics of a rocky mountain valley

山区河流系统及其相关的山谷地下水水库和湿地满足了加拿大西部六分之一以上的人口和700多万人的用水需求。为了解决山区蓄水-产量动态的不确定性，需要进行新的观测，以确定水文过程和生物活动的特点，从而控制从高海拔地区到邻近低地的水通过宽阔的山谷输送。在这些山谷中，水可以临时储存在浅层含水层和/或湿地中，这些湿地大多是由海狸创造或维护的。本研究方案将测量浅河谷含水层和河谷湿地蓄水量的大小和变化率。此外，将综合运用水文、水化学和同位素方法，评估河谷含水层与河流的水文连通性。将对河狸对通过山谷的水流路线的影响进行现场测量。所有观测都将在位于艾伯塔省卡纳纳斯基斯县的锡伯德湖研究盆地进行。这个流域的水排入弓河，然后流入南萨斯喀彻温河，这条河为农业、工业和城市提供了关键的水。利用该设备进行的观测将提供一个更好的科学基础，将溪流-地下水-湿地的相互作用纳入其中，并纳入应对当前和未来山区水资源管理和水文建模挑战所必需的生物活动(如海狸)的影响。

Mountain riverine systems and their associated valley groundwater reservoirs and wetlands supply the water demands of over one-sixth of the earth's population and over seven million people in western Canada. To address uncertainties in storage-yield dynamics in mountain regions, new observations are needed that characterize the hydrologic processes and biological activities govern the routing of water from higher elevation areas to neighbouring lowlands through wide valleys. In these valleys, water can be temporarily stored in shallow aquifers and/or in wetlands that are mostly created or maintained by beaver. The magnitude and rate of change in storage of shallow valley aquifers and valley wetlands will be measured in this research programme. Also, the hydrologic connectivity of the valley aquifer to the stream will be assessed through using a combination of hydrometric, hydrochemical and isotopic methods. Field-based measurements of the effect of beaver on flow routing through the valley will be made. All observations will take place in the Sibbald Lake Research Basin, located in Kananaskis Country, Alberta. Water from this basin drains into the Bow River and then to the South Saskatchewan River, which provides critical water for agricultural, industrial, and urban use. The observations made with this equipment will provide an improved science base that integrates stream-groundwater-wetland interactions and incorporates effects of biological activities (e.g. beaver) necessary to meet current and future water resource management and hydrologic modeling challenges in mountain regions.