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Estimating spatial pattern of hyporheic water exchange in slack water pool

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Abstract

Hyporheic zone (HZ) influences hydraulic and biogeochemical processes in and alongside streams, therefore, investigating the controlling geographic factors is beneficial for understanding the hydrological processes in HZ. Slack water pool (SWP) is an essential micro-topographic structure that has an impact on surface water and groundwater interactions in the HZ during and after high flows. However, only a few studies investigate HZ surface water and groundwater exchange in the SWP. This study used the thermal method to estimate the HZ water exchange in the SWP in a segment of the Weihe River in China during the winter season. The findings show that on the flow-direction parallel to the stream, river recharge dominates the HZ water exchange, while on the opposing flow-direction bank groundwater discharge dominates the water exchange. The water exchange in the opposing flow-direction bank is about 1.6 times of that in the flow-direction bank. The HZ water exchange is not only controlled by flow velocity but also the location and shape of the SWP. Great water exchange amount corresponds to the shape with more deformation. The maximum water exchange within the SWP is close to the river bank where the edge is relatively high. This study provides some guidelines for water resources management during flooding events.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Guotao Zhang, Weiwei Jiang, Yuanyuan Wang, Ming Wen, Shaofeng Xu, and other members for assistance in fieldwork. In particular, we are grateful to the editor and two anonymous reviewers for providing numerous comments and suggestions, which helped improve this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, CAS & MWR, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China

    Jinxi Song, Dandong Cheng & Weibo Shen

  2. Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Earth Surface System and Environmental Carrying Capacity, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an, 710127, China

    Jinxi Song, Junlong Zhang, Yongqing Long & Yan Zhang

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Dandong Cheng

  4. College of Geography and Environment, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250358, China

    Junlong Zhang

  5. CSIRO Land and Water, GPO Box 1666, ACTON 2601, Canberra, Australia

    Yongqiang Zhang

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  1. Jinxi Song
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Correspondence to Jinxi Song.

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Foundation: National Natural Science Foundation of China, No.51679200; No.51379175; Program for Key Science and Technology Innovation Team in Shaanxi Province, No.2014KCT-27; The Hundred Talents Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.A315021406; Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education, No.20136101110001

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Song, J., Cheng, D., Zhang, J. et al. Estimating spatial pattern of hyporheic water exchange in slack water pool. J. Geogr. Sci. 29, 377–388 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-019-1604-3

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