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Air-stream temperature correlation in forested and urban headwater streams in the Southern Appalachians

Publication ,  Journal Article
Gu, C; Anderson, WP; Colby, JD; Coffey, CL
Published in: Hydrological Processes
March 15, 2015

Air temperature can be an effective predictor of stream temperature. However, little work has been done in studying urban impacts on air-stream relationships in groundwater-fed headwater streams in mountainous watersheds. We applied wavelet coherence analysis to two 13-month continuous (1hr interval) stream and air temperature datasets collected at Boone Creek, an urban stream, and Winkler Creek, a forest stream, in northwestern North Carolina. The main advantage of a wavelet coherence analysis approach is the ability to analyse non-stationary dynamics for the temporal covariance between air and stream temperature over time and at multiple temporal scales (e.g. hours, days, weeks and months). The coherence is both time and scale-dependent. Our research indicated that air temperature generally co-varied with stream temperature at time scales greater than 0.5day. The correlation was poor during the winter at the scales of 1 to 64days and summer at the scales of 1.5 to 4days, respectively. The empirical models that relate air temperature to stream temperature failed at these scales and during these periods. Finally, urbanization altered the air-stream temperature correlation at intermediate time scales ranging from 2 to 12days. The correlation at the urban creek increased at the 12-day scale, whereas it decreased at scales of 2 to 7days as compared with the forested stream, which is probably due to heated surface runoff during summer thunderstorms or leaking stormwater or wastewater collection systems. Our results provide insights into air-stream temperature relationships over both time and scale domains. Identifying controls over time and scales are needed to predict water temperature to understand the future impacts that interacting climate and land use changes will have on aquatic ecosystem in river networks.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Hydrological Processes

DOI

EISSN

1099-1085

ISSN

0885-6087

Publication Date

March 15, 2015

Volume

29

Issue

6

Start / End Page

1110 / 1118

Related Subject Headings

  • Environmental Engineering
  • 4005 Civil engineering
  • 3709 Physical geography and environmental geoscience
  • 3707 Hydrology
  • 0907 Environmental Engineering
  • 0905 Civil Engineering
  • 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience
 

Citation

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Gu, C., Anderson, W. P., Colby, J. D., & Coffey, C. L. (2015). Air-stream temperature correlation in forested and urban headwater streams in the Southern Appalachians. Hydrological Processes, 29(6), 1110–1118. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10225
Gu, C., W. P. Anderson, J. D. Colby, and C. L. Coffey. “Air-stream temperature correlation in forested and urban headwater streams in the Southern Appalachians.” Hydrological Processes 29, no. 6 (March 15, 2015): 1110–18. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10225.
Gu C, Anderson WP, Colby JD, Coffey CL. Air-stream temperature correlation in forested and urban headwater streams in the Southern Appalachians. Hydrological Processes. 2015 Mar 15;29(6):1110–8.
Gu, C., et al. “Air-stream temperature correlation in forested and urban headwater streams in the Southern Appalachians.” Hydrological Processes, vol. 29, no. 6, Mar. 2015, pp. 1110–18. Scopus, doi:10.1002/hyp.10225.
Gu C, Anderson WP, Colby JD, Coffey CL. Air-stream temperature correlation in forested and urban headwater streams in the Southern Appalachians. Hydrological Processes. 2015 Mar 15;29(6):1110–1118.
Journal cover image

Published In

Hydrological Processes

DOI

EISSN

1099-1085

ISSN

0885-6087

Publication Date

March 15, 2015

Volume

29

Issue

6

Start / End Page

1110 / 1118

Related Subject Headings

  • Environmental Engineering
  • 4005 Civil engineering
  • 3709 Physical geography and environmental geoscience
  • 3707 Hydrology
  • 0907 Environmental Engineering
  • 0905 Civil Engineering
  • 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience