Zero or not? Causes and consequences of zero‐flow stream gage readings
2020
Zimmer, Margaret | Kaiser, Kendra | Blaszczak, Joanna | Zipper, Samuel | Hammond, John | Fritz, Ken | Costigan, Katie | Hosen, Jacob | Godsey, Sarah | Allen, George | Kampf, Stephanie | Burrows, Ryan | Krabbenhoft, Corey | Dodds, Walter | Hale, Rebecca | Olden, Julian | Shanafield, Margaret | Delvecchia, Amanda | Ward, Adam | Mims, Meryl | Datry, T. | Bogan, Michael | Boersma, Kate | Busch, Michelle | Jones, C. Nathan | Burgin, Amy | Allen, Daniel | University of California [Santa Cruz] (UC Santa Cruz) ; University of California (UC) | Boise State University | Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) | University of Kansas [Kansas City] | United States Geological Survey (USGS) | United States Environmental Protection Agency [Cincinnati] | University of Louisiana at Lafayette ; Partenaires INRAE | Purdue University [West Lafayette] | Idaho State University | Texas A&M University System | Colorado State University [Fort Collins] (CSU) | Griffith University [Brisbane] | State University of New York (SUNY) | State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY) | Kansas State University | University of Washington [Seattle] | Flinders University of South Australia | University of Montana | Indiana University System | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University [Blacksburg] | RiverLy - Fonctionnement des hydrosystèmes (RiverLy) ; Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE) | University of Arizona | University of San Diego (USD) | University of Oklahoma (OU) | University of Alabama [Tuscaloosa] (UA) | National Science Foundation (NSF) : DEB-1754389 | National Science Foundation (NSF) : DEB-1830178, EAR-1653998, EAR-1652293 | NSF Konza Long Term Ecological Research grant : 1440484 | United States Department of Energy (DOE) | Australian Research Council : DE150100302 | United States Department of Energy (DOE) : DE-SC0019377
International audience
Show more [+] Less [-]English. Streamflow observations can be used to understand, predict, and contextualize hydrologic, ecological, and biogeochemical processes and conditions in streams. Stream gages are point measurements along rivers where streamflow is measured, and are often used to infer upstream watershed‐scale processes. When stream gages read zero, this may indicate that the stream has dried at this location; however, zero‐flow readings can also be caused by a wide range of other factors. Our ability to identify whether or not a zero‐flow gage reading indicates a dry fluvial system has far reaching environmental implications. Incorrect identification and interpretation by the data user can lead to inaccurate hydrologic, ecological, and/or biogeochemical predictions from models and analyses. Here, we describe several causes of zero‐flow gage readings: frozen surface water, flow reversals, instrument error, and natural or human‐driven upstream source losses or bypass flow. For these examples, we discuss the implications of zero‐flow interpretations. We also highlight additional methods for determining flow presence, including direct observations, statistical methods, and hydrologic models, which can be applied to interpret causes of zero‐flow gage readings and implications for reach‐ and watershed‐scale dynamics. Such efforts are necessary to improve our ability to understand and predict surface flow activation, cessation, and connectivity across river networks. Developing this integrated understanding of the wide range of possible meanings of zero‐flows will only attain greater importance in a more variable and changing hydrologic climate.
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