HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, VOL.

11, 253267 (1997)

ALLUVIAL CHARACTERISTICS, GROUNDWATERSURFACE

WATER EXCHANGE AND HYDROLOGICAL RETENTION
IN HEADWATER STREAMS
JOHN A. MORRICE,1 H. MAURICE VALETT,1 CLIFFORD N. DAHM1
AND MICHAEL E. CAMPANA2
1

Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA

Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA

ABSTRACT
Conservative solute injections were conducted in three rst-order montane streams of dierent geological composition
to assess the inuence of parent lithology and alluvial characteristics on the hydrological retention of nutrients. Three
study sites were established: (1) Aspen Creek, in a sandstonesiltstone catchment with a ne-grained alluvium of low
hydraulic conductivity (1
3  10 4 cm=s), (2) Rio Calaveras, which ows through volcanic tu with alluvium of intermediate grain size and hydraulic conductivity (1
2  10 3 cm=s), and (3) Gallina Creek, located in a granite/gneiss
catchment of coarse, poorly sorted alluvium with high hydraulic conductivity (4
1  10 3 cm=s). All sites were
instrumented with networks of shallow groundwater wells to monitor interstitial solute transport. The rate and extent of
groundwatersurface water exchange, determined by the solute response in wells, increased with increasing hydraulic
conductivity. The direction of surface watergroundwater interaction within a stream was related to local variation in
vertical and horizontal hydraulic gradients. Experimental tracer responses in the surface stream were simulated with a
one-dimensional solute transport model with inow and storage components (OTIS). Model-derived measures of
hydrological retention showed a corresponding increase with increasing hydraulic conductivity.
To assess the temporal variability of hydrological retention, solute injection experiments were conducted in Gallina
Creek under four seasonal ow regimes during which surface discharge ranged from baseow (0.75 l/s in October) to
high (75 l/s during spring snowmelt). Model-derived hydrological retention decreased with increasing discharge.
The results of our intersite comparison suggest that hydrological retention is strongly inuenced by the geologic
setting and alluvial characteristics of the stream catchment. Temporal variation in hydrological retention at Gallina
Creek is related to seasonal changes in discharge, highlighting the need for temporal resolution in studies of the dynamics
of surface watergroundwater interactions in stream ecosystems. # 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Hydrological Processes, vol. 11, 253267 (1997)
(No. of Figures: 7
KEY WORDS

No. of Tables: 4 No. of Refs: 38)

transient storage zone; hyporheic zone; hydraulic conductivity; nutrient retention; OTIS;
stream ecosystem

INTRODUCTION
Nutrient retention is a fundamental descriptor of ecosystem functioning. In streams, the ux of nutrients
through the ecosystem is dominated by advective ow, but a suite of biological, hydrological and chemical
processes delay the downstream transport of nutrients. The interplay of these factors determines nutrient
retention and cycling. Quantitative measures of retention are useful points of comparison between stream
ecosystems (Newbold et al., 1981; Elwood et al., 1982; Munn and Meyer, 1990).
In this paper, we focus on hydrological retention. Streamwatershed interactions and stream surface
complexities entrain nutrients in owpaths moving at slower velocities than those predicted by advective
transport in the thalweg of streams. The resulting increase in hydraulic residence time is referred to as
hydrological retention. We propose a conceptual model of nutrient retention where, in addition to rates of
biological and chemical nutrient uptake, nutrient retention within a stream reach is a function of hydraulic
residence time.
CCC 08856087/97/03025315
# 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Received 13 March 1995

Accepted 25 July 1995

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J. A. MORRICE ET AL.

Speaker et al. (1984), Trotter (1990), and Ehrman and Lamberti (1992) found that debris dams increased
hydrological residence time and resulted in enhanced retention of particulate organic material. Triska et al.
(1989) and Castro and Hornberger (1991) identied interstitial zones as a signicant source of hydrological
retention. The region of mixing between groundwater and surface water has been termed the hyporheic
zone (sensu Orghidan, 1959) and has been identied as a region of intensied biogeochemical activity
(Grimm and Fisher, 1984; Du and Triska, 1990; Triska et al., 1993). Flowpaths through the hyporheic zone
have been delineated by measuring temperature gradients (White et al., 1987) and by detailed measurements
of pressure head (Harvey and Bencala, 1993). Biogeochemical conditions in the hyporheic zone may dier
greatly from the surface waters of a stream (Triska et al., 1989, Valett et al., 1996) with important
implications for the transformation and retention of biologically active solutes.
Solute transport models with transient storage terms have been applied to data from conservative solute
injection experiments to provide a quantitative measure of hydrological retention (Bencala and Walters,
1983). This quantitative approach may be applied to intersite comparisons of hydrological retention.
Jackman et al. (1984) and Bencala et al. (1993) contend that hydraulic storage in the stream bed, or
hyporheic zone, is the primary source of model-derived transient storage. Legrand-Marcq and Laudelout
(1985) and D'Angelo et al. (1993) observed decreases in transient storage with increasing discharge and
D'Angelo et al. (1993) found that storage was lower in stream reaches that were geomorphically constrained
than in those that were unconstrained. While interstitial owpaths are recognized as a source of hydrological
retention in stream ecosystems, the eects of variation in catchment lithology and sediment characteristics
on retention are not well known.
In this study, we investigate the spatial and temporal patterns of hydrological retention in three headwater streams with diering parent lithologies and alluvial types. We describe the rate and extent of
surface watergroundwater interaction in the streams and alluvial aquifers and provide model parameters
to quantify transient hydrological storage. We use this information to address the following questions.
(1) How does hydrological retention vary between streams with diering alluvial hydraulic conductivities?
(2) What hydrological features create heterogeneity in surface watergroundwater interactions within a
stream reach? And, (3) how does hydrological retention respond to variation in the annual hydrograph of
a stream?
STUDY SITES
Experiments were conducted on three headwater streams in western and north-central New Mexico, USA.
The streams are in catchments with dierent parent lithologies in which the grain size and hydraulic
conductivity of alluvial sediments vary greatly.
Aspen Creek is located in the Zuni Mountains of western New Mexico. The catchment lies in Permian
sandstone and siltstone of the Yeso Formation (Dane and Bachman, 1965; Stanesco, 1992). The mean
particle size distribution of alluvium at Aspen Creek is: 2% gravel, 46% sand, 42.5% silt, 9.5% clay (J. Klug,
University of Wisconsin, unpublished data). The mean hydraulic conductivity is the lowest of the three sites.
The catchment size is 322 ha, the overall stream gradient is 2.0% and the elevation at the lower end of the
experimental reach is 2377 m.
Rio Calaveras is in the Jemez Mountains of north-central New Mexico; it lies on the western ank of the
Valles Caldera at 2475 metres elevation. The catchment size is 3760 ha and the average stream gradient is
1.3%. Alluvial sediments are weathering products of the Bandelier tu produced in the eruption of the
Valles Caldera 1.2 million years ago (Dane and Bachman, 1965; Go et al., 1988). The mean particle size
distribution of alluvium at Rio Calaveras is: 36% gravel, 53% sand, 9% silt, 2% clay (J. Klug, University of
Wisconsin, unpublished data). The mean hydraulic conductivity of the alluvium at Rio Calaveras is
intermediate amongst the three sites.
Gallina Creek, with a catchment size of 618 ha and an average stream gradient of 11.1%, is located at
2524 m elevation in the Sangre de Cristo mountains of north central New Mexico. The parent lithology is
granite/gneiss (Dane and Bachman, 1965). The alluvium at Gallina Creek is poorly sorted boulders, cobble,
gravel and sands with the highest hydraulic conductivity of the three sites.

STREAM HYDROLOGICAL RETENTION

255

METHODS
Field Methods
A network of sampling wells and piezometers was installed at each site. At Aspen Creek and Rio
Calaveras, wells were placed along ve transects perpendicular to the stream. The experimental reach
lengths of Aspen Creek and Rio Calaveras are 175 m and 110 m, respectively. At each transect, one
sampling well was placed in the stream and wells were placed on both sides of the stream at distances of 1
and 3 m from the active channel. Piezometers were placed in the same conguration 5 m upstream from the
sampling wells, except that piezometers within the stream and 1 m from the active channel were vertically
nested. In October and November 1992, additional piezometer nests were installed in the oodplains of
Aspen Creek (14 pairs) and Rio Calaveras (16 pairs) to increase the resolution of potentiometric maps. At
Gallina Creek, 13 wells were installed along the 190 m experimental reach. Constrained geomorphology and
the large size of alluvial material at this site made it impractical to establish a well network conguration
similar to Aspen Creek and Rio Calaveras. At this site, wells were installed in the alluvial oodplain at
distances ranging from 0.3 to 4 m from the active channel. At each site, wells, stream channel and valley
slope breaks were surveyed and mapped.
Wells and piezometers were constructed from 5 cm (internal diameter) PVC pipe and slotted PVC well
screen (254 mm or 0.01 inches). The screen length for piezometers and sampling wells was 15 and 50 cm,
respectively. Boreholes for sampling wells were dug to ca. 60 cm beneath the water table at baseow to
ensure that the entire well screen was in the saturated zone. Piezometers were placed ca. 50 cm beneath the
water table. For the piezometer nests, a second piezometer was installed 50 cm beneath the rst in order to
determine vertical hydraulic gradient. Discharge was measured using cutthroat umes (Baski Inc.) during
low ow conditions and by tracer dilution techniques (Stream Solute Workshop, 1990) during high
discharge.
Hydraulic conductivity was determined by slug or bail tests (Hvorslev, 1951). Slug tests were used in wells
where the entire screen was submerged. Conversely, in wells where the water table was beneath the top of the
screen, bail tests were used. Comparative studies on specic wells indicated that the two procedures
produced similar results (J. N. Morrice, University of Nevada, unpublished data). Tests were conducted on
15 wells at Aspen Creek, 36 wells at Rio Calaveras and 7 wells at Gallina Creek. Geometric means of
hydraulic conductivity were calculated for each site and a one-way ANOVA on the log-transformed data
combined with a Bonferroni multiple comparison test (Sokal and Rohlf, 1981) was used to test for
dierences between sites.
Well hydraulic heads were measured manually with a portable water level sensor (Solonist Inc.).
Potentiometric maps were produced from well-head data by kriging using geostatistical software (SURFER,
Golden Software 1989). Installation of additional wells in October and November 1992 greatly enhanced the
resolution of potentiometric maps. Maps presented in this paper are generated from well-head data from
long-term solute injections combined with data from the additional wells obtained on dates in 1993 when
hydraulic heads were similar to levels during the injection experiments (G. J. Wroblicky, unpublished data).
Vertical hydraulic gradients were determined from the dierence in hydraulic head between pairs of
vertically nested piezometers. A positive vertical hydraulic gradient indicates a region of groundwater
discharge to the stream. A negative gradient indicates a region of groundwater recharge. Vertical hydraulic
gradients were determined from piezometer nests beneath the active channel and 1 m perpendicular to the
wetted channel.
Solute Injections
Solute injection experiments were used to characterize the surface hydrology and groundwatersurface
water interactions at each site. A concentrated solution of sodium bromide (NaBr) was added continuously
to the stream at a station above the experimental reach. Bromide, a biologically and chemically conservative
ion (Bowman, 1984) occurring at low background concentrations (550 mg=l), was continuously injected
into the surface waters of the three study streams following procedures outlined previously (Triska et al.,
1989).

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J. A. MORRICE ET AL.

Sampling intervals for surface and well waters during the injection were designed to characterize the
breakthrough curve of bromide-labelled water. Samples were collected in acid-washed polyethylene bottles.
Well samples were obtained with a bailer and the volume of water withdrawn from wells was kept to a
minimum (5500 ml) to avoid disruption of groundwater dynamics. Surface samples were collected directly
from the stream. Samples were immediately ltered in the eld (Whatman GF/F lters) and stored on ice
until returned to the laboratory.
Table I. Dates and duration of solute additions for tracer injection experiments. Sampling
periods include background sampling prior to the start of tracer addition and the sampling
period after solute addition was stopped
Site

Sampling period

Duration of tracer injection

Aspen Creek

6/9/92 to 6/12/92
9/12/92 to 10/1/92

48 hours
10 days

Rio Calaveras

7/14/92 to 7/17/92
8/10/92 to 8/20/92

48 hours
7 days

Gallina Creek

10/3/92 to 10/17/92
2/3/93 to 2/4/93
6/9/93
8/10/93 to 8/18/93

7
8
8
6

days
hours
hours
days

Short-term injections (i.e. 48 h) were employed for intensive sampling of tracer in surface water under
baseow conditions at Aspen Creek and Rio Calaveras (Table I). Long-term (i.e. 710 days) injections were
run at Aspen Creek and Rio Calaveras for analysis of subsurface tracer distribution and surface water
groundwater interaction. Four solute injection experiments were conducted at Gallina Creek under varying
discharge conditions. The duration of solute injections at Gallina Creek was determined on the basis of
stream discharge. Dates for the Gallina Creek injection experiments were selected to represent seasonal
variation in the stream's hydrograph. We considered baseow to be the lowest point on the annual
hydrograph. Unlike Aspen Creek and Rio Calaveras, where baseow is reached in early and mid-summer
respectively, snowmelt in the Gallina Creek basin occurs in early summer and discharge does not reach
baseow until late summer or early autumn.
Bromide concentration was determined by ion chromatography on a Dionex DX-100 (detection limit
10 ppb). Standards were rerun periodically to ensure analytical precision and accuracy.
Data Analysis
Well analysis. Analysis of bromide breakthrough curves in sampling wells provides a measure of both the
extent and rate of surface watergroundwater exchange (Triska et al., 1989). Once corrected for background, steady-state concentration of conservative tracer in a well can be compared with steady-state
concentration in surface water to determine hydrological sources of subsurface water. The wells were placed
in three categories based on their degree of connection with surface water as determined by tracer experiments. Phreatic, or groundwater, wells had less than 10% surface water at steady state. Moderately
connected wells had between 10 and 50% surface water and wells with greater than 50% surface water were
designated as highly connected.
Spatially explicit subsurface owpaths are not delineated by this method, therefore it is not possible to
determine interstitial velocities. The rate of exchange between surface water and groundwater is expressed as
the nominal travel time (i.e. the time required for the bromide concentration to reach 50% of the eventual
steady-state concentration). Short travel times indicate high interstitial velocities and/or short ow paths
between stream surface and sampling well locations.
Nominal travel time and proportion of surface water cannot be determined for wells where tracer
concentrations have not reached steady state. For example, while bromide appeared in all wells during the

STREAM HYDROLOGICAL RETENTION

257

injection experiment in June 1993 in Gallina Creek, the duration of tracer addition (8 hours) was insucient
for bromide concentrations to reach equilibrium in many wells. In these circumstances, we used the slope of
the tracer response (proportion of surface tracer in well/time post-injection) as an alternative measure of the
rate of exchange between surface and interstitial water. Dierences in slopes between high ow and baseow
discharges were compared using a Wilcoxon signed rank test (Sokal and Rohlf, 1981).
Solute transport modelling. A one-dimensional transport model with groundwater inow and solute storage
was used to simulate tracer transport in stream surface waters. We used the numerical code OTIS (Runkel
and Broshears, 1991), which is based on the transient storage model presented by Bencala and Walters
(1983). The model treats the stream as a two-compartment system, a main stream channel and a storage
zone. Advection and dispersion govern solute transport in the main stream channel. Solute is transferred
between the main stream channel and storage zone by exchange that is proportional to a concentration
gradient. There is no net movement of solute in the storage zone, which functions as a homogeneously mixed
`dead zone' (Bencala and Walters, 1983). OTIS solves the following coupled dierential equations:


@C
Q @C 1 @
@C
q

AD
LIN C L C aC S C
A
@t
A @x A @x
@x
dCS
A
a
C C S
dt
AS
where C is the solute concentration in the stream (M/L3 ), A the cross-sectional area of the stream channel
(L2 ), Q the stream discharge (L3 =T ), D is the stream dispersion coecient (L2 =T ), qLIN is lateral inow rate
(L3 =T L, CL is the solute conc. in lateral inow (M/L3 ), a is the storage zone exchange coecient (T1 ),
CS is the storage zone solute conc. (M/L3 ), and AS is the storage zone cross-sectional area (L2 ). Given a
discharge value at the head of the reach and distances to sampling sites, the parameters are iteratively
adjusted to produce a visual `best t' (Figure 1) of the model simulation to the bromide response from the
injection experiments (Bencala and Walters, 1983; Stream Solute Workshop, 1990; D'Angelo et al., 1993).
The t of the model simulation to the rising and falling limbs of the tracer response were of primary concern,
with particular attention paid to the regions indicated by points labelled `a' and `b' on Figure 1. Point `a'
shows the location on the rising or falling limb where the tracer response deviates from the advection
dispersion curve, which is simulated by manipulating a (Stream Solute Workshop, 1990). Point `b' shows the
region of tailing of the tracer response curve as concentrations approach steady state on the rising or falling

Figure 1. OTIS model simulation of bromide response at a sampling station 40 m downstream of the injection site during autumn
baseow injection at Gallina Creek. The solid line is the simulated response, crosses are observed values. Point `a' and region `b' of the
tracer breakthrough curve are simulated by manipulating a and As , respectively (Stream Solute Workshop, 1990)

258

J. A. MORRICE ET AL.

limb. In model simulations the extent of tailing is controlled by manipulating As (Stream Solute Workshop,
1990). Hydraulic residence times in the stream (T str 1=a) and in the storage zone (T sto As =Aa) are
derived from model parameters (Mulholland et al., 1994). Standardized storage zone area, the ratio of
storage zone cross-sectional area to stream cross-sectional area (As/A), is mathematically equivalent to the
ratio of storage zone residence time to stream residence time. As/A is often used as a comparative measure of
storage zone size (Stream Solute Workshop, 1990; Broshears et al., 1993, D'Angelo et al., 1993). Hydraulic
uptake length in the stream surface (S hyd Q=Aa) is the average distance a water molecule travels before
entering the storage zone (Mulholland et al., 1994).
The hydrological retention of solutes is determined by the distance of downstream transport before being
entrained in a storage zone (Shyd) and the duration of storage (Tsto). We introduce the hydrological retention
factor (Rh T sto =Shyd ), which quanties storage zone residence time of water per unit of stream reach
travelled. Rh is an index of retention that considers the relationship between instream transport and the
hydrodynamics of the storage zone and facilitates comparisons of hydrological retention between streams.
Three solute injections were performed to assess the hydrological retention under baseow conditions.
Model simulations were tted to tracer data from the June 1992 injection experiment at Aspen Creek for the
three upstream transects. Tracer responses at the three downstream transects were simulated for the July
1992 injection experiment at Rio Calaveras. Model simulations of tracer response during the October 1992
injection at Gallina Creek were made at ve locations. Comparisons between streams under baseow
conditions were based upon mean values for the model parameters.
For seasonal comparisons at Gallina Creek, model simulations were tted to tracer responses at a single
location downstream of the injection site. The distance between the injection and sampling site was 40 m
during the spring, summer and autumn injections. Deep snow cover made it necessary to relocate the
injection site 17 m upstream during the winter injection, resulting in a 57 m reach length. The relationship
between As/A and discharge (Q) was quantied by calculating the Pearson correlation coecient (Sokal and
Rolf, 1981).
RESULTS
Aspen Creek
Discharge and average surface velocity during the June 1991 injection experiment at Aspen Creek are
reported in Table II. The mean hydraulic conductivity of the alluvial sediments at Aspen Creek (Table II)
was lowest of the three sites (Bonferroni multiple comparison, p < 0
05).
During the twenty-day September 1992 experiment, 7 of 25 wells at Aspen Creek contained greater than
10% surface water as determined by tracer concentration (Figure 2). All but one of the connected wells was
in a location where negative vertical hydraulic gradients and/or horizontal ow paths oriented away from
the stream resulted in inltration of tracer-labelled surface water into subsurface environments (Figure 2).
Conversely, positive vertical hydraulic gradients and/or horizontal ow paths oriented towards the stream
restricted labelled surface water to the main channel near the upper two transects (Figure 2). Two wells with
50% surface water were beneath the wetted perimeter of the stream. Average surface water in connected
wells was 47% (SE 13
4%, Figure 3b). Nominal travel times to connected wells ranged from less than one
day (23 hours) to more than nine days (217 hours) and averaged 122.4 hours (SE 31
2 hour, Figure 3a).

Table II. Hydrological characteristics of the study sites under baseow conditions

Parent lithology
Average stream gradient (%)
Hydraulic conductivity (cm/s)
Discharge (l/s)
Average surface velocity (m/s)

Aspen Creek

Rio Calaveras

Gallina Creek

Sandstone/siltstone
2.0
1
3  10 4
1.5
0.15

Pumiceous tu
1.3
1
2  10 3
2.0
0.067

Granite/gneiss
11.1
4
0  10 3
0.75
0.015

STREAM HYDROLOGICAL RETENTION

259

Figure 2. Potentiometric map of Aspen Creek with near-stream vertical hydraulic gradients. Equipotentials are measured in metres
above an arbitrary datum. Distribution of conservative tracer in the hyporheic zone of Aspen Creek at ve sampling transects (ae)
during baseow as measured in 25 sampling wells

OTIS model simulations were tted to tracer data from the June 1992 injection experiment (Table III,
Figure 4) indicated that model parameters were the same for all transects analysed. The dispersion
coecient (D) was 0.05 m2 /s and the storage zone exchange coecient (a) was 4
0  10 5 s 1 . Storage zone
cross-sectional area (As) was 8
0  10 4 m2 and stream cross-sectional area (A) was 0.01 m2 .
Rio Calaveras
The mean hydraulic conductivity of the alluvial sediments at Rio Calaveras (Table II) was lower than
Gallina Creek and higher than Aspen Creek (Bonferroni multiple comparison, p < 0
05). Average stream
discharge and average surface water velocity during the July injection experiment are listed in Table II.
Discharge averaged 1.7 l/s during the August 1992 injection.
During the ten-day August 1992 experiment, bromide levels in 8 of 26 wells indicated greater than 10%
surface water content (Figure 5). All of the connected wells, except one, were in the lower half of the

260

J. A. MORRICE ET AL.

Figure 3. (a) Mean percent surface water and (b) nominal travel time in hyporheic wells (wells with >10% surface water) during
baseow long-term conservative solute injection experiments. Error bars are standard errors of the mean

Figure 4. Comparison of OTIS model simulations of conservative tracer responses 40 m downstream of injection sites at Aspen Creek,
Rio Calaveras and Gallina Creek during baseow. Model parameters used in the simulations are means from ve transects modelled
for Rio Calaveras and Gallina Creek and three transects modelled for Aspen Creek

experimental reach. Four wells were highly connected (450% surface water). Similarly to Aspen Creek,
hydrologically connected wells were located in regions where hydraulic gradients were oriented away from
the stream (Figure 5). Average surface water content in connected wells was 59.6% (SE 12
9%,
Figure 3b). Nominal travel times to connected wells ranged from 1.9 hours to more than ve days
(> 176 hours) and averaged nearly four days (88.8 hours, SE 21
6 hour, Figure 3a)
Table III. Mean parameters from OTIS model simulations of conservative tracer response at baseow
D (m2 /s)
a (s1 )
As (m2 )
A (m2 )
As/A
Storage zone residence time (min)
Stream residence time (min)
Hydraulic uptake length (m)
Retention factor (s/m)

Aspen Creek

Rio Calaveras

Gallina Creek

0.05
4
0  10 5
8
0  10 4
0.01
0.08
33.3
417
3753
0.53

0.05
5
8  10 5
3
0  10 3
0.03
0.10
28.7
287
1154
1.50

0.05
6
1  10 5
2
3  10 1
0.05
4. 6
1257
273
246
306

STREAM HYDROLOGICAL RETENTION

261

Figure 5. Potentiometric map of Rio Calaveras with near-stream vertical hydraulic gradients. Equipotentials are measured in metres
above an arbitrary datum. Distribution of conservative tracer in the hyporheic zone of Rio Calaveras at ve sampling transects (ae)
during baseow as measured in 26 sampling wells

OTIS model simulations were tted to tracer data from the July 1992 injection experiment (Table III,
Figure 4) when the dispersion coecient was 0.05 m2 /s at all transects and the storage zone exchange
coecient (a) ranged from 5
5  10 5 to 6
5  10 5 s 1 . The storage zone cross-sectional area (As) was
3
0  10 3 m2 and the stream cross-sectional area (A) was 0.03 m2 at all three transects.
Gallina Creek
The hydraulic conductivity of the alluvium at Gallina Creek (Table II) was the highest of the three sites
(Bonferroni multiple comparison, p < 0
05). Average discharge and surface water velocity during the
October 1992 injection experiment are reported in Table II.
All 13 wells contained greater than 10% percent surface water (Figure 6). Eight wells had 450% surface
water. Nominal travel times to connected wells ranged from 16 to 74 hours and averaged less than two days
(38.4 hours, SE 4
8 hour, Figure 3a). Average surface water in connected wells was 65.1% (SE 7
3%,
Figure 3b).

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J. A. MORRICE ET AL.

Figure 6. Potentiometric map of Gallina Creek. Equipotentials are measured in metres above an arbitrary datum. Distribution
of conservative tracer in the hyporheic zone of Gallina creek at ve sampling transects (ae) during baseow as measured in
13 sampling wells

OTIS model simulations were tted to bromide data from the October 1992 injection experiment
(Table III, Figure 4). The dispersion (D) was 0.05 m2 /s at all transects. The storage zone exchange coecient
(a) ranged from 5
0  10 5 to 8
0  10 5 s 1 : The storage zone cross-sectional area (As ) ranged from
1
8  10 1 m2 to 3
0  10 1 m2 and the stream cross-sectional area (A) ranged from 0.05 to 0.06 m2 .
The storage zone residence time was longest at Gallina Creek (1257 minutes), shortest at Rio Calaveras
(28.7 minutes) and of comparable duration at Aspen Creek (33.3 minutes) (Table III). The stream residence
time decreased with increasing hydraulic conductivity and alluvial grain size. The ratio of storage zone
residence time to stream residence time (As/A) ranged from 4.6 at Gallina Creek to 0.08 at Aspen Creek
(Table III). Hydraulic uptake length was longest at Aspen Creek (3753 m), of intermediate magnitude at Rio
Calaveras (1154 m) and shortest at Gallina Creek (246 m). The hydrological retention factor (Rh) increased
with increasing hydraulic conductivity (Table III).
Comparisons of conservative tracer injections at Gallina Creek reveal seasonal patterns in groundwater
surface water exchange, stream hydrology and transient storage. Slopes of the leading edge of the tracer
response curves (i.e. change in [Br ] vs. time) in eight wells were compared at high ow and low ow. Slopes
during the June 1993 injection (high ow, 0
051 + 0
015; x + SE) were signicantly greater ( p 0
05,

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STREAM HYDROLOGICAL RETENTION

Figure 7. OTIS model simulations of conservative tracer responses in Gallina Creek. Experiments were conducted under varying
discharge regimes. Simulations of tracer responses 40 m downstream of the injection site are compared

Wilcoxon signed rank test) than during the October 1992 baseow injection (0
019 + 0
007; x + SE)
indicating more rapid exchange between surface water and groundwater at high discharge.
Discharge ranged over two orders of magnitude and velocity varied 14-fold during four injections at
Gallina Creek (Table IV). OTIS model simulations for these injections are plotted in Figure 7. The
dispersion (D) was maximal during spring runo when discharge was 75 l/s (Table IV), but varied little
during other injections. The storage exchange coecient (a) varied from a low of 6
1  10 5 s 1 in autumn
to a high of 5
0  10 4 s 1 during the winter experiment. The stream cross-sectional area (A) increased with
increasing stream discharge. Conversely, the storage zone area (As) decreased with increasing discharge. The
storage zone residence time decreased as discharge increased and stream residence time was lowest in winter
and greatest during baseow. The standardized storage zone area (As/A) decreased with increasing
discharge. Hydraulic uptake lengths were similar during summer, autumn and winter but increased during
spring runo. The hydrological retention factor (Rh) decreased with increasing discharge. Following inverse
transformation of discharge, the standardized storage zone area was signicantly correlated with discharge
(As/A: r 0
99; n 4; P 0
006).
DISCUSSION
Two approaches to quantifying hydrological retention were employed in this study. Analysis of tracer
response in wells provides point-specic measurements of hydrological retention at the groundwater
surface water ecotone. Individual wells reveal the rate and extent of penetration of surface water into the
alluvial aquifer at specic locations. The distribution of conservative tracer responses in our well networks provides a qualitative measure of hydraulic retention along a stream reach specic to surface
Table IV. Mean parameters from OTIS model simulations of conservative tracer responses in Gallina Creek under
varying discharge regimes

Q (l/s)
v (m/s)
D (m2 /s)
a (s1 )
As (m2 )
A (m2 )
As/A
Storage zone residence time (min)
Stream residence time (min)
Hydraulic uptake length (m)
Retention factor (s/m)

Autumn

Summer

0.75
0.015
0.05
6
1  10 5
2
3  10 1
0.05
4.6
1257
273
246
306

2.0
0.025
0.08
1
2  10 4
1
3  10 1
0.08
1.63
227
139
209
64.8

Winter

Spring

15.0
0.11
0.05
5
0  10 4
1
0  10 1
0.14
0.71
23.7
33.3
220
6.4

75
0.21
0.40
2
0  10 4
4
0  10 2
0.36
0.11
9.2
83
1050
0.53

264

J. A. MORRICE ET AL.

watergroundwater exchange. In contrast, the OTIS model provides an integrated, reach-scale measure of
hydrological retention. Together these methods are a strong basis for comparing hydrological retention.
Hydrological retention attenuates the advective transport of water and dissolved nutrients. Results from this
research suggest that hydraulic transport and the associated retention of nutrients are aected by the
hydrogeological characteristics of the stream and alluvial aquifer. The hydraulic conductivity of alluvial
sediments, the direction and magnitude of horizontal and vertical hydraulic gradients, the stream gradient
and the magnitude of discharge all contribute to organizing both surface and interstitial ow and
hydrological retention in lotic ecosystems.
While the need for a catchment-scale perspective of streams and their linkage to groundwater has been
recognized (Hynes, 1983; Bencala, 1993), few studies have addressed dierences in groundwatersurface
water exchange between catchments. Kelson and Wells (1989) found that, in catchments with dierent
parent lithologies, the amount of surface runo varied with the storage properties of the associated alluvial
aquifers. Hydraulic storage in alluvium derived from crystalline parent material was higher than in alluvium
derived from sedimentary parent material (Kelson and Wells, 1989). Alluvium in a stream valley results
from weathering of parent geological material throughout the catchment and the transport and deposition
of uvial materials within the oodplain. Dierences in the hydrogeological characteristics of alluvium will
directly inuence groundwatersurface water exchange.
Hydraulic conductivity exhibits great spatial heterogeneity within many aquifers (e.g. Sudicky, 1986) and
caution should be used in assuming an average hydraulic conductivity. While hydraulic conductivity is
spatially variable within our sites, mean hydraulic conductivities diered signicantly between study sites
and provided a reasonable basis for establishing catchment-level dierences between the streams. Our results
support the contention that average hydraulic conductivity of the alluvium is a catchment-scale determinant
of the rate and extent of groundwatersurface water exchange.
It is logistically intractable to replicate these tracer experiments at the catchment scale, therefore, a
statistically rigorous test of the hypothesis that, across basins, hydraulic conductivity controls the nature of
surface watergroundwater exchange cannot be made (see Hurlbert, 1984). However, the observed trend of
increased rate and extent of groundwatersurface water exchange with increased hydraulic conductivity
follows logically from the predictions of Kelson and Wells (1989) who showed that variation in runo and
storage between catchments corresponds to dierences in parent lithology and alluvial characteristics.
The patchiness of groundwatersurface water exchange within catchments is related to local variations in
vertical and horizontal hydraulic gradients. Others have found that surface water entered the subsurface
where the stream gradient increased, at the head of ries, and re-entered the stream where the stream
gradient decreased, at the transition from rie to pool (Vaux, 1968; White et al., 1987; Harvey and Bencala,
1993). The stream beds of Aspen Creek and Rio Calaveras do not have pronounced stair step geomorphology. In both streams, however, there is a shift from predominantly positive or neutral vertical hydraulic
gradients in the upper reach to more negative vertical gradients in the lower reach (Figures 2 and 5; Henry
et al., 1994). In addition, our water table maps of Aspen Creek and Rio Calaveras suggest lateral ow
towards the active channel in the upper reaches and ow away from the channel in the lower reaches at
baseow. At both sites, hydrologically connected wells are concentrated in reaches where vertical hydraulic
gradients are negative and/or horizontal gradients are directed away from the stream. In contrast, all wells in
Gallina Creek were hydrologically connected with the stream.
Solute transport models with dead zone storage provide a reach-averaged, quantitative measure of
hydrological retention in streams (Bencala et al., 1993). The ratio As =A standardizes the storage zone size to
stream cross-section, allowing interstream comparison of hydrological retention. Broshears et al. (1993)
summarized modelling results from several mid-order mountain streams and reported a 100-fold variation
in standardized storage zone area between streams. Recent studies have sought to identify the features of
stream ecosystems that inuence and organize transient storage. D'Angelo et al. (1993) examined the
relationship between stream order, reach geomorphology and dead zone storage. They reported an overall
decrease in storage zone area with increasing stream order and found that storage zone area was greater in
unconstrained stream reaches than in constrained reaches. The authors hypothesized that storage zone area
increases with increasing instream channel complexity. Mulholland et al. (1994) observed a positive

STREAM HYDROLOGICAL RETENTION

265

relationship between transient storage and algal biomass in laboratory streams. These studies focus on the
inuence of surface features of streams on transient storage. In addition, Bencala and Walters (1983) suggest
that interstitial ow paths are a source of dead zone storage. Hydrological retention may result from any of
these mechanisms, the relative contribution of the dierent sources of retention to dead zone storage
probably varies between streams.
Our research focuses on features of stream ecosystems that are likely to inuence subsurface dead zone
storage, in particular hydrogeologic characteristics of the near-stream alluvium. We hypothesize that the
average grain size and hydraulic conductivity of the near-stream alluvium strongly inuence dead zone
storage. In our study sites, hydrological retention, as measured by tting the OTIS model to conservative
tracer injection data, varied predictably between geological types.
At Gallina Creek, the high hydraulic conductivity site, the storage zone exchange coecient (a) and
standardized storage zone area (As/A) were the highest of the three streams. Storage zone residence times
were longest and stream residence times were shortest. The average stream velocity was low, resulting in the
shortest hydraulic uptake length. These results indicate extensive interaction between the advective stream
and storage zone and long residence times within the storage zone.
Aspen Creek, with the lowest mean hydraulic conductivity, had the lowest storage zone exchange
coecient (a) and standardized storage zone area (As/A) of the three sites. Stream residence time and
hydraulic uptake length were longest at this site. At Aspen Creek the frequency of the streamstorage zone
interaction, as measured by hydraulic uptake length, is lower but the duration of storage is longer than at
Rio Calaveras.
On the reach scale, hydrological retention is a function of the frequency of interaction between stream and
storage zone, dened by hydraulic uptake length, and the residence time in the storage zone. The
hydrological retention factor (Rh) integrates these elements by expressing hydrological retention as storage
zone residence time per metre of stream reach travelled by stream water in the surface before entering the
storage zone. The factor Rh for Gallina Creek at baseow was 577 times greater than for Aspen Creek under
baseow conditions. The retention factor at Rio Calaveras was three times as high as that at Aspen Creek.
While the dierences between Aspen Creek and Rio Calaveras are smaller, results follow a trend of increased
hydrological retention with increasing hydraulic conductivity of the alluvium. Seasonal changes in the level
of the water table and stream discharge modify groundwatersurface water interactions and hydrological
retention in streams (Hinton et al., 1993). D'Angelo et al. (1993) observed a signicant negative relationship
between discharge or velocity and standardized transient storage in several streams with dierent discharges.
Many of the uncertainties inherent in a cross-system approach to assessing the inuence of discharge on
transient storage are controlled by studying a single stream across its annual hydrological regime. LegrandMarcq and Laudelout (1985) measured transient storage in a forested stream over a two order-of-magnitude
range of discharge. They found that as discharge increased, transient storage decreased rapidly towards an
asymptotic value. We conducted experiments on Gallina Creek under a similar range of discharge. The
signicant relationship between As/A and the inverse of discharge is consistent with the ndings of LegrandMarcq and Laudelout (1985).
The frequency of streamstorage zone exchange, as measured by hydraulic uptake length, did not vary
greatly between autumn, summer and winter. Stream residence time decreased and average stream velocity
increased with increasing discharge resulting in a relatively constant hydraulic uptake length. However, the
hydraulic uptake length did increase markedly during spring runo, suggesting that a discharge threshold
exists above which the inuence of surfaceaquifer exchange on solute dynamics becomes less signicant.
The storage zone residence time decreased with increasing discharge and the hydrological retention factor
decreased 577-fold with increasing discharge from baseow to snowmelt. These results suggest that
discharge-related variation in hydrological retention at Gallina Creek is related to both changes in storage
zone residence time and hydraulic uptake length.
We hypothesize that saturation of the hillslope alluvium and a rising water table create strong hydraulic
gradients toward the stream during high discharge periods in Gallina Creek. The storage zone crosssectional area (As) decreased with increasing discharge suggesting a constricted zone of groundwater
surface water mixing. However, an increase in a, the storage zone exchange coecient, and an increased rate

266

J. A. MORRICE ET AL.

of surface watergroundwater mixing observed in wells during high discharge, suggest that while the extent
of the groundwatersurface water ecotone is reduced at high discharge, the rate of exchange is enhanced
resulting in lower hydraulic residence times.
Bencala (1993) presented two contrasting perspectives of streamcatchment interaction. In the rst, the
stream is portrayed as a conduit receiving water from the catchment but not functioning as an interactive
component of a watershed ecosystem. With this perspective, stream channel processes account for all
nutrient retention occurring in the uvial system. In the second perspective, the stream is described as an
interactive component of a streamcatchment continuum. Nutrient retention results from a complex suite of
processes occurring in both the stream channel and groundwater environments. While most streams are best
described by the second perspective, this research suggests that the degree of streamcatchment interaction
and the associated retention of nutrients vary widely and, perhaps, predictably between and within streams.
Local climate determines the timing of hydrological inputs and together with the geological features of a
catchment, particularly alluvial hydraulic conductivity, provides a template that strongly inuences the
interaction between surface water and groundwater and hydrological retention in stream ecosystems.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank Kevin Henry, Francelia Lieurance, Michelle Baker, Joseph Morrice, Jen Klug and Phoebe Suina
for their tireless assistance in the eld and laboratory. Greg Wroblicky provided pieziometric maps and
hydrological data. Rob Runkel and Ken Bencala generously lent their expertise in the solute transport
modelling. We also thank Pat Mulholland and Jud Harvey for comments that improved the manuscript.
This research was supported by NSF grant BSR 90-20561 from the Ecosystem Studies Program in the
Division of Environmental Biology awarded to Cli Dahm and Michael Campana of the University of New
Mexico.
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