Techniques for Evaluating Spatial and Temporal Variability in Surface Water Quality as Related to Soil Moisture and Subsurface Water Flux in Forested Watersheds

摘要

This study focuses on the nutrient (nitrate nitrogen and orthophosphate) pathways from precipitation (rain and snow) through subsurface flow to streamflow for a forested watershed near Lake Tahoe, Nevada, U.S.A. It describes instrumentation used along with practical problems encountered in deep snow accumulation and melt. Despite problems in being below chemical detection limits and with equipment failure, the monitoring network was most effective in describing the hydrologic system response and provides a strong basis on which to make chemical inferences.