Net ecosystem production of a river relying on hydrology, hydrodynamics and water quality monitoring stations

Abstract

Flow and water quality of rivers are highly dynamic. Water quantity and quality are subjected to simultaneous physical, chemical and biological processes making it dicult to accurately assess lotic ecosystems. Our study investigated net ecosystem production (NEP) relying on high-frequency data of hydrology, hydrodynamics and water quality. The Kanawha River, West Virginia was investigated along 52.8 km to estimate NEP. Water quality data were collected along the river using three distributed multiprobe sondes that measured water temperature, dissolved oxygen, dissolved oxygen saturation, specific conductance, turbidity and ORP hourly for 71 days. Flows along the river were predicted by means of the hydrologic and hydrodynamic models in Hydrologic Simulation Program in Fortran (HSPF). It was found that urban local inflows were correlated with NEP. However, under hypoxic conditions, local inflows were correlated with specific conductance. Thus, our approach represents an effort for the systematic integration of data derived from models and field measurements with the aim of providing an improved assessment of lotic ecosystems.