Date of Award
2024
Document Type
Open Access Master's Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Forest Ecology and Management (MS)
Administrative Home Department
College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science
Advisor 1
Fengjing Liu
Committee Member 1
Rodney Chimner
Committee Member 2
John Gierke
Abstract
This study investigated the seasonality of hydrologic pathways, the role of wetlands in streamflow generation, and how hydrologic pathways affect the export of nutrients by streamflow in the Sturgeon River using endmember mixing analysis. The results indicated that streamflow consists of three main components: shallow subsurface water from wetland soils, shallow groundwater, and surface runoff from precipitation. Snowmelt plays a dominating role in regulating stream water chemistry (~80% volume at peak) during the snowmelt season and likely also after that. Wetland soils store snowmelt, together with rainwater though the fraction is unknown, and then gradually release through summer in the form of subsurface water as wetland surface water recedes. Dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen were flushed out by surface runoff during high flows, particularly at the beginning of the spring snowmelt season. This study improves our understanding of hydrologic and ecosystem processes in the Great Lakes Basin.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Burkwald, Cory C., "HYDROLOGIC PATHWAYS OF A NORTHERN HARDWOOD CATCHMENT IN THE GREAT LAKES BASIN USING END MEMBER MIXING ANALYSIS", Open Access Master's Thesis, Michigan Technological University, 2024.
https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/etdr/1809