Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2010MA237B

Surface water-groundwater interactions on the Deerfield River

Institute: Massachusetts
Year Established: 2010 Start Date: 2010-03-01 End Date: 2011-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $4,998 Total Non-Federal Funds: $10,136

Principal Investigators: David Boutt

Project Summary: Proposal Abstract The Deerfield River in Massachusetts is heavily regulated by hydroelectric dams. It flows over glaciofluvial deposits typical of New England valleys. Piezometric data collected from the streambed in the Charlemont Basin of the Deerfield River show relative head reversals between the hyporheic zone and the channel during daily dam-release flood events. Efforts to identify and observe areas of focused hyporheic exchange using temperature anomalies proved inconclusive due lack of data across a heterogeneous streambed. Here, we propose using fiber optic distributed temperature sensing to identify surface water-groundwater (SWGW) exchange locations. Knowledge of substrate and underlying geology will allow us to delineate specific glaciostratigraphic units of the subsurface that are important to SWGW exchange. Last, we will employ coupled groundwater flux-heat flux models to estimate the magnitude of exchange between the stream and subsurface.