Xander Huggins, Tom Gleeson, Karen G. Villholth, Juan C. Rocha, James S. Famiglietti
{"title":"Groundwaterscapes: A Global Classification and Mapping of Groundwater's Large-Scale Socioeconomic, Ecological, and Earth System Functions","authors":"Xander Huggins, Tom Gleeson, Karen G. Villholth, Juan C. Rocha, James S. Famiglietti","doi":"10.1029/2023wr036287","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1029/2023wr036287","url":null,"abstract":"Groundwater is a dynamic component of the global water cycle with important social, economic, ecological, and Earth system functions. We present a new global classification and mapping of groundwater systems, which we call groundwaterscapes, that represent predominant configurations of large-scale groundwater system functions. We identify and map 15 groundwaterscapes which offer a new lens to conceptualize, study, model, and manage groundwater. Groundwaterscapes are derived using a novel application of sequenced self-organizing maps that capture patterns in groundwater system functions at the grid cell level (∼10 km), including groundwater-dependent ecosystem type and density, storage capacity, irrigation, safe drinking water access, and national governance. All large aquifer systems of the world are characterized by multiple groundwaterscapes, highlighting the pitfalls of treating these groundwater bodies as lumped systems in global assessments. We evaluate the distribution of Global Groundwater Monitoring Network wells across groundwaterscapes and find that industrial agricultural regions are disproportionately monitored, while several groundwaterscapes have next to no monitoring wells. This disparity undermines the ability to understand system dynamics across the full range of settings that characterize groundwater systems globally. We argue that groundwaterscapes offer a conceptual and spatial tool to guide model development, hypothesis testing, and future data collection initiatives to better understand groundwater's embeddedness within social-ecological systems at the global scale.","PeriodicalId":23799,"journal":{"name":"Water Resources Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142536907","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Trends and Drivers of Water Temperature Extremes in Mountain Rivers","authors":"A. van Hamel, M. I. Brunner","doi":"10.1029/2024wr037518","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1029/2024wr037518","url":null,"abstract":"Water temperature extremes can pose serious threats to the aquatic ecosystems of mountain rivers. These rivers are influenced by snow and glaciermelt, which change with climate. As a result, the frequency and severity of water temperature extremes may change. While previous studies have documented changes in non-extreme water temperature, it is yet unclear how extreme water temperatures change in a warming climate and how their hydro-meteorological drivers differ from those of non-extremes. This study aims to assess temporal changes and spatial variability in water temperature extremes and enhance our understanding of the driving processes across European mountain rivers in the current climate, at both a regional and continental scale. First, we describe the characteristics of extreme events and explore their relationships with catchment characteristics. Second, we assess trends in water temperature extremes and compare them with trends in mean water temperature. Third, we use random forest models to identify the main driving processes of water temperature extremes. Last, we conduct a co-occurrence analysis to examine the relationship between water temperature extremes and hydro-climatic extremes. Our results show that mean water temperature has increased by <span data-altimg=\"/cms/asset/a76f04a9-fce2-4883-8d7d-678591ad407b/wrcr27521-math-0001.png\"></span><mjx-container ctxtmenu_counter=\"27\" ctxtmenu_oldtabindex=\"1\" jax=\"CHTML\" role=\"application\" sre-explorer- style=\"font-size: 103%; position: relative;\" tabindex=\"0\"><mjx-math aria-hidden=\"true\" location=\"graphic/wrcr27521-math-0001.png\"><mjx-semantics><mjx-mrow data-semantic-children=\"4,3\" data-semantic-content=\"2\" data-semantic- data-semantic-role=\"addition\" data-semantic-speech=\"plus 0.38 plus or minus 0.14\" data-semantic-type=\"infixop\"><mjx-mrow data-semantic-children=\"1\" data-semantic-content=\"0\" data-semantic- data-semantic-parent=\"5\" data-semantic-role=\"positive\" data-semantic-type=\"prefixop\"><mjx-mo data-semantic- data-semantic-operator=\"prefixop,+\" data-semantic-parent=\"4\" data-semantic-role=\"addition\" data-semantic-type=\"operator\" rspace=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 0.056em;\"><mjx-c></mjx-c></mjx-mo><mjx-mn data-semantic-annotation=\"clearspeak:simple\" data-semantic-font=\"normal\" data-semantic- data-semantic-parent=\"4\" data-semantic-role=\"float\" data-semantic-type=\"number\"><mjx-c></mjx-c><mjx-c></mjx-c><mjx-c></mjx-c><mjx-c></mjx-c></mjx-mn></mjx-mrow><mjx-mo data-semantic- data-semantic-operator=\"infixop,±\" data-semantic-parent=\"5\" data-semantic-role=\"addition\" data-semantic-type=\"operator\" rspace=\"4\" space=\"4\"><mjx-c></mjx-c></mjx-mo><mjx-mn data-semantic-annotation=\"clearspeak:simple\" data-semantic-font=\"normal\" data-semantic- data-semantic-parent=\"5\" data-semantic-role=\"float\" data-semantic-type=\"number\"><mjx-c></mjx-c><mjx-c></mjx-c><mjx-c></mjx-c><mjx-c></mjx-c></mjx-mn></mjx-mrow></mjx-semantics></mjx-math><mjx-assistive-mml display=\"inline\" unselectable=\"on\"><math altimg=\"urn:x-wiley:","PeriodicalId":23799,"journal":{"name":"Water Resources Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142519679","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xiaochuang Bu, Heng Dai, Songhu Yuan, Ming Ye, Zhenxue Dai, Mohamad Reza Soltanian, Zhang Wen, Alberto Guadagnini
{"title":"A New Efficient Approach to Model Stiff Biogeochemical Reactive Transport Scenarios Across Groundwater Systems","authors":"Xiaochuang Bu, Heng Dai, Songhu Yuan, Ming Ye, Zhenxue Dai, Mohamad Reza Soltanian, Zhang Wen, Alberto Guadagnini","doi":"10.1029/2023wr036409","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1029/2023wr036409","url":null,"abstract":"Biogeochemical reactive transport models (RTMs) are key for understanding the evolution of the quality of groundwater systems and their interaction with anthropogenic activities. The inherent stiffness of these models, within which bio-geochemical reactions and transport processes take place simultaneously across diverse time scales, poses significant computational challenges. The development of current RTMs is characterized by a tradeoff between accuracy and computational efficiency. Our study introduces a novel approach grounded on Computational Singular Perturbation (CSP) with the aim of efficiently solving stiff biogeochemical RTMs in groundwater systems. We integrate the CSP concept and algorithm with a reactive transport model associated with a groundwater system. Our results document that this yields a significant improvement in terms of efficiency while maintaining accuracy. For demonstration and evaluation purposes, we apply the approach to a collection of typical groundwater biogeochemical RTMs including H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> production/consumption, Cr(VI) adsorption-desorption equilibrium, and denitrification processes within riparian aquifers. The new approach is then evaluated against traditional apparent rate (AR) and Equilibrium-kinetic (EK) methods. Our results reveal that the new approach effectively identifies fast species and simplifies reaction networks, thus significantly reducing stiffness and computational costs while maintaining remarkable accuracy. Overall, our approach offers a robust and efficient solution for modeling stiff biogeochemical processes in groundwater systems. Its successful application to diverse reaction networks highlights its potential for broad implementation in environmental and engineering contexts, paving the way for accurate and computationally feasible groundwater quality assessments.","PeriodicalId":23799,"journal":{"name":"Water Resources Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142536910","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Scott J. Ikard, Kenneth C. Carroll, Scott C. Brooks, Dale F. Rucker, Gladisol Smith-Vega, Aubrey Elwes
{"title":"Self-Potential Tomography Preconditioned by Particle Swarm Optimization—Application to Monitoring Hyporheic Exchange in a Bedrock River","authors":"Scott J. Ikard, Kenneth C. Carroll, Scott C. Brooks, Dale F. Rucker, Gladisol Smith-Vega, Aubrey Elwes","doi":"10.1029/2024wr037549","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1029/2024wr037549","url":null,"abstract":"A self-potential (SP) data-inversion algorithm was developed and tested on an analytical model of electrical-potential profile data attributed to single and multiple polarized electrical sources. The developed algorithm was then validated by an application to SP-monitoring field data measured on the floodplain of East Fork Poplar Creek, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to image electrical sources in areas conducive to preferential flow into the flood plain from the bedrock-lined riverbed. The algorithm combined stochastic source-localization by particle-swarm-optimization (PSO) of electrical sources characterized by simplified geometries with source tomography by regularized weighted least-squares minimization of a quadratic objective function. Prior information was incorporated by preconditioning the tomography algorithm by PSO results. Variable percentages of random noise were added to analytical-model data to evaluate the algorithm performance. Results indicated that true parameters of single-source models were inverted and approximated with small residual error, whereas inversion of analytical-model data representing multiple electrical sources accurately approximated the locations of the sources but miscalculated some parameters because of the non-uniqueness of the inverse-model solution. Source tomography applied to analytical model data during testing produced a spatially continuous parameter field that identified the locations of point-scale synthetic dipole sources of electrical current flow with varying degrees of accuracy depending on the prior information incorporated into the tomography. When applied to SP-monitoring field data, the algorithm imaged electrical sources within a known fault that intersects the bedrock riverbed and flood plain of East Fork Poplar Creek and depicted dynamic electrical conditions attributed to hyporheic exchange.","PeriodicalId":23799,"journal":{"name":"Water Resources Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142519680","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Vinícius B. P. Chagas, Pedro L. B. Chaffe, Günter Blöschl
{"title":"Drought-Rich Periods Are More Likely Than Flood-Rich Periods in Brazil","authors":"Vinícius B. P. Chagas, Pedro L. B. Chaffe, Günter Blöschl","doi":"10.1029/2023wr035851","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1029/2023wr035851","url":null,"abstract":"Streamflow exhibits persistent decadal variability; however, it is unclear if the magnitude and spatial extent of these variabilities are symmetric for droughts and floods. Here, we examine drought-rich and flood-rich periods in 319 streamflow gauges in Brazil from 1940 to 2020. Drought- and flood-rich periods are detected by computing annual streamflow minima and maxima time series and using scan statistics to verify if events exceeding a threshold follow a Bernoulli process. We contrast streamflow time clustering with rainfall, evaporation, water abstraction, the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). We detected a higher spatial frequency of drought- than flood-rich periods. For 5-year return period thresholds, drought-rich periods are observed in 81% of the basins, 16.7 times the false positive rate (4.8%) and 4.7 times flood-rich periods (17%). This asymmetry is linked with sharp increases in water abstractions since the 1990s and a higher prevalence of rainfall-poor periods (41% of gauges) compared to rainfall-rich (22% of gauges), which we interpret as being further amplified into drought-rich periods due to an interannual persistence of water storage deficits. Brazil experienced a dry period until the 1960s, extensive flooding in the 1980s, and record low flows from the 2000s onward. Drought and flood-rich periods are well aligned with rainfall clustering, water abstractions, the AMO and PDO. Droughts-rich periods are more frequent in shorter time scales (several years to one decade) and flood-rich periods in longer time scales (a few decades). Our findings highlight the nonlinearity and asymmetry of drought and flood change at decadal scales.","PeriodicalId":23799,"journal":{"name":"Water Resources Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142490677","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Aperture Field Anisotropy Control on Immiscible Displacement Patterns in Rough Fractures","authors":"Kun Xing, Xiaoqing Shi, Zhibing Yang, Xueyuan Kang, Siyuan Qiang, Jichun Wu","doi":"10.1029/2024wr038099","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1029/2024wr038099","url":null,"abstract":"Two-phase flow displacement in rock fractures is crucial for various subsurface mass transfer processes and engineering applications. In fractures, the displacement of a less viscous fluid by a more viscous one (<i>i</i>.<i>e</i>., viscosity ratio <i>M</i> > 1) involves viscous forces help stabilizing the displacement front in presence of capillary pressure fluctuations. Although previous studies have reported displacement patterns in isotropic fractures, the impact of anisotropic fractures on displacement patterns has not been systematically examined. In this study, we conducted flow-rate-controlled drainage experiments to examine how anisotropic aperture fields affect displacement patterns. We observed the transition of displacement patterns from capillary fingering (CF) to crossover zone (CZ) to compact displacement pattern (CD) based on variations in transverse pore-filling event (TPFE) frequency, which characterizes the competition between capillary and viscous forces. Increasing aperture correlation length in the transverse direction leads to increased TPFE frequency at a low flow rate, destabilizing displacement front. While the increasing aperture correlation length in longitudinal direction suppressed TPFE frequency, stabilizing displacement front. Therefore, the critical capillary number (<i>Ca</i><sub>CF-CZ</sub>), which indicates the onset of the CF-CZ transition, decreases as the aperture field varies from transversely to longitudinally correlated. At high flow rates, TPFEs almost disappeared, indicating that anisotropy did not affect CZ-CD transition (<i>Ca</i><sub>CZ-CD</sub>). Furthermore, we modified theoretical models of <i>Ca</i><sub>CF-CZ</sub> and <i>Ca</i><sub>CZ-CD</sub> by incorporating the aperture anisotropy factor, achieving a good fit with the experimental data. This study demonstrates the critical role of aperture field anisotropy in controlling two-phase displacement patterns and provides a theoretical framework for predicting multiphase flow behavior in natural fractures.","PeriodicalId":23799,"journal":{"name":"Water Resources Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142490678","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. P. Boyd, J. E. Chambers, P. B. Wilkinson, P. I. Meldrum, E. Bruce, A. Binley
{"title":"Coupled Hydrogeophysical Modeling to Constrain Unsaturated Soil Parameters for a Slow-Moving Landslide","authors":"J. P. Boyd, J. E. Chambers, P. B. Wilkinson, P. I. Meldrum, E. Bruce, A. Binley","doi":"10.1029/2023wr036319","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1029/2023wr036319","url":null,"abstract":"Geophysical methods have proven to be useful for investigating unstable slopes as they are both non-invasive and sensitive to the spatial distribution of physical properties in the subsurface. Of particular interest are the links between electrical resistivity and near-surface moisture content; recent work has demonstrated that it is possible to calibrate hydrological models using geophysical measurements. In this study we explore the use of in-field electrical resistivity data for calibrating unsaturated soil retention parameters and saturated hydraulic conductivity used for modeling unsaturated fluid flow. We study a synthetic case study, and a well-characterized site in the northeast of England and develop an approach to calibrate retention parameters for a mudstone and a sandstone formation, the former being an actively failing unit. Petrophysical relationships between electrical resistivity and moisture content (or saturation) are established for both formations. 2D hydrological models are driven by effective rainfall estimations; subsequently these models are coupled with a geophysical forward model via a Markov chain Monte Carlo approach. For the synthetic case, we show that our modeling approach is sensitive to the moisture retention parameters, while less so to saturated hydraulic conductivity. We observe the same characteristics and sensitivities for the field case, albeit with a greater data misfit. Further hydrological simulations suggest that the slope retained high moisture contents in the months preceding a rotational failure. Therefore, we propose that coupled hydrological and geophysical modeling approaches could aid in enhancing landslide monitoring, modeling, and early warning efforts.","PeriodicalId":23799,"journal":{"name":"Water Resources Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142490675","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yael Amitai, Ehud Strobach, David P. Hamilton, Shmuel Assouline, Ami Nishri, Tamar Zohary
{"title":"Seiche-Induced Fish Kills in the Sea of Galilee—A Possible Explanation for Biblical Miracles?","authors":"Yael Amitai, Ehud Strobach, David P. Hamilton, Shmuel Assouline, Ami Nishri, Tamar Zohary","doi":"10.1029/2024wr037894","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1029/2024wr037894","url":null,"abstract":"In Lake Kinneret (the biblical Sea of Galilee), Israel, internal waves of significant amplitude are induced by westerly winds. These waves give rise to upwelling into the surface mixed layer of colder, oxygen-depleted water from the hypolimnetic and metalimnetic layers. If upwelling occurs soon after the onset of annual thermal stratification, when surface mixed layer extends over a narrow depth range, but the hypolimnion is already anoxic, there is a potential for massive fish kills as fish cannot escape the anoxic water that intrudes into the surface mixed layer along the western shore. This study uses a coupled three-dimensional atmosphere-lake model to elucidate the mechanisms behind these infrequent major fish kills in Lake Kinneret. Remarkably, nowadays fish-kill events happen at the same location in the lake where the biblical <i>Miracle of Loaves and Fishes</i> and presumably the <i>Miraculous Catch of Fish</i> occurred two millennia before the present and may explain the appearance of large numbers of easy-to-collect fish close to the shore described in the biblical narratives.","PeriodicalId":23799,"journal":{"name":"Water Resources Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142490089","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Cooling Effect of Oasis Reservoir-Riparian Forest Systems in Arid Regions","authors":"Yinying Jiao, Guofeng Zhu, Siyu Lu, Linlin Ye, Dongdong Qiu, Gaojia Meng, Qinqin Wang, Rui Li, Longhu Chen, Yuhao Wang, Dehong Si, Wentong Li","doi":"10.1029/2024wr038301","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1029/2024wr038301","url":null,"abstract":"In arid regions with limited water resources, numerous reservoirs have been built to support economic and social development. However, how the construction of reservoirs interacts with the surrounding ecosystem to affect temperature remains unclear. Spanning 2018 to 2022 in the Shiyang River Basin, we collected surface water and precipitation, as well as stem and soil samples. Using isotopic methods, we quantified how evaporation in the oasis reservoir-riparian forest system affects the local climate. Our findings show that the latent heat released by evapotranspiration from the reservoir and riparian forest system reduces the daily maximum temperature and daily temperature range by 7°C and 6°C respectively, compared to downstream areas with sparse vegetation around artificial lakes. Additionally, it enhances local moisture recycling, increasing precipitation. This study reveals regional cooling effect due to interactions between water bodies, the atmosphere, and vegetation. We propose that establishing reservoir-riparian forest systems can positively impact local climate regulation and serve as an effective strategy for adapting to global climate warming.","PeriodicalId":23799,"journal":{"name":"Water Resources Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142488827","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shuyu Y. Chang, Zahra Ghahremani, Laura Manuel, Seyed Mohammad Hassan Erfani, Chaopeng Shen, Sagy Cohen, Kimberly J. Van Meter, Jennifer L. Pierce, Ehab A. Meselhe, Erfan Goharian
{"title":"The Geometry of Flow: Advancing Predictions of River Geometry With Multi-Model Machine Learning","authors":"Shuyu Y. Chang, Zahra Ghahremani, Laura Manuel, Seyed Mohammad Hassan Erfani, Chaopeng Shen, Sagy Cohen, Kimberly J. Van Meter, Jennifer L. Pierce, Ehab A. Meselhe, Erfan Goharian","doi":"10.1029/2023wr036733","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1029/2023wr036733","url":null,"abstract":"Hydraulic geometry parameters describing river hydrogeomorphic relationships are critical for determining a channel's capacity to convey water and sediment which is important for flood forecasting. Although well-established, power-law hydraulic geometry curves have been widely used to understand riverine systems and mapping flooding inundation worldwide for the past 70 years, we have become increasingly aware of their limitations. In the present study, we have moved beyond these traditional power-law relationships, testing the ability of machine-learning models to provide improved predictions of river width and depth. For this work, we have used an unprecedentedly large river measurement data set (HYDRoSWOT) as well as a suite of watershed predictor data to develop novel data-driven approaches to better estimate river geometries over the contiguous United States (CONUS). Our Random Forest, XGBoost, and neural network models out-performed the traditional, regionalized power law-based hydraulic geometry equations for both width and depth, providing R-squared values of as high as 0.75 for width and as high as 0.67 for depth, compared with R-squared values of 0.45 for width and 0.18 for depth from the regional hydraulic geometry equations. Our results also show diverse performance outcomes across stream orders and geographical regions for the different machine-learning models, demonstrating the value of using multi-model approaches to maximize the predictability of river geometry. The developed models have been used to create the newly publicly available STREAM-geo data set, which provides river width, depth, width/depth ratio, and river and stream surface area (%RSSA) for nearly 2.7 million NHDPlus stream reaches across the contiguous US.","PeriodicalId":23799,"journal":{"name":"Water Resources Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142488714","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}