Near-level Prairie landscapes have received limited attention in hydrological research. For this thesis, hydrometric measurements and four tracing experiments were completed at three “riparian-to-stream” sites in the Catfish Creek Watershed (southeastern Manitoba) to enhance Prairie hydrology understanding. First, hydrologic state variables were examined to infer vertical and lateral water movement. Second, tracer data were analyzed to evaluate the relative importance of surface versus subsurface water movement. Results show that hydrologic state variables can be useful for inferring riparian-to-stream water movement. Tracer data also revealed that subsurface water movement can contribute significantly to streamflow during snowmelt- and rainfall-triggered events in the study watershed. This thesis demonstrated that subsurface flow is a significant runoff generation mechanism in Prairie landscapes, thus challenging surface water-focused conceptualizations and management strategies that are traditionally used. The findings summarized in this thesis will be critical to improve the performance of hydrological models when applied to the Prairies. / February 2017
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:MANITOBA/oai:mspace.lib.umanitoba.ca:1993/32058 |
| Date | 20 January 2017 |
| Creators | Ross, Cody |
| Contributors | Ali, Genevieve (Geological Sciences), Lobb, David (Soil Sciences) Casson, Nora (University of Winnipeg) |
| Source Sets | University of Manitoba Canada |
| Detected Language | English |
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