Improving Predictions of Fine Particle Immobilization in Streams

Jennifer Drummond*, Noah Schmadel, Christa Kelleher, Aaron Packman, Adam Ward

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Fine particles are critical to stream ecosystem functioning, influencing in-stream processes from pathogen transmission to carbon cycling, all of which depend on particle immobilization. However, our ability to predict particle immobilization is limited by (1) availability of combined solute and particle tracer data and (2) identifying parameters that appropriately represent fine particle immobilization, due to the myriad of objective functions and model formulations. We found that improved predictions of the full distribution of possible fine particle residence times requires using an objective function that assesses both the peak and tailing of breakthrough curves together with solute tracers to constrain in-stream transport processes. The representation of immobilization processes was significantly improved when solute tracer data were combined with a particle model, starkly contrasting the common assumption that fine particles transport as washload. We develop a clear strategy for improving fine particle transport predictions, reshaping the potential role of fine particles in water quality management.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)13853-13861
Number of pages9
JournalGeophysical Research Letters
Volume46
Issue number23
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 16 2019

Keywords

  • fine particles
  • improved particle predictions
  • mobile-immobile model
  • parameter uncertainty
  • particle immobilization
  • river corridor

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Geophysics
  • General Earth and Planetary Sciences

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