Beginning in the fall of 2002, we have been monitoring stream stage and collecting flow-paced samples from a small watershed (120 ha) just outside of the Lye Brook Wilderness Area (see maps below).
The watershed is relatively narrow and somewhat flat. Pictures below show the stream channel about half-way up the watershed (760 m elevation), an open area nearby (probably a former beaver pond), and an active beaver pond closer to the bottom of the watershed.
We are using a natural control near the stream outlet and recording stage every 15 minutes with a Druck pressure transducer and a Campbell CR10X datalogger. An ISCO 6700 sampler is programmed to take samples during storm events, using a USGS-written program that triggers the sampler in response to stream stage change. Samples are collected by Hal Bell of the US Forest Service and sent for a full suite of analyses to the Forest Service's Northeastern Research Station laboratory in Durham, NH. Kathy Donna of the US Forest Service is maintaining the collected stage data and Don Ross at the University of Vermont is compiling the results. Both Kathy and Hal are maintaining the field equipment with the assistance of expertise from the USGS. Funding for the equipment was generously provided by the US Forest Service through Nancy Burt.
The graphs below show the uncorrected stage for water years 2003-2005. A rating curve is under development to enable calculation of discharge and total export. A Powerpoint version of the graphs is available through the link below the picture.
together or individually
The relationship between stream stage and stream concentration of four common chemical constituents is shown below. Nitrate and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) appear to follow opposite seasonal trends, although both increase during storm events. Calcium and sulfate show less of a response to both season and stream stage.
Water Year 2003:
Water Year 2004:
In addition to stream monitoring, soils have been sampled as part of a research project investigating forest soil nitrification processes in the northeastern United States. Surface soils were sampled at the point shown on the right-hand map above and analyzed for a suite of chemical properties including net nitrification, net ammonification, carbon, nitrogen, pH, and exchangeable cations. A number of vegetation and topographic metrics were also recorded. The data is included in an M.S. thesis by Austin Jamison (2004, Unv. of Vermont, Department of Plant & Soil Science) and is in preparation for peer-reviewed publication. For more information, contact Don Ross (dross@uvm.edu).
University of Vermont
United States Forest Service, Green Mountain and Finger Lakes District
United States Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station
Vermont Monitoring Cooperative (VMC)
Many thanks to Tom Sluzinski and Jon Denner of the US Geological Survey for assistance with installing and helping maintain the monitoring equipment.