Turbidity dynamics in small streams as a key component of water quality management
department or school: Forestry, Faculty of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Fuss, Gillian
issued: 2019-03-01T16:39:54Z
issued: 2019
related degree: Master of Science - MSc
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: Given the reliance of many communities on surface water, and the continued degradation of aquatic ecosystems, understanding the limits and uncertainties of water quality assessment is vital. Turbidity is a common measurement of water quality for public health and ecosystem function. It has been frequently studied in larger water bodies but not in small streams. We characterized turbidity dynamics in two sets of small streams over seasonal and spatial scales, by monitoring. We collected continuous turbidity measures every 15 minutes, for one year, with monthly spot turbidity samples, in two regions in British Columbia with varying degrees of land use for over a year. Three streams were in the University of British Columbiaâs Malcolm Knapp Research Forest, with forestry as the dominant land use type. Our other study area was the Shawnigan Lake Watershed, located on southern Vancouver Island. We had three sites on each of two creeks, McGee Creek and Van Horne Creek, where Van Horne Creek had higher percentages of industrial and urban land uses determined using a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index. In the Research Forest streams, turbidity maximums were ~16 NTU, whereas McGee Creek reached a maximum of 67 NTU, and Van Horne Creek reached 371 NTU. Using Principle Component Analysis and Linear Mixed Effects Models, we found that both rainfall and discharge were significant drivers of turbidity, particularly during periods of intense precipitation. Turbidity also displayed mostly clockwise hysteresis dynamicss during storm events. Interestingly, turbidity displayed a highly significant seasonal response, where the first-flush response of a few of the highest turbidity events occurred during the spring and summer. Land use was also a significant driver of turbidity, particularly forestry, urban and construction land uses. Our research showed that turbidity was spatially complex, and highly variable over time and space, with individual sites and streams being significant…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/68448
note: Turbidity Dynamics in Small Streams as a Key Component of Water Quality Management by Gillian Fuss H.B.Sc, The University of Toronto, 2014 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Forestry) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) February 2019 © Gillian Fuss, 2019 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, a thesis/dissertation entitled: Turbidity dynamics in small streams as a key component of water quality management. submitted by Gillian Fuss in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Forestry Examining Committee: Dr. John Richardson Supervisor Dr. Marwan Hassan Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Sarah Gergel Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Jordi Honey-Roses Additional Examiner Additional Supervisory Committee Members: Wm. Patrick Lucey Supervisory Committee Member Supervisory Committee Member iii Abstract Given the reliance of many communities on surface water, and the continued degradation of aquatic ecosystems, understanding the limits and uncertainties of water quality assessment is vital. Turbidity is a common measurement of water quality for public health and ecosystem function. It has been frequently studied in larger water bodies but not in small streams. We characterized turbidity dynamics in two sets of small streams over seasonal and spatial scales, by monitoring. We collected continuous turbidity measures every 15 minutes, for one year, with monthly spot turbidity samples, in two regions in British Columbia with varying degrees of land use for over a year. Three streams were in the University of British Columbiaâs Malcolm Knapp Research Forest, with forestry as the dominant land use type. Our other study area was the Shawnigan Lake Watershed, located on southern Vancouver Island. We had three sites on e…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2019-05
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0376581
language: eng
degree discipline: Forestry
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/68448