Storage-Discharge Relationships In Saturated And Unsaturated Zones In The Landscape Evolution Observatory At Biosphere 2 Near Tucson, Arizona
Presenter: Starlivia Kaska1
Co-Author(s): -
Advisor(s): Dr. Peter A. Troch
1Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona
Accurate measurements of groundwater storage are critical for water resources management. However, storage in the unsaturated and saturated zones is difficult to measure in real catchments – they are far too large. The Landscape Evolution Observatory (LEO) at the Biosphere 2 north of Tucson, Arizona allows for studies of groundwater storage at catchment scales. This project intended to directly measure storage at the catchment scale (using soil moisture sensors) and to determine storage-discharge relationships in saturated and unsaturated zones. To measure storage, we tested a method established in 2017, in which soil water content sensors (5TM) in the LEO were used. As a result, we learned that LEO does not have enough functioning 5TM sensors, and an alternate method for estimating storage was necessary. Considerable effort was diverted to exploring other methods of estimating storage (with the sensors available at LEO) instead of analyzing storage and discharge relationships. Ultimately, we used pressure transducer data to estimate saturated storage and began analyzing load cell data to estimate total and unsaturated storage. Our project did not complete an analysis on the storage-discharge relationships in the saturated and unsaturated zones, however it provided a basis for making large-scale laboratory storage estimates.