Civil Engineering ETDs

Publication Date

Fall 12-1-2023

Abstract

Wildfires significantly contribute to water pollution when ash and sediments, including nutrients and metals, are released into fluvial systems, impacting aquatic ecosystems and surrounding communities. This study focuses on the impacts of the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire on the Gallinas and Pecos watersheds. It employs five monitoring stations along a 190km fluvial network to assess solute export regimes post-fire, where grab samples were collected for nutrient and metal analyses for a period of more than a year. The metrics used for characterizing mobilization, chemostatic, or dilution patterns indicated mobilization for most solutes at all sites upstream of Santa Rosa Lake. On the other hand, a dilution trend was observed at sites in the lake and downstream, confirming that Santa Rosa Lake acts as a nutrient sink, limiting the downstream propagation of solutes. This insight underscores the complex interplay of spatiotemporal controls and export regimes in post-wildfire environments.

Keywords

Wildfire, Water quality, Nutrients, Metals, Mobilization, Chemostatic, Dilution, Hermits Peak

Document Type

Thesis

Language

English

Degree Name

Civil Engineering

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Civil Engineering

First Committee Member (Chair)

Dr. Ricardo González-Pinzón

Second Committee Member

Dr. José M. Cerrato

Third Committee Member

Dr. David J. Van Horn

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