Articles | Volume 18, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-5361-2014
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-5361-2014
Research article
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20 Dec 2014
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 20 Dec 2014

What causes cooling water temperature gradients in a forested stream reach?

G. Garner, I. A. Malcolm, J. P. Sadler, and D. M. Hannah

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Cited articles

Andrews, T., Forster, P. M., and Gregory, J. M.: A surface energy perspective on climate change, J. Climate, 22, 2557–2570, 2008.
Bartholow, J. M.: The Stream Segment and Stream network Temperature Models: A Self-Study Course, US Dept. of the Interior, Open-File Report 99-112, US Geological Survey, Fort Collins, CO, USA, 2000.
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Benyahya, L., Caissie, D., El-Jabi, N., and Satich, M. G.: Comparison of microclimate vs. remote meteorological data and results applied to a water temperature model (Miramichi River, Canada), J. Hydrol., 380, 247–259, 2010.
Beschta, R. L. and Taylor R. L.: Stream temperature increases and land use in a forested Oregon watershed, Water Resour. Bull., 24, 19–25, 1988.
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Short summary
This study demonstrates the processes by which instantaneous longitudinal water temperature gradients may be generated in a stream reach that transitions from moorland to semi-natural forest in the absence of substantial groundwater inflows. Water did not cool as it flowed downstream. Instead, temperature gradients were generated by a combination of reduced rates of heating in the forested reach and advection of cooler (overnight and early morning) water from the upstream moorland catchment.
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