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Water Temperature in Rivers and Streams Active

By Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center November 14, 2017

Increases in summer stream temperature as a result of human impacts and climate change may exceed the thermal tolerances of aquatic biota that are adapted to colder environments and climates. The combined effects of humans and climate change are of global concern across the range of coldwater aquatic organisms.

We use state-of-the-art technology and techniques to quantify spatial and temporal variability in stream temperature using field surveys, remote sensing, and spatially explicit modeling. This information is used to understand and predict the effects of climate change, riparian management, and restoration on cold-water habitats and the thermal diversity of rivers and streams.

Featured Studies

  • Longitudinal Patterns of Fish Assemblage Structure, Stream Habitat, and Water Temperature in the Lower Crooked River, Oregon
  • Primer for Identifying Cold-water Thermal Refugia for the Protection and Restoration of Habitat for Native Salmonids
  • Integrating Future Climate Change and Riparian Land-Use to Forecast the Effects of Stream Warming on Species Invasions and Their Impacts on Native Salmonids
  • Using Remote Sensing, Modeling, and In Situ Thermal Mapping to Evaluate Potential Effects of Thinning in Riparian Forests on Stream Temperature

Below are other science projects associated with this project.

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three scientists preparing to conduct an underwater biological survey

Aquatic & Landscape Ecology Research Team (FRESC)

Fresh waters are one of the most valuable and threatened resources worldwide. They supply critical services to society and harbor many of the world’s most imperiled species. We conduct research and provide technical assistance to address challenges to fresh waters. Our research focuses on ecological processes in freshwater and terrestrial systems and the effects of those processes on landscape...
By
Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
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Aquatic & Landscape Ecology Research Team (FRESC)

Fresh waters are one of the most valuable and threatened resources worldwide. They supply critical services to society and harbor many of the world’s most imperiled species. We conduct research and provide technical assistance to address challenges to fresh waters. Our research focuses on ecological processes in freshwater and terrestrial systems and the effects of those processes on landscape...
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Below are data or web applications associated with this project.

Water temperature data from the Priest River, Idaho, 2018-2019

Water temperature data were collected in summer 2018 and 2019. Temperature data loggers were deployed in tributary confluences and the mainstem of the lower Priest River between Priest Lake Outlet Dam and the confluence with the Pend Oreille River. Data loggers were checked every 2 to 3 weeks throughout the summer. Data for Lagrangian longitudinal thermal profiles were obtained on August 21, 2018
By
Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Water temperature data from the Pend Oreille River, Washington and Idaho, 2016-2018

The data were collected summer, 2016, 2017, and 2018. Continuous temperature loggers were deployed along the Pend Oreille River between Albeni Falls Dam and the Box Canyon Dam. Loggers were checked every 1-2 weeks throughout the summer.
By
Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Below are publications associated with this project.

Filter Total Items: 16

Effects of structure and volcanic stratigraphy on groundwater and surface water flow: Hat Creek basin, California, USA

Hydrogeologic systems in the southern Cascade Range in California (USA) develop in volcanic rocks where morphology, stratigraphy, extensional structures, and attendant basin geometry play a central role in groundwater flow paths, groundwater/surface-water interactions, and spring discharge locations. High-volume springs (greater than 3 m3/s) flow from basin-filling (
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Volcano Hazards Program, California Water Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Volcano Science Center

Land-cover and climatic controls on water temperature, flow permanence, and fragmentation of Great Basin stream networks

The seasonal and inter-annual variability of flow presence and water temperature within headwater streams of the Great Basin of the western United States limit the occurrence and distribution of coldwater fish and other aquatic species. To evaluate changes in flow presence and water temperature during seasonal dry periods, we developed spatial stream network (SSN) models from remotely sensed land-
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Washington Water Science Center

Projecting spatiotemporally explicit effects of climate change on stream temperature: A model comparison and implications for coldwater fishes

Conservation planners and resource managers seek information about how the availability and locations of cold-water habitats will change in the future and how these predictions vary among models. We used a physical process-based model to demonstrate the implications of climate change for streamflow and water temperature in two watersheds with distinctive flow regimes: the Snoqualmie watershed (WA)
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Longitudinal, lateral, vertical, and temporal thermal heterogeneity in a large impounded river: Implications for cold-water refuges

Dam operations can affect mixing of the water column, thereby influencing thermal heterogeneity spatially and temporally. This occurs by restricting or eliminating connectivity in longitudinal, lateral, vertical, and temporal dimensions. We examined thermal heterogeneity across space and time and identified potential cold-water refuges for salmonids in a large impounded river in inland northwester
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Lidar-based approaches for estimating solar insolation in heavily forested streams

Methods to quantify solar insolation in riparian landscapes are needed due to the importance of stream temperature to aquatic biota. We have tested three lidar predictors using two approaches developed for other applications of estimating solar insolation from airborne lidar using field data collected in a heavily forested narrow stream in western Oregon, USA. We show that a raster methodology bas
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Simulated juvenile salmon growth and phenology respond to altered thermal regimes and stream network shape

It is generally accepted that climate change will stress coldwater species such as Pacific salmon. However, it is unclear what aspect of altered thermal regimes (e.g., warmer winters, springs, summers, or increased variability) will have the greatest effect, and what role the spatial properties of river networks play. Thermally diverse habitats may afford protection from climate change by providin
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Longitudinal thermal heterogeneity in rivers and refugia for coldwater species: Effects of scale and climate change

Climate-change driven increases in water temperature pose challenges for aquatic organisms. Predictions of impacts typically do not account for fine-grained spatiotemporal thermal patterns in rivers. Patches of cooler water could serve as refuges for anadromous species like salmon that migrate during summer. We used high-resolution remotely sensed water temperature data to characterize summer ther
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Envisioning, quantifying, and managing thermal regimes on river networks

Water temperatures fluctuate in time and space, creating diverse thermal regimes on river networks. Temporal variability in these thermal landscapes has important biological and ecological consequences because of nonlinearities in physiological reactions; spatial diversity in thermal landscapes provides aquatic organisms with options to maximize growth and survival. However, human activities and
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Rethinking the longitudinal stream temperature paradigm: region-wide comparison of thermal infrared imagery reveals unexpected complexity of river temperatures

Prevailing theory suggests that stream temperature warms asymptotically in a downstream direction, beginning at the temperature of the source in the headwaters and leveling off downstream as it converges to match meteorological conditions. However, there have been few empirical examples of longitudinal patterns of temperature in large rivers due to a paucity of data. We constructed longitudinal th
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Diel horizontal migration in streams: juvenile fish exploit spatial heterogeneity in thermal and trophic resources

Vertical heterogeneity in the physical characteristics of lakes and oceans is ecologically salient and exploited by a wide range of taxa through diel vertical migration to enhance their growth and survival. Whether analogous behaviors exploit horizontal habitat heterogeneity in streams is largely unknown. We investigated fish movement behavior at daily timescales to explore how individuals integra
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Thermal infrared remote sensing of water temperature in riverine landscapes

Water temperature in riverine landscapes is an important regional indicator of water quality that is influenced by both ground- and surface-water inputs, and indirectly by land use in the surrounding watershed (Brown and Krygier, 1970; Beschta et al., 1987; Chen et al., 1998; Poole and Berman, 2001). Coldwater fishes such as salmon and trout are sensitive to elevated water temperature; therefore,
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Projected climate-induced habitat loss for salmonids in the John Day River network, Oregon, U.S.A.

Climate change will likely have profound effects on cold-water species of freshwater fishes. As temperatures rise, cold-water fish distributions may shift and contract in response. Predicting the effects of projected stream warming in stream networks is complicated by the generally poor correlation between water temperature and air temperature. Spatial dependencies in stream networks are complex b
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center