Small Watershed Studies at the Panola Mountain Research Watershed, Georgia Active
The Panola Mountain Research Watershed (PMRW) is a 41-hectare forested watershed in the southern Piedmont physiographic province near Atlanta, Georgia. The watershed contains a naturally regenerated second-growth forest on abandoned agricultural land, typical of the Piedmont. Research at PMRW is focused on how streamflow is generated, and in particular, on how water and solutes move from hillslopes to the stream.
The Panola Mountain Research Watershed project was formally a part of the Water, Energy and Biogeochemical Budgets (WEBB). The project is now a part of the Ecosystems Climate Research and Development Program.
The research shows that streamflow and solute concentrations of precipitation, throughfall, soil water and streamwater change rapidly during rainstorms. Furthermore, these variations are strongly associated with the soil-moisture conditions, the soil type and and thickness, and the rainfall intensity, all of which effect the chemical interactions and mixing of water traveling along hydrological pathways over and through the bedrock and soils.
Problem
Watersheds are composed of chemically distinct environments. Consequently, a mechanistic determination of streamwater chemistry requires an understanding of the hydrologic pathways to the stream in the watershed as well as the interactions between the soil and water. The combination indicates that to understand streamwater chemistry, it is important to understand soil-solution chemistry. Yet, the regulation of soil-solution chemistry is poorly understood because, in part, the principles of thermodynamics governing solubility and the theory of ion exchange, absorption, and kinetics cannot be readily applied to complex natural systems.
Research is conducted at the Panola Mountain Research Watershed, a 41-hectare forested watershed in the Panola Mountain State Park. Intensive (or event-based) and extensive characterizations determine the physics and chemistry of soil and water at both the plot (10- to 100-meter2 area), and sub-catchment (4- to 20-hectare area) scales. Extensive characterizations focus on spatial distributions of physical and chemical characteristics of soils and water in plots distributed throughout the watershed.
Objectives
- To investigate processes that control the movement and solute composition of water along hydrologic pathways that produce streamflow in a forested Piedmont watershed;
- determine relative contributions from a variety of sources of solutes observed in streamwater, including primary mineral weathering, cation exchange, and atmospheric deposition (both wet and dry deposition);
- and investigate biogeochemical processes controlling the regulation of soil-solution chemistry and element cycling.
Publications on the Panola Mountain Research Watershed, Georgia
- Publications on the Panola Mountain Research Watershed
- Other Publications of the Panola Mountain Project Staff
Below are data releases associated with this project.
Water table depth, soil moisture, and meteorological data from Panola Mountain Research Watershed, 2017 - 2020
Precipitation, air temperature, streamflow, and water table depths from selected wells at the Panola Mountain Research Watershed, 2001 - 2003
Data and estimates for wet deposition and streamwater solute fluxes at Panola Mountain Research Watershed, Stockbridge, Ga., water years 1986-2016
Data for estimating monthly water budgets at Panola Mountain Research Watershed, Stockbridge, Ga., water years 19862015
Evaluating the spatial and temporal variability of groundwater uptake by riparian vegetation in a humid southeastern US catchment
The evolving perceptual model of streamflow generation at the Panola Mountain Research Watershed
Effects of climate-related variability in storage on streamwater solute concentrations and fluxes in a small forested watershed in the Southeastern United States
Quantifying climate-related interactions in shallow and deep storage and evapotranspiration in a forested, seasonally water-limited watershed in the Southeastern United States
CO2 time series patterns in contrasting headwater streams of North America
Approaches to stream solute load estimation for solutes with varying dynamics from five diverse small watershed
Decreased atmospheric sulfur deposition across the southeastern U.S.: When will watersheds release stored sulfate?
Evaluation of high-frequency mean streamwater transit-time estimates using groundwater age and dissolved silica concentrations in a small forested watershed
Water storage at the Panola Mountain Research Watershed, Georgia, USA
Storage as a Metric of Catchment Comparison
Consistency between hydrological models and field observations: Linking processes at the hillslope scale to hydrological responses at the watershed scale
A reference data set of hillslope rainfall-runoff response, Panola Mountain Research Watershed, United States
Below are partners associated with this project.
- Overview
The Panola Mountain Research Watershed (PMRW) is a 41-hectare forested watershed in the southern Piedmont physiographic province near Atlanta, Georgia. The watershed contains a naturally regenerated second-growth forest on abandoned agricultural land, typical of the Piedmont. Research at PMRW is focused on how streamflow is generated, and in particular, on how water and solutes move from hillslopes to the stream.
The Panola Mountain Research Watershed project was formally a part of the Water, Energy and Biogeochemical Budgets (WEBB). The project is now a part of the Ecosystems Climate Research and Development Program.
The research shows that streamflow and solute concentrations of precipitation, throughfall, soil water and streamwater change rapidly during rainstorms. Furthermore, these variations are strongly associated with the soil-moisture conditions, the soil type and and thickness, and the rainfall intensity, all of which effect the chemical interactions and mixing of water traveling along hydrological pathways over and through the bedrock and soils.
Problem
Watersheds are composed of chemically distinct environments. Consequently, a mechanistic determination of streamwater chemistry requires an understanding of the hydrologic pathways to the stream in the watershed as well as the interactions between the soil and water. The combination indicates that to understand streamwater chemistry, it is important to understand soil-solution chemistry. Yet, the regulation of soil-solution chemistry is poorly understood because, in part, the principles of thermodynamics governing solubility and the theory of ion exchange, absorption, and kinetics cannot be readily applied to complex natural systems.
Research is conducted at the Panola Mountain Research Watershed, a 41-hectare forested watershed in the Panola Mountain State Park. Intensive (or event-based) and extensive characterizations determine the physics and chemistry of soil and water at both the plot (10- to 100-meter2 area), and sub-catchment (4- to 20-hectare area) scales. Extensive characterizations focus on spatial distributions of physical and chemical characteristics of soils and water in plots distributed throughout the watershed.
Objectives
- To investigate processes that control the movement and solute composition of water along hydrologic pathways that produce streamflow in a forested Piedmont watershed;
- determine relative contributions from a variety of sources of solutes observed in streamwater, including primary mineral weathering, cation exchange, and atmospheric deposition (both wet and dry deposition);
- and investigate biogeochemical processes controlling the regulation of soil-solution chemistry and element cycling.
Publications on the Panola Mountain Research Watershed, Georgia
- Publications on the Panola Mountain Research Watershed
- Other Publications of the Panola Mountain Project Staff
- Data
Below are data releases associated with this project.
Water table depth, soil moisture, and meteorological data from Panola Mountain Research Watershed, 2017 - 2020
These data represent time-series of water table depth from nine monitoring wells, soil moisture from three depths at a single monitoring location, and meteorological data from a weather station at the Panola Mountain Research Watershed (PMRW) in Rockdale County Georgia. Water-level data were logged at a 5 minute interval. In total, the data span from April 2017 to April 2020 but some wells did notPrecipitation, air temperature, streamflow, and water table depths from selected wells at the Panola Mountain Research Watershed, 2001 - 2003
This dataset contains hourly average groundwater level time-series for 19 monitoring wells at the Panola Mountain Research Watershed (PMRW) from January 2001 to October 2002. The data was used in a hydrologic modeling study to test a model formulation that allowed for bi-direction fluxes between groundwater and surface water in a bucket type hydrologic model. Some wells had missing data so recordData and estimates for wet deposition and streamwater solute fluxes at Panola Mountain Research Watershed, Stockbridge, Ga., water years 1986-2016
This dataset contains the data and results of an analysis estimating wet deposition and streamwater solute fluxes at Panola Mountain Research Watershed (PMRW), Panola Mountain State Park, Stockbridge, Georgia for water years 1986-2016. The PMRW is a small (41 ha), relatively undisturbed, forested headwater catchment in the Piedmont Province of Southeastern United States. This data provides the basData for estimating monthly water budgets at Panola Mountain Research Watershed, Stockbridge, Ga., water years 19862015
Data used to estimate monthly water budgets at Panola Mountain Research Watershed, Panola Mountain State Park, Stockbridge, Ga. for water years 1986-2015. Data include: (1) hourly air temperature and solar radiation data used to calculate potential evapotranspiration using the Priestly-Taylor equation; (2) unit-value streamwater stage and streamflow; (3) unit-value base flow determined from a hydr - Publications
Filter Total Items: 55
Evaluating the spatial and temporal variability of groundwater uptake by riparian vegetation in a humid southeastern US catchment
In environments with shallow water tables, vegetation may use groundwater to support transpiration (TG). This process has been carefully studied in some arid climates but rarely in humid climates—even those with severe droughts and seasonal water deficits. As such, the role of TG in humid-catchment hydrology is poorly constrained. We analysed water table fluctuations from nine monitoring wells aloAuthorsJeffrey W. Riley, Luke A. Pangle, Brent T. AulenbachThe evolving perceptual model of streamflow generation at the Panola Mountain Research Watershed
The Panola Mountain Research Watershed (PMRW) is a 41‐hectare forested catchment within the Piedmont Province of the Southeastern United States. Observations, experimentation, and numerical modelling have been conducted at Panola over the past 35 years. But to date, these studies have not been fully incorporated into a more comprehensive synthesis. Here we describe the evolving perceptual understaAuthorsBrent T. Aulenbach, Richard P Hooper, H. J. van Meerveld, Douglas A. Burns, James E. Freer, James B. Shanley, Thomas G. Huntington, Jeffery J. McDonnell, Norman E. PetersEffects of climate-related variability in storage on streamwater solute concentrations and fluxes in a small forested watershed in the Southeastern United States
Streamwater quality can be affected by climate-related variability in hydrologic state, which controls flow paths and affects biogeochemical processes. Thirty-one years of input/output solute fluxes at Panola Mountain Research Watershed, a small, forested, seasonally water-limited watershed near Atlanta, Georgia, were used to quantify the effects of climatic-related variability in storage on streaAuthorsBrent T. AulenbachQuantifying climate-related interactions in shallow and deep storage and evapotranspiration in a forested, seasonally water-limited watershed in the Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States experiences recurring hydrological droughts, which can reduce water availability and can result in water-limiting conditions. Long-term monitoring at Panola Mountain Research Watershed, a small, forested, seasonally water-limited watershed near Atlanta, Georgia, was used to quantify the interactions of climatic variability with shallow and deep storage and evapotransAuthorsBrent T. Aulenbach, Norman E. PetersCO2 time series patterns in contrasting headwater streams of North America
We explored the underlying patterns of temporal stream CO2 partial pressure (pCO2) variability using highfrequency sensors in seven disparate headwater streams distributed across the northern hemisphere. We also compared this dataset of [40,000 pCO2 records with other published records from lotic systems. Individual stream sites exhibited relatively distinct pCO2 patterns over time with few consisAuthorsJohn T. Crawford, Emily H. Stanley, Mark M. Dornblaser, Robert G. StrieglApproaches to stream solute load estimation for solutes with varying dynamics from five diverse small watershed
Estimating streamwater solute loads is a central objective of many water-quality monitoring and research studies, as loads are used to compare with atmospheric inputs, to infer biogeochemical processes, and to assess whether water quality is improving or degrading. In this study, we evaluate loads and associated errors to determine the best load estimation technique among three methods (a period-wAuthorsBrent T. Aulenbach, Douglas A. Burns, James B. Shanley, Ruth D. Yanai, Kikang Bae, Adam Wild, Yang Yang, Dong YiDecreased atmospheric sulfur deposition across the southeastern U.S.: When will watersheds release stored sulfate?
Emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) to the atmosphere lead to atmospheric deposition of sulfate (SO42-), which is the dominant strong acid anion causing acidification of surface waters and soils in the eastern United States (U.S.). Since passage of the Clean Air Act and its Amendments, atmospheric deposition of SO2 in this region has declined by over 80%, but few corresponding decreases in stream-waAuthorsKaren C. Rice, Todd M. Scanlon, Jason A. Lynch, Bernard J. CosbyEvaluation of high-frequency mean streamwater transit-time estimates using groundwater age and dissolved silica concentrations in a small forested watershed
Many previous investigations of mean streamwater transit times (MTT) have been limited by an inability to quantify the MTT dynamics. Here, we draw on (1) a linear relation (r 2 = 0.97) between groundwater 3H/3He ages and dissolved silica (Si) concentrations, combined with (2) predicted streamwater Si concentrations from a multiple-regression relation (R 2 = 0.87) to estimate MTT at 5-min intervalsAuthorsNorman E. Peters, Douglas A. Burns, Brent T. AulenbachWater storage at the Panola Mountain Research Watershed, Georgia, USA
Storage is a major component of a catchment water balance particularly when the water balance components are evaluated on short time scales, that is, less than annual. We propose a method of determining the storage-discharge relation using an exponential function and daily precipitation, potential evapotranspiration (PET) and baseflow during the dormant season when evapotranspiration (ET) is low.AuthorsN.E. Peters, Brent T. AulenbachStorage as a Metric of Catchment Comparison
The volume of water stored within a catchment, and its partitioning among groundwater, soil moisture, snowpack, vegetation, and surface water are the variables that ultimately characterize the state of the hydrologic system. Accordingly, storage may provide useful metrics for catchment comparison. Unfortunately, measuring and predicting the amount of water present in a catchment is seldom done; trAuthorsJ. P. McNamara, D. Tetzlaff, K. Bishop, C. Soulsby, M. Seyfried, N.E. Peters, Brent T. Aulenbach, R. HooperConsistency between hydrological models and field observations: Linking processes at the hillslope scale to hydrological responses at the watershed scale
The purpose of this paper is to identify simple connections between observations of hydrological processes at the hillslope scale and observations of the response of watersheds following rainfall, with a view to building a parsimonious model of catchment processes. The focus is on the well-studied Panola Mountain Research Watershed (PMRW), Georgia, USA. Recession analysis of discharge Q shows thatAuthorsM.P. Clark, D.E. Rupp, R.A. Woods, Meerveld Tromp-van, N.E. Peters, J.E. FreerA reference data set of hillslope rainfall-runoff response, Panola Mountain Research Watershed, United States
Although many hillslope hydrologic investigations have been conducted in different climate, topographic, and geologic settings, subsurface stormflow remains a poorly characterized runoff process. Few, if any, of the existing data sets from these hillslope investigations are available for use by the scientific community for model development and validation or conceptualization of subsurface stormflAuthorsMeerveld Tromp-van, A.L. James, Jeffery J. McDonnell, N.E. Peters - Partners
Below are partners associated with this project.