Variability of intermittent headwater streams in boreal landscape : Influence of different discharge conditions

• Main Author: Nhim, Tum
• Format: Bachelor Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Uppsala universitet, Luft-, vatten- och landskapslära 2012
• Subjects: Dynamic stream network; intermittent streams; headwater stream; stream heads; wetness conditions; streamflow; Oceanography; Hydrology and Water Resources; Oceanografi; hydrologi och vattenresurser; Northern Sweden
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-183137

Dynamic expansions and contractions of stream networks can play an important role for hydrologic processes as they can connect different parts of the landscape to the stream channels. However, we know little about the temporal and spatial variations of stream networks during different flow and wetness conditions. This study focuses on the contraction and expansion of stream networks during different flow conditions in the boreal Krycklan catchment, located in Northern Sweden. The stream network and initiation points were extracted from a gridded digital elevation model (DEM) of 5-meter resolution, and then compared with the stream network initiation points (heads) observed during the spring flood (freshet) period in 2012. From the results of the study, it was clearly seen that the observed stream heads and the stream heads appearing in the stream network map extracted from DEM did not agree very well. 49% of the total observed stream heads (49) fell onto the low order stream branches and headwater streams derived from the DEM. Only few of them exactly matched the modeled stream heads. Moreover, the modeled stream network was much denser than the observed stream network, and so the simple raster based dynamic model developed could not well represent the dynamic stream network extension in the real system. Most headwater streams in the study catchment were man-made ditches, which were dug to drain water wetlands and to increase forest productivity. The majority of observed stream heads were formed by seepage from the saturated surrounding soils, while only a few of them were formed by saturation overland flow. On the other hand, the dynamic stream network derived from the DEM suggested that the number of streams of lower order and their lengths was sensitive to change in streamflow, especially during the high flow episode.