sediment source tracking in midwest

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Sediment source tracking in mid-west agricultural basin 30 years after implementation of conservation resource management Tanja Williamson Vicki Christensen Bill Richardson Jeff Frey Allen Gellis Kristen Kieta Faith Fitzpatrick July 23, 2014 SWCS U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey

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69th SWCS International Annual Conference "Making Waves in Conservation: Our Life on Land and Its Impact on Water" July 27-30, 2014 Lombard, IL

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Page 1: Sediment source tracking in midwest

Sediment source tracking in mid-west agricultural basin 30 years after implementation of

conservation resource management

Tanja Williamson

Vicki Christensen

Bill Richardson

Jeff Frey

Allen Gellis

Kristen Kieta

Faith Fitzpatrick

July 23, 2014 SWCS U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey

Page 2: Sediment source tracking in midwest

WHY West Fork Beaver Creek?

Mea

n c

on

cen

trat

ion

(m

g L

-1)

Percen

tage of R

etired Lan

d

Low

High

Christensen V.G. and others. 2009. Water-quality and biological characteristics and responses to agricultural land retirement in three streams of the Minnesota River Basin, water years 2006-08, U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5215. pp. 52. http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2009/5215/

Page 3: Sediment source tracking in midwest

Hypotheses

1) Fine-grained sediment (<0.063 mm) source would be discernible based on a combination of stable isotopes and elemental concentrations

- including land retired from agricultural production 1-10 years before study began

2) Source contribution would vary in association with land retirement

Page 4: Sediment source tracking in midwest

Study Design

Sediment Sources Active Cropland (38) Retired Cropland (17) Streambanks (15) Roads (5)

Page 5: Sediment source tracking in midwest

Study Design

control

control

bu

ffer

ed

mixed

wetland NW SE

WFB

Fluvial Target Samples Suspended Sediment (SS) Channel Bed Sediment (B)

integrators

Page 6: Sediment source tracking in midwest

Do the fluvial targets differ?

NW SE WFB

Organic Carbon (mg g-1)

Median grain size (D50; mm) p = 0.00059

60

30

0.006

0.003

SS – Suspended sediment B – Channel bed sediment

Page 7: Sediment source tracking in midwest

Stable

Isotopes

Carbon

Forms

Macro-

elements Micro-elements

‰ mg g-1 mg g-1 mg kg-1

d13C CO3 C As In Sb

d15N Organic-C N Ba La Sc

C:N Al Be Li Sn

Ca Bi Mn Sr

Fe Cd Mo Th

K Ce Nb Tl

Mg Co Ni U

46 Na Cr P V

S Cu Pb W

Ti Ga Rb Y

Zn

Geochemical Fingerprint

Page 8: Sediment source tracking in midwest

Linear Discriminant Analysis

Gellis A.C., Noe G.B., Clune J.B., Myers M.K., Hupp C.R., Schenk E., Schwarz G. 2013. Sources of Fine-Grained Sediment in Linganore Creek watershed, Maryland: 2008 to 2010, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-xxxx, U.S. Geological Survey.

Element Discriminant Tracer For Adjusted For

NW SE WFB D50 OC

Indium Y Y Y St, Cr, Rd Cr, Rd

Phosphorus Y Y Y St, Cr St, Cr, Ret

Total Carbon Y Y Y St, Cr

Beryllium Y St, Cr Cr

Thallium Y St, Cr, Ret Cr

Thorium Y Y St, Rd Cr, Ret

Titanium Y St St, Cr, Ret

NW SE

WFB St – streambank Cr – cropland Rd – road Ret – retired land

Page 9: Sediment source tracking in midwest

Separation of Sediment Sources

Suspended sediment Channel bed sediment

Page 10: Sediment source tracking in midwest

Proportion of sediment attributed to each source

Where more retired buffer:

• Lower % CROPLAND sediment

• Lower % STREAMBANK sediment

RETIRED LAND

• Present in channel bed

• NOT in suspended sediment during high flow

SS – suspended B – channel bed

CONTROL

BUFFERED

MIXED

INTEGRATOR

Road + Cropland + Retired Land + Streambank = 100%

SS – Suspended sediment B – Channel bed sediment c – control b – buffered m – mixed i – integrator

* - significant difference SS vs. B

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Page 11: Sediment source tracking in midwest

Questions? https://dl.sciencesocieties.org/publications/jeq/

abstracts/0/0/jeq2013.12.0521