Abstract
New experimental techniques are allowing, for the first time, direct visualization of mass and momentum transport across the sediment-water interface in streams. These experimental insights are catalyzing a renaissance in our understanding of the role stream turbulence plays in a host of critical ecosystem services, including nutrient cycling. In this commentary, we briefly review the nature of stream turbulence and its role in hyporheic exchange and nutrient cycling in streams. A simple process-based model, borrowed from biochemical engineering, provides the link between empirical relationships for grain-scale turbulent mixing and nutrient processing at reach, catchment, continental, and global scales.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 5883-5889 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Water Resources Research |
| Volume | 54 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| DOIs |
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| State | Published - Sep 2018 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. All data included in Figure 2 are available in the references provided. S. B. G. was supported by the U.S. NSF Partnerships for International Research and Education (OISE-1243543) and the UC Office of the President Multi-campus Research Program Initiative award (MRP-17-455083). JGV was supported by the USGS River Corridor Powell Center and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER), as part of BER’s Subsurface Biogeochemistry Research Program (SBR). This contribution originates from the SBR Scientific Focus Area (SFA) at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). M. G. was funded by the Australian Research Council’s Discovery Projects funding scheme (DP120102500). The authors thank K. Roche for his insightful comments and edits on this manuscript. The authors declare no conflicts of interest. All data included in Figure?2 are available in the references provided. S.?B.?G. was supported by the U.S. NSF Partnerships for International Research and Education (OISE-1243543) and the UC Office of the President Multi-campus Research Program Initiative award (MRP-17-455083). JGV was supported by the USGS River Corridor Powell Center and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER), as part of BER's Subsurface Biogeochemistry Research Program (SBR). This contribution originates from the SBR Scientific Focus Area (SFA) at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). M.?G. was funded by the Australian Research Council's Discovery Projects funding scheme (DP120102500). The authors thank K. Roche for his insightful comments and edits on this manuscript.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| SBR Scientific Focus Area | |
| National Science Foundation | OISE-1243543 |
| U.S. Department of Energy | |
| U.S. Geological Survey | |
| University of California | MRP-17-455083 |
| Biological and Environmental Research | |
| Stephen F. Austin State University | |
| Pacific Northwest National Laboratory | |
| Australian Research Council | DP120102500 |
Keywords
- biogeochemistry
- hyporheic
- nutrients
- sediment
- streams
- turbulence