Full metadata
Title
Water quality and thermal stratification of Cragin Reservoir: current and future impact of forest fires
Description
C.C. Cragin Reservoir’s location in the Coconino National Forest, Arizona makes it prone to wild fire. This study focused on the potential impacts of such a wild fire on the reservoir’s annual thermal stratification cycle impacts and water quality. The annual thermal stratification cycle impacted the reservoir’s water quality by increasing hypolimnion concentrations of magnesium, iron, turbidity, and specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA) values, as well as resulting in the hypolimnion having decreased dissolved oxygen concentrations during stratified months. The scarification process did not affect the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations in the reservoir or the total/dissolved nitrogen and phosphorous concentrations. Some general water quality trends that emerged were that phosphorous was the limiting nutrient, secchi disk depth and chlorophyll a concentration are inversely related, and no metals were found to be in concentrations that would violate an EPA drinking water maximum contaminant level (MCL). A carbon mass model was developed and parameterized using DOC measurements, and then using historic reservoir storage and weather data, the model simulated DOC concentrations in the reservoir following four hypothetical wild fire events. The model simulated varying initial reservoir storage volumes, initial flush volumes, and flush DOC concentrations, resulting in reservoir DOC concentrations varying from 17.41 mg/L to 8.82 mg/L.
Date Created
2018
Contributors
- Flatebo, Theodore (Author)
- Westerhoff, Paul K (Thesis advisor)
- Fox, Peter (Committee member)
- Perreault, Francois (Committee member)
- Arizona State University (Publisher)
Topical Subject
Resource Type
Extent
ix, 72 pages : illustrations (some color)
Language
eng
Copyright Statement
In Copyright
Primary Member of
Peer-reviewed
No
Open Access
No
Handle
https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.51741
Statement of Responsibility
by Theodore Flatebo
Description Source
Viewed on June 12, 2019
Level of coding
full
Note
thesis
Partial requirement for: M.S., Arizona State University, 2018
bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 61-63)
Field of study: Civil, environmental and sustainable engineering
System Created
- 2019-02-01 07:05:00
System Modified
- 2021-08-26 09:47:01
- 3 years ago
Additional Formats