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Symposium on River Terrace and Floodplain Hydrology

Connecting surface water and ground water along the Rio Grande and other large rivers

Issue

There is increasing recognition that quantity and quality of flow in rivers of water scarce regions are linked to river valley management through surface water and groundwater connections. Of particular interest are situations where surface water moves underground and subsequently returns to the river. Irrigation water that reaches shallow groundwater may provide late season river flow through shallow groundwater return. River chemistry may be positively or negatively impacted by irrigation seepage that becomes return flow or by near-river hyporheic flow. The nature of these quantity and quality relationships to surface water and groundwater flow regimes is dependent on location in the watershed, changing from headwater stream valleys to lowland river valleys. Filling gaps in scientific understanding and improving integrative measurement and modeling methods are needed to inform management of river valleys to meet river quality and quantity objectives.

Conference Goals

Invited speakers and contributed posters will address:

  1. Explore connections between surface water and groundwater in river terraces and floodplains.
  2. Examine integrative measurement and modeling methods to identify primary system components.
  3. Share information among researchers in the area of connections between surface water and ground water, and share experiences from throughout the Rio Grande basin and other large river systems.
  4. Identify knowledge gaps and future research directions to improve scientific understanding.

Invited Speakers

  • Dr. Jose Luis Arumi Ribera, Universidad de Concepción
    The effect of irrigation channel network on surface and groundwater connections in the lower valley of the Cachapoal River in Chile.

  • Dr. Robert Bowman, New Mexico Tech
    Surface water/groundwater interactions in the Rio Grande floodplain.

  • Dr. Jan Hendrickx, New Mexico Tech
    Evapotranspiration of the riparian valleys of the middle Rio Grande basin by Jan Hendrickx, Sung-ho Hong, Kathy Fleming, Nicole Alkov, Jan Kleissl, Andy Amirfazli, Jesus Gomez.

  • Dr. Vincent Tidwell, Sandia National Laboratory
    River-aquifer interaction at the basin scale: a systems model perspective.

  • Dr. John Wilson, New Mexico Tech
    The hyporheic zone in the river bed.

  • Dr. Sam Fernald, New Mexico State University
    Linking floodplain surface water and groundwater.

  • Dr. Dixon Landers, Environmental Protection Agency
    The gaps between an integrated understanding of channelization, hydrology and water quality versus holistic future management: a case study of the Willamette River, Oregon.

  • Dr. John Hawley, Geomatters
    Fluvial geomorphology and hydrogeology of the inner Rio Grande Valley, North-Central New Mexico to the bi-national Paso del Norte area - an overview.

  • Dr. Nabil Shafike, New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission
    Numerical modeling of surface water and groundwater interaction along the Rio Grande.

  • Dr. Zohrab Samani, New Mexico State University
    Calculating evaporation and evapotranspiration through remote sensing

  • Dr. Phil King & Mrs. Beth Bardwell, New Mexico State University
    Restoration potential along New Mexico's lower Rio Grande

  • Dr. Jose Rivera, University of New Mexico
    El Paisaje del Agua: The Acequia landscapes of New Mexico

  • Dr. Dave Cowley, New Mexico State University
    Irrigation drainage canals and biodiversity of fishes in the middle Rio Grande of New Mexico.

  • Dr. Kevin Urbanczyk, Sul Ross State University
    Key surface water-groundwater interaction issues for the floodplain of the lower Rio Grande.

  • Dr. Cliff Dahm, University of New Mexico
    Groundwater/surface water and riparian zone/atmosphere interactions in river ecosystems

  • Dr. Bill Sanford, Colorado State University
    Groundwater/surface water interactions and water quality changes at a flow augmentation site along the South Platte River, NE Colorado

  • Dr. Thomas Schmugge, New Mexico State University
    Satellite observations of the Elephant Butte Reservoir with Max Bleiweis.

  • Dr. Richard Langford, University of Texas El Paso
    Aquifer heterogeneity and concentration gradient driven flow in the Rio Grande Valley alluvial aquifer, El Paso, Texas

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