Forests, Frost, and Flow
Project Title: Forests, Frost, and Flow: Snow Hydrology of Spatially Heterogeneous and Hydrologically Connected Peatland Catchments
Project Sponsor: National Science Foundation-EAR-2153802; EAR-
Principal Investigators: Xue Feng (UMN-TC), Salli Dymond (NAU)
Collaborators: Stephen Sebestyen (USFS)
Graduate Students: Mariel Jones (UMN PhD), Sara Mohandes Samani (UMN MS)
Project Location: Marcell Experimental Forest, Northern MN, USA
Funding Total: $505,000
Project Summary: Northern peatland landscapes consist of a mix of upland and peatland forests, bogs, and open water, which complicates their hydrology. This is especially the case during the winter-spring transition period when the landscape is the most hydrologically active, with high recharge and streamflow rates. This project will investigate the feedbacks between forests, snowpack, and soil frost as they influence snow accumulation, snowmelt generation, and recharge of shallow groundwater in complex peatland systems. Specifically, new field data will be collected to (1) examine the role of forest cover in controlling snowpack size and duration; (2) study the role of soil frost in controlling the infiltration of snow into soils or over the soil surface; and (3) monitor the movement of water between forests and peatland bogs. The project team will use the new data and existing long-term data from the Marcell Experimental Forest in northern Minnesota to model the hydrology of low-relief, peatland systems. With the field site situated at the southern edge of peatland distributions, this study has the potential to provide a “window into the future” for other northern peatlands across the globe. These efforts are especially timely as the climate system approaches tipping points that may be further accelerated by carbon-water feedbacks within peatlands.
Publications:
Jones, M. W., Dymond, S. F., Sebestyen, S. D., & Feng, X. Snow accumulation increases with forest structural diversity in low-relief catchments.
Hydrological Processes [In Review].
Jones, M. W., Sebestyen, S. D., Dymond, S., Ng, G. H. C., Feng, X. (2023). Soil frost decouples streamflow generation
processes in headwater catchments. Journal of Hydrology, 617. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128801.
Presentations:
Jones, M., Dymond, S.F., Sebestyen, S.D., Feng. X. 2024. Forest structure controls on snow accumulation in headwater catchments. American
Geophysical Union Annual Meeting, Dec. 11, Washington, D.C.
Samani, S., Jones, M., Liu, F., Sebestyen, S., Dymond, S. F., Feng, X. 2024. Snowmelt regulates source water chemistry and contributions to streamflow in a
northern forested peatland watershed. American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting, Dec. 13, Washington, D.C.
Jones, M., Dymond, S.F., Sebestyen, S.D., Feng. X. 2024. Forest architecture controls on snow in Mississippi Headwater Catchments. WaterSciCon,
Jun. 24, St. Paul, MN.
Jones, M., Swenson, S.C., Sebestyen, S.D., Dymond, S.F., Feng. X. 2023. Representing peatland heterogeneity in CLM5.0 using subgrid hillslope methods.
American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting, Dec. 11, San Francisco, CA.
Jones, M.W., Dymond, S.F., Sebestyen, S.D., & Feng, X. 2023. Spatial Snow and Frost Patterns in Minnesota Peatland Watersheds. Minnesota Water
Resources Conference, Oct., St. Paul, MN.
Project Sponsor: National Science Foundation-EAR-2153802; EAR-
Principal Investigators: Xue Feng (UMN-TC), Salli Dymond (NAU)
Collaborators: Stephen Sebestyen (USFS)
Graduate Students: Mariel Jones (UMN PhD), Sara Mohandes Samani (UMN MS)
Project Location: Marcell Experimental Forest, Northern MN, USA
Funding Total: $505,000
Project Summary: Northern peatland landscapes consist of a mix of upland and peatland forests, bogs, and open water, which complicates their hydrology. This is especially the case during the winter-spring transition period when the landscape is the most hydrologically active, with high recharge and streamflow rates. This project will investigate the feedbacks between forests, snowpack, and soil frost as they influence snow accumulation, snowmelt generation, and recharge of shallow groundwater in complex peatland systems. Specifically, new field data will be collected to (1) examine the role of forest cover in controlling snowpack size and duration; (2) study the role of soil frost in controlling the infiltration of snow into soils or over the soil surface; and (3) monitor the movement of water between forests and peatland bogs. The project team will use the new data and existing long-term data from the Marcell Experimental Forest in northern Minnesota to model the hydrology of low-relief, peatland systems. With the field site situated at the southern edge of peatland distributions, this study has the potential to provide a “window into the future” for other northern peatlands across the globe. These efforts are especially timely as the climate system approaches tipping points that may be further accelerated by carbon-water feedbacks within peatlands.
Publications:
Jones, M. W., Dymond, S. F., Sebestyen, S. D., & Feng, X. Snow accumulation increases with forest structural diversity in low-relief catchments.
Hydrological Processes [In Review].
Jones, M. W., Sebestyen, S. D., Dymond, S., Ng, G. H. C., Feng, X. (2023). Soil frost decouples streamflow generation
processes in headwater catchments. Journal of Hydrology, 617. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128801.
Presentations:
Jones, M., Dymond, S.F., Sebestyen, S.D., Feng. X. 2024. Forest structure controls on snow accumulation in headwater catchments. American
Geophysical Union Annual Meeting, Dec. 11, Washington, D.C.
Samani, S., Jones, M., Liu, F., Sebestyen, S., Dymond, S. F., Feng, X. 2024. Snowmelt regulates source water chemistry and contributions to streamflow in a
northern forested peatland watershed. American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting, Dec. 13, Washington, D.C.
Jones, M., Dymond, S.F., Sebestyen, S.D., Feng. X. 2024. Forest architecture controls on snow in Mississippi Headwater Catchments. WaterSciCon,
Jun. 24, St. Paul, MN.
Jones, M., Swenson, S.C., Sebestyen, S.D., Dymond, S.F., Feng. X. 2023. Representing peatland heterogeneity in CLM5.0 using subgrid hillslope methods.
American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting, Dec. 11, San Francisco, CA.
Jones, M.W., Dymond, S.F., Sebestyen, S.D., & Feng, X. 2023. Spatial Snow and Frost Patterns in Minnesota Peatland Watersheds. Minnesota Water
Resources Conference, Oct., St. Paul, MN.
