Checklist for Potomac/Mid-Atlantic Hydrologic Observatory

Name: Margaret Palmer Institution: University of Maryland-College Park

Number of watersheds: 15 (Project 1: 4 watersheds, 3 overlap with Montgomery County; Project 2: all 6 overlap with Montgomery County)

Project 1: Cattail Creek, Hawlings River, Northwest Branch, Paint Branch

Project 2: LSLS104, LSLS109, CB201, Sopers Branch, Crystal Rock, Milestone Tributary

Project 3: Folly Quarter Creek (trib of Middle Patuxent River), Cattail Creek, Little Owens Creek, Priestland Branch (trib of Little Pipe Creek), Windsor-Myers Farm Creek (trib of Little Pipe Creek)

For each watershed where monitoring is going on, provide the following (copy to additional pages as needed)

Geographic coordinates for a reference point in the watershed or at the basin outlet:

Project 1:

Cattail Creek: 39.2640 N / -77.0550 W

Hawlings River: 39.1740 N / -77.0270 W

Northwest Branch: 39.0670 N / -77.0290 W

Paint Branch: 39.0531 N / -76.9785 W

Project 2:

LSLS104: 39∞14π11≤ N / 77∞15π28≤ W

LSLS109: 39∞13π25≤ N / 77∞14π52≤ W

CB201: 39∞12π33≤ N / 77∞17π10≤ W

Sopers Branch: 39∞16π27≤ N / 77∞18π6≤ W

Crystal Rock: 39∞11π16≤ N / 77∞15π6≤ W

Milestone Tributary: 39∞11π40≤ N / 77∞15π17≤ W

Project 3:

Cattail Creek: 39.2640 N / -77.0550 W

Folly Quarter Creek: 39∞15π15≤ N / 76∞55π45≤ W

Little Owens Creek: 39∞39π30≤ N / 77∞23π0≤ W

Priestland Branch: 39∞32π45≤ N / 77∞08π30≤ W

Windsor-Myers Creek: 39∞32π45≤ N / 77∞05π15≤W

Number of sites being monitored within the watershed, with the range or average size of drainage areas (where relevant):

Project 1:

Cattail Creek: 16 subwatersheds, 1.29-22.49 sq. mi.

Hawlings River: 16 subwatersheds, 1.03-26.09 sq. mi.

Northwest Branch: 19 subwatersheds, 0.91-22.78 sq. mi.

Paint Branch: 13 subwatersheds, 0.31-10.91 sq. mi.

Project 2: 3 to 4 reaches of 75 to 100m in length per watershed. Total drainage area, acres:

LSLS104: 293.7

LSLS109: 230.6

CB201: 510.3

Sopers Branch: 756.1

Crystal Rock: ~700

Milestone Tributary: 400

Project 3: One 75m reach per site

Currently we have not calculated drainage area to study sites (All are located on first-order streams).

Parameters being monitored

(list by category, e.g. streamflow; groundwater levels; meteorological variables ≠ precip, relative humidity, wind speed, components of radiation balance; temperature; water quality constituents ≠ nutrients, metals, organics, microorganisms, etc.; if there are different suites monitored at different sites, give approximate number of sites where each group of parameters is being monitored)

Project 1: all sites

Physical: Streamflow, stream temperature, geomorphology (sinuosity, pebble counts, surveying)

Chemical: surface water background nutrient concentrations (NO₃^-, PO₄^-, NH₄⁺), conductivity, pH, DO

Biological:

Structural: Benthic macroinvertebrates

Functional: nutrient uptake (NO₃^-, PO₄^-, NH₄⁺), whole stream metabolism, leaf decomposition, primary production.

Project 2:

Physical: Streamflow, precipitation (2 gauges within region of watersheds), groundwater levels/flowpaths, rate of groundwater/surfacewater exchange, stream temperature, geomorphology

Chemical: Groundwater and surfacewater quality during stormflow and baseflow (nutrients, pH, DO, DOC, metals)

Biological:

Structural: Benthic macroinvertebrates

Functional: nutrient uptake (NO₃^-, PO₄^-, NH₄⁺), whole stream metabolism, leaf decomposition.

Project 3:

Physical: Streamflow

Chemical: surface water background nutrient concentrations (NO₃^-, PO₄^-, NH₄⁺), conductivity, pH, DO

Biological:

Structural: Aquatic insect emergence; benthic macroinvertebrates; activity-abundance of terrestrial invertebrate predators in riparian zone

Functional: Benthic organic matter

Period(s) of record:

Project 1: 2000-2004 (ongoing at focal sites for some parameters)

Project 2: Beginning July 2004 (previous work related to this project has been conducted in these watersheds by VanNess-DEP)

Project 3: 2003-present

Frequency of record:

Project 1:

Continuous (15 minute intervals): Stream flow (5 gaged sites), temperature (focal sites)

Yearly at focal sites (a subset of ~10 sites across all watersheds): nutrient uptake, whole stream metabolism, benthic macroinvertebrates (March-April), background nutrients and conductivity

One or several times at each site throughout period of record: leaf decomposition, nutrient uptake, whole stream metabolism, background nutrients and conductivity, geomorphology

Project 2:

Continuous (15 minute intervals): Streamflow, precipitation, temperature (summer only)

Monthly: water quality, groundwater depth/flowpaths, groundwater/surfacewater exchange

Yearly: Geomorphology (Fall), nutrient uptake (Summer), whole stream metabolism (Summer), leaf decomposition (Summer)

Project 3:

Monthly: Aquatic insect emergence; activity-abundance of terrestrial invertebrate predators in riparian zone

Seasonally: Streamflow; surfacewater background nutrient concentrations (NO₃^-, PO₄^-, NH₄⁺), conductivity, pH, DO

Yearly: Benthic macroinvertebrates; benthic organic matter

Titles of current project or projects or scientific and management objectives of monitoring:

Project 1. The Spatial Patterning of Land Use Conversion: Linking Economics, Hydrology, and Ecology to Evaluate the Effects of Alternative Future Growth Scenarios on Stream Ecosystems

Project 2. Ecological Sustainability in Rapidly Urbanizing Watersheds: Evaluating Strategies Designed to Mitigate Impacts on Stream Ecosystems

Project 3. Terrestrial-aquatic linkages in agro-ecosystems: Examining the trophic fluxes between headwater streams and adjacent cornfields

Names of Principal Investigators on current projects:

Project 1:

UMD: Margaret Palmer, Glenn Moglen, Nancy Bockstael

University of Delaware: Jim Pizzuto

Project 2:

P.I.: Margaret Palmer (UMCP)

Co-P.I.s: Keith VanNess and Meosotis Curtis (Montgomery County DEP), Kevin Kelly and Amy Hennessey (Environmental Systems Analysis, Annapolis, MD)

Project 3:

Holly Menninger (graduate student) and Margaret Palmer (UMCP)