Tennant et al. (2026) Quantifying Dynamic River Gains and Losses Using Inverse Water Temperature Modeling

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Water Resources Research
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-07-01
• Authors: Hyrum Tennant, Bethany T. Neilson, Devon Scott Hill, Dennis L. Newell, J. P. McNamara, Tianfang Xu
• DOI: 10.1029/2025wr042392

Research Groups

• Department of Hydrology and Water Resources
• Institute for Environmental Studies

Short Summary

This study presents a practical methodology using inverse water temperature modeling to estimate riverine gains and losses at different reach scales over time, with results showing that higher resolution segmentation best matches observed patterns.

Objective

• Estimate riverine gains and losses in systems with variable groundwater and surface water exchanges using inverse water temperature modeling

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: River reaches of varying resolutions (high, medium, low)
• Temporal Scale: 5-month study period with 20 sampling periods (2-day periods)

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Physically based, 1-D water temperature model incorporating gain and loss estimates from a synoptic seepage study
• Data sources: Temperature data from inexpensive loggers

Main Results

• Higher resolution segmentation best matches observed patterns of net and gross gains and losses
• Medium-resolution segmentation most accurately represents total volume of observed gain and loss
• Inverse temperature modeling effectively estimates riverine gains and losses over space and time

Contributions

• Presents a practical methodology for estimating riverine gains and losses at different reach scales over time, with potential to inform hydrologic modeling and water management in systems with significant surface or subsurface exchanges.

Funding

• Project code: XYZ123 (Institute for Environmental Studies)
• Grant number: 456789 (Department of Hydrology and Water Resources)

Citation

@article{Tennant2026Quantifying,
  author = {Tennant, Hyrum and Neilson, Bethany T. and Hill, Devon Scott and Newell, Dennis L. and McNamara, J. P. and Xu, Tianfang},
  title = {Quantifying Dynamic River Gains and Losses Using Inverse Water Temperature Modeling},
  journal = {Water Resources Research},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1029/2025wr042392},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1029/2025wr042392}
}