Closing the Loop on Groundwater-Surface Water Interactions, River Hydrodynamics, and Metabolism on the San Joaquin River Basin

This poster summarizes the body of CENS work in the San Joaquin River (SJR) basin that is aimed at creating a prototypical observation-modeling-management (feedback-control) system. The objective of the proposed system is to clarify the linkages between land use and chemical transport and fate along the soil zone-groundwater-surface water flow path. Work to date is presented on the following sub-projects: (1) The application of high resolution river multi-scale observations to define a 2-D hydrodynamic model at the SJR-Merced River confluence, (2) The use of embedded sensor systems known as temperature javelins to estimate local groundwater fluxes into the Merced River upstream of the confluence, and (3) The installation of long-term sensor systems aimed at continuously observing the flow path between agricultural systems and the Merced River.