Skip to Main Content
U.S. Forest Service
Caring for the land and serving people

United States Department of Agriculture

Home > Search > Publication Information

  1. A conceptual hydrologic model for a forested Carolina bay depressional wetland on the Coastal Plain of South Carolina, USA

    Share via EmailShare on FacebookShare on LinkedInShare on Twitter
    Dislike this pubLike this pub
    Author(s): Jennifer E. Pyzoha; Timothy J. Callahan; Ge Sun; Carl C. Trettin; Masato Miwa
    Date: 2008
    Source: Hydrological Processes 22(14): 2689-2698
    Publication Series: Scientific Journal (JRNL)
    PDF: Download Publication  (2.0 MB)

    Description

    This paper describes how climate influences the hydrology of an ephemeral depressional wetland. Surface water and groundwater elevation data were collected for 7 years in a Coastal Plain watershed in South Carolina USA containing depressional wetlands, known as Carolina bays. Rainfall and temperature data were compared with water-table well and piezometer data in and around one wetland. Using these data a conceptual model was created that describes the hydrology of the system under wet, dry, and drought conditions. The data suggest this wetland operates as a focal point for groundwater recharge under most climate conditions. During years of below-normal to normal rainfall the hydraulic gradient indicated the potential for groundwater recharge from the depression, whereas during years of above-normal rainfall, the hydraulic gradient between the adjacent upland, the wetland margin, and the wetland centre showed the potential for groundwater discharge into the wetland. Using high-resolution water-level measurements, this groundwater discharge condition was found to hold true even during individual rainfall events, especially under wet antecedent soil conditions. The dynamic nature of the hydrology in this Carolina bay clearly indicates it is not an isolated system as previously believed, and our groundwater data expand upon previous hydrologic investigations at similar sites which do not account for the role of groundwater in estimating the water budget of such systems.

    Publication Notes

    • You may send email to pubrequest@fs.fed.us to request a hard copy of this publication.
    • (Please specify exactly which publication you are requesting and your mailing address.)
    • We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information.
    • This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain.

    Citation

    Pyzoha, Jennifer E.; Callahan, Timothy J.; Sun, Ge; Trettin, Carl C.; Miwa, Masato. 2008. A conceptual hydrologic model for a forested Carolina bay depressional wetland on the Coastal Plain of South Carolina, USA. Hydrological Processes 22(14): 2689-2698

    Keywords

    Carolina bay, depressional wetland, surface water-groundwater interaction

    Related Search

    XML: View XML
Show More
Show Fewer
Jump to Top of Page
https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/29004