Coupling Field Data and a Flow Model to Characterize the Role of
Groundwater in a Montane, Semi-Arid, Headwater Catchment, Gordon Gulch,
Colorado
Abstract
Groundwater is critical in sustaining streamflow, especially in mountain
catchments, because of its ability to supply baseflow in the absence of
precipitation. In water-limited arid and semi-arid mountain
environments, the need to characterize groundwater recharge and
discharge has grown in tandem with demands to effectively manage current
and future water resources. However, studying groundwater is challenging
in complex terrain due to limited field measurements. Nearly a decade of
monitoring data collection at Gordon Gulch in the Colorado Front Range
provides a unique opportunity to study such an environment. The field
data is used to parameterize and calibrate a groundwater flow model
(MODFLOW-NWT). Model results reveal spatial and temporal patterns in
groundwater recharge and discharge to the stream. Groundwater is
recharged primarily by one to two recharge events each year, driven by
spring snowmelt and rain. The majority of groundwater recharge occurs in
upper Gordon Gulch and is stored in saprolite and weathered bedrock.
Groundwater is discharged to the stream via long, deep flowpaths sourced
from upper Gordon Gulch and short, shallow flowpaths from soil and
saprolite in lower Gordon Gulch. Using Gordon Gulch as a case study,
this model and data analysis contribute to a larger effort to understand
and constrain the mechanisms driving groundwater recharge and
groundwater-stream exchanges in semi-arid, montane environments.