Abstract
There is increasing demand for models that can accurately predict river temperature at the large spatial scales appropriate to river management. This paper combined summer water temperature data from a strategically designed, quality controlled network of 25 sites, with recently developed flexible spatial regression models, to understand and predict river temperature across a 3,000 km2 river catchment. Minimum, mean and maximum temperatures were modelled as a function of nine potential landscape covariates that represented proxies for heat and water exchange processes. Generalised additive models were used to allow for flexible responses. Spatial structure in the river network data (local spatial variation) was accounted for by including river network smoothers. Minimum and mean temperatures decreased with increasing elevation, riparian woodland and channel gradient. Maximum temperatures increased with channel width. There was greater between-river and between-reach variability in all temperature metrics in lower-order rivers indicating that increased monitoring effort should be focussed at these smaller scales. The combination of strategic network design and recently developed spatial statistical approaches employed in this study have not been used in previous studies of river temperature. The resulting catchment scale temperature models provide a valuable quantitative tool for understanding and predicting river temperature variability at the catchment scales relevant to land use planning and fisheries management and provide a template for future studies.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1225–1238 |
Journal | Hydrological Processes |
Volume | 31 |
Issue number | 6 |
Early online date | 31 Jan 2017 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Mar 2017 |
Keywords
- Landscape covariates
- Prediction
- River temperature
- Scotland
- Spatial regression models
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Water Science and Technology