Identifying the impacts of urbanization and extreme flows on river water temperatures in headwater catchments

Danny Croghan*, A. F. Van Loon, C. Bradley, J. Sadler, Valérie Ouellet, David M. Hannah

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Urbanization and extreme flows are altering stream temperature dynamics, yet our understanding of the impact of urbanization and extreme flows on stream temperature is limited. We deployed 27 water temperature loggers in three headwater catchments over three summers. We categorized flow as low, high, or average and calculated daily water temperature anomalies. Comparing Z scores between flow conditions revealed the impact of extreme events on water temperature. We used multiple linear regressions to identify landscape predictors of water temperature. We found during low flows stream temperatures were significantly warmer. Additionally, urban landscape predictors were linked to reduced warming during low flows. Our study highlights that low flows increase extreme water temperature events; however, this effect was less pronounced in more urbanized sites. High flows did not significantly affect water temperature anomalies. These results underscore the vulnerability of rivers to extreme temperatures during low flows; however, landscape may help mitigate these effects.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)347-357
Number of pages11
JournalHydrological Sciences Journal
Volume70
Issue number2
Early online date10 Dec 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Keywords

  • droughts
  • floods
  • hydrological extremes
  • river temperature
  • urban hydrology
  • water temperature

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