Streamflow, Infiltration, and Ground-Water Recharge at 

Abo Arroyo, New Mexico

USGS Professional Paper 1703—Ground-Water Recharge

in the Arid and Semiarid Southwestern United States—

Chapter D

By Amy E. Stewart-Deaker1, David A. Stonestrom, and Stephanie J. Moore2

1

 Present address Berkeley, California (amystew@gmail.com).

2

 Present address D.B. Stephens and Associates, Albuquerque, 

New Mexico (smoore@dbstephens.com).

Abstract 

Abo Arroyo, an ephemeral tributary to the Rio Grande, 

rises in the largest upland catchment on the eastern side of 

the Middle Rio Grande Basin (MRGB). The 30-kilometer 

reach of channel between the mountain front and its confluence with the Rio Grande is incised into basin-fill sediments 

and separated from the regional water table by an unsaturated 

zone that reaches 120 meters thick. The MRGB portion of the 

arroyo is dry except for brief flows generated by runoff from 

the upland catchment. Though brief, ephemeral flows provide 

a substantial fraction of ground-water recharge in the southeastern portion of the MRGB. Previous estimates of average 

annual recharge from Abo Arroyo range from 1.3 to 21 million 

cubic meters. The current study examined the timing, location, and amount of channel infiltration using streamflow data 

and environmental tracers during a four-year period (water 

years 1997–2000). A streamflow-gaging station (“gage”) was 

installed in a bedrock-controlled reach near the catchment outlet to provide high-frequency data on runoff entering the basin. 

Streamflow at the gage, an approximate bound on potential 

tributary recharge to the basin, ranged from 0.8 to 15 million cubic meters per year. Storm-generated runoff produced 

about 98 percent of the flow in the wettest year and 80 percent 

of the flow in the driest year. Nearly all flows that enter the 

MRGB arise from monsoonal storms in July through October. 

A newly developed streambed temperature method indicated 

the presence and duration of ephemeral flows downstream of 

the gage. During the monsoon season, abrupt downward shifts 

in streambed temperatures and suppressed diurnal ranges provided generally clear indications of flow. Streambed temperatures during winter showed that snowmelt is also effective in 

generating channel infiltration. Controlled infiltration experiments in dry arroyo sediments indicated that most ephemeral flow is lost to seepage before reaching the Rio Grande. 

Streambed temperature records confirmed this, providing 

evidence of only two flows reaching the Rio Grande during 

a three-year period (water years 1998–2000). Sub-channel 

chloride concentrations indicate that approximately half of the 

seepage loss eventually becomes ground-water recharge. Vertical profiles of pore-water chloride in transects adjacent to the 

channel indicate that basin-floor recharge outside the arroyo is 

negligible under current climatic conditions.

Introduction

Abo Arroyo is an impressive example of the ephemeral 

streams linking lateral upland catchments to the Rio Grande, 

the regional axial drainage of the extensional Rio Grande Rift. 

The arroyo’s headwaters spread over a large, elevated catchment separated from the Middle Rio Grande Basin (MRGB) 

by the Manzano and Los Piños Mountains (fig. 1). The 

exposed Precambrian bedrock of these ranges forms the southeastern border, or mountain front, of the basin. Upstream of 

the mountain front, Abo Arroyo comprises a dendritic system 

of meandering canyons cut into Paleozoic sedimentary rocks. 

Base flow is small and restricted to a bedrock-controlled 

reach near the mountain front. Downstream of the mountain 

front, where it lacks substantial tributaries, the normally dry 

arroyo cuts into unconsolidated Cenozoic sands and gravels. 

Abo Arroyo crosses several distinct geomorphologic settings between the upland catchment and the Rio Grande. The 

exposed bedrock of the upland catchment and alluvial cliffs 

and terraces along the arroyo reflect millions of years of 

landscape evolution under hydraulic conditions often different 

from those today.

Sparse vegetation lines the arroyo banks within the 

MRGB. The channel floor, free of vegetation but strewn with 

boulders, evinces sporadic interruption of no-flow conditions 

by flash flood events. Understanding present-day groundwater recharge requires information about the spatial and 

temporal patterns of ephemeral flows, associated streambed 

infiltration, and subsequent losses of infiltrated water to 

evapotranspiration. Because bedrock at the mountain front is 

largely impermeable (Anderholm, 2000), recharge to MRGB 

ground water from the upland catchment is primarily restricted 

to infiltration from flows crossing into the basin. Water that 

enters the basin as sub-channel seepage from the small but 

persistent base flow just upstream of the mountain front may 

also be important.
84 Streamflow, Infiltration, and Ground-Water Recharge at Abo Arroyo, New Mexico

Mountainair

Mountain 

Mountain 

Front 

Front 

boundary Watershed

MANZANO

MOUNTAINS

RIO 

GRANDE 

LOS PIÑOS

MOUNTAINS

Belen

Los Lunas

5.8 km

ABO 

ARROYO 

Bernardo

MRGB

boundary

RIO 

PUERCO 

106.8° 106.7° 106.6° 106.5° 106.4° 106.3° 

34.5° 

34.3° 

34.4° 

34.6° 

34.7° 

0 5 Kilometers 10

Base map from terrain-corrected Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper; 

image acquired Sept. 28, 1999. 

Map 

Area 

NEW MEXICO 

COLORADO 

TEXAS 

MEXICO 

ARIZONA 

Figure 1. Abo Arroyo in the southeastern Middle Rio Grande Basin (MRGB) with its contributing watershed (upland catchment). 

False-color satellite image shows active vegetation as bright green, basin-fill and ancestral Rio Grande floodplain deposits as 

shades of pink, Paleozoic sedimentary rocks of Abo Canyon (east of the mountain front) as brown to purplish gray, basalt flows 

(most prominently at the south end of the Los Piños Mountains) as dark gray with red, and urban areas as speckled gray.
Introduction 85

Traditional methods for gaging streams are ill suited to 

normally dry alluvial channels with infrequent, high-energy 

flows. Moving bedload is destructive and changes channel 

geometry. As a result, ephemeral streamflow data are scarce.

As a prominent example of an ungaged and undeveloped basin in the semiarid southwest, Abo Arroyo presented 

the opportunity to develop needed techniques for determining 

focused recharge from ephemeral flows. At the same time, the 

remoteness of Abo Arroyo presented challenges to instrument 

development and hydrologic conceptualization. The primary 

approach was to develop unattended temperature-based methods 

as a simple means for determining ephemeral streamflow and 

associated infiltration-induced recharge. Thermal techniques 

used at the other southwest ground water recharge sites trace 

their origins to this work. Abo Arroyo proved valuable for developing hydrologic concepts as well. The juxtaposition of hydraulic settings and their seasonal interactions provided a natural 

laboratory for studying a system dominated by ephemeral flow.

High frequency monitoring of streambed temperatures 

downstream of the mountain front, together with flow monitoring in the upland catchment, allowed detailed characterization 

of streamflow and recharge in time and space. The protocol for 

temperature-based determination of streamflow in arid environments evolved during the course of the study by model-guided 

trial and error. In addition to temperature-based monitoring, 

infiltration tests in dry arroyo sediments provided information 

on potential losses during flow events. Profiles of chloride and 

bromide in unsaturated-zone pore water provided supporting 

information on the amount of infiltrated channel water becoming ground-water recharge and on potential recharge from 

infiltrating precipitation adjacent to the channel. This latter 

work water indicated focusing of recharge beneath the active 

channel and long times of accumulation, or time since recharge 

last occurred, on terraces adjacent to the channel.

Hydrogeologic Setting

Abo Arroyo joins the Rio Grande about 65 km south 

of Albuquerque, between the towns of Belen and Bernardo 

(fig. 1). The altitude of the confluence is about 1,450 m. The 

30-km study reach flows east to west, entering the MRGB 

through a narrow canyon separating the northern tip of the 

Los Piños Mountains from the southern tip of the Manzano 

Mountains. Maximum altitudes in these ranges reach 2,347 

and 3,048 m, respectively. The arroyo crosses the mountain 

front at an altitude of 1,651 m. The watershed supplying the 

arroyo upstream of the mountain front has an area of about 

650 km2

 (Anderholm, 2000).

The study reach begins near the mountain front (fig. 2). 

Once inside the MRGB, the arroyo cuts into the piedmont 

formed by coalescing alluvial fans issuing from the mountains 

(Hawley and others, 1982). The piedmont pinches out 5-10 km 

downstream of the mountain front, where Abo Arroyo cuts into 

a stepped sequence of abandoned fluvial terraces of the ancestral 

Rio Grande (Titus, 1963). The study reach terminates at its intersection with the active floodplain of the modern Rio Grande.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 

DISTANCE FROM RIO GRANDE, IN KILOMETERS 

ALTITUDE, IN METERS ABOVE MEAN SEA LEVEL 

1000 

1100 

1200 

1300 

1400 

1500 

1600 

1700 

1800 

1900 

2000 

CHANNEL CROSS SECTIONS, LONGITUDINAL PROFILE, AND GENERALIZED GEOLOGY 

PS-8 

PS-7 

0 100 

5 

0 

meters 

Cross-section scale 

Joyita Fault 

Water table 

Mountain-front 

fault 

Paleozoic sedimentary rocks 

Precambrian cystalline rocks 

(exposed at surface along 

mountain front) 

Basin-fill 

sediments 

Piedmont 

and 

basin-fill 

sediments 

PS-6 PS-5 

PS-4 

Stream 

Gage 

PS-3 PS-2 PS-1 

Figure 2. Longitudinal profile, and generalized geology of Abo Arroyo from its confluence with the the Rio Grande 

(altitude 1,450 meters) to an altitude of 1,800 meters, with channel cross-sections at probe-site (temperature monitoring) 

locations PS-1 to PS-8. Vertical exaggerations of the longitudinal profile and channel cross sections are 1:20 and 1:4, 

respectively. Longitudinal profile runs roughly west (left) to east (right). Channel cross-sections run north (left) to south 

(right). Water-table profile is from contour map of predevelopment levels (Bexfield and Anderholm, 2000). Locations of the 

Joyita and unnamed mountain-front faults are from figure 4 of Kernodle, McAda, and Thorn (1995).
86 Streamflow, Infiltration, and Ground-Water Recharge at Abo Arroyo, New Mexico

Base flow is usually perennial just upstream of the mountain front, where the alluvium is thin. As the channel crosses 

onto the thick alluvium of the MRGB, base flow becomes 

nonexistent and flows are limited to short events caused by 

storm runoff from the upland catchment. Tributary inflows are 

negligible downstream of the mountain front. The unsaturated 

zone beneath the channel ranges from 30 to 120-m thick near 

the mountain front to 5 to 30-m thick near the Rio Grande 

(Titus, 1963; Bexfield and Anderholm, 2000). 

Sediments transported into the arroyo derive primarily 

from Paleozoic sedimentary rocks in the upland catchment 

(fig. 1). The dominant source rocks are Pennsylvanian limestones and shales in the lower elevations near the mountain 

front, and Permian arkosic redbeds (mostly sandstones) in 

the higher elevations away from the mountain front (Spiegel, 

1955; Dane and Bachman, 1965; Scholle, 2003). Contacts and 

bedding dip eastward in opposition to the channel gradient, 

impeding flow toward the MRGB. Within the basin, channel 

sediments range from boulders to fine sand near the mountain 

front to fine to medium sands near the Rio Grande (fig. 3). The 

downstream fining indicates a loss of transport power associated with high rates of channel infiltration. In the lower half of 

the study reach, at PS-6 and 7, the channel surface tended to 

crust when dry due to recessional deposition of small amounts 

of fines (fig. 2). Little crusting was observed upstream, where 

sediments were coarser.

The channel bottom supports little vegetation beyond 

scattered individuals of fast-growing species—mostly 

grasses—indicating frequent scour. Mixed vegetation lines 

the channel banks, with salt cedars (Tamarix) dominating the 

active floodplain upstream of the mountain front (fig. 3A) and 

near the floodplain of the Rio Grande (fig. 3D). Grasses, cacti, 

and shrubs form sparse cover on the elevated terrace adjacent 

to the channel (figs. 3B,C). Grasses are the most abundant 

plant adjacent to the channel, with shorter species near the 

mountain front giving way to taller species at lower elevations 

in the MRGB. Unexposed slopes in the upland catchment support piñon pines and junipers (figs. 3A,B)

Unconsolidated terrace sediments form dark red cliffs 

along the arroyo. In the middle of the study reach, the arroyo 

opens up to widths around 100 meters where channel banks 

have collapsed. The channel slope is relatively steep throughout the study reach, varying from 11 m/km near the mountain 

front to 6 m/km near the Rio Grande (fig. 2).

The primary land use within the Abo Arroyo section of 

the MRGB is rangeland. Irrigated crops grow at the downstream end of the study reach, forming a rectangular projection 

from the cultivated Rio Grande corridor. The upland catchment is almost entirely undeveloped (fig. 1).

Precipitation within the MRGB generally averages 

less than 300 mm/yr (Thorn and others, 1993). Precipitation 

increases in the bordering highlands due to orographic effects, 

reaching an estimated annual average of 760 mm along the 

crest of the Manzano Mountains (Anderholm, 2000). The largest amount of precipitation falls during the summer monsoon, 

with July, August, and September accounting for half the 

annual total (fig. 4). Winter precipitation at higher elevations 

consists primarily of snowfall, leading to occasional periods of snowmelt-supplied streamflow. Annual precipitation 

shows large year-to-year and sub-decadal fluctuations (fig. 5). 

Precipitation at Bernardo was 329 mm during the first year of 

the study, 54 percent above average, and 161 mm during the 

final year of the study, 25 percent below average. Even during 

the wettest years, potential evaporation (1,700 mm/yr) far 

exceeded precipitation (Stephens and Knowlton, 1986). 

Previous Work

The desire to sustainably develop ground water has 

prompted repeated efforts to quantify recharge in the MRGB. 

Due to its large contributing area, the potential importance of 

Abo Arroyo was recognized by early ground-water modelers. 

Methods of estimating recharge, and estimates themselves, 

varied widely (fig. 6). The earliest estimate, a water-balance 

calculation by J. Dewey (reported by Kernodle and Scott, 

1986), was about 19 million cubic meters per year (Mm3

yr-1). Subsequent estimates, based on outflow from the upland 

catchment (“basin yield”), ranged from 5 to 21 Mm3 yr-1 (fig. 

6). These estimates were based on nonlinear relationships—

among precipitation, catchment area, and basin yield—that 

were developed with data from similar, gaged catchments. 

Basin-yield estimates assume that all streamflow exiting the 

upland catchment becomes ground-water recharge.

Anderholm (2000) derived an estimate of 1.6 Mm3 yr-1

on the basis of an assumed steady-state mass-balance between 

meteoric chloride entering the catchment (in precipitation 

and dry deposition) and chloride leaving the catchment (in 

recharge to the basin aquifer). This approach used ground 

water near the mountain front to approximate the chloride 

concentration of recharge. Nimmo and others (2001) derived a 

nearly identical estimate by sampling the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity beneath the channel, applying Darcy’s law, 

and distributing the calculated recharging fluxes on the basis 

of broad geomorphic setting (Rio Grande floodplain, ancestral 

fluvial terrace, and piedmont slope).

Sanford and others (2004) matched water levels, ages, 

and solute compositions in a numerical model of the MRGB 

aquifer by adjusting hydraulic properties and recharge rates. 

This work, which drew on extensive geochemical characterization of Plummer and others (2004), successfully simulated the 

shape of the MRGB water table, including a prominent troughlike feature that had not previously been explained. Simulated 

recharge rates for the last glacial maximum were higher than 

today’s rates by ten to twenty times. The boundary of the 

numerical model was midway between the mountain front and 

the Rio Grande. Estimated current recharge in the modeled 

portion of the arroyo was 1.3 Mm3

 yr-1. 

Hydrochemical zonation of ground water clearly shows 

the imprint of Abo Arroyo recharge. Figure 7, adapted from 

Plummer and others (2004), synthesizes data in the southeastern MRGB. A region of relatively cool ground water lies 
Introduction 87

A 

B 

C 

D 

Figure 3. Photographs of Abo Arroyo sediments fining in the downstream direction, March 2003. A, Near site PS-1, 1.4 km upstream of 

the mountain front. B, At PS-4, 1.3 km downstream of the front. C, PS-6, 12.9 km downstream of the front. D, PS-8, 28.3 km downstream of 

the front. Photo A looks downstream (west); B-D look upstream (east). Figure 2 shows locations. Figure by J. Constantz and K.S. Adams.
88 Streamflow, Infiltration, and Ground-Water Recharge at Abo Arroyo, New Mexico PRECIPITATION, IN MILLIMETERS 

1964 

1966 

1968 1970 

1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 

1982 

1984 

1986 1988 1990 

1992 1994 1996 

1998 2000 2002 

2004 

0 

100 

200 

300 

400 

500 

AVERAGE PRECIPITATION 

IS 214 MILLIMETERS 

STUDY 

PERIOD 

Hearne and Dewey 

(1988) 

Waltemeyer 

(1994) 

Anderholm 

(2000) 

Estimated water yield and upper bound on groundwater recharge, 

this study (Fig. 10 and Table 5) 

Nimmo and others 

(2001) 

Sanford and others 

(2004) 

ANNUAL RECHARGE, IN MILLIONS OF CUBIC METERS 

0 

5 

10 

15 

20 

25 

1.6 1.6 

21 

5.2 

19 

WB 

BY 

BY 

CB DH IM 

1.3 

Kernodle and Scott 

(1986) 

Figure 4. Mean monthly temperature 

and precipitation at National Weather 

Service station Bernardo (co-op station 

number 290915) for 1971 through 2000. 

Data from http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/

Climsum.html, accessed October 30, 2006. 

See figure 1 for location.

Figure 5. Total annual precipitation 

at Bernardo (National Weather 

Service cooperative station 290915) 

for water years 1964 through 2004. 

Based on monthly values obtained from 

http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/ancsum/ACS, 

accessed October 30, 2006. Values for 

missing and incomplete months were 

estimated from precipitation at Los 

Lunas (station 295150). The Bernardo 

and Los Lunas stations bracket the 

confluence of Abo Arroyo with the 

Rio Grande (fig. 1).

Figure 6. Previous estimates of 

ground-water recharge from Abo 

Arroyo to the Middle Rio Grande 

Basin. Methods included water 

balance (WB), basin yield (BY), 

chloride mass balance (CB), Darcy 

based hydraulic measurements 

(DH), and inverse modeling (IM) of 

ground-water heads and chemical 

composition. Anderholm (2000) 

developed the chloride massbalance estimate and compared it to 

estimates he obtained with the basinyield relations of Hearne and Dewey 

(1988) and Waltemeyer (1994); McAda 

and Barroll (2002) corrected the latter 

estimate to the value shown here.

0 

5 

10 

15 

20 

25 

30 

35 

40 

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 

0 

10 

20 

30 

40 

50 

60 

70 

80 

MEAN MONTHLY TEMPERATURE, 

IN DEGREES CELSIUS 

MEAN MONTHLY PRECIPITATION, 

IN MILLIMETERS 

Temperature 

Precipitation 
Introduction 89

Figure 7. Physical and chemical characteristics of ground water in the vicinity of the Middle 

Rio Grande Basin affected by recharge from Abo Arroyo. Modified from figures 30, 35, 78, and 100 of 

Plummer and others (2004). A, Temperature. B, Sulfate-to-chloride concentration ratio. C, Carbon-14 

age. D, Hydrochemical zone. Triangles and circles, respectively, show locations of archived (USGS 

National Water Information System) and newly acquired (Plummer and others, 2004) data. Contours 

dashed where less certain.

beneath middle to upper reaches of the arroyo (fig. 7A). Sulfate-to-chloride ratios (fig. 7B) carry the chemical signature 

of the upland catchment, where Paleozoic sediments contain 

gypsum-bearing units. Ground-water ages become progressively older longitudinally down the channel and laterally 

away from the channel, with youngest ground water closest to 

the mountain front (fig. 7C).

While recent studies add greatly to the understanding of 

recharge within the MRGB, the wide range of estimates for Abo 

Arroyo highlight the uncertainties of surface-water–groundwater exchanges in strongly ephemeral systems. The timing 

and duration of recharge-producing streamflow and infiltration 

are largely unknown. The current study addressed this gap. 

The objectives of the study were to (1) develop thermal techniques for determining the timing and distribution of ephemeral streamflow, (2) measure actual yields of the contributing 

catchment during a four-year period, (3) establish the relative 

potential contributions of base flow and storm flow, (4) evaluate 

the variation of infiltration capacity along the channel, and (5) 

estimate the proportion of infiltration that becomes recharge, 

both beneath the channel and on adjacent terrace surfaces. The 

remainder of this report summarizes the main results.

ABO ARROYO 

RIO EASTERN 

MOUNTAIN 

CENTRAL 

WESTERN 

BOUNDARY 

FRONT 

PUERCO 

DISCHARGE 

EASTERN 

MOUNTAIN 

FRONT 

FRONT 

MTN 

W. 

Manzano Mtns

Los Piños 

Mtns 

0 1 

20 

0 1 

1 0 

0 2 

2 

2 

0 2 

0 1 

Manzano Mtns

Los Piños 

Mtns 

Rio

Grande

Abo Arroyo

Rio Puerco

0 1 

2 2 

5 

5 

5 

2 

2 

2 

Manzano Mtns

Los Piños 

Mtns 

Rio

Grande

Abo Arroyo

Rio Puerco

20

20

20 20

Manzano Mtns

Los Piños 

Mtns 

Rio

Grande

Abo Arroyo

Rio Puerco

A B 

C D 

TEMPERATURE, IN DEGREES 

CELSIUS 

CARBON-14 AGE, IN 

THOUSANDS OF YEARS 

HYDROCHEMICAL ZONE 

SULFATE-TO-CHLORIDE 

CONCENTRATION RATIO 

107° 

34.25° 

34.75° 

34.25° 

34.75° 

106.4° 107° 106.4° 
90 Streamflow, Infiltration, and Ground-Water Recharge at Abo Arroyo, New Mexico

Methods

The present study combined long established with newly 

developed techniques to characterize streamflow, infiltration, 

and recharge within the Abo Arroyo watershed. This section 

provides a brief summary of instrumentation and data analysis. 

Streamflow

Establishing streamflow characteristics for Abo Arroyo 

was a priority of the current study. Prior data were limited 

to annual peak-flow estimates for two tributaries high in the 

upland catchment—Canada Montoso, a tributary draining less 

than 15 percent of the upland catchment, and an unnamed 

tributary draining less than 1 percent of the upland catchment. 

An automated streamflow-gaging station was established in 

August 1996 as close as possible to the mountain front following procedures described in Carter and Davidian (1968). 

The station (USGS 08331660, Abo Arroyo near Blue Springs) 

monitored streamflow from August 14, 1996 through September 30, 2000 by measuring stream stage at 15-minute intervals. 

A pressure transducer attached to a nitrogen bubbler measured 

stage. The measurement point was located in a straight reach 

of channel two km from the mountain front containing an elevated terrace for housing the pressure transducer, gas controls, 

and recording equipment. The channel at the gage cut into 

underlying bedrock, providing stability for the rating curve 

and a robust anchor for the bubbler outlet. Between the gage 

and mountain front, the channel receives additional runoff 

from two tributaries that in aggregate drain almost one percent 

of the upland catchment. Thus, streamflow at the gage underestimates basin yield by roughly the same proportion. The 

larger of the two tributaries, Sand Canyon, is a large ravine 

that has lost most of its contributing area to stream capture by 

lower-order tributaries feeding Priest Canyon, which joins Abo 

Arroyo upstream of the gage.

Streambed Temperature

Streambed-temperature anomalies were used to infer 

ephemeral flow downstream of the gage, as described in Constantz and others (2001) and Stewart (2003). Attempts to detect 

streamflow with thermocouples (Constantz and Thomas, 1997) 

failed when flash floods repeatedly disrupted connections to 

data loggers during the first year of the study. Thereafter, selfcontained data loggers (probes) recorded channel temperatures 

at the locations listed in table 1. Probes resolved temperature 

to ± 0.16 degrees Celsius (°C) within a nominal range of –5 to 

37°C. Temperatures outside this range were truncated (that is, 

recorded as being at the respective limit). Starting in October 

1997, probes were shielded in 15-cm lengths of 1.5-inch diameter schedule-40 polyvinylchloride pipe, which was tethered by 

aircraft cable to steel pipes driven into the channel below the 

depth of maximum scour. Starting in February 1998, additional 

probes were installed outside the channel to serve as controls for 

distinguishing flow-induced anomalies from anomalies caused 

by cloud-cast shadows, non-ponding precipitation, and other 

spurious signals. Initial deployments were on the channel surface to maximize sensitivity to flow. Somewhat serendipitously, 

sediment movement during larger flows buried several probes to 

various depths. Inspection of data from buried probes revealed 

that shallow burial filtered out most non-flow anomalies. 

Modeling the transport of heat and water for hypothetical test 

cases indicated that the optimal depth for the thermal detection 

of flow was approximately 0.2 m (Constantz and others, 2001). 

During subsequent stages of the study, the redeployment depth 

of all probes (test and control) was standardized at 0.2 m.

Due to the thick, permeable unsaturated zone downstream 

of the mountain front, high rates of infiltration accompanied 

ephemeral flows. Infiltrating water increases the heat capacity 

and thermal conductivity of channel sediments. The increase 

in moisture content alone would produce an anomalous 

temperature response to diurnal, seasonal and other perturbations. The even larger response of streambed temperatures to 

streamflow events (fig. 8) reflects the rapid advection of heat 

by infiltrating water (Constantz and others, 2001; Stonestrom 

and Constantz, 2004). Continuously varying convective and 

radiative heat exchanges between the dry channel surface and 

the air and sky cause temperature gradients to be a permanent 

dynamic of shallow sediments. The temperature of ephemeral flow usually differs from the temperature of the channel 

sediments prior to flow. Chemical and isotopic data show 

that storm flow in perennially flowing streams (such as Abo 

Arroyo near outlet of the upland catchment) is largely released 

from ground-water storage (Genereux and Hooper, 1998). 

Ground water has a temperature buffered toward the annual 

mean. During the summer monsoonal period, storm flow can 

be many degrees cooler than the ambient surface temperature.

Cessation of flow is less pronounced in temperature 

records than initiation of flow. Upon cessation, infiltration 

gives way to the slow process of drainage-limited redistribution. The subsurface flow rate drops sharply, and conduction 

replaces advection as the dominant heat-transporting process. 

In contrast to the abrupt change in sediment temperature 

associated with infiltration, the cessation of flow is marked by 

a gradual, conduction-dominated recovery to preflowing conditions. Consequently, the response at the end of flow is not 

symmetric with the response at the beginning. Nevertheless, 

the cessation of flow is often apparent (fig. 8).

Analysis of thermal records relied on visual inspection. 

Automated procedures such as the moving standard deviation method (Blasch and others, 2004) proved unreliable for 

detecting streamflow from Abo Arroyo thermographs due to 

inconsistent burial depths (Stewart, 2003).

Channel Infiltration

Infiltration measurements in dry arroyo sediments 

allowed evaluation of potential channel losses during ephem-
Methods 91

Table 1. Locations of stream-gage and channel temperature-measurement sites.

Site Latitude1

,

in degrees

Longitude1,

in degrees

Elevation2,

in meters

Distance to 

Rio Grande,

in kilometers

Distance from

mountain front3

,

in kilometers

Gage 34.4469 106.4966 1667 31.8 -2.0

PS-1 34.4517 106.5006 1660 30.9 -1.1

PS-2 34.4571 106.5039 1651 29.8 0.0

PS-3 34.4590 106.5106 1646 29.2 0.6

PS-4 34.4622 106.5163 1638 28.5 1.3

PS-5 34.4592 106.5493 1615 25.4 4.4

PS-6 34.4662 106.6297 1560 16.9 12.9

PS-7 34.5075 106.7028 1495 7.9 21.9

PS-8 34.5253 106.7632 1456 1.5 28.3

1

North American Datum of 1927.

2

National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929.

3

Channel distance. Negative value is distance upstream; positive value is downstream.

STREAMBED TEMPERATURE, IN DEGREES CELSIUS 

STREAMFLOW, IN CUBIC METERS PER SECOND 

10 

15 

20 

25 

30 

1000 

100 

10 

1 

0.1 

0.01 

8/3 8/5 8/7 8/9 8/11 8/13 8/15 

160 cubic meters per second 

inferred flow 

Streambed temperature at PS-3 

Streamflow at gage 

inferred flow 

0.3 cubic meters per second 

A 

B 

Figure 8. A, Streamflow at Abo Arroyo (USGS gage 08331660) and B, streambed temperature at probe 

site PS-3, 2.6 kilometer downstream (and 0.6 kilometer downstream from the mountain front), Aug. 3-16, 

1998. The temperature probe was about 0.2 meters below the channel surface when recovered. Shaded 

areas on the thermograph indicate periods of inferred flow.
92 Streamflow, Infiltration, and Ground-Water Recharge at Abo Arroyo, New Mexico

eral flow events. Preliminary measurements took place in 

October 1998 at PS-3, PS-6, and PS-8, 0.6, 13, and 28 km 

from the mountain front (fig. 2). Measurements at each site 

were made at three locations in the channel. Additional measurements in June 1999 revisited earlier sites as well as PS-5 

and PS-7, 4.4 and 22 km from the mountain front. Measurements followed standard procedures (Bouwer, 1986); however, 

the rocky nature of the arroyo, especially near the mountain 

front, prevented hammering conventional steel rings into the 

ground to obtain a watertight seal.

In October 1998, single-use infiltrometers were fabricated 

from pairs of sheet metal strips that were formed into concentric rings and emplaced into the channel bed (fig. 9). Concrete 

poured into the annular space between the rings created a 

seal with channel sediments. Drums trucked into the arroyo 

supplied the infiltrometers with water. A float valve maintained a constant head of about 0.05 m while infiltration rates 

were measured. Infiltration runs lasted 0.5 to 2 hours, with 

infiltration rates usually stabilizing after 10 to 30 minutes. 

The circular infiltrometers had an area of 0.3 m2

. Sheet metal 

forms were supplanted in June 1999 with reusable wooden 

frames that created square infiltration basins having an inside 

area of approximately 0.8 m2. The wooden forms were sturdier 

than the sheet metal forms and had a larger annular opening 

for concrete, improving the seal between the infiltrometer and 

the sediments. In addition to providing a better seal, the larger 

area of the square infiltrometers reduced effects of lateral 

divergence beneath the infiltrometer.

Unsaturated-Zone Solutes

Atmospherically derived solutes also served as tracers 

of infiltration and recharge. Unsaturated-zone chloride and 

bromide profiles from beneath the channel and from transects 

0.6 METER 

Figure 9. Single-use infiltration ring showing concrete seal and 

flow-regulating valve that maintains constant depth of ponding 

during measurements.

adjacent to the channel were collected in late spring and summer of 1996 and 1997, prior to the start of monsoonal storms. 

Channel profiles were sampled 1.2 km upstream from the 

mountain front and 0.3, 0.4, 2.4, 4.1, and 28.2 km downstream 

from the mountain front. Transect profiles were sampled on 

terrace surfaces adjacent to Abo Arroyo 1.4 km upstream from 

the mountain front and 0.4 and 4.4 km downstream from the 

mountain front.

Continuous cores were obtained with a hydraulically 

driven sampler to depths of 5–6 m on terrace transects and as 

deep as possible within the channel. After drying samples to 

determine water content, soluble salts were extracted by using 

methods described in Stone (1984). Chloride and bromide 

concentrations were determined by using single-column ion 

chromatography with silica-bonded ion exchangers. Analytical 

uncertainty was about five percent. Pore water concentrations 

of chloride ranged from 3 to 5,100 milligrams per liter (mg/L). 

Pore water concentrations of bromide ranged from less than 

0.02 to 62 mg/L.

A chloride mass-balance approach was used to infer 

recharge rates in areas of active recharge (Edmunds and others, 1988; Allison and others, 1994) and accumulation times in 

areas of negligible recharge (Tyler and others, 1996). A value 

of 0.29 grams of chloride per cubic meter of precipitation was 

used to calculate atmospheric chloride deposition on the basis 

of atmospheric deposition collected near Santa Fe, N. Mex. 

(Anderholm, 1994).

Profiles of unsaturated-zone pore water beneath the channel and in transects adjacent to the channel were analyzed to 

evaluate the proportion of infiltrating water that becomes deep 

percolation and ground-water recharge from evapoconcentration of shallow pore water. Concentrations of conservative 

solutes beneath the depth of evapotranspirative extraction 

indicate the fraction of infiltrating water percolating toward 

the water table. This approach assumes steady-state conditions 

exist between the time-averaged mass flux of solute at the 

land surface and at the sampling depth (Edmunds and others, 

1988). Alternatively, where steady conditions do not exist, 

the mass of accumulating solute from the imbalance between 

infiltration and deep drainage indicates the time since recharging conditions last prevailed (Tyler and others, 1996).

Results and Discussion

Streamflow Characteristics

Streamflow in Abo Arroyo reflects the interaction of 

monsoon-dominated precipitation with the relatively large proportion of exposed bedrock comprising the upland watershed. 

Streamflow responds quickly to storms. Base flow (perennial 

flow between storms) is minimal in volume and extent. Only 

at the gage does base flow persist. Except for possible snowpack, the storage capacity of the upland catchment would seem 

limited by the relatively impermeable bedrock. Even so, only a 

small fraction of precipitation becomes streamflow.
Results and Discussion 93

Annual streamflow increases non-linearly with annual 

precipitation (fig. 10). Orographically weighted average 

precipitation in the upland catchment about 368 mm per year 

(Anderholm, 2000), 1.7 times higher than the average at Bernardo (214 mm, water years 1964–2004). Adjusting measured 

precipitation amounts at Bernardo (altitude 1443 m above sea 

level) by a factor of 1.7 yields the estimated precipitation for 

the upland catchment (1660–3048 m above sea level) for each 

year of the study. Multiplying these values by the area of the 

upland catchment (650 km2) approximates the yearly volumes 

of precipitation contributing to streamflow at the gage. The 

total streamflow in WY 2000, the driest year, represented about 

1 percent of the estimated precipitation volume. The total 

streamflow in WY 1997, the wettest year, represented about 

9 percent of the precipitation volume. Streamflow volumes in 

water years 1998 and 1999 each represented about 3 percent 

of estimated precipitation. As annual precipitation increases, 

runoff volumes rise disproportionately (Langbein, 1949). The 

upward curvature of the relation between annual streamflow 

and precipitation (fig. 10) reflects the decreasing relative 

importance of evapotranspiration, sublimation, and depressionstorage losses as precipitation increases in the watershed.

Total annual streamflow during the study period ranged 

from 0.8 to 15.3 million cubic meters (Mm3

), a factor of 19. In 

contrast, precipitation at the Bernardo weather station during 

the same time varied between 161 and 329 mm, a factor of 

2, (fig. 10). Annual streamflow was largest during WY-1997, 

when annual precipitation at Bernardo (329 mm) was 154 

percent of the 41-year average. Water year 1997 was the 

third wettest year on record. Annual streamflow was smallest in WY 2000, when annual precipitation at Bernardo (161 

mm) was 75 percent of the 41-year average. The total annual 

streamflow corresponding to the long-term average annual 

precipitation, which approximates the average annual basin 

yield, is about 2.0 Mm3. This is less than one tenth of the largest previous estimated basin yield (fig. 6).

Records of daily mean and peak instantaneous streamflows 

illustrate the ephemeral, flashy nature of Abo Arroyo discharge. 

Daily mean streamflows (the average of all 15-minute instantaneous streamflows on a given day) varied from zero to 37.7 

m3

/s during the four-year study period (fig. 11). The four-year 

median value of 0.012 m3/s was less than 1/3000 of the 

maximum. Annual median values varied from 0.006 m3/s in 

WY 2000 to 0.025 m3

/s in WY 1998 (table 2). Daily mean 

streamflow was 37.7 m3/s on June 6, 1997 during a monsoonal flow that lasted eight hours at the gage. Maximum 

instantaneous streamflow on that day was 195.5 m3/s.

The highest instantaneous streamflow during the study 

period, 227 m3/s, occurred on July 31, 1997, during the second 

of two flash floods arriving roughly eleven hours apart. Each 

event lasted about four hours. Daily mean streamflow was 

32.6 m3

/s on that day. 

Flow at the gage is bimodal, with brief storm flows interrupting long periods of minimal base flow. Ninety-five percent 

of daily average values (average flows on 1386 days) were less 

than 0.058 m3/s (inset, fig. 11).

41-YEAR AVERAGE (1964–2004) 

1997–2000 AVERAGE 

TOTAL ANNUAL STREAMFLOW, IN MILLIONS OF CUBIC METERS 

TOTAL ANNUAL PRECIPITATION AT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE 

COOPERATIVE STATION BERNARDO, IN MILLIMITERS 

0 

2 

4 

6 

8 

10 

12 

14 

16 

18 

150 170 190 210 230 250 270 290 310 330 350 

1997 

1998 

1999 

2000 

Figure 10. Relationship between annual streamflow at the 

Abo Arroyo gage (USGS 08331660) and annual precipitation at 

Bernardo (National Weather Service cooperative station 290915) 

for water years 1997–2000.

Base flow is critical for sustaining the riparian ecosystem 

near the mountain front. In terms of duration, base flow dominates the four-year record. In terms of volume, however, storm 

flow accounts for nearly all water passing though the gage. 

Ranked average daily streamflows show a sharp inflection 

at the 95-percentile level (inset, fig. 11). Defining the corresponding flow rate, 0.058 m3

/s, as the threshold between base 

flow and storm flow, 80 percent of the total flow in WY 2000, 

the driest year, was storm flow (table 2). The channel was dry 

for periods up to 29 days at the gage in that year (fig. 11). In 

WY 1997, the wettest year, storm flow accounted for 98 percent of total flow at the gage, even though the channel flowed 

throughout the year. While brief even in aggregate, monsoonal 

storm flows dominate the discharge from the upland catchment. Basin recharge from streambed infiltration is almost 

entirely from storms associated with summer monsoons.

Temperature-Based Indications of Flow

The channel at the mountain front was seasonally persistent, as documented by site visits (fig. 12). Streambed temperatures exhibited three distinct patterns—two when flowing and 

one when dry. During water years 1998 and 1999, which had 

typical precipitation, diurnal temperature amplitudes dropped 

sharply for 10–14 weeks following the onset of monsoonal 

storms. The pattern was already in effect at the beginning of 

the thermograph record, following monsoonal storms in 1997. 

Diurnal amplitudes generally remained below 2–3°C; daily 

averages remained relatively constant and close to the average 

annual temperature (in the range of 15–20°C). The channel 

was flowing when visited during these periods. In WY 1997 

and 1998, starting in October or November, these relatively 

constant periods were followed by 7–8-month periods of intermediate diurnal amplitudes (typically 5–10°C) that tracked the 

seasonally varying temperature. The channel was also flowing 

when visited during these periods. The intermediate periods 
94 Streamflow, Infiltration, and Ground-Water Recharge at Abo Arroyo, New Mexico

WY-1997 

DAILY MEAN STREAMFLOW, IN CUBIC METERS PER SECOND 

WY-1998 WY-1999 WY-2000 

Base flow

Storm flow

0.0001 

0.001 

No-flow 

periods 

0.01 

0.1 

1 

10 

100 

0.058 cubic 

meters 

per second 

37.7 cubic 

meters 

per second 

RANK 

FLOW 

Maximum flow is 37.7 

cubic meters per second 

0.058 cubic meters 

per second 

1 

0.6 

0 

1461 

Figure 11. Daily mean streamflow at Abo Arroyo (USGS gage 08331660) during water years 1997-2000. Inset shows ranked 

values on a linear scale truncated at 0.6 cubic meters per second to display low flows. The dashed line on the main plot is 

the level below which 95 percent of daily mean streamflows occurred. This threshold operationally divides storm-generated 

runoff from base flow. Of the 75 values greater than the threshold, 88 percent (66) occurred within one day, all but one within 

three days, and none more than four days of a storm-induced runoff event. The total number of daily values is 1461.

Table 2. Stream flow at Abo Arroyo (USGS gage 08331660) for water years 1997-2000. Summary daily statistics and total 

storm-flow versus base-flow volumes.

[Derived from daily means data obtained at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis; accessed September 25, 2006]

Water 

year1

Median daily 

average flow,

in cubic meters 

per second

Maximum daily 

average flow,

in cubic meters 

per second

Minimum daily 

average flow,

in cubic meters 

per second

Total

volume2

,

in millions 

of cubic 

meters

Storm-flow 

volume2

,

in millions 

of cubic 

meters

Base-flow 

volume2

,

in millions of 

cubic meters

Storm-flow 

proportion of 

total volume, 

in percent

1997 0.011 37.7 0.003 15.3 14.9 0.3 98

1998 0.025 13.0 0.007 3.4 2.8 0.7 80

1999 0.015 12.7 0.0003 3.5 3.1 0.4 88

2000 0.006 5.6 0.0004 0.8 0.7 0.2 80

Four-year study period

1997–

2000 0.012 37.7 0.0005 23.1 21.4 1.6 93

1

Water year is October 1 through September 30 and denoted by calendar year in which it ends.

2

Values rounded for reporting purposes. Calculations used unrounded numbers, causing apparent discrepancies in least significant digit.

3

Channel was dry for periods of 1–2 days (4 days total during water year).

4

Channel was dry for periods of 4–29 days (112 days total during water year).

5

Channel was dry for a total of 116 days during the four-year study period.
Results and Discussion 95

−10 

−20 

0 

10 

20 

30 

40 

10/21/1997 5/9/1998 11/25/1998 6/13/1999 12/30/1999 7/17/2000 

Abo Arroyo — Streambed temperature at PS2 

TEMPERATURE, IN DEGREES CELSIUS 

B site visited – channel flowing 

site visited – channel not flowing 

losing 

dry 

gaining dry dry 

losing gaining gaining 

DAILY AVERAGE STREAMFLOW, IN CUBIC METERS PER SECOND 

0 

2 

4 

6 

8 

10 

12 

14 

Abo Arroyo — Flow at gage 08331660 A 

1998 

monsoon 

season 

1999 

monsoon 

season 

2000 

monsoon 

season 

were followed by abrupt transitions to high diurnal amplitudes, often exceeding 15°C, which also tracked the seasonal 

temperature. The channel was dry when visited during these 

periods (fig. 12).

The response of sediment temperatures to diurnal forcing 

from the atmosphere reflects not only the presence or absence 

of flowing water, but also the direction of water exchange 

between the stream and underlying sediments. Gaining streams 

show smaller diurnal temperature variations than losing streams 

because ground water is buffered from fluctuations at the land 

surface (Constantz and Stonestrom, 2003). Thus, periods of 

relatively constant temperatures suggest gaining conditions. The 

mountain-front thermograph shows seasonal cycles of monsoonally driven gaining conditions followed (in water years 1997 and 

1998) by losing conditions followed (in all water years) by dry 

conditions. The period of channel loss in WY 1999 was too short 

to resolve as drought set in at the end of the study.

Figure 13 illustrates streamflow at the gage together with 

temperatures in the channel and adjacent to the channel for 

August 1999, which was an active monsoonal period. This 

period included eleven flows with peaks that ranged from less 

than 1 m3/s to 155 m3/s. Shading on the streambed thermographs indicates periods of inferred flow. Despite variations 

among records reflecting differences in burial depths, the utility of streambed thermographs for inferring ephemeral flow 

downstream of the gage is readily apparent.

Analysis of thermographs provides information about 

the timing and duration of ephemeral flows within the basin. 

The majority of flows extending into the basin occurred in 

July through September. Comparison of thermographs with 

Figure 12. Relation between streamflow and mountain-front channel temperatures for the period of 

record at the mountain-front temperature logger (probe site PS-2, two kilometers downstream from the 

gage). A, Monsoonally driven streamflow at the Abo Arroyo gage (USGS 08331660). B, Mountain-front 

streambed thermograph and interpretation of temperature patterns as seasonally driven transitions from 

a monsoonally induced gaining state (ground water entering the reach) to a post-monsoonal losing state 

(stream water leaving the reach) to a dry state. The preceding water year (1997) had 154 percent of normal 

precipitation; water years 1998-2000 ranged from 112 to 75 percent of normal. Filled and hollow triangles 

indicate channel state during site visits.
1 / 8 8 / 8 5 1 / 8 2 2 / 8 9 2 / 8 

0 1 

5 1 0 2 5 2 0 3 5 3 0 4 

DEGREES CELSIUS 

1 / 8 8 / 8 5 1 / 8 2 2 / 8 9 2 / 8 

0 1 

5 1 0 2 5 2 0 3 5 3 0 4 

DEGREES CELSIUS 

1 / 8 8 / 8 5 1 / 8 2 2 / 8 9 2 / 8 

0 1 

5 1 0 2 5 2 0 3 5 3 0 4 

DEGREES CELSIUS 

1 / 8 8 / 8 5 1 / 8 2 2 / 8 9 2 / 8 

0 1 

5 1 0 2 5 2 0 3 5 3 0 4 

DEGREES CELSIUS 

1 / 8 8 / 8 5 1 / 8 2 2 / 8 9 2 / 8 

0 1 

5 1 0 2 5 2 0 3 5 3 0 4 

DEGREES CELSIUS 

1 / 8 8 / 8 5 1 / 8 2 2 / 8 9 2 / 8 

0 1 

5 1 0 2 5 2 0 3 5 3 0 4 

DEGREES CELSIUS 

1 / 8 8 / 8 5 1 / 8 2 2 / 8 9 2 / 8 

0 1 

5 1 0 2 5 2 0 3 5 3 0 4 

DEGREES CELSIUS 

1 / 8 8 / 8 

0 1 

5 1 0 2 5 2 0 3 5 3 0 4 

DEGREES CELSIUS 

1 / 8 8 / 8 

0 1 

5 1 0 2 5 2 0 3 5 3 0 4 

DEGREES CELSIUS 

1 / 8 8 / 8 

0 1 

5 1 0 2 5 2 0 3 5 3 0 4 

DEGREES CELSIUS 

1 / 8 8 / 8 

0 1 

5 1 0 2 5 2 0 3 5 3 0 4 

DEGREES CELSIUS 

1 / 8 8 / 8 5 1 / 8 2 2 / 8 9 2 / 8 

CUBIC METERS PER SECOND 1 0 0 . 0 1 0 . 0 1 . 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 

Abo PS-1 (1.1 kilometers upstream) 

Abo PS-2 (0.0 kilometers—at mountain front) Abo PS-5 – 4.4 kilometers downstream 

Abo PS-4 – reference 

Abo PS-4 (1.3 kilometers downstream) 

Abo PS-3 (0.6 kilometers downstream) Abo PS-6 (12.9 k

Abo PS-7 (21.9 kAbo PS-8 (28.3 k

Abo PS

Stream flow at Abo Gage (2.0 kilometers upstream) 

Air temperature at Abo Gage 

? ? 

? ? ? 

Figure 13. Streamflow at gage (measured) and downstream (shaded areas, as inferred from channel and reference temperatures), Abo Arroyo, N
Results and Discussion 97

streamflow at the gage provided information on the general 

relationship of catchment flow and ephemeral flow downstream of the gage. Infiltration losses during ephemeral flows 

are high, with only the largest flows reaching the 

Rio Grande. Flows were classified according to how far into 

the basin they extended (table 3). Class I flows extended all 

the way the Rio Grande floodplain. Class II flows extended 

at least a kilometer into the basin, as detected by PS-4 (1.3 

km from the mountain front), but did not reach the 

Rio Grande. Class III flows infiltrated into the coarse sediments near the mountain-front, upstream of PS-4. Storm 

hydrographs exhibited a high degree of self-similarity, with 

roughly similar shapes regardless of magnitude (fig. 8). The 

duration of classified flows varied from 3.0 to 6.5 hours, with 

a median duration of 5.0 hours (table 3).

Stewart (2003) presents the complete set of thermographs 

for Abo Arroyo. The record includes a number of gaps and is 

of a shorter duration than the streamflow record. Therefore, 

the relationship between flow in the MRGB inferred from 

available thermal data and flow at the gage was applied to the 

entire streamflow record to provide statistics for the four-year 

study period. Inspection of the thermographs indicated that 

runoff events with peak flow rates greater than about 150 m3/s 

extended all the way to the Rio Grande floodplain. Similarly, 

those with peak flow rates exceeding a value of about 12 m3/s 

Table 3. Classification of ephemeral flows by thermally determined downstream distance.

Class1 Time of peak flow2

Peak flow value,

in cubic meters 

per second

Event flow

volume,

 in millions of 

cubic meters

Event flow

duration3

,

in hours

I 1998/07/04 16:30 181.7 22.17 5.0

I 1999/08/04 18:45 154.9 25.41 5.7

II 1999/08/06 09:15 91.2 16.12 6.5

II 1999/08/27 19:15 86.5 3.28 3.0

II 1998/07/16 21:15 43.9 3.77 4.0

II 1998/07/08 17:45 37.6 2.28 5.3

II 1998/07/27 16:15 37.6 1.66 3.2

III 1998/07/07 18:15 11.1 0.49 3.8

III 1998/07/30 17:15 8.3 0.47 4.0

III 1998/07/21 22:00 6.6 0.66 5.8

III 1999/08/03 09:30 6.3 0.65 5.5

II 1999/08/23 23:45 4.7 0.47 5.0

III 1999/08/25 17:45 3.3 0.34 4.7

1

Class I flows extended to the Rio Grande floodplain. Class II flows extended past probe site PS-4, 1.3 kilometers from the 

mountain front. Class III flows dissipated prior to reaching PS-4.

2

Mountain standard time.

3

Cutoff for event duration was 2.5 percent of the respective peak flow value.

extended past PS-4. In general, those with peak flows smaller 

than 12 m3/s did not reach PS-4 (table 3). 

Applying these thresholds to the stream flow record, there 

were five class I flows during the four-year period (two each in 

WY 1997 and 1998, one in WY 1999, and none in WY 2000), 

or on average about one per year. There were 17 class II flows 

during the four-year period, or about four per year. Nearly all 

of the class I and class II flows (18 in total) occurred in the 

months of July, August, and September. Four class II flows 

occurred in June and October (two in each month). Including 

snowmelt-generated events, there were 84 class III flows during the four-year period, or about 21 per year.

Snowmelt events were type III, with one exception. 

In December 1997, an unusually large amount of snow fell 

throughout the area, accumulating on the higher mountains. 

National Weather Service cooperative weather stations at Bernardo (altitude 1443 m), Los Lunas (1475 m), and Mountainair (1987 m) recorded greater than 0.20, 0.28, and 0.53 m of 

snowfall for the month, with the heaviest snowfall at Bernardo 

falling on December 20. At higher altitudes (2,600-2,900 m), 

three SNOTEL stations within a radius of 173 kilometers 

from PS-2 (stations 06p01s, 05p04s, and 07s04s, with azimuths from north relative to PS-2 of 3, 24, and 225°) recorded 

regional snowstorms on December 1-3, 6-8, 10, and 20-27 

(USDA-NRCS, 2006). The cooperative weather station at the 
98 Streamflow, Infiltration, and Ground-Water Recharge at Abo Arroyo, New Mexico

Albuquerque airport, which records detailed hourly weather 

conditions, recorded snow on December 3 and 10–11, followed 

by alternating periods of snow and light rain December 20–25.

The Abo gage recorded only minor increases in stream 

flow above base-flow levels (fig. 11). In contrast, streambed 

thermographs indicated extended periods of snowmelt-fed 

infiltration throughout the channel, starting on December 20 

(fig. 14). At PS-3, 0.6 km from the mountain front, infiltration continued until January 3, 1998. At PS-8, 28 km from 

the mountain front, the infiltration period was shorter, lasting 

only 1–2 days. Nearly constant, slightly positive streambed 

temperatures indicated the presence of liquid water in sufficiently close proximity to melting snow and ice to regulate the 

temperature. Once proximal snow and ice had melted, removing the source of infiltrating water as well as the regulation of 

temperature by the latent heat of fusion, streambed temperatures again followed air temperatures (fig. 14).

These results show that snowmelt can lead to extended 

periods of infiltration. The rate of melt-water generation, as 

indicated by the stream gage, in this case was low. The rate 

of infiltration was presumably similarly limited by the rate of 

melt-water generation (supply controlled). While not observed 

during the four-year study period, the potential exists for considerably larger flows generated by rain from a slowly moving 

frontal system melting heavy snowpack.

Stream-Channel Infiltration

Infiltration measurements along the dry arroyo allowed 

evaluation of potential seepage variations during ephemeralflow events. The first measurements, with the 0.3 m2

 infiltrometer (see methods) were in June 1998 after the channel had 

been dry for eight months. Subsequent measurements, with the 

0.8 m2 infiltrometer, were in October 1998 and June 1999. The 

channel had been dry for two and five months, respectively, 

prior to the latter measurements.

The first set of measurements suggested that potential 

infiltration rates decreased down channel toward the 

Rio Grande (fig. 15). Point-to-point variability was large, especially near the mountain front (28 km from the Rio Grande). 

This was consistent with expectations, as sediment size 

decreased while sorting increased down channel. However, 

the smallest value was obtained near the mountain front, in a 

fine-invaded low-flow channel. Leakage was often difficult to 

eliminate, especially with the sheet-metal forms in the coarsest 

sediments. The larger wooden forms of the square infiltrometers created better concrete seals. Subsequent measurements 

with the large infiltrometers suggested less dependence on 

location (square symbols, fig. 15).

Quasi-steady rates from the large infiltrometers averaged 

5.5 x 10-5 m/s with a standard error of 1.2 x 10-5 m/s 

(fig. 15). Early time infiltration rates ranged from 0.3 to 2 

mm/s. The product of the infiltration rate and the wetted area 

of the channel gives a lower bound on instantaneous loss rate 

during early flow. The channel at PS-4, 1.3 km downstream 

of the mountain front, is about 90 m wide (fig. 2). Assuming 

an infiltration rate of one mm/s, the corresponding loss rate 

at PS-4 would be about 0.3 Mm3 per kilometer of channel per 

hour. This rate can account for the observed flow loss in most 

cases, and underestimates losses due to seepage into channel 

banks and due to higher hydraulic-pressure gradients during 

streamflow than during infiltrometer measurements. Thermographs show that infiltration losses consume most flows in 

transit. Computational methods for estimating seepage losses 

from a transient pulse of water moving down an initially dry, 

permeable channel are currently under development (Niswonger and others, 2006). Flood-pulse velocities in such situations can be an order of magnitude slower than predicted by 

standard equations for the propagation of kinematic waves.

Environmental Tracers

Profiles of pore-water chloride and bromide indicate 

focused recharge beneath the active channel of Abo Arroyo 

and no recharge currently on the adjacent terrace. Figure 16 

shows water content and solute profiles near PS-1. Bromide 

concentrations mimic those of chloride, supporting assumptions of conservative behavior and meteoric origin. Chloride 

and bromide concentrations beneath the channel are uniformly 

low, indicating continued removal of infiltrating solutes by 

deep percolation and recharge. In contrast, profiles beneath the 

adjacent terrace surfaces show large accumulations of chloride 

and bromide between depths of 0.1–0.5 m—the approximate 

bottom of the root zone—and 5 m. Solute profiles near PS-1 

(fig. 16) were intermediate between those near PS-3, closer to 

the mountain front, and PS-5, farther from the mountain front. 

Channel profiles varied little throughout the reach.

Anderholm (1994) determined the amount of chloride in 

wet fall and dryfall near Santa Fe in the Española Basin, an 

upland catchment draining into the northeast portion of the 

MRGB. Assuming the same effective concentration in precipitation at Abo Arroyo as that measured near Santa Fe (0.3 grams 

of chloride per cubic meter of precipitation) and an average 

precipitation rate of 0.3 m/yr at the mountain front, the meteoric 

deposition rate is 0.09 gram of chloride per square meter of 

land surface per year. Assuming the chloride deposition rate has 

remained relatively constant, the time required to accumulate 

a given mass of chloride is the profile inventory divided by the 

deposition rate (both expressed per area of land surface).

Figure 17 and table 4 summarize the chloride inventories 

for transects near PS-1, PS-3, and PS-5. Figure 17 shows the 

inventories in integral form (cumulative mass of solute per 

cumulative volume of water, starting at land surface). The 

slope of each curve indicates the pore-water concentration. 

Curves representing the channel profiles are approximately 

linear with low slopes, indicating low concentrations, consistent with steady movement of chloride through the profile 

by recharging water. Curves representing profiles away from 

the channel and mountain front are non-linear, with higher 

slopes near the land surface, at the origin of each plot. These 
Results and Discussion 99

12/05 12/10 12/15 12/20 12/25 12/30 01/04 01/09 01/14 

12/05 12/10 12/15 12/20 12/25 12/30 01/04 01/09 01/14 

12/05 12/10 12/15 12/20 12/25 12/30 01/04 01/09 01/14 

12/05 12/10 12/15 12/20 12/25 12/30 01/04 01/09 01/14 

-10 

-5 

0 

5 

10 

15 

-10 

-5 

0 

5 

10 

15 

-10 

-5 

0 

5 

10 

15 

-10 

-5 

0 

5 

10 

15 

TEMPERATURE, IN DEGREES CELSIUS 

TEMPERATURE, IN DEGREES CELSIUS 

TEMPERATURE, IN DEGREES CELSIUS 

TEMPERATURE, IN DEGREES CELSIUS 

A ALBUQUERQUE AIRPORT 

B 

C 

D 

PS-3 STREAMBED 

PS-4 STREAMBED 

PS-8 STREAMBED 

? ? 

SNOW SNOW 

MIST, FREEZING 

FOG 

Figure 14. Weather conditions and channel-surface temperatures for Abo Arroyo downstream 

from the mountain front for period marked by snow accumulation, followed by extended period 

of snowmelt infiltration. A, Air temperature and logged weather conditions at Albuquerque 

airport (National Weather Service cooperative station 290234, about 63 kilometers north of PS-4, 

elevation 1617 meters; data from http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/ulcd/ULCD, accessed Nov. 3, 2006). 

B–D, Streambed thermographs at PS-3, PS-4, and PS-8, respectively, 0.6, 1.3, and 28.3 kilometers 

downstream from the mountain front. Shading indicates intervals of inferred snowmelt infiltration. 

Graphs show data from December 5, 1997 to January 14, 1998.
100 Streamflow, Infiltration, and Ground-Water Recharge at Abo Arroyo, New Mexico

0.0004

0.0000

0.0001

0.0002

0.0003

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

DISTANCE FROM RIO GRANDE, IN KILOMETERS

INFILTRATION RATE, IN METERS PER SECOND

Small infiltrometer

EXPLANATION

Large infiltrometer

Average ± standard

error, large infiltrometer

Trend line, small

infiltrometer

2

2 2

Figure 15. Late-time (quasi-steady) infiltration rates in the dry streambed of Abo Arroyo at five locations 

between the mountain front and the Rio Grande. Preliminary measurements with the small infiltrometer 

were in June 1998. Subsequent measurements with the large infiltrometer were in October of 1998 and 

June of 1999. Numbers next to data symbols indicate number of overlapping points.

high slopes correspond to the sub-root bulges of figure 16 and 

indicate net accumulation of incoming solutes under current 

climatic conditions.

Chloride inventories beneath the terrace are large, reaching 1.3 kg/m2

 in the top 8.5 m of unsaturated zone 0.5 km 

from the channel near PS-5, 4.4 km from the mountain front 

(table 4). This amount of chloride represents 15 thousand 

years of accumulation at current rates of deposition. Chloride 

inventories in terrace profiles near PS-3, close to the mountain front, represent six to seven hundred years of accumulation in the sampled interval (uppermost 4–5 m). Integral 

solute profiles are straighter closer to the mountain front 

(fig. 17). These locations were evidently flushed more 

recently, perhaps by snowmelt from the adjacent mountains 

during a cooler climatic period. 

All transect profiles indicate negligible recharge through 

terrace surfaces and focused recharge beneath the channel. 

Conventional chloride mass-balance calculations assume 

steady state conditions, which do not apply to the terraces at 

present. Such calculations, however, provide an upper limit on 

recharging fluxes. This upper bound for terrace profiles varied 

from 0.04 mm/year (near PS-5) to 0.9 mm/year (near PS-3). 

Current recharge rates are lower, and may be negative. Studies 

in arid and semiarid basins suggest that under current climatic 

conditions there may be small amounts upward flow across the 

water table in much of the MRGB (Scanlon and others, 2006). 

Even a positive recharge rate of 1 mm/yr for the entire Abo 

recharge zone (fig. 7) would provide less than 0.3 Mm3

 per 

year of total recharge. Direct recharge through extra-arroyo 

surfaces is clearly minimal.

The concentration of chloride in pore-water becomes 

higher than that of infiltrating streamflow due to evaporative 

losses of water during dry periods between flows. The ratio of 

concentrations in infiltrating water and in pore water below the 

depth of evaporative removal indicates the fraction of infiltration that percolates toward the water table, eventually becoming recharge. Base flow provides a robust upper bound on the 

concentration of chloride in infiltrating streamflow. A lower 

bound is harder to identify, but can reasonably be approximated 

by the concentration of chloride in pure mountain-front recharge 

as determined by Plummer and others (2003).

Calculations based on these end-member estimates of 

chloride concentration indicate that much of the water that 

infiltrates into the channel eventually becomes recharge 

(table 5). Pore water from the shallower intervals (1.8–3.5 

m) indicates that recharge is between 14 and 100 percent of 

channel infiltration. Pore water from the two deepest intervals 

(4.3–4.9 and 4.3–6.7 m) indicates that 43 to 100 percent of 

infiltration becomes recharge. While the uncertainty is large, 

as a first approximation it appears that roughly half of infiltrating water recharges the underlying aquifer based on meteoric 

chloride. From the relation between annual streamflow and 

precipitation (fig. 10), the long-term estimate of average 

annual streamflow is 2.0 Mm3

 , on the basis of 41 years of 

precipitation. During the four-year study period, flows reached 

the Rio Grande only during wetter than average years. If 

all streamflow becomes infiltration before reaching the Rio 

Grande, the long-term average annual recharge rate is about 

1.0 Mm3. This is in agreement with recent estimates and as 

much as twenty times less than prior estimates (fig. 6).
Results and Discussion 101

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

0.0 0.1 0.2

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

0.0 0.1 0.2

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

0.0 0.1 0.2

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

0.0 0.1 0.2

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

0 1000 2000

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

0 1000 2000

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

0 1000 2000

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

0 1000 2000

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

0 20 40

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

0 20 40

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

0 20 40

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

0 20 40

WATER CONTENT, IN CUBIC METERS OF WATER PER CUBIC METER BULK SEDIMENT 

CHLORIDE CONCENTRATION, IN MILLIGRAMS OF CHLORIDE PER KILOGRAM OF PORE WATER 

BROMIDE CONCENTRATION, IN MILLIGRAMS OF BROMIDE PER KILOGRAM OF PORE WATER 

DEPTH, IN METERS DEPTH, IN METERS DEPTH, IN METERS 

DISTANCE FROM CHANNEL, IN METERS 

0 4.6 21 64 

Figure 16. Unsaturated-zone profiles of water content and pore-water concentrations of chloride and bromide 

along a transect perpendicular to Abo Arroyo, 1.4 kilometers upstream from the mountain front (between gage and 

PS-1; table 1).
102 Streamflow, Infiltration, and Ground-Water Recharge at Abo Arroyo, New Mexico

Figure 17. Relationship between cumulative chloride (bromide) and cumulative water along transects 

starting from Abo Arroyo onto the adjacent terrace. Plotted quantities are per square meter of land 

surface. Integration is from land surface downward into the unsaturated zone. Numbers next to the 

plotted data series indicate distance from the corresponding profile to the channel, in meters. A, 

Transect located 1.4 kilometers upstream from the mountain front, near PS-1. B, Transect located 

0.4 kilometer downstream from the mountain front, near PS-3. C, Transect located 4.4 kilometers 

downstream of the mountain front, near PS-5.

0

18

0.0 CUBIC METER OF WATER PER SQUARE METER 0.7

480

55

4

0

GRAMS OF BROMIDE PER SQUARE METER 

0

480

55

4

0

1400

0.0 CUBIC METER OF WATER PER SQUARE METER 0.7

GRAMS OF CHLORIDE PER SQUARE METER 

0

4

0.0 CUBIC METER OF WATER PER SQUARE METER 0.7

54

3

0

GRAMS OF BROMIDE PER SQUARE METER 

0

54

3

0

340

0.0 CUBIC METER OF WATER PER SQUARE METER 0.7

GRAMS OF CHLORIDE PER SQUARE METER 

0

4

0.0 CUBIC METER OF WATER PER SQUARE METER 0.7

0

5

21

64

GRAMS OF BROMIDE PER SQUARE METER 

0

0

5

21

64

340

0.0 CUBIC METER OF WATER PER SQUARE METER 0.7

GRAMS OF CHLORIDE PER SQUARE METER 

1.4 KILOMETERS UPSTREAM FROM MOUNTAIN FRONT 

0.4 KILOMETER DOWNSTREAM FROM MOUNTAIN FRONT 

C 4.4 KILOMETERS DOWNSTREAM FROM MOUNTAIN FRONT 

B 

A 
Results and Discussion 103

Distance from

channel1,

in meters

Sampled

depth,

in meters

Chloride

inventory2,

in grams

Accumulation

time3,

in years

Near PS-1, 1.4 kilometers upstream from mountain front

5 5.4 69 770

21 4.3 114 1300

64 4.9 320 3600

Near PS-3, 0.4 kilometers downstream from mountain front

3 4.9 53 590

54 4.3 62 690

Near PS-5, 4.4 kilometers downstream from mountain front

4 6.1 118 1300

55 3.0 297 3300

480 8.5 1319 15000

1

Measured from closest channel bank.

2

Mass of chloride in pore water, per square meter of land surface, between 

land surface and bottom of sampled profile.

3

Assuming a deposition rate of 0.09 gram of chloride per square meter per year.

Table 4. Chloride inventories and accumulation times from unsaturatedzone profiles sampled on transects normal to Abo Arroyo, New Mexico.

Distance from 

mountain 

front1

,

in kilometers

Top of 

interval,

in meters

Bottom of 

interval,

in meters

Chloride concentration,

in grams per 

kilogram of pore 

water

Lower bound on 

percolation2

,

as a percentage

of infiltration

Upper bound on 

percolation3

,

as a percentage

of infiltration

-1.2 1.8 3.5 33 20 100

0.3 1.8 3.5 17 39 100

0.4 4.3 4.9 15 43 100

2.4 1.8 2.4 46 14 100

4.1 1.8 2.4 41 16 100

28.2 4.3 6.7 10 63 100

1

Distance upstream is negative; downstream is positive.

2

Based on infiltration having the end-member composition of eastern mountain-front recharge (Plummer and others, 2003).

3

 Based on infiltration having the composition of base flow at the Abo gage (see text). Values greater than 100% reported 

as 100%.

Table 5. Chloride concentrations in streambed pore water and inferred bounds on deep 

percolation, Abo Arroyo, New Mexico.
104 Streamflow, Infiltration, and Ground-Water Recharge at Abo Arroyo, New Mexico

Conclusions

This chapter presents an overview of a four-year study of 

streamflow, infiltration, and associated ground-water recharge 

at Abo Arroyo in south-central New Mexico. The study provided the foundation for using heat as a tracer of streamflow in 

strongly ephemeral systems. 

A stream gage installed for the duration of the study collected high frequency measurements in the upland catchment 

near a gap in the mountain front through which the arroyo enters 

the Middle Rio Grande Basin (MRGB). Total annual streamflow 

at the Abo Arroyo gage ranged from 15.3 million cubic meters 

(Mm3) in water year (WY) 1997, the first and wettest year of the 

study, to 0.8 Mm3 in the last and driest year (WY-2000). A wide 

range of precipitation conditions prevailed during the course 

of the study, with annual precipitation ranging between 75 and 

154 percent of average. Total annual streamflow increased nonlinearly with total annual precipitation, indicating that storage 

and evapotranspiration losses in the upland catchment become 

increasingly important with increasing aridity.

Summer monsoonal runoff dominated streamflow volume 

during all four years. Base flow at the gage accounted for only 

20 percentage total runoff during the driest year and 2 percent 

during the wettest year. Daily mean streamflow varied from 

zero (dry channel) to 37.7 m3/s. Nearly all flows that reached 

the basin represented discrete pulses of runoff from brief monsoonal storms. The maximum peak streamflow was 227 m3

/s 

during the study period. The duration of runoff pulses at the 

gage varied little, with an average duration of about five hours.

Streambed temperatures at eight locations in the 

MRGB indicated the timing and extent of streamflow. Much 

of the study involved development and improvement of the 

thermal detection technique. Shallow burial of temperature 

probes (at 0.2 m) and deployment of controls facilitated the 

determination of flow.

Streambed temperatures indicated that most runoff entering the basin becomes infiltration prior to reaching the 

Rio Grande. Only the largest flows reached the Rio Grande, 

during the monsoon season. A classification of flows based 

on the thermal detection of travel distance indicated that five 

flows reached the Rio Grande during the four-year study period. 

Flows were minimal during non-monsoonal months. Streambed 

temperatures in December 1997 indicated a period of snowmeltfed infiltration that extended throughout the reach. Snowmelt 

infiltration lasted two weeks near the mountain front; however, 

data at the gage indicated that flow rates were small.

Chloride mass-balance calculations provided estimates 

of the proportion of infiltration that becomes deep percolation and eventual recharge. Chloride in unsaturated-zone 

pore water beneath the channel suggests that approximately 

half of infiltrating streamflow becomes recharge, although 

the range of estimates is large (14–100 percent). Analysis of 

unsaturated-zone chloride and bromide profiles from transects 

adjacent to Abo Arroyo showed that direct recharge through 

terrace surfaces is negligible under current climatic conditions. 

Analysis of streamflow and streambed temperature records, 

combined with recharge information from environmental tracers, indicates that the long-term average recharge in the study 

reach is about 1.0 million cubic meters per year.

References Cited

Allison, G.B., Gee, G.W., and Tyler, S.W., 1994, Vadose zone 

techniques for estimating groundwater recharge in arid and 

semiarid regions: Soil Science Society of America Journal, 

v. 58, p. 6–14.

Anderholm, S.K., 1994, Ground-water recharge near Santa Fe, 

north-central New Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey WaterResources Investigations Report 94-4078, 68 p.

Anderholm, S.K., 2000, Mountain-front recharge along the 

eastern side of the Middle Rio-Grande Basin, central New 

Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 00-4010, 36 p.

Bexfield, L.M., and Anderholm, S.K., 2000, Predevelopment 

water-level map of the Santa Fe Group aquifer system in 

the Middle Rio Grande Basin between Cochiti Lake and 

San Acacia, New Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey WaterResources Investigation Report 2000-4249 [1 sheet].

Blasch, K.W., Ferre, T.P.A., and Hoffman, J.P., 2004, A statistical technique for interpreting streamflow timing using 

streambed sediment thermographs: Vadose Zone J., v. 3, p. 

936–946.

Bouwer, Herman, 1986, Intake rate: cylinder infiltrometer, in

Klute, A., ed., Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1, Physical 

and Mineralogical Methods (2nd edition): Madison, Wisconsin, American Society of Agronomy, p. 825–844.

Carter, R.W., and Davidian, J., 1968, General procedure for 

gaging streams: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques for 

Water-Resources Investigations, book 3, chapter A6, 13 p.

Constantz, Jim, Stonestrom, D.A., Stewart, A.E., Niswonger, 

R.G., and Smith, T.R., 2001, Analysis of streambed temperatures in ephemeral channels to determine streamflow 

frequency and duration: Water Resources Research, v. 37, 

no. 2, p. 317–328.

Constantz, Jim, and Stonestrom, D.A., 2003, Heat as a tracer 

of water movement near streams, in Stonestrom, D.A., and 

Constantz, J., eds., Heat as a tool for studying the movement of ground water near streams: U.S. Geological Survey 

Circular 1260, p. 1–6.

Constantz, Jim, and Thomas, C.L., 1997, Stream bed temperature profiles as indicators of percolation characteristics 

beneath arroyos in the Middle Rio Grande Basin, USA: 

Hydrological Processes, v. 11, no. 12, p. 1621–1634.

Dane, C.H., and Bachman, G.O., comps., 1965, Geologic 

Map of New Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey, scale 

1:500,000 [2 sheets].
References Cited 105

Edmunds, W.M., Darling, W.G., and Kinniburgh, D.G., 1988, Solute profile techniques for recharge estimation in semi-arid and 

arid terrain, in Summers, I., ed., Estimation of Natural Groundwater Recharge: Norwell, Mass., D. Reidel, p. 139–157.

Genereux, D.P., and Hooper, R.P., 1998, Oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in rainfall-runoff studies, in Kendall, C., and 

McDonnell, J.J., eds., Isotope Tracers in Catchment Hydrology: Amsterdam, Elsevier Science B.V., p. 319–346.

Hawley, J.W., Love, D.W., and Lambert, P.W., 1982, Roadlog segment I-C, Abo Canyon-Blue Springs area to Albuquerque via Belen and Los Lunas, in Grambling, J.A., and 

Wells, S.G., eds., Albuquerque Country II, New Mexico 

Geological Society Thirty-third Annual Field Conference, 

November 4–6, 1982: Socorro, New Mexico Geological 

Society, p. 1–27.

Hearne, G.A., and Dewey, J.D., 1988, Hydrologic analysis 

of the Rio Grande Basin north of Embudo, New Mexico; 

Colorado and New Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey, WaterResources Investigations Report 86-4113, 244 p. 

Kernodle, J.M., and Scott, W.B., 1986, Three-dimensional model 

simulation of steady-state ground-water flow in the Albuquerque-Belen Basin, New Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey, 

Water-Resources Investigations Report 84-4353, 58 p.

Kernodle, J.M., McAda, D.P., and Thorn, C.R., 1995, Simulation of ground-water flow in the Albuquerque Basin, central 

New Mexico, 1901–1994, with projections to 2020: U.S. 

Geological Survey, Water-Resources Investigations Report 

94-4251, 114 p.

Langbein, W.B., 1949, Annual runoff in the United States: 

U.S. Geological Survey Circular 52, 14 p.

McAda, D.P., and Barroll, P., 2002, Simulation of groundwater flow in the Middle Rio Grande Basin between Cochiti 

and San Acacia, New Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey 

Water-Resources Investigations Report 02-4200, 81 p.

Nimmo, J.R., Lewis, A.M., and Winfield, K.A., 2001, Discernable large- and small-scale features affecting recharge 

in Abo Arroyo and similar basins, in Cole, J.C., ed., U. S. 

Geological Survey Middle Rio Grande Basin study; proceedings of the fourth annual workshop, Albuquerque, New 

Mexico, February 15–16, 2000: U.S. Geological Survey 

Open-File Report 00-488, p. 41–43.

Niswonger, Richard, Prudic, D.E., Stonestrom, D.A., and 

Fogg, G.E., 2006, Flow in an initially dry stream channel 

[abs.]: Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 

Fall Meeting Supplement, v. 87, no. 52, p. F950.

Plummer, L.N., Bexfield, L.M., Anderholm, S.K., Sanford, 

W.E., and Busenberg, E., 2004, Geochemical characterization of ground-water flow in the Santa Fe Group aquifer 

system, Middle Rio Grande Basin, New Mexico: U.S. 

Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 

03-4131, 395 p.

Sanford, W.E., Plummer, L. N., McAda, D. P., Bexfield, L. M., 

and, and Anderholm, S.K., 2004, Hydrochemical tracers 

in the Middle Rio Grande Basin, USA: 2. Calibration of a 

ground-water flow model: Hydrogeology Journal, v. 12, p. 

389–407, doi:10.1007/s10040-004-0326-4.

Scanlon, B.R., Keese, K.E., Flint, A.L., Flint, L.E., Gaye, 

C.B., Edmunds, W.M., and Simmers, I., 2006, Global synthesis of groundwater recharge in semiarid and arid regions: 

Hydrological Processes, v. 20, no. 15, p. 3335–3370, 

doi:10.1002/hyp.6335.

Scholle, P.A., comp., 2003, Geologic Map of New Mexico: 

Socorro, New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral 

Resources, scale 1:500,000 [2 sheets].

Spiegel, Zane, 1955, Geology and ground-water resources of 

northeastern Socorro County, New Mexico: Socorro, New 

Mexico State Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources 

Ground-Water Report No. 4, 99 p.

Stephens, D.B., and Knowlton, R., Jr., 1986, Soil water movement 

and recharge through sand at a semiarid site in New Mexico: 

Water Resources Research, v. 22, no. 6, p. 881–889.

Stewart, A.E., 2003, Temperature based estimates of streamflow 

patterns and seepage losses in ephemeral channels: Stanford, 

Calif., Stanford University, Ph.D. dissertation, 248 p.

Stone, W.J., 1984, Recharge in the Salt Lake coal field based 

on chloride in the unsaturated zone: Socorro, New Mexico 

State Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources Open-File 

Report No. 214: 64 p.

Stonestrom, D.A., and Constantz, J., 2004, Using temperature 

to study stream-ground water exchanges: U.S. Geological 

Survey Fact Sheet 2004-3010, 4 p.

Thorn, C.R., McAda, D.P., and Kernodle, J.M., 1993, Geohydrologic framework and hydrologic conditions in the Albuquerque Basin, central New Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey 

Water-Resources Investigations Report 93-4149, 106 p.

Titus, F.B., 1963, Geology and ground-water conditions in 

eastern Valencia County, New Mexico: Socorro, New 

Mexico State Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources 

Ground-Water Report No. 7, 113 p.

Tyler, S.W., Chapman, J.B., Conrad, S.H., Hammermeister, 

D.P., Blout, D.O., Miller, J.J., Sully, M.J., and Ginanni, 

J.M., 1996, Soil-water flux in the southern Great Basin, 

United States: Temporal and spatial variations over the last 

120,000 years: Water Resources Research, v. 32, no. 6, p. 

1481–1499.

USDA-NRCS (U.S. Department of Agriculture, National 

Resources Conservation Service), 2006, SNOTEL data and 

products, http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snotel, accessed 

2006/11/07.

Waltemeyer, S.D., 1994, Methods for estimating streamflow at 

mountain fronts in southern New Mexico: U.S. Geological 

Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 93-4213, 17 p.