DOI: 10.5061/dryad.5mkkwh7gm
title: 2022 Hydrological, chemical, and biological assessment of two New Mexico headwater streams

description: Headwater streams play a crucial role in arid and semiarid regions. They
 provide freshwater to adjacent lowlands and temporarily store water as
 snowpack and groundwater. Downstream users – both humans specifically and
 ecosystems more broadly – depend on the delayed release, particularly
 during dry seasons. Headwater streams are highly vulnerable to climate
 change through shifts in snowmelt dynamics, changes in precipitation
 patterns, evapotranspiration, and wildfire prevalence, among other
 factors. Monitoring headwater streams in dryland areas over time is
 therefore of critical importance. Each year, graduate students enrolled in
 the Water Resources Program at the University of New Mexico monitor
 hydrological, chemical, and biological characteristics of two headwater
 streams in central New Mexico as part of a field methods class. This
 dataset contains measurements from the 2022 field campaign. At each stream
 site, measurements were repeated for two or three separate transects. Las
 Huertas Creek (LH), the first monitoring site, is the only perennial
 stream in the Sandia Mountains along spring-fed reaches. The stream drains
 north from the northeastern slope of the Sandias towards the town of
 Placitas, running through a narrow and heavily forested canyon. Three
 transects range in elevation from 2190 m – 2320 m above sea level and were
 sampled on October 1, 2022. The second monitoring site is on the East Fork
 of the Jemez River (JR) within the Valles Caldera National Preserve. The
 primarily spring-fed stream runs through the montane grasslands of the
 caldera, a 20 km circular depression formed by a large volcanic eruption
 and subsequent land subsidence approximately 1.2 million years ago. Three
 transects are located at an elevation of approximately 2560 m above sea
 level and were sampled on October 22, 2022.
description: <strong>Discharge and Sediment</strong>
 Discharge at each transect was estimated using two methods: (1)
 the velocity-area method, with velocity measured using a Marsh-McBirney
 Flo-Mate Model 2000 flow meter, and (2) the salt dilution (or slug
 injection) method after Hudson and Fraser (2005). Electrical conductivity
 (EC) for the salt dilution method was monitored in 10-second increments
 using a YSI Professional Plus multiparameter meter. Particle size
 distribution of the channel bed surface was characterized based on the
 pebble count method (Wolman, 1954) by randomly selecting 100 pebbles along
 a zig-zag pattern (Bevenger and King, 1995) and measuring them with a
 gravelometer. <strong>Water
 Chemistry</strong> The following water chemistry
 parameters were measured at three points (right bank, center, left bank)
 along a transect: water temperature (°C), specific conductivity (µS/cm at
 25 degrees C), conductivity (µS/cm), (dissolved oxygen (% saturation and
 mg/L) and pH. The parameters were measured with a YSI Professional Plus
 multiparameter meter. Data are averaged across the three points. Turbidity
 (NTU) was also measured at three locations per transect using a LaMotte
 2020e portable turbidimeter and averaged. Water samples
 were taken to measure alkalinity in a lab environment; one liter of
 unfiltered water was collected at two locations per transect and placed in
 a HPDE collection bottle, which was stored under refrigeration until lab
 testing. Alkalinity was determined by using endpoint titration; the
 titrant was 0.02 N sulfuric acid, while indicator solutions used were
 phenolphthalein (for carbonate) and bromocresol green (for bicarbonate).
 Reported alkalinity data represent the average of two samples for each
 transect.  Additional water samples were collected to
 test the anion and cation concentrations in a lab environment. One anion
 and one cation sample were collected near the right bank and near the left
 bank at the transect. Approximately 50 mL of water was collected, filtered
 through a 0.45 µm glass fiber filter, and stored in a 50 mL centrifuge
 tube. A few drops of diluted nitric acid were added to only the cation
 samples, while nothing was added to the anion samples. All samples were
 stored under refrigeration until lab analysis. Cation concentrations were
 analyzed using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy
 (ICP-OES) with a Perkin Elmer Optima 5300DV instrument. Anion
 concentrations were analyzed using ion chromatography (IC) with a Dionex
 1100 IC instrument. Cation and anion data represent the average of two
 samples for each transect. <strong>Organic Matter
 and Benthic Macroinvertebrates</strong> Organic
 matter was qualitatively sampled from three points (right bank, center,
 left bank) at each transect.  Substrate was collected with a trowel while
 samples from the water column were collected in one liter Nalgene bottles.
  In the lab, water and substrate samples were processed for Ash Free Dry
 Mass (AFDM) (Steinman et al., 2017). The water samples were filtered
 through a 1.5 µm glass fiber filter. The filters and substrate samples
 were dried for 24 hours at 60°C, weighed, ashed at 500°C for 2 hours in a
 muffle furnace, and reweighed. The difference in weights was calculated as
 the % organic matter as AFDM. Reported AFDM data represent the average of
 three samples for each transect.  Aquatic
 macroinvertebrates were collected from a known area (measured in
 m<sup>2</sup>) at each transect using a D-frame net. Samples
 were preserved in 70% ethanol and stored in Whirlpak bags.  In the lab,
 invertebrates were separated from organic/inorganic matter using forceps
 and a dissecting microscope, enumerated, and identified to Order (in most
 cases), using taxonomic references including Voshell (2002).
 Macroinvertebrate densities were calculated from raw counts as
 individuals/m<sup>2</sup>.
 <strong>References</strong>
 Bevenger, G.S. and R.M. King, 1995. A pebble count procedure for
 assessing watershed cumulative effects (Vol. 319). US Department of
 Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment
 Station, Fort Collins, CO. Harrelson, C.C; Rawlins,
 C.L., and Potyondy, J.P., 1994. Stream channel reference sites: an
 illustrated guide to field technique. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-245. Fort
 Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky
 Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 61 pp.
 Hudson, R. and Fraser, J., 2005. The mass balance (or dry
 injection) method. Streamline Watershed Management Bulletin, 9(1),
 pp.6-12. Steinman, A.D., Lamberti, G.A., Leavitt, P.R.,
 and Uzarski, D.G., 2017. Biomass and pigments of benthic algae, pp.
 223-241 in (Hauer, F.R. and G.A. Lamberti eds) Methods in Stream Ecology:
 Vol. 1 Ecosystem Structure, Third Edition. Academic Press, Cambridge,
 MA. Voshell, J.R., 2002. A Guide to Common Freshwater
 Invertebrates of North America. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE.
 422 pp. Wolman, M.G., 1954. A method of sampling coarse
 river‐bed material. EOS, Transactions American Geophysical Union, 35(6),
 pp. 951-956.
description: # 2022 Hydrological, chemical, and biological assessment of two New Mexico
 headwater streams
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.5mkkwh7gm](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.5mkkwh7gm) ## Description of the data and file structure Headwater streams play a crucial role in arid and semiarid regions. They provide freshwater to adjacent lowlands and temporarily store water as snowpack and groundwater. The delayed release is particularly important during the dry season. Headwater streams are highly vulnerable to climate change, and monitoring over time is of critical importance. Each year, graduate students enrolled in the Water Resources Program at the University of New Mexico monitor hydrological, chemical, and biological characteristics of two headwater streams in central New Mexico as part of a field methods class. The two sites are Las Huertas Creek (LH) and East Fork Jemez River (JR). This dataset contains measurements from the 2022 field campaign. #### Description of the data and file structure The dataset consists of 10 .csv files. Each file contains 8 columns of data: Column 1: Parameter description Column 2: Units Column 3: LH1 (Las Huertas transect 1) Column 4: LH2 (Las Huertas transect 2) Column 5: LH3 (Las Huertas transect 3) Column 6: JR1 (Jemez River transect 1) Column 7: JR2 (Jemez River transect 2) Column 8: JR3 (Jemez River transect 3) #### Description of the content for individual files are included below. * *AFDM* AFDM.csv lists ash free dry mass (AFDM) of the substrate and water column in % determined form samples collected at 6 transects. * *Alkalinity* Alkalinity.csv contains alkalinity in mg/L as CACO3 determined from water samples collected at 6 transects. * *Anions* Anions.csv contains concentration in mg/L for 7 anions based on water samples collected at 6 transects. Values with an asterisk (*) are based on one sample. All other values represent averages from two samples analyzed for each transect. * *Cations* Cations.csv includes concentration in mg/L for 26 cations based on water samples collected at 6 transects. * *Discharge* Discharge.csv lists measured discharge for 6 transects in L/s using the velocity-area method and the salt dilution method. * *Macroinvertebrates* Macroinvertebrates.csv lists benthic macroinvertebrate densities reported as individuals/m^2; each row contains the density for each recorded taxon at 6 transects. * *Multiparameter meter* Multiparameter_meter.csv contains the following parameters measured with a handheld meter at 6 transects: water temperature (°C), specific conductance (µS/cm at 25 °C), conductivity (µS/cm), dissolved oxygen (%), dissolved oxygen (mg/L), and pH. Missing values are indicated by "n/a". * *Pebble count* Pebble_count.csv contains grain size distribution (% finer) for 6 transects using the pebble count method. * *Site locations* Site_locations.csv contains latitude (decimal degrees), longitude (decimal degrees), and elevation in m above mean sea level (AMSL) of 6 transects. * *Turbidity* Turbidity.csv lists turbidity in nephelometric turbidity units (NTU) determined from water samples collected at 6 transects.