Relationships among Precipitation, Snowmelt, Subsurface Flow, Groundwater Recharge and Streamflow Generation in the Clear Creek Watershed, Eastern Sierra Nevada

摘要

An understanding of hillslope hydrologic processes in the forested watersheds of the Sierra Nevada is requisite to the quantification of water quality, groundwater recharge and streamflow generation. A field study utilizing a tensiometer-transducer network, piezometers, psychrometers and flumes was initiated in a portion of the Clear Creek watershed in the Carson Range of the Sierra Nevada. The investigation sought to examine the relationships among precipitation, snowmelt, groundwater recharge, subsurface flow and streamflow generation during the fall of 1982 and the winter of 1983 as well as provide a benchmark for future similar studies in the Sierra.