Martin Briggs

United States Geological Survey | USGS · Hydrogeophysics Branch

In mountain headwater streams, the quality and resilience of summer cold-water habitat is generally regulated by stream discharge, longitudinal stream channel connectivity and groundwater exchange. These critical hydrologic processes are thought to be influenced by the stream corridor bedrock contact depth (sediment thickness), a parameter often in...

The recent boom of commercially available drone technology capable of supporting geophysical imaging systems has led to several practitioners adopting the platforms to collect geophysical data. This has led to significant opportunities for studying hydrologic systems, as these platforms enable more efficient data collection and data collection in d...

We present and demonstrate a recursive‐estimation framework to infer groundwater/surface‐water exchange based on temperature time series collected at different vertical depths below the sediment/water interface. We formulate the heat‐transport problem as a state‐space model (SSM), in which the spatial derivatives in the convection/conduction equati...

Biogeochemical processes are often spatially discrete (hot spots) and temporally isolated (hot moments) due to variability in controlling factors like hydrologic fluxes, lithological characteristics, bio-geomorphic features, and external forcing. Although these hot spots and hot moments (HSHMs) account for a high percentage of carbon, nitrogen and...

Groundwater/surface‐water (GW/SW) exchange and hyporheic processes are topics receiving increasing attention from the hydrologic community. Hydraulic, chemical, temperature, geophysical, and remote sensing methods are used to achieve various goals (e.g., inference of GW/SW exchange, mapping of bed materials, etc.), but the application of these meth...

In mountain headwater streams the quality and resilience of cold-water habitat is regulated by surface stream channel connectivity and groundwater exchange. These critical hydrologic processes are thought to be influenced by the stream corridor bedrock contact depth (sediment thickness), which is often inferred from sparse hillslope borehole inform...

Groundwater discharge to rivers takes many forms, including preferential groundwater discharge points (PDPs) along riverbanks that are exposed at low flows, with multi-scale impacts on aquatic habitat and water quality. The physical controls on the spatial distribution of PDPs along riverbanks are not well-defined, rendering their prediction and re...

Exchanges of groundwater and surface-water are fundamental to a wide range of water-supply and water-quality management issues but challenging to map beyond the reach scale. Waterborne gradient self-potential (SP) measurements are directly sensitive to water flow through riverbed sediments and can be used to infer exchange locations, direction (gai...

The University of Connecticut and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected low-altitude (30-50 m above ground level) airborne visible-light imagery data via a quadcopter, small unoccupied aircraft system (UAS or ‘drone’) deployed along two tributary confluence locations within the Housatonic River: Mill Brook (latitude: 42°52’18” N, longitude: 7...

Redox hot spots occurring as metal‐rich anoxic groundwater discharges through wetland and river sediments commonly result in the formation of iron (Fe) oxide precipitates. These redox‐sensitive precipitates influence the release of nutrients and metals to surface water and can act as ‘contaminant sponges’ by absorbing toxic compounds. We explore th...

Thermal refuges are thermally distinct riverscape features used by aquatic organisms during unfavorable thermal events, facilitating resilience in marginal environments. However, the thermal refuge concept is nebulous, and the often interchangeable use of the term ‘thermal refugia’ creates additional ambiguity. We argue that lexical differences res...

Groundwater discharge generates streamflow and influences stream thermal regimes. However, the water quality and thermal buffering capacity of groundwater depends on the aquifer source-depth. Here, we pair multi-year air and stream temperature signals to categorize 1729 sites across the continental United States as having major dam influence, shall...

Stream temperature data are useful for deciphering watershed processes important for aquatic ecosystems. Accurately extracting signal trends from stream temperature is essential for predicting responses of environmental and ecological indicators to change. Missing data periods are common for various reasons, and pose a challenge for scientists usin...

Streambed sediment physical properties such as surface area, are difficult to quantify in situ but exert a high‐level control on a wide range of biogeochemical processes and sorption of contaminants. We introduce the use of complex electrical conductivity (CC) methods (also known as spectral‐induced polarization (SIP)) that measure both real and im...

Heat has been widely applied to trace groundwater‐surface water exchanges in inland environments, but it is infrequently applied in coastal sediment where head oscillations induce periodicity in water flux magnitude/direction and heat advection. This complicates interpretation of temperatures to estimate water fluxes. We investigate the convolution...

Freshwater lenses underlying small ocean islands exhibit spatial variability and temporal fluctuations in volume, influencing ecologic management. For example, The Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge harbors one of the few surviving native stands of Pisonia grandis in the central Pacific Ocean, yet these trees face pressure from groundwater sali...

River aufeis (ow′ fīse) are widespread features of the arctic cryosphere. They form when river channels become locally restricted by ice, resulting in cycles of water overflow and freezing and the accumulation of ice, with some aufeis attaining areas of ~ 25 + km2 and thicknesses of 6+ m. During winter, unfrozen sediments beneath the insulating ice...

Releases of oil and gas (OG) wastewaters can have complex effects on stream-water quality and downstream organisms, due to sediment-water interactions and groundwater/surface water exchange. Previously, elevated concentrations of sodium (Na), chloride (Cl), barium (Ba), strontium (Sr), and lithium (Li), and trace hydrocarbons were determined to be...

The sediment–water interfaces (SWI) of streams serve as important biogeochemical hotspots in watersheds and contribute to whole-catchment reactive nitrogen budgets and water-quality conditions. Recently, the SWI has been identified as an important source of nitrous oxide (N2O) produced in streams, with SWI residence time among the principal control...

The hydrogeology below large surface water features such as rivers and estuaries is universally under-informed at the long reach to basin scales (10s of km+). This challenge inhibits the accurate modeling of fresh/saline groundwater interfaces and groundwater/surface water exchange patterns at management-relevant spatial extents. Here we introduce...

Manganese (Mn) plays a critical role in river-water quality because Mn-oxides serve as sorption sites for contaminant metals. The aim of this study is to understand the seasonal cycling of Mn in an alpine streambed that experiences large spring snowmelt events and the potential responses to changes in snowmelt timing and magnitude. To address this...

Despite decades of research into air and stream temperature dynamics, paired annual air-water temperature signals have been underutilized to characterize watershed processes. Annual stream temperature dynamics are useful in classifying fundamental thermal regimes and can enhance process-based interpretation of stream temperature controls, including...

Recent experimental studies have detected the presence of anoxic microzones in hyporheic sediments. These microzones are small‐scale anoxic pores, embedded within oxygen‐rich porous media and can act as anaerobic reaction sites producing reduction compounds such as nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas. Microbes are a key control on nutrient trans...

Aufeis are sheets of ice unique to cold regions that originate from repeated flooding and freezing events during the winter. They have hydrological importance associated with summer flows and winter insulation, but little is known about the seasonal dynamics of the unfrozen sediment layer beneath them. This layer may support perennial groundwater f...

Emerging groundwater contaminants such as per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) may impact surface‐water quality and groundwater‐dependent ecosystems of gaining streams. Although complex near‐surface hydrogeology of stream corridors challenges sampling efforts, recent advances in heat tracing of discharge zones enable efficient and informed da...

This data release contains waterborne self-potential (SP) logging data measured during 48 laboratory experiments and three field experiments that were performed to develop an efficient, accurate method for detecting (in the laboratory) and geolocating (in the field) focused vertical groundwater discharge (surface-water gains) and recharge (surface-...

Fiber‐optic distributed temperature sensing (FO‐DTS) has proven to be a transformative technology for the hydrologic sciences, with application to diverse problems including hyporheic exchange, groundwater/surface‐water interaction, fractured‐rock characterization, and cold‐regions hydrology. FO‐DTS produces large, complex, and information‐rich dat...

Recent experimental studies have detected the presence of anoxic microzones in hyporheic sediments. These microzones are small-scale anoxic pores within oxygen-rich sediments where anaerobic reactions can produce reduction compounds such as nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas. Microbes are a key control on nutrient transformation within hyporhei...

The hyporheic zone, where surface water and groundwater mix, is an important microbial habitat where biogeochemical reactions influence water quality. We show that spatial variability in hyporheic flow in the East River near Crested Butte, CO, drives heterogeneity in streambed geochemical conditions and microbial community assemblages, but the dive...

Upward discharge to surface water bodies can be quantified using analytical models based on temperature‐depth (T‐z) profiles. The use of sediment T‐z profiles is attractive as discharge estimates can be obtained using point‐in‐time data that are collected inexpensively and rapidly. Previous studies have identified that T‐z methods can only be appli...

Groundwater resources in the Spanish Valley watershed in southern Utah were quantified for the first time since the early 1970s. The primary objectives of this study were (1) to better understand sources of recharge to, groundwater flow directions within, and discharge points for both the valley-fill and Glen Canyon Group aquifers (VFA and GCGA), a...

Small unoccupied aircraft systems (UAS) are now often used for collecting aerial visible image data and creating 3D digital surface models (DSM) that incorporate terrain and dense vegetation. Lightweight thermal sensors provide another sensor option for generation of sub meter resolution aerial thermal infrared orthophotos that can be used to infer...

Large-scale wetland restoration often focuses on repairing the hydrologic connections degraded by anthropogenic modifications. Of these hydrologic connections, groundwater discharge is an important target, as these surface water ecosystem control points are important for thermal stability, among other ecosystem services. However, evaluating the eff...

River to floodplain hydrologic connectivity is strongly enhanced by beaver- (Castor canadensis) engineered channel water diversions. The hydroecological impacts are wide ranging and generally positive, however, the hydrogeochemical characteristics of beaver-induced flowpaths have not been thoroughly examined. Using a suite of complementary ground-...

For many glacial lakes with highly permeable sediments, water exchange rates control hydrologic residence times within the sediment-water interface (SWI) and the removal of reactive compounds such as nitrate, a common pollutant in lakes and groundwater. Here we conducted a series of focused tracer injection experiments in the upper 20 cm of the nat...

Spatially preferential flow processes occur at nested scales at the sediment-water interface (SWI), due in part to sediment heterogeneities, which may be enhanced in flashy urban streams with heavy road sand influence. However, several factors, including the flow-rate dependence of preferential hyporheic flow and discrete groundwater discharge zone...

Quantitative evaluation of groundwater/surface water exchange dynamics is universally challenging in large river systems, because existing methodology often does not yield spatially‐distributed data and is difficult to apply in deeper water. Here we apply a combined near‐surface geophysical and direct groundwater chemical toolkit to refine fresh gr...

Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) spawn in fall and overwintering egg development can benefit from stable, relatively warm temperatures in groundwater-seepage zones. However, eggs are also sensitive to dissolved oxygen concentration, which may be reduced in discharging groundwater (i.e., seepage). We investigated a 2km reach of the coastal Quashn...

The characterization of pore‐space connectivity in porous media at the sediment/water interface is critical to understanding contaminant transport and reactive biogeochemical processes in zones of groundwater and surface‐water exchange. Previous in situ studies of dual‐domain (i.e., mobile/less‐mobile porosity) studies have been limited to solute t...

Submarine groundwater fluxes across the seafloor facilitate important hydrological and biogeochemical exchanges between oceans and seabed sediment, yet few studies have investigated spatially distributed groundwater fluxes in deep-ocean environments such as continental slopes. Heat has been previously applied as a submarine groundwater tracer using...

Considering heterogeneity in porous media pore size and connectivity is essential to predicting reactive solute transport across interfaces. However, exchange with less‐mobile porosity is rarely considered in surface water/groundwater recharge studies. Previous research indicates that a combination of pore‐fluid sampling and geoelectrical measureme...

Quantifying coupled mobile/less-mobile porosity dynamics is critical to the prediction of biogeochemical storage, release, and transformation processes in the zone where groundwater and surface water exchange. The recent development of fine-scale geoelectrical monitoring paired with pore-water sampling in groundwater systems enables direct characte...

Identifying and quantifying groundwater exchange is critical when considering contaminant fate and transport at the groundwater/surface-water interface. In this paper, areally distributed temperature and point seepage measurements are used to efficiently assess spatial and temporal groundwater discharge patterns through a glacial-kettle lakebed are...

Streams strongly influenced by groundwater discharge may serve as "climate refugia" for sensitive species in regions of increasingly marginal thermal conditions. The main goal of this study is to develop paired air and stream water annual temperature signal analysis techniques to elucidate the relative groundwater contribution to stream water and t...

Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) spawn in fall, and overwintering egg development can benefit from stable, relatively warm temperatures in groundwater seepage zones. However, eggs also are sensitive to dissolved oxygen concentration, which may be reduced in discharging groundwater. We investigated a 2-km reach of the coastal Quashnet River, Cape...

Soil and groundwater research indicates that unique biogeochemical "microzones" commonly form within bulk soil masses. The formation of these microzones at the pore-scale has been attributed to a number of causes, including variability of in situ carbon or nutrient sources, intrinsic physical conditions that lead to dual-porosity and mass transfer...

The exchange of groundwater and surface water (GW-SW), including dissolved constituents and energy, represents a critical yet challenging characterization problem for hydrogeologists and stream ecologists. Here, we describe the use of a suite of high spatial-resolution remote-sensing techniques, collected using a small unmanned aircraft system (sUA...

Groundwater flow induces advective heat transfer, and thus the deviation of subsurface temperatures from an expected conduction-dominated regime can be analyzed to estimate vertical water fluxes. A number of analytical approaches have been proposed for using heat as a tracer, and these have typically assumed a homogeneous medium; however heterogene...

This is the supporting information for the Hydrological Processes paper by the same title. It contains the Flux-LM tool, which is a macro-enabled spreadsheet. Instructions on using the model are provided in the worksheet entitled “Introduction”. Hyperlinked cells allow the user to quickly navigate through the various worksheets.

Dual-domain models are used to explain anomalous solute-transport behavior observed in diverse hydrologic settings and applications, from groundwater remediation to hyporheic exchange. To constrain such models, new methods are needed with sensitivity to both immobile and mobile domains. Recent experiments indicate that dual-domain transport of ioni...

Groundwater/surface-water exchanges in streams are inexorably linked to adjacent aquifer dynamics. As surface-water temperatures continue to increase with climate warming, refugia created by groundwater connectivity is expected to enable cold water fish species to survive. The shallow alluvial aquifers that source groundwater seepage to headwater s...

Analytical solutions that use diurnal temperature signals to estimate vertical fluxes between groundwater and surface water based on either amplitude ratios (Ar) or phase shifts (Δϕ) produce results that rarely agree. Analytical solutions that simultaneously utilize Ar and Δϕ within a single solution have more recently been derived, decreasing unce...

Heat is a powerful tracer to quantify fluid exchange between surface water and groundwater. Temperature time series can be used to estimate pore water fluid flux, and techniques can be employed to extend these estimates to produce detailed plan-view flux maps. Key advantages of heat tracing include cost-effective sensors and ease of data collection...

1D transient numerical simulations with a modified version of the SUTRA model (preliminary code) that accounts for variably-saturated freeze-thaw dynamics (e.g. McKenzie and Voss, 2013) to predict annual alluvial aquifer temperature dynamics using coupled fluid and heat transport physics. The model simulations were run with a modified version o...