Difference between revisions of "TEMPERATURE"

Warm water is less dense and essentially "floats" on top of cold water. This creates a stratification of water temperatures in a reservoir with warm water at the surface and cold water near the bottom. The point in the water column where the water changes from warm to cold is called the thermocline.

Forebay temperature 2000-2016; https://www.usbr.gov/uc/rm/amp/twg/mtgs/17jan26/AR4_Radtke.pdf

As reservoir elevations change, the thermocline gets closer or farther away from the penstocks at Glen Canyon Dam.

December 2018 Operations Call

As the penstocks begin to draw from above the thermocline, release temperatures can increase drastically.

December 2018 Operations Call

The timing of seasonally warm release temperatures and high summer air temperatures have a large influence on downstream river temperatures. The warmest release temperatures occur in late October/early November but the greatest potential of warming the river in Grand Canyon occurs in July and September when air temperatures are the hottest. The reason is that it takes a lot longer to warm all the water in Lake Powell vs the water in the river as it flows downstream through the canyon.

Another thing to note that during the winter, river temperatures actually cool with distance downstream because releases are actually warmer than ambient air temperatures.

June 2016 Operations Call

• Temperature Learning Page
• TCD Learning Page
• Bioenergetics Page
• Near Shore Ecology (NSE) Study of the fall steady flow test
• The Low Summer Flow Experiment (LSF) Page

• Glen Canyon Dam near Page, AZ
• Paria River at Lees Ferry, AZ
• Colorado River at Lees Ferry
• Colorado River near river mile 30
• Colorado River above Little Colorado River near Desert View, AZ
• Little Colorado River above the mouth near Desert View, AZ
• Colorado River near Grand Canyon, AZ
• Bright Angel Creek near Grand Canyon, AZ
• Colorado River abv Lava Canyon rm66
• Colorado River bl rm127
• Kanab Creek above the mouth near Supai, AZ
• Havasu Creek above the mouth near Supai, AZ
• Colorado River above National Canyon near Supai, AZ
• Colorado River above Diamond Creek near Peach Springs, AZ
• Colorado River above Spencer Creek at river mile 246

2020

• GCMRC 2019 Annual Reporting Meeting Overview – Part 2b
• Potential implications of a warmer future for the Colorado River ecosystem

2018

• Temperature Control Device Update PPT
• Dibble et al., 2018, Warm water temperatures and shifts in seasonality increase trout recruitment but only moderately decrease adult size in western North American tailwaters: Environmental Biology of Fishes
• Temperature and nutrients as ecosystem drivers in the Colorado River PPT, Lake Powell as a regulator of temperature and Lake Powell as a regulator of nutrients PPT

2017

• Water Quality in Lake Powell and Its Influence on the Colorado River Below Glen Canyon Dam PPT
• Pine et al. 2017. Growth of Endangered Humpback Chub in Relation to Temperature and Discharge in the Lower Colorado River. USU Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

2015

• Benefits and Risks of Temperature Modification at Glen Canyon Dam to Fishes of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon ppt

2013

• Valdez et al. 2013. Benefits and risks of temperature modification at Glen Canyon Dam to aquatic resources of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Colorado Region, Salt Lake City, UT.
• Ross et al., 2013, Nearshore thermal gradients of the Colorado River near the Little Colorado River confluence, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 2010: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report
• Nearshore Temperature Findings for the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, Arizona—Possible Implications for Native Fish
• Results of Early Temperature Analyses of the Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan EIS
• Effects of Water Temperature on Predation Vulnerability of Humpback Chub

2012

• Temperature Considerations in the RTCD alternative for LTEMP
• Flow Temp Turbidity
• Effects of Temperature on Native Fish

2010

• Incorporating thermal regimes into environmental flows assessments: modifying dam operations to restore freshwater ecosystem integrity by Julian D. Olden and Robert J. Naiman (University of Washington, Seattle)
• Selective withdrawal and sediment augmentation update
• Temperature Control Device and Sediment Augmentation Report
• TWG Chair Temperature Control Device/Sediment Augmentation
• Sediment and Temperature Modeling Update PPT as presented at January 2010 Annual Reporting Meeting
• Temperature Control Device and Sediment Augmentation and PPT

2009

• Selective Withdrawal and Sediment Augmentation Update PPT
• Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center Updates
• Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC) Update

2008

• The Glen Canyon Dam temperature control device: restoring downstream habitat for endangered fish recovery
• Anderson and Wright. 2007. Development and application of a water temperature model for the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona. Hydrological Science and Technology, V 23, No 1-4.

2007

• Valdez and Speas. 2007. A Risk Assessment Model To Evaluate Risks and Benefits to Aquatic Resources From A Selective Withdrawal Structure On Glen Canyon Dam

1999

• Glen Canyon Dam Modifications to Control Downstream Temperatures, Plan and Draft Environmental Assessment

Fish occupying warmer water have higher metabolic demands than individuals in cooler water, and if these demands increase concurrently with a seasonal decline in prey availability, then growth rates and condition may be reduced. [1]

Water Temperatures at the Little Colorado River Confluence (RM 61), 1990-2015