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Ashley M Helton

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We used spatial data from previously mapped preferential groundwater discharges throughout the Farmington River watershed in Connecticut and Massachusetts (https://doi.org/10.5066/P915E8JY) to guide water sample collection at known locations of groundwater discharging to surface water. In 2017 and 2019 - 2021, samples were collected during general river baseflow conditions (July – November, <30.9 cms mean daily discharge (USGS gage 01189995, statistics 2010-2022) when the riverbank discharge points were exposed. We collected a suite of dissolved constituents and stable isotopes of water directly in the shallow saturated sediments of active points of discharge, and coincident stream chemical samples were also collected...
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Locations of focused (or ‘preferential’) groundwater discharge to surface water are often hydrologically and ecologically important, yet our ability to predict the spatial distribution and water quality of preferential riverbank discharges is limited at the scale of river networks. To advance the understanding of the physical controls on riverbank groundwater discharge processes, discharge zones can be mapped efficiently using handheld and drone-based thermal infrared cameras. Groundwater discharge locations can be identified based on ‘anomalous’ thermal signatures, such as relatively cold riverbank zones in summer and warm riverbank zones in winter. Thermal infrared imaging can be combined with concurrent direct...
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