Video: Do Changes in Groundwater Levels Affect Streamflow?

In the Buffalo National River, somebody can hear the running water and the next minute the water is gone! In the Ozarks, there are streams that disappear and reappear randomly! The ultimate question is about the reason that the streams become disappeared and the place in which the "disappeared" water goes.

According to the USGS, it is estimated that 173 tons of rock were dissolved by water flowing out of Big Spring every day, and this amount of rock results in caves beneath land surface. In other instances, a sinkhole could be formed through collapse of rocks due to the fact that these rocks could be removed and create an unstable condition above the cave. This means that dissolution leads to openings, and subsequently, groundwater emerges at the surface through them.

The evaluation of the gain or loss of groundwater in the Ozark system can be tricky. There are several methods for evaluating where or how much groundwater enters or leaves the streams. One method is the measurement of the stream discharge at multiple locations. Another method is the use of thermal imaging, which provides scientists with the ability to see groundwater entering a stream, because of the fact that groundwater is warmer than the surrounding surface water. This method is more suitable to be used during winter.

These methods provide researchers with useful information for the development of numerical models of the underground system, which helps the future sustainability of the Ozark aquifer system to be ensured.

Watch "Groundwater, a source to streams in the Ozark Plateaus' in the video provided under Media below!