Hyporheic zone

Hyporheic zone

The hyporheic zone is a region beneath and lateral to a stream bed, where there is mixing of shallow groundwater and surface water. The flow dynamics and behavior in this zone (termed hyporheic flow) is recognized to be important for surface water/groundwater interactions, as well as fish spawning, among other processes.

The flow dynamics are controlled by the pressure variabilities arising on the stream-bed when the flowing water is diverted by stream-bed irregularities created by benthic fauna, moving sand dunes and other obstacles. The mechanism of hyporheic flow can be triggered also by groundwater upwelling seepage beneath the stream-bed and alongside the stream banks.

The term hyporheic was originally coined by Orghidan [cite journal |last=Orghidan |first=T. |year=1959 |title=Ein neuer Lebensraum des unterirdischen Wassers: Der hyporheische Biotop |journal=Archiv für Hydrobilogie |volume=55 |pages=392–414 ] in 1959 by combining two Greek words: "hypo" (below) and "rheos" (flow).

References

External links

* [http://www.holon.se/folke/projects/vatpark/hyporeic.shtml An article] on the hyporheic zone of streams, and water purification. Includes a diagram.

* The [http://www.hyporheic.net Hyporheic Network] is a knowledge-transfer network on groundwater - surface water interactions and hyporheic zone processes. It provides a wealth of information and links to other resources on this topic.


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