{"id":27256,"date":"2016-11-07T15:12:01","date_gmt":"2016-11-07T19:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/?p=27256"},"modified":"2021-11-10T16:38:18","modified_gmt":"2021-11-10T20:38:18","slug":"using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm","title":{"rendered":"Using Conductivity As A Tracer Yields More Data, Lower Costs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many studies tracking the movement of groundwater these days rely on the use of isotopes, such as those of oxygen and hydrogen, to gauge where the water\u2019s from. That method involves taking water samples manually and then lugging them back to the lab for analysis. But there may be another way, say scientists at the University of Minnesota. They\u2019ve found that using specific conductivity as a tracer holds a lot of promise.<\/p>\n

Chris Lenhart, research assistant professor in the university\u2019s Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, thinks he knows why using conductivity as a tracer hasn\u2019t caught on nearly as much.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have seen it for a while. It\u2019s not a brand-new, cutting-edge method,\u201d said Lenhart. \u201cPeople think, \u2018Yeah, yeah, I learned about that in Limnology.\u2019 Isotopes are more awe-inspiring.\u201d However, relatively, new data loggers allow for the collection of tens of thousands of data points in a season, allowing researchers to clearly distinguish water sources.<\/p>\n

He first noticed just how useful the parameter was in tracing groundwater movement while out in the field with Joe Magner, research professor in the same department. They were working at Elm Creek in southern Minnesota, gathering measurements with a YSI probe.<\/p>\n

Lenhart started to see that the conductivity measurements coming in were correlated with the water source. For those data that were around 0-20 microsiemens per centimeter (uS\/cm), it was safe to assume they were coming from fresh rainfall. For measurements in the range of 50 to 400, that was more recent runoff.<\/p>\n

\"conductivity

A graduate student collects a water sample. (Credit: Chris Lenhart \/ University of Minnesota)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThe thing is that, in the soil, water picks up cations and anions and there\u2019s a real clear delineation between groundwater, tile flow, rainfall and recent runoff,\u201d said Lenhart. \u201cFrom tile drains, it\u2019s somewhere around 600 to 800 uS\/cm with groundwater over 1,200 uS\/cm in calcareous glacial till typical of much of the northern parts of the Midwest.\u201d<\/p>\n

He and other researchers in his lab have used conductivity as a tracer successfully in several studies. In a following investigation for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, part of which took place in Elm Creek, investigators assessed hydrological processes in relation to increased rates of stream bank erosion.<\/p>\n

Part of that study was dissecting water sources in the flows of streams under consideration. Solinst LTC Leveloggers, deployed in shallow monitoring wells, gathered data on level, temperature and conductivity to inform observations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn these agricultural areas with the upper to western part of the Midwest, there has been a lot of increased flow in rivers. And people wanted to know how much tile drains were contributing to erosion. People have been debating that issue for a long time,\u201d said Lenhart. \u201cFor Elm Creek, we looked at the flow sources and calculated that, on an annual basis, about 70 percent of the river flow had come from tiles in 2014.\u201d Although the highest flows cause the most erosion, he says, the increased volume of flow contributes to higher flows across the board and more frequent initiation of erosion in the channels. <\/p>\n

That number (70 percent) was larger than expected, Lenhart says, while noting that it made sense because of the widespread nature and increasing density of tile drains in the watershed.<\/p>\n

Lenhart and others have used conductivity as a tracer in a few other investigations. These include a look at the rainfall responses of experimental stands of black ash trees in northern Minnesota and the variability of flows in a subsurface-drained landscape in Iowa. Other scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey\u2019s Utah Water Science Center, he says, have used the approach successfully on snowmelt-dominated streams in the Colorado River Basin.<\/p>\n

\"conductivity

A hydrograph separation using specific conductivity between tile flow and groundwater flow. (Credit: Chris Lenhart \/ University of Minnesota)<\/p><\/div>\n

But still, there are some important limitations to note when using conductivity as a tracer. There is a lot of variability in the conductivity values that can emerge. Likewise, it\u2019s important to consider that baseline levels of conductivity can change depending on the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you know the range of local values, you can use it successfully,\u201d said Lenhart. \u201c… In some ways it\u2019s more simple than other approaches, but regionality is an issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because soil properties and geologic setting vary from area to another. Variables like glacial till or karst systems can influence what conductivity baselines are. Other complicating factors include treatments for snowy roads, which can introduce a lot of salinity, a parameter close to conductivity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some things that can mess that up and can spike the conductivity numbers, such as road salt. But in rural areas, it has worked pretty well,\u201d said Lenhart. \u201c… It\u2019s not a silver bullet. It does give you a lot of data, but it\u2019s probably best used in concert with other approaches. We\u2019re also doing isotopes and flow monitoring to identify water sources.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what can be done to spur the adoption of using conductivity as a tracer? The benefits the approach offers, such as more data and lower costs, haven\u2019t yet edged it into the monitoring mainstream.<\/p>\n

Lenhart says it could start with government agencies making conductivity data standard measurements at their sites. He notes the U.S. Geological Survey gathers data at some of its streamgage sites, depending on the needs of different investigations. But something like deploying a conductivity logger with stream gauging sites or new drainage control structures when they\u2019re installed could provide some outstanding insights.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you build up regional water data sets, soil and water conservation districts (SWCDs) might start using them and applying them in their own situations,\u201d said Lenhart. \u201cIt\u2019s something that doesn\u2019t have to be done everywhere since a few long-term studies can serve as a benchmark for a region. But with local stormwater managers and SWCD stuff, just providing education and training could spread more use since it is a cost-effective and straightforward technique.\u201d<\/p>\n

Top image:\u00a0Elm Creek at an average flow level for late spring. Groundwater can be seen seeping through the lower portion of the bank. (Credit: Chris Lenhart \/ University of Minnesota)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

University of Minnesota researchers find that using conductivity as a tracer is more cost-effective and straightforward than other methods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":27250,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,49],"tags":[68,60,109,348,331],"class_list":["post-27256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-articles","category-rivers-streams","tag-conductivity","tag-featured","tag-news-ticker","tag-rivers-streams","tag-university-of-minnesota"],"remote_post_permalink":false,"remote_post_featured_image":false,"yoast_head":"\nUsing Conductivity As A Tracer Yields More Data, Lower Costs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"University of Minnesota researchers find that using conductivity as a tracer is more cost-effective and straightforward than other methods.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Using Conductivity As A Tracer Yields More Data, Lower Costs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"University of Minnesota researchers find that using conductivity as a tracer is more cost-effective and straightforward than other methods.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Environmental Monitor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-11-07T19:12:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-11-10T20:38:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/conductivity_feat.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"420\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"470\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Daniel Kelly\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Daniel Kelly\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Daniel Kelly\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/847643ff7cab0510299c8b13d204eac7\"},\"headline\":\"Using Conductivity As A Tracer Yields More Data, Lower Costs\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-11-07T19:12:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-10T20:38:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm\"},\"wordCount\":1048,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.fondriest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/conductivity_feat.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"conductivity\",\"featured\",\"news ticker\",\"Rivers & Streams\",\"University of Minnesota\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Featured Articles\",\"Rivers & Streams\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm\",\"name\":\"Using Conductivity As A Tracer Yields More Data, Lower Costs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.fondriest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/conductivity_feat.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-11-07T19:12:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-10T20:38:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/847643ff7cab0510299c8b13d204eac7\"},\"description\":\"University of Minnesota researchers find that using conductivity as a tracer is more cost-effective and straightforward than other methods.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.fondriest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/conductivity_feat.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.fondriest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/conductivity_feat.jpg\",\"width\":420,\"height\":470,\"caption\":\"Elm Creek at an average flow level for late spring. Groundwater can be seen seeping through the lower portion of the bank. (Credit: Chris Lenhart \\\/ University of Minnesota)\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Environmental Monitor\",\"description\":\"Application and technology news for environmental professionals\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/847643ff7cab0510299c8b13d204eac7\",\"name\":\"Daniel Kelly\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1b1a53273429ff6b46dfea6cf5731e1278d990bbf6958f4de0ca57131c443dd2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1b1a53273429ff6b46dfea6cf5731e1278d990bbf6958f4de0ca57131c443dd2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1b1a53273429ff6b46dfea6cf5731e1278d990bbf6958f4de0ca57131c443dd2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Daniel Kelly\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/author\\\/daniel-kelly\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Using Conductivity As A Tracer Yields More Data, Lower Costs","description":"University of Minnesota researchers find that using conductivity as a tracer is more cost-effective and straightforward than other methods.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Using Conductivity As A Tracer Yields More Data, Lower Costs","og_description":"University of Minnesota researchers find that using conductivity as a tracer is more cost-effective and straightforward than other methods.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm","og_site_name":"Environmental Monitor","article_published_time":"2016-11-07T19:12:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-11-10T20:38:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":420,"height":470,"url":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/conductivity_feat.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Daniel Kelly","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Daniel Kelly","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm"},"author":{"name":"Daniel Kelly","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/847643ff7cab0510299c8b13d204eac7"},"headline":"Using Conductivity As A Tracer Yields More Data, Lower Costs","datePublished":"2016-11-07T19:12:01+00:00","dateModified":"2021-11-10T20:38:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm"},"wordCount":1048,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/conductivity_feat.jpg","keywords":["conductivity","featured","news ticker","Rivers & Streams","University of Minnesota"],"articleSection":["Featured Articles","Rivers & Streams"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm","url":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm","name":"Using Conductivity As A Tracer Yields More Data, Lower Costs","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/conductivity_feat.jpg","datePublished":"2016-11-07T19:12:01+00:00","dateModified":"2021-11-10T20:38:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/847643ff7cab0510299c8b13d204eac7"},"description":"University of Minnesota researchers find that using conductivity as a tracer is more cost-effective and straightforward than other methods.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/using-conductivity-tracer-yields-data-lower-costs.htm#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/conductivity_feat.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/conductivity_feat.jpg","width":420,"height":470,"caption":"Elm Creek at an average flow level for late spring. Groundwater can be seen seeping through the lower portion of the bank. (Credit: Chris Lenhart \/ University of Minnesota)"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/","name":"Environmental Monitor","description":"Application and technology news for environmental professionals","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/847643ff7cab0510299c8b13d204eac7","name":"Daniel Kelly","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1b1a53273429ff6b46dfea6cf5731e1278d990bbf6958f4de0ca57131c443dd2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1b1a53273429ff6b46dfea6cf5731e1278d990bbf6958f4de0ca57131c443dd2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1b1a53273429ff6b46dfea6cf5731e1278d990bbf6958f4de0ca57131c443dd2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Daniel Kelly"},"url":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/author\/daniel-kelly"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27256"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32804,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27256\/revisions\/32804"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}