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Hysteresis in relationships between discharge and water chemistry in the Fraser River basin, British Columbia
Author(s) -
Whitfield Paul H.,
Schreier Hanspeter
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1981.26.6.1179
Subject(s) - sampling (signal processing) , hysteresis , drainage basin , hydrology (agriculture) , water chemistry , storm , structural basin , environmental science , discharge , water discharge , water level , geology , geography , oceanography , geomorphology , physics , geotechnical engineering , cartography , quantum mechanics , environmental engineering , detector , optics
River loading rates are frequently determined from discharge and water chemistry relationships using regression techniques. Such methods were inadequate in a study of the Fraser River where hysteresis was present in most sampling stations. Over a 4‐year period the year‐by‐year fluctuations in hysteresis were relatively consistent but there were dramatic differences in its shape and direction between sampling stations in the same river basin. Events on two time scales were discerned: one forming minor loop relationships was related to individual storms, the other forming major loop relationships to seasonal changes. Conventional techniques are inadequate for dealing with this problem.