Water-Resources Investigations Report 01-4239 -- Table 3

Water-Resources Investigations Report 01-4239

Ground-Water Discharge Determined from Measurements of Evapotranspiration,
Other Available Hydrologic Components, and Shallow Water-Level Changes,
Oasis Valley, Nye County, Nevada

Table 3. Location and general description of and estimated annual evapotranspiration (ET) at five sites in Oasis Valley and one site in Ash Meadows discharge areas that were equipped with micrometeorological instruments, 1996-2000

[Abbreviations: lb/ft³, pounds per cubic foot; in., inches; ft/yr, feet per year]

Site name

Site identifier (pl. 1)

Latitude

Longitude

Altitude¹ (feet above sea level)

Period of data acquisition [Julian day]²

Description of dominant vegetation cover³ and soil moisture conditions⁴

ET-unit identifier⁵

Dry soil density (lb/ft³)

Percent soil moisture⁶

Estimation period
(Julian day)
[total day])²

Period ET (in.)

Annual ET rate (ft/yr)

Springdale

SDALE

37°01'13"

116°43'49"

3,714.2

May 1996 - December 1998
[152 - 1,072]

Dense cover of meadow and marsh grass; soil wet throughout year

DMV

0.80

152 - 882
[730]

6.27

3.14

Middle Oasis Valley

MOVAL

37°00'39"

116°43'24"

3,690.7

April 1997 - January 2000
[481 - 1,492]

Sparse to moderate cover of wire and saltgrass; soil varies from wet in winter to damp in summer

SGV

.15

740 - 1,470
[730]

4.98

2.49

Upper Oasis Valley Upper

UOVUP

37°03'49"

116°41'39"

3,930

January 1998 - September 2000
[745 - 1,723]

Sparse cover of desert shrubs, primarily wolfberry and rabbit brush; soil dry

SSV

104

.05

993 - 1,723
[730]

1.23

.62

Upper Oasis Valley Lower

UOVLO

37°02'42"

116°42'29"

3,861

July 1998 - August 2000
[914 - 1,702]

Moderate to dense cover of desert shrubs, primarily greasewood; soil varies from damp in winter to dry in summer

SSV

.12

972-1,702
[730]

2.75

1.38

Upper Oasis Valley Middle

UOVMD

37°02'49"

116°42'41"

3,856

December 1998 - September 2000
[1,074 - 1,723]

Sparse to moderate cover of saltgrass; soil varies from moist in winter to dry in summer

SGV

.14

1,358 - 1,723
[365]

1.63

Fairbanks Meadows⁷

FMEADW

36°28'59"

116°20'18"

2,249

March 1997 - August 2000⁸[438 - 1,676]

Dense cover of saltgrass; surface periodically floods during late winter, otherwise soil varies from wet in winter to dry in summer

DGV

.30

580 - 731
[151]

1,097 - 1,676
[579]

6.14

3.07

¹ Altitudes reported to the nearest foot were estimated from U.S. Geological Survey 1:24,000 topographic maps and field observation. Altitudes reported to the nearest tenth of a foot obtained from leveling surveys.
² Julian day is day since January 1, 1996.
³ Vegetation cover descriptors: very sparse, less than 5 percent; sparse, 5 to 25 percent; moderate, 25 to 75 percent; and dense, greater than 75 percent.
⁴ Soil moisture descriptors are presented as relative terms.
⁵ Descriptions of ET units are given in table 1.
⁶ Mean of multiple measurements collected during periods of significant ET.
⁷ Site in Ash Meadows (Laczniak and others, 1999) but maintained as part of Oasis Valley study.
⁸ Site destroyed by fire in August 2000.

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