The hydrologic signature of Acadia National Park

Smith, Sean; Gerard, Brett; Petersen, Chris; Bradford, Aigail; Henkel, Brian

From the abstract: "The University of Maine’s Watershed Process and Sustainability Research Group (WPS) initiated an effort to simulate runoff patterns in the Cromwell Brook watershed in 2014. The inspiration for the research is tied to establishment of a reference watershed for the New England Sustainability Consortium’s (NEST) Safe Beaches and Shellfish Project. The NSF-funded NEST project is centered on strengthening the scientific basis for decision-making related to management of coupled socio-biophysical coastal systems. The research focuses on rules for closure of beaches and shellfish areas in response to bacterial pollution. One coupling that is important to the coastal systems is between precipitation, groundwater, and runoff because the rate of freshwater discharge from the watershed partly determines pollution loadings that affect estuary conditions. To quantify coastal conditions linked to the pollutant delivery, WPS has created a distributed hydrologic model for the Cromwell Brook watershed. The model integrates groundwater, surface water, recharge, and evapotranspiration processes. Parameterization of the model domain has required the creation of new watershed boundary and drainage network delineations. For model calibration we constructed discharge monitoring stations at the outlets of Cromwell Brook and its largest tributary, Kebo Brook. Results from the simulations provide new capacity to evaluate surface flows and water quality loads over varied time spans and watershed scenarios. The distributed model allows for quantification of the hydrologic effects from specific features such as upland ponds and lowland wetlands, and the implications of human-induced watershed alterations such as storm drains, culverts and dams. The model provides a platform for hind-casting and forecasting hydrologic conditions, and comparison of the conditions in Acadia with national parks in other physiographic settings."