Status of climate and water resources at Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot national monuments: Water year 2016
Gwilliam E, Raymond K, Palacios L. 2017. Status of climate and water resources at Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot national monuments: Water year 2016. Natural Resource Report. NPS/SODN/NRR—2017/1551. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
Climate and hydrology dramatically shape ecosystem structure and function, particularly in arid and semi-arid ecosystems. Understanding changes in climate and groundwater are central to assessing the condition of park biota as well as key cultural resources. This document summarizes climate and water resource conditions for water year (WY) 2016 for Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot national monuments, two small National Park Service units in central Arizona. Overall annual precipitation was 92% of normal for Montezuma Castle National Monument (NM) and 107% of normal for Tuzigoot NM. Precipitation at both parks was below normal for the fall and winter of WY2016, while for the spring and summer it was close to average at Montezuma Castle and greater than normal at Tuzigoot. The reconnaissance drought index for both parks reflected the extended regional drought that began in 2000 and has continued through WY2016. Both parks experienced higher numbers of extremely cold days than normal in WY2016. Extremely warm days were also more plentiful at Tuzigoot NM. Streams data are collected at Beaver Creek (Montezuma Castle NM, Castle unit), Wet Beaver Creek (Montezuma Castle NM, Well unit), and the Verde River (Tuzigoot NM). At Wet Beaver Creek, mean daily discharge during WY2016 was well below the gauge record mean. Recorded flow at the Verde River gauge at Tuzigoot NM was either at or below historic lows in WY2016—well below the 5th percentile for a majority of the year. Flow data for Beaver Creek were provisional. There were four exceedances of state water quality standards for E. coli and arsenic during WY2016, resulting in an average of 98.4% compliance with standards across the three units. Macroinvertebrate values from the Beaver Creek and Verde River index sites both scored in the “attaining” category for the Arizona Index of Biological Integrity (AZIBI) for warmwater streams. Data from the Wet Beaver Creek index reach fell in the “inconclusive” range, though there was no obvious observed decrease in water quality at the Wet Beaver Creek site.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Gwilliam, Evan; Raymond, Kara; Palacios, Laura
- Date of Issue
- 2017-11
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- MOCA , SODN , TUZI
- Keywords
- climate, monitoring report, streams
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Air and Climate | Weather and Climate | Weather and Climate , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Geomorphology | Stream/River Channel Characteristics , Ecological Framework: Water | Hydrology | Surface Water Dynamics , Ecological Framework: Water | Water Quality | Water Chemistry , Ecological Framework: Water | Water Quality | Nutrient Dynamics , Ecological Framework: Water | Water Quality | Toxics , Ecological Framework: Water | Water Quality | Microorganisms , Ecological Framework: Water | Water Quality | Aquatic Macroinvertebrates and Algae