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Information - HS27 The hyporheic zone: where hydrology, chemistry and ecology meet (co-listed in BG & GM)
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Event Information |
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The hyporheic zone is where the interactions between groundwater and rivers actually take place. It is a region of great ecological importance for nutrient cycling, biogeochemical transformation, organic matter storage and decomposition, and forms an essential habitat for many species from bacteria up to fish. The life cycles of many riverine and groundwater species are completely or partially adapted to the conditions within the hyporheic zone and biological activities are heavily influenced by the type and rates of water exchanges occurring within it. In this hydraulically complex and heterogeneous ecotone, the interactions of biology and chemistry lead to strong gradients of both, making the zone important in the attenuation of nutrient and pollutants loads in the river, whether from surface or groundwater sources. Although hydrogeologists, hydrologists and ecologists all have interests in this zone, their perspectives are often very different, and there would be benefit from greater interactions between the disciplines, which is the objective of this session. Abstracts are particularly sought from ecologists who would like to develop stronger interactions with hydrologists and hydrochemists, from physical scientists wishing to understand the role of hydraulic behaviour for ecology, from hydrochemists working on the impact of nutrients and pollutants, and from those working in multi-disciplinary teams. Given the importance of the hyporheic zone to the maintenance of good ecological quality (cf the Water Framework Directive), abstracts are welcome from those researching the problems of modified rivers in both rural and urban settings.
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