User:BenBri/South Saskatchewan River

Location
South Saskatchewan River is a 1,392 kilometer long river with an surface area 121,095 km2 that is a tributary into the Saskatchewan River with a semi-arid climate. The total volume of the river is 4,987,700 dam3 and he amount of water consumed from the river 1,981,000 dam3. 84% of the water usage is used for irrigation. Four basins contribute to the South Saskatchewan River Basin, Bow River, Oldman River, Red Deer River, and the South Saskatchewan River. The Oldman River Basin has the lowest population in terms of both urban and general. The basin also has the highest irrigation water use compared to the other basins mentioned. The Bow River Basin is the largest tributary of the basins, 43% of the the flow of the South Saskatchewan River comes from the Bow River Basin. This basin is also the most populated of them as well. The Red Deer River Basin is the largest basin of the group and has a length of 724 km. The Red Deer River Basin also has the highest urban use of water between the basins. The river carries runoff from the Rocky Mountains and South Saskatchewan-Nelson river system.

There are four types of geomorphological elements in the river including channels, large slipface-bound bars, sand flats, and vegetated islands and flood plains. Annual precipitation ranges from 300 nm to 1200 mm and the mean annual temperature ranges between 2 and 6° C. Dams and reservoirs are located along the river that contribute to changing aspects of the nutrients and concentrations within the river. Hydroelectric plants are used on the lake as well as irrigation for the surrounding agricultural lands.

Limnology
The flow rate of the river is 280 m3/s which is contributed to by glaciers and snow. The spring melt from snow creates the spring freshet, in the late-summer the glaciers contribute to the flow rate. The Red Deer River Basin has the lowest mean annual flow rate of the four basins. The dams and reservoirs help control the flow rate of the basins at different locations, therefore in the winter the flow rate is the highest due to the increased demand for electricity. The low flow rate is because part of it is located in mountains and foothills. The streamflow of the rivers is expected to decrease in the summer due to climate change causing the spring snowmelt to occur later than usual. Another effect of climate change that is expected is that droughts will occur more often and so will the size of floods. The saline concentrations of the rivers are affected by the groundwater discharge, evaporation also leads to increased salt concentrations. The surface water is fresh, soft water, characterized by the low hardness of calcium and magnesium and low amounts of dissolved materials. The South Saskatchewan River is covered in ice on average of 127 days. During periods of ice cover, dissolved oxygen were higher than periods that were ice free. Ice-covered winters have lower chlorophyll concentrations than in ice-free winters. The processes of nitrification of ammonia and the bacterial decomposition of organic nitrogen are detected more in the summer than in the winter. Nutrient uptake by algae happens primarily in the summer due to the nitrification and decomposition of organic nitrogen that are happening at that time. The dissolved oxygen levels of the river vary at different locations due to nearby human activity and surroundings, the dissolved oxygen levels vary 15 mg/L to 10 mg/L with the highest level at Medicine Hat and the lowest at a highway 4 crossing. The dissolved oxygen gradient changes moving downstream of the river, throughout the year the gradient decreases moving downstream. Phytoplankton play a central role in the eutrophication of the river due to the nutrient cycles.

Secchi disk measurements on the lake vary due to water pumping stations and other rivers, the highest depth was measured to be 291 cm and the lowest was 140 cm. 19 species of fish are found in the river primarily consisting of Shorthead Redhorse and White Sucker. Sediment is added to the river from the surrounding areas and these different areas vary in the type of sediment that they deposit. 63.9% of sediment comes from agricultural land, 3.05% comes from urban land. 25% of the sediment contribution also comes from roads and small towns around the river.

Research
A project taking place on the South Saskatchewan River led by Hazen and Sawyer with the main focus on hydropower and using this to decrease flooding along the South Saskatchewan River, the areas focused on were the Bow River, Oldman River, and Red Deer River. Models for the river basins were created and then the model was called the South Saskatchewan Reservoir Operations Model. This allows for a better understanding of the river and the best options for increasing hydropower and better controlling flooding.

Multiple researchers associated with the University of Saskatchewan conduct research on the river, one of them being toxicologist Markus Brinkmann. A recent project on the South Saskatchewan River involved the studying of microplastics within the water and determining their toxicity.

Another researcher that conducts studies on the lake is Dr. Peter Leavitt of the University of Regina. The specific part of the river that most of these studies are carried out at is the Qu'Appelle River. The basis for most of the studies has had to do with the effects of nitrogen on lakes from different sources, sources of nitrogen influx, and climate change in lakes. One of the studies done by Dr. Leavitt investigated the benthic algae biomass, this helped understand how the algae biomass effects production and the ecosystem of the river. This also helps understand different scenarios for the effects of floods and changing environments. Another study done by Dr. Leavitt focused on the Red River Water Basin and how water quality. Specifically, how the ecosystem has been effected by climate change, resource use, and urbanization. It was found that the effects of climate change on algae and invertebrates in the river are increased by human activities, but found can be reduced with better placement of drainage.