Abstract
Subsurface properties of soils are an important attribute of watershed functionality. The Dotta Canyon meadow system, located in the Upper Feather River Watershed, Plumas County, California, was studied to measure sediment volume and groundwater storage capacity in this alpine meadow environment. Storage capacity of groundwater in a meadow is a function of the total volume of sediments, sediment type and effective porosity. The total volume was measured by conducting 42 seismic surveys, utilizing forward and reverse profiles to create a depth to bedrock isopach map and multiplying the depth by the area of the meadow by utilizing functions within ArcGIS software. The volume of sediments within the meadow was calculated to be 2.5x107 cubic meters. Boring logs provided background information to determine depths for the collection of core samples. Cores were processed in-lab for effective porosity using the water porosimetry method. Results showed an average porosity of 38% and were applied to volumetric calculations; results show a groundwater storage capacity of 9.4x106 cubic meters.