| Title |
How Misapplication of the Hydrologic Unit Framework Diminishes the Meaning of Watersheds
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Environmental Management, April 2017
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s00267-017-0854-z |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
James M. Omernik, Glenn E. Griffith, Robert M. Hughes, James B. Glover, Marc H. Weber |
| Abstract |
Hydrologic units provide a convenient but problematic nationwide set of geographic polygons based on subjectively determined subdivisions of land surface areas at several hierarchical levels. The problem is that it is impossible to map watersheds, basins, or catchments of relatively equal size and cover the whole country. The hydrologic unit framework is in fact composed mostly of watersheds and pieces of watersheds. The pieces include units that drain to segments of streams, remnant areas, noncontributing areas, and coastal or frontal units that can include multiple watersheds draining to an ocean or large lake. Hence, half or more of the hydrologic units are not watersheds as the name of the framework "Watershed Boundary Dataset" implies. Nonetheless, hydrologic units and watersheds are commonly treated as synonymous, and this misapplication and misunderstanding can have some serious scientific and management consequences. We discuss some of the strengths and limitations of watersheds and hydrologic units as spatial frameworks. Using examples from the Northwest and Southeast United States, we explain how the misapplication of the hydrologic unit framework has altered the meaning of watersheds and can impair understanding associations between spatial geographic characteristics and surface water conditions. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 3 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 2 | 67% |
| Unknown | 1 | 33% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 2 | 67% |
| Scientists | 1 | 33% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 73 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 73 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Researcher | 13 | 18% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 12 | 16% |
| Student > Master | 12 | 16% |
| Student > Bachelor | 5 | 7% |
| Other | 3 | 4% |
| Other | 8 | 11% |
| Unknown | 20 | 27% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental Science | 25 | 34% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 9 | 12% |
| Earth and Planetary Sciences | 5 | 7% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 3 | 4% |
| Engineering | 3 | 4% |
| Other | 5 | 7% |
| Unknown | 23 | 32% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 8. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 19 March 2023.
All research outputs
#4,660,989
of 25,382,440 outputs
Outputs from Environmental Management
#340
of 1,914 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#76,405
of 323,891 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Environmental Management
#7
of 31 outputs
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We're also able to compare this research output to 31 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 77% of its contemporaries.