Discharge characteristics of a rangeland stream

Ice formation in the fall and early winter in combination with increasing distance from a spring affected short-term discharge characteristics of a small rangeland stream. Average daily flow measured 4.6 km downstream from the spring was reduced more than 25% on 55 days over a 21-year period. On another stream, discharge measured 45 m below the spring was stable because water remained above freezing. Intraday discharge rates were extremely erratic when icing was active; maximum daily discharge was commonly four or more times larger than minimum discharge. Such restrictions in flow probably have important biological impacts. Daily discharge data ensembles, transformed into modular coefficients, did not show a normal distribution.