Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge Site

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Site Description

The Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge site (SEV) was established in March 1999 and originally funded by NASA. The site is between the outfall of the Rio Salado upstream and the San Acacia diversion structure downstream. Unit 7 drain passes by this site before connecting to the Socorro main canal. The Unit 7 drain passes adjacent to the outfall of the Albuquerque sub-basin, where deep brackish water up wells at the subterranean point where the sub-basin pinches off. The site’s actual location is 34.265602˚N and 106.867761˚W at an elevation of 1426.99m above sea level. The soil profile is dominated by sandy loam and loamy sand.

This 9-m, aluminum, triangulated tower was installed on a concrete footing by the University of New Mexico with the assistance of Ron Cornwell of the Sevilleta NWR. A 3SEC system was initially placed upon this tower, oriented toward the southerly prevailing winds. In 2003, a pair of OPEC systems was added to the topmast of this tower as part of the ISC-funded project. This site is currently operating.

Vegetation

The vegetation at this site, in addition to saltgrass and saltcedar, is composed of very sparse xeroriparian species: screwbean mesquite (Prosopis pubescens), saltbush (Atriplex spp.), and pickleweed (Alenrolfea spp.) near the brackish upwelling area. The saltcedars can be quite dense in some locations, reaching up to 6,800 root crowns per acre, while absent in other areas that are covered with saltgrass.

Hydrologic Status

This xeric site has not flooded in recent decades.

Instrumentation

Sensor	Height (meters) relative to ground surface
CSAT 3-D Sonic Anemometer	6.88
KH2O Krypton Hygrometer (1999 - 2005)	6.88
LI7500 Open-path Infrared Gas Analyzer (2006 - current)	6.88
Kipp & Zonen CNR1 4-channel Component Radiometer (2008 - current)	8.37
Q7.1 REBS Net Radiometer (1999 - 2007)	8.37
HMP45C Vaisala Temperature/ RH Probe	5.20
CS105 Vaisala PTB101B Barometric Pressure	1.70
TE525 Texas Electronics 6" Tipping Bucket Raingauge	8.63
HFT3 REBS Soil Heat FLux Plates (quantity 2)	(0.08)
TCAV Averaging Soil Termocouple Probes	(0.02 & 0.06)
CS616 Water Content Reflectometer	(0.025)
03001 Wind Sentry	7.40
CR23X datalogger	1.70
OPEC system (NMSU)
LI190 Pyranometer	8.37
CM3 Up-looking Solar Radiometer	8.37

Additional Infrastructure

five groundwater wells, 2-inch PVC, hand augured to ca. 1-meter below winter water table depth, three wells equipped with long-term pressure transducers (EEI, Las Cruces, NM); upgraded temperature sensing pressure transducers (Solinst, Ontario, Canada)

2007 Results