A brief background on the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed

Abstract

Watershed research is critical for quantifying the unique characteristics of hydrologic processes worldwide and especially in semiarid regions. In 1953, the United States Department of Agriculture established the Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed (WGEW) near Tombstone, Arizona, to conduct hydrologic and erosion research. This manuscript (1) provides a historical context summarizing the evolution of the Southwest Watershed Research Center research program, (2) describes significant contributions to instrumentation development and contributions to science, and (3) describes the current WGEW data collection program in the context of contemporary research questions. The development of specialized flumes for streamflow measurement and the establishment of the core monitoring networks are described. WGEW data have been used to quantify semiarid rainfall, runoff, infiltration, and transmission losses; to develop and validate simulation models; and to support broader, regional, basin‐scale research. Currently, rainfall, runoff, sediment, meteorology, and flux data collection continue at the WGEW, but the monitoring network has been expanded, and data use has evolved to support several multiple government agencies, universities, and international research programs.