River Wye - United Kingdom

Basic Information
Site Name
River Wye
Short name
R05
Country
United Kingdom
Web Address
ECN website
Operating Organisation
Environment Agency (UK)
Site Manager
Andrew Sier [Primary ECN contact]
Site Description
UK ECN site. The River Wye is one of the largest rivers in Britain. It rises on the Plynlimon mountains at 741m AOD and flows through several towns including Rhayader, Builth Wells, Hay-on-Wye and Hereford before meeting the Severn Estuary at Chepstow. The total catchment area is 4136 km2 and the population is centred on the main towns. The River Wye catchment is one of idyllic beauty and unspoilt scenery. The River Wye itself is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and one of the most important rivers in Britain in nature conservation terms. Much of the lower valley is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The surface water in the Wye and its tributaries is mostly unpolluted, so much of it is suitable as a source of ...
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Last modified
2023-07-28 10:07:21

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General Characteristics and Status
Site Status
Operational
Year Established
1994
Observed properties
water parameterchemical parameterbiological parameterecosystem parameterchlorophyllcontentofwaterconductivitystageheightwateraciditywateralkalinitywaterlevelwaterqualitywatertemperaturewatertransparencyammoniumcontentdissolvednutrientdissolvedorganiccarboninwatersuspendedsolidstotalorganiccarbonnitrogencontentinorganicnutrientcontent
Affiliation and Network Specific Information
Affiliation
ILTER✔This site is a verified "ILTER" member.
LTER Europe✔This site is a verified "LTER Europe" member.
UK ECN✔ (LTER_EU_UK_022)This site is a verified "UK ECN" member.
Geographic
300 km
100 mi
View in site map
Centroid/Representative Coordinates

Latitude: 51.7833 Longitude: -2.66667

Size
ca. 0.00ha
Elevation (average)
382.00msl
Elevation (min)
22.00msl
Elevation (max)
741.00msl
Related location(s)
Download

Site information [.json]

Centroid/representative coordinates [.shp] [.kml]
Bounding Box [.shp] [.kml]
Boundaries [.shp] [.kml]
GEO-BON Biome
Fresh water rivers
Biome
Fresh Water Rivers
Ecosystem Type
Rivers
Fresh Water Rivers
Biogeographical Region
Atlantic Bio-geographical Region
EUNIS habitat
Inland surface waters (C)
Inland surface waters (C) » Surface running waters (C2)
Air Temperature: Average Annual
9.54°C
Precipitation Annual
807.00mm
Hydrology
The River Wye is one of the largest rivers in Britain. It rises on the Plynlimon mountains at 741m AOD and flows through several towns including Rhayader, Builth Wells, Hay-on-Wye and Hereford before meeting the Severn Estuary at Chepstow. The total catchment area is 4136 km2. The surface water in the Wye and its tributaries is mostly unpolluted, so much of it is suitable as a source of drinking water and for supporting a salmon and trout fishery. Nevertheless, certain rivers and streams in the upper catchment suffer from acidification and localised pollution problems from inadequate sewerage and agricultural sources also exist. The Wye is one of the best known salmon rivers in England and Wales.
Protection Level (IUCN category)
Category V – Protected Landscape/Seascape/Area
Site Type
Stationary land-based site
Design of Experimentation
no experimentation
Scale of Experimentation
not applicable
Design of Observation
only observation
Scale of Observation
plot within catchment
Permanent Power Supply
No
Equipment
Data infrastructure » Data services » Data portal
Data infrastructure » Data storage » Structured file
Data infrastructure » Data storage » Spatial data file (GIS)
Data infrastructure » Data storage » Relational database
Accessible All Year
Yes
All parts of Site Accessible
No
Access Type
regular car
Permanent Operation
Yes
Operation Notes
ECN freshwater monitoring is carried out at least once per month
Site Visit Interval
30
Maintenance Interval
30
Data Policy URL
http://data.ecn.ac.uk/datapolicy.asp
LTER Site Classification
Extensive
Related Resources on DEIMS-SDR
1 dataset(s) in total:
River Wye: UK Environmental Change Network (ECN) water temperature 1994-2012
There is EURO-CORDEX climate scenario data available for this site:
Projected Near Surface Specific Humidity ChangeRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Precipitation ChangeRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Sea Level Pressure ChangeRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Surface Downwelling Shortwave RadiationRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Near-Surface Wind SpeedRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Near-Surface Air TemperatureRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Daily Maximum Near-Surface Air TemperatureRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Daily Minimum Near-Surface Air TemperatureRCP26RCP45RCP85

You can also download the entire climate scenario dataset for this site from the EUDAT B2SHARE data store.