Kings Creek (Konza Prairie) Continuous Discharge at Watershed Outlet Data (AIMS_GP_KNZ_approach1_DISC)

This study was conducted on the South Fork of the Kings Creek research watershed (outlet location: 39.092281, -96.58719) within Konza Prairie Biological Station (KBPS) near Manhattan (KS, USA). At the USGS gage located on the mainstem (06879560; est. 1979), Kings Creek is a 5th order intermittent stream draining 1059-ha of tallgrass prairie that is actively managed using controlled buns at varying frequencies (1-20 year return intervals) and grazing by bison or cattle. Kings Creek ranges in elevation from 338 to 430 m above sea level and drains into the Kansas River. The region is within a midwestern continental climate, with temperatures ranging from 4 to 22°C and mean annual precipitation averaging about 780 mm/yr. Between June 10th, 2021 and December 31, 2024, we monitored surface water level at the outlet (SFM01) of the AIMS Kings Creek watershed at 10 minute intervals using a vented pressure transducer (Seametrics PT12 vented pressure/temperature sensor). Over the study period, we collected field measurements of discharge (in liters per second) during maintenance visits every three weeks at the watershed outlet. We then used these field discharge estimates with corresponding water level measurements from the continuous record to generate a discharge-stage rating curve and estimate continuous discharge.