Using Detailed Terrain Analysis to Understand Spatiotemporal Patterns of Floodplain Hydraulics and Sediment Deposition
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Date
2018-01-01
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Department
Geography and Environmental Systems
Program
Geography and Environmental Systems
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Distribution Rights granted to UMBC by the author.
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Access limited to the UMBC community. Item may possibly be obtained via Interlibrary Loan thorugh a local library, pending author/copyright holder's permission.
This item is likely protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Unless on a Creative Commons license, for uses protected by Copyright Law, contact the copyright holder or the author.
Abstract
Sediment transport in rivers plays multiple key roles within every watershed. Fine sediments transported by rivers carry with them vital nutrients that are essential to riverine and estuarine life, when not in excess. Floodplain storage of these same fine sediments is of interest to parties attempting to mitigate downstream sediment and nutrient pollution. However, historic methodological and technological limitations have limited fine-scale studies of floodplain storage. This exploratory study, utilizing modern multi-temporal high-resolution topography and advanced geospatial analysis tools, sought to overcome these limitations and comprehensively assess floodplain sediment dynamics and the conditions governing them. Our findings suggest that in addition to geometric measures, flow conditions across a floodplain during the falling limb are strong predictors of floodplain-scale sedimentology. Further results suggest modern high-resolution topography is capable of adequately modeling fine-scale sediment dynamics from single storms, accurately characterizing low-relief landforms, and providing detailed terrains for hydraulic models.