Classifications and standards of quality and purity for fresh surface waters of the Chemung River drainage basin, except Newtown Creek drainage basin,

Mode of access: Internet.

Report on Crosby Creek erosion studies by models of drop structures located at junction of Crosby Creek and Canisteo River, Hornell, N. Y. : tests /

Typescript (carbon copy).

Vasa Creek Channel Conditions and Slope Stability, Bellevue, Washington

The focus of this report is is the channel conditions at Vasa Creek, Bellevue, Washington, with regard to kokanee habitat and slope stability. This required a geomorphic and geologic assessment of the stream and riparian corridor along Vasa Creek. I focused my efforts in a 720m study-reach just south of I-90 in which City of Bellevue had no information. My assessment is divided into 3 categories: channel morphology, geology, and landslide hazards. I described the channel morphology by determining the gradient of the channel, longitudinal and cross-channel geometries, grain size distribution, embeddedness observations, type of channel reaches present, and the locations of significant in-channel woody-debris, landslides, scarps, landslide debris, and erosional features. This was done by conducting a longitudinal survey, 7 cross-channel surveys, pebble counts, and visual observations with the aid of a GPS device for mapping. I completed my geological assessment using both field observations and borehole data provided by GeoMapNW. Borehole data provided logs of the subsurface material at specific locations. In the field, I interpreted local geology using material in the channel as well as exposures in the adjacent slope. I completed the landslide hazard assessment using GIS methods supplemented by field observations. GIS methods included the use of aerial LiDAR to discern slope values and locations of features. Features of interest include the locations of scarps, landslides, landslide debris, and erosional features which were observed in the field. I classified 4 slope classes using ArcMap10 along with the locations of previously mapped landslides, scarps, and landslide debris. I describe the risk of slope failure according to the Washington Administration Code definition of critical areas (WAC 365-190-120 6a-i). My results are presented in the form of a map suite containing a channel morphology map, geology map, and landslide hazard map. The channel is a free-formed alluvial plane-bed reach with infrequent step-pools with riffles associated with landslide debris that chokes the channel. Overall I found that there is not the potential for kokanee habitat due flashy behavior (sudden high flow events), landslide inundation, and a lack of favorable conditions within the channel. The updated geologic map displays advance outwash deposits and alluvium present within the study-reach, as opposed to exposures of the Blakeley Formation along with other corrections from borehole data interpretations. The landslide hazard map shows that there are areas at high risk for slope failure along the channel that should be looked into further.

Geomorphic Impacts of the 2013 Colorado Front Range Flood on Black Canyon Creek and North Fork Big Thompson River

In September 2013, the Colorado Front Range experienced a five-day storm that brought record-breaking precipitation to the region. As a consequence, many Front Range streams experienced flooding, leading to erosion, debris flows, bank failures and channel incision. I compare the effects that debris flows and flooding have on the channel bar frequency, frequency and location of wood accumulation, and on the shape and size of the channel along two flood impacted reaches located near Estes Park and Glen Haven, Colorado within Rocky Mountain National Park and Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest: Black Canyon Creek (BCC) and North Fork Big Thompson River (NFBT). The primary difference between the two study areas is that BCC was inundated by multiple debris flows, whereas NFBT only experienced flooding. Fieldwork consisted of recording location and size of large wood and channel bars and surveying reaches to produce cross-sections. Additional observations were made on bank failures in NFBT and the presence of boulders in channel bars in BCC to determine sediment source. The debris flow acted to scour and incise BCC causing long-term alteration. The post-flood channel cross-sectional area is as much as 7 to 23 times larger than the pre-flood channel, caused by the erosion of the channel bed to bedrock and the elimination of riparian vegetation. Large wood was forced out of the stream channel and deposited outside of the bankfull channel. Flooding in NFBT caused bank erosion and widening that contributed sediment to channel bars, but accomplished little stream-bed scour. As a result, there was relatively little damage to mid-channel and riparian vegetation, and most large wood remained within the wetted channel.

Assessing the influence and distribution of shrimp pond effluent in a tidal mangrove creek in north-east Australia

Effluent from a land based shrimp farm was detected in a receiving creek as changes in physical, chemical and biological parameters. The extent and severity of these changes depended on farm operations. This assessment was conducted at three different stages of shrimp-pond maturity, including (1) when the ponds were empty, (2) full and (3) being harvested. Methods for assessing farm effluent in receiving waters included physical/chemical analyses of the water column, phytoplankton bioassays and nitrogen isotope signatures of marine flora. Comparisons were made with an adjacent creek that served as the farms intake creek and did not directly receive effluent. Physical/chemical parameters identified distinct changes in the receiving creek with respect to farm operations. Elevated water column NH4+ (18.5+/-8.0 muM) and chlorophyll a concentrations (5.5+/-1.9 mug/l) were measured when the farm was in operation, in contrast to when the farm was inactive (1.3+/-0.3 muM and 1.2+/-0.6 mug/l, respectively). At all times, physically chemical parameters at the mouth of the effluent creek, were equivalent to control values, indicating effluent was contained within the effluent-receiving creek. However, elevated delta(15)N signatures of mangroves (up to similar to8parts per thousand) and macroalgae (up to similar to5parts per thousand) indicated a broader influence of shrimp farm effluent, extending to the lower regions of the farms intake creek. Bioassays at upstream sites close to the location of farm effluent discharge indicated that phytoplankton at these sites did not respond to further nutrient additions, however downstream sites showed large growth responses. This suggested that further nutrient loading from the shrimp farm, resulting in greater nutrient dispersal, will increase the extent of phytoplankton blooms downstream from the site of effluent discharge. When shrimp ponds were empty water quality in the effluent and intake creeks was comparable. This indicated that observed elevated nutrient and phytoplankton concentrations were directly attributable to farm operations. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spatial and temporal variation in algal-assemblage structure in isolated dryland river waterholes, Cooper Creek and Warrego River, Australia

The scale at which algal biodiversity is partitioned across the landscape, and the biophysical processes and biotic interactions which shape these communities in dryland river refugia was studied on two occasions from 30 sites in two Australian dryland rivers. Despite the waterholes studied having characteristically high levels of abiogenic turbidity, a total of 186 planktonic microalgae, 253 benthic diatom and 62 macroalgal species were recorded. The phytoplankton communities were dominated by flagellated cryptophytes, euglenophytes and chlorophytes, the diatom communities by cosmopolitan taxa known to tolerate wide environmental conditions, and the macroalgal communities by filamentous cyanobacteria. All algal communities showed significant differences between catchments and sampling times, with a suite of between 5 and 12 taxa responsible for similar to 50% of the observed change. In general, algal assemblage patterns were poorly correlated with the measured environmental variables. Phytoplankton and diatom assemblage patterns were weakly correlated with several waterhole geomorphic measures, whereas macroalgal assemblage patterns showed some association with variability in ionic concentration.

The commercial bark harvest of the African cherry (Prunus africana) on Mount Oku, Cameroon: Effects on traditional uses and population dynamics

Bark extracts of the African cherry (Prunus africana) are used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia. This study examined the effects of commercial bark harvest on population dynamics in the Kilum-Ijim Forest Preserve on Mount Oku, Cameroon and on traditional uses. P. africana is valued for its timber and as fuel although its greatest value is as a traditional medicine for human and animal ailments. Harvest has depleted the resource and has eroded traditional forest protection practices. I constructed matrix models to examine the effects of bark harvest on population structure and on population dynamics in harvested and unharvested populations. Harvesting simulations examined the effect on the population growth rate (λ) with differing levels of mortality of harvest-sized and large trees and differing harvest frequencies. Size class frequencies for the entire forest decreased in a reverse j-shaped curve, indicating adequate recruitment in the absence of harvest. Individual plots showed differences from the overall forest data, suggesting effects of natural and man-made perturbations, particularly due to bark harvest. One plot (harvested in the 1980s) showed a temporal difference in λ and fluctuated around one, due to alternating high and low fruiting years; other unharvested plots showed smaller temporal differences. Harvested plots (harvested illegally in 1997) had values of λ less than one and showed small temporal differences. The control plot also showed λ less than one, due to poor recruitment in the closed canopy forest. The value of λ for the combined data was 0.9931 suggesting a slightly declining population. The elasticity matrix for the combined data indicated the population growth rate was most sensitive to the survival of the large reproductive trees (42.5% of the elasticity). In perturbation analyses, reducing the survival of the large trees caused the largest reductions in λ. Simulations involving harvesting frequency indicated λ returns to pre-harvest conditions if trees are re-harvested after 10–15 years, but only if the large trees are left unharvested. Management scenarios suggest harvest can be sustainable if seedlings and small saplings are planted in the forest and actively managed, although large-scale plantations may be the only feasible option to meet market demand. ^

An integrated flow and transport model to study the impact of mercury remediation strategies for East Fork Poplar Creek watershed, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

An integrated flow and transport model using MIKE SHE/MIKE 11 software was developed to predict the flow and transport of mercury, Hg(II), under varying environmental conditions. The model analyzed the impact of remediation scenarios within the East Fork Poplar Creek watershed of the Oak Ridge Reservation with respect to downstream concentration of mercury. The numerical simulations included the entire hydrological cycle: flow in rivers, overland flow, groundwater flow in the saturated and unsaturated zones, and evapotranspiration and precipitation time series. Stochastic parameters and hydrologic conditions over a five year period of historical hydrological data were used to analyze the hydrological cycle and to determine the prevailing mercury transport mechanism within the watershed. Simulations of remediation scenarios revealed that reduction of the highly contaminated point sources, rather than general remediation of the contaminant plume, has a more direct impact on downstream mercury concentrations.

A tidal creek water budget: Estimation of groundwater discharge and overland flow using hydrologic modeling in the Southern Everglades

Taylor Slough is one of the natural freshwater contributors to Florida Bay through a network of microtidal creeks crossing the Everglades Mangrove Ecotone Region (EMER). The EMER ecological function is critical since it mediates freshwater and nutrient inputs and controls the water quality in Eastern Florida Bay. Furthermore, this region is vulnerable to changing hydrodynamics and nutrient loadings as a result of upstream freshwater management practices proposed by the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Program (CERP), currently the largest wetland restoration project in the USA. Despite the hydrological importance of Taylor Slough in the water budget of Florida Bay, there are no fine scale (∼1 km2) hydrodynamic models of this system that can be utilized as a tool to evaluate potential changes in water flow, salinity, and water quality. Taylor River is one of the major creeks draining Taylor Slough freshwater into Florida Bay. We performed a water budget analysis for the Taylor River area, based on long-term hydrologic data (1999–2007) and supplemented by hydrodynamic modeling using a MIKE FLOOD (DHI,http://dhigroup.com/) model to evaluate groundwater and overland water discharges. The seasonal hydrologic characteristics are very distinctive (average Taylor River wet vs. dry season outflow was 6 to 1 during 1999–2006) with a pronounced interannual variability of flow. The water budget shows a net dominance of through flow in the tidal mixing zone, while local precipitation and evapotranspiration play only a secondary role, at least in the wet season. During the dry season, the tidal flood reaches the upstream boundary of the study area during approximately 80 days per year on average. The groundwater field measurements indicate a mostly upwards-oriented leakage, which possibly equals the evapotranspiration term. The model results suggest a high importance of groundwater contribution to the water salinity in the EMER. The model performance is satisfactory during the dry season where surface flow in the area is confined to the Taylor River channel. The model also provided guidance on the importance of capturing the overland flow component, which enters the area as sheet flow during the rainy season. Overall, the modeling approach is suitable to reach better understanding of the water budget in the mangrove region. However, more detailed field data is needed to ascertain model predictions by further calibrating overland flow parameters.