Friday, March 20, 2009, 2 PM
Olsson Hall 120

Contemporary Sediment Flux and Management Considerations
in the Headwaters of the Mid-Atlantic Piedmont

Sean M. Smith

Abstract

A number of investigators have characterized landscape erosion and watershed sediment yield trends in the Mid-Atlantic Piedmont, but few have focused on the processes associated with contemporary sediment supplies at the scale of headwater basins and their relations to sediment yields at the scale of larger basins.  Popular approaches lump landscape units associated with multiple processes that can influence sediment budget results.  This shortcoming make it difficult to clearly account for sediment sources in watershed modeling efforts a nod develop strategies to reduce problematic sediment supplies.  In response, research in the Upper Patuxent River watershed has attempted to clarify the relative roles of hill-slope features and alluvial valleys in the sediment yield trends associated with a relatively large fifth order watershed.  The resulting framework provides a means to increase the resolution of watershed sediment modeling by clarifying headwater sediment erosion and routing details. Evaluations based on geomorphic process zones can assist in the targeting of watershed restoration planning investments by clarifying the culprits associated with problematic sediment yields and the potential implications of specified management actions.

The Civil Engineering seminar series is open to the University community.
Civil Engineering undergraduate students are especially invited to attend.