Sediment transport and flood discharge in the Menominee River, Illinois, USA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59236/geomorphica.v2i1.36Keywords:
flash flood, river, discharge, sediment transportAbstract
Increased precipitation intensity driven by climate change creates flash flood hazards and increases erosion potential along tributaries to the Mississippi River. This case study observed discharge, sediments, and flood events in the Menominee River to understand baseline conditions with respect to sediment transport and channel evolution potentially impacted by climate and land use changes. This analysis focused on field observations of water velocity, channel dimensions, and bedload sediments. During the study period, the Menominee River flooded in response to two major rain events and transported riverbed cobbles. This study identified a downstream loss and gain in river discharge related to karst bedrock features. We predicted bedload would not easily move during bankfull or flood events, however the size of transported painted clasts indicated that our estimates of flow conditions underestimated potential for sediment transport. Spatial precipitation variability and unpredictability of karst features challenged our ability to predict river response to precipitation events based on location or scale across the local region. Runoff related to residential development had minimal impact on river discharge within the studied river reach. In the future, we can continue to monitor discharge, sediments and geomorphology to assess impacts of changing land and climate conditions.
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