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USING PRE-EXISTING CHANNEL SUBSTRATES TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

Murphy, Ryan P
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1147715606

Abstract Details

2006, Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, Geology.
The Sandusky River watershed, located in northwest Ohio, has been influenced by agriculture since the late 1800s. In 2003, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) identified various tributaries and reaches of the Sandusky River as failing to meet biological water quality standards mainly due to siltation. To assess the effectiveness of best management practices (BMP), channel cutoffs were used as they represent unique archives of substrates that existed in the previous channel. In this study, a channel cutoff of the Sandusky River in Crawford County, Ohio near the city of Bucyrus was identified using recent digital aerial photography. Historical aerial photographs and USGS peak discharge data suggest the channel was likely abandoned between 1957 and 1964. Twelve sediment cores between two and three meters in depth were collected with a vibracore. Grainsize analyses of the channel cutoff substrates located within the core were completed and the percent gravel, sand, silt, and clay were determined. These data were compared to assess the extent of change in channel cutoff and current channel substrates. Results from this study show a fining trend from a mean grainsize of -1.52Ф (gravel) in the channel cutoff substrates to -0.92Ф (sand) in the current channel substrates. To explain this fining a series of hypotheses is examined, including sediment storage, trends in population and crop cultivation, existence of BMPs, and sediment transport during floods. Evidence from this study strongly suggests that a shift from the cultivation of low cover crops (hay and oats) to high cover crops (corn and soy bean) has increased the delivery of fine grain sediments into streams, minimizing the effectiveness of BMPs in Crawford County.
Enrique Gomezdelcampo (Advisor)
93 p.
Geology
Channel Cutoff; Channel Substrates; BMP; Sediment Cores; Vibracore

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Murphy, R. P. (2006). USING PRE-EXISTING CHANNEL SUBSTRATES TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1147715606

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Murphy, Ryan. USING PRE-EXISTING CHANNEL SUBSTRATES TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES. 2006. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1147715606.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Murphy, Ryan. "USING PRE-EXISTING CHANNEL SUBSTRATES TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2006. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1147715606

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1147715606
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© 2006, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.