Project Number: NH_2024_Lightbody
Start Date: 2024-09-01 End Date: 2025-08-31
Principal Investigators:
Dr. Anne Lightbody (Associate Professor)
Dr. Michael Palace (Associate Professor)
Abstract:
Many New England rivers have been heavily impacted by human activities that have provided short-term protection for important infrastructure but have resulted in long-term instability and increased flood risks. Future climate changes are expected to further stress river ecosystems. This project will use a combination of innovative field monitoring techniques to understand the geomorphic response of a restored river reach, with a particular focus on exploring the impact of floodplain reconnection on hyporheic exchange during low flows and sediment transport and channel erosion during high flows during the key pioneer year immediately following intervention. The project will leverage previously collected high-resolution spatial data that can be used by resource managers to assess project performance, which will improve their ability to make cost-effective decisions about future similar activities in other river reaches to enhance sensitive riparian habitats and decrease infrastructure loss. More specifically, using the restored Zealand River in the White Mountains National Forest as a case study, we will develop high-resolution maps of topography and sediment grain size that document impacts of restoration efforts in the study area; characterize the potential for floodplain groundwater storage and exchange in the restored river reach; and create hydraulic models that characterize erosion susceptibility at the reach scale. The proposed work will augment existing monitoring efforts led by United States Forest Service (USFS) scientists and will directly contribute to informing future management activities in the WMNF and the region.
