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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Oxford, Mississippi » National Sedimentation Laboratory » Watershed Physical Processes Research » Research » Research Project #444896

Research Project: Analyses of USDA Flood Control Reservoir Sedimentation

Location: Watershed Physical Processes Research

Project Number: 6060-13000-029-031-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Sep 16, 2023
End Date: Sep 15, 2028

Objective:
To develop regional and national relationships between legacy sediment stored in reservoirs and climate, landscape and reservoir attributes.

Approach:
Using a combination of echosounders determine sedimentation rates of reservoirs constructed as part of USDA Watershed Programs across a broad range of geographic, climate, topographic, land use, soil, and reservoir parameters following the procedure of Moriasi et al. (2018). Collect cores for grain size analysis, N and P concentrations, and sediment dating. Combine these new data with previously published studies (e.g., Bennett et al., 2013) into a comprehensive database of small reservoir sedimentation. Use this database to develop regional and national relationships between reservoir sedimentation and climate, geography, topography, soil, land use, and other parameters. Bennett, S. J., Dunbar, J. A., Rhoton, F. E., Allen, P. M., Bigham, J. M., Davidson, G. R., & Wren, D. G. (2013). Assessing sedimentation issues within aging flood-control reservoirs. Reviews in Engineering Geology, 21, 25–44. https://doi.org/10.1130/2013.4121(03). Moriasi, D. N., Steiner, J. L., Duke, S. E., Starks, P. J., & Verser, A. J. (2018). Reservoir sedimentation rates in the Little Washita River Experimental Watershed, Oklahoma: Measurement and controlling factors. Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 54(5), 1011–1023. https://doi.org/10.1111/1752-1688.12658.