Daniel Wren Additional Information

Education:

Ph.D. 2000, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS; Major: Civil Engineering.

M.S. 1996, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS; Major: Biological Engineering.

B.S. 1994, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS; Major: Biological Engineering.

 

Research Interests:

Sediment transport mechanics with emphasis on bed topography and total transport prediction

Lake sedimentation measurement for watershed soil erosion and land use assessment

Levee erosion quantification and protection for irrigation reservoirs

Selected Publications:

Wren, D. G., Ozeren, Y., Taylor, J., and Reba, M. L.  Assessment of irrigation reservoir levee impairment in Arkansas, USA. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. (Accepted 1/8/18)

Wren, D. G., Langendoen, E. J., and Kuhnle, R. A.  Bed topography and sand transport responses to a step change in discharge and water depth.  Journal of Hydraulic Engineering. 142(10). 04016040. 2016.

Wren, D. G., Ozeren, Y., and Reba, M. L. Measuring the erosion of an irrigation reservoir levee. Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. Transactions of the ASABE. 59(1): 41-48. (doi: 10.13031/trans.59.10751). 2016.

Wren, D. G., Rigby, J. R., Davidson, G. R., and Locke, M. R. Effects of conservation practices on sedimentation rates in Beasley Lake, Mississippi.  Journal of Soil and Water Conservation.  71(2):137-147; doi:10.2489/jswc.71.2.137. 2016.

Wren, D. G., Kuhnle, R. A., Langendoen, E. J., and Rigby, J. R. Turbulent flow and sand transport over a cobble bed. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering. 140(4), 04014001. 2014.

 

Selected Research Projects and Activities:

Laboratory studies in sediment transport.  Two main areas of focus include the use of detailed measurements of bed topography to improve prediction of sediment transport and examining the effects of antecedent flow conditions on transport rate.  In collaboration with the National Center for Physical Acoustics, we are engaged in efforts to develop technology for using Sediment Generated Noise (SGN) for measuring coarse bedload in streams and rivers.

Field studies in lake sedimentation.  Rates of watershed soil erosion are quantified through measurement of sediment accumulation in sediment cores and sediment traps.  Recent work has emphasized the use of sediment traps for obtaining recent sedimentation rates at short time scales, which allows detection of changes in sediment accumulation caused by seasonal weather and agricultural activities.

Irrigation reservoir levee erosion assessment and protection.   The reservoirs are used to store surface water for irrigation in areas with declining groundwater levels.  Our work has focused on designing floating breakwaters to reduce wave energy, measuring erosion on existing levees, and studying mechanisms of wave erosion for cohesive earthen embankments in a wave tank and in the field.

 

Publications