Estimating Stream Flow from Rainfall Runoff as a Tool for Predicting Variability in Freshwater Mussel Surveys
Submission Type
Event
Faculty Advisor
Aaron Wilson
Expected Graduation Date
2019
Start Date
4-13-2019 9:00 AM
End Date
4-13-2019 10:00 AM
Disciplines
Education
Abstract
The goal of this study was to create a method to model streamflow and estimate the impact of streamflow on the results of threatened freshwater mussel surveys. Observations in recent studies have shown that surveying mussel biodiversity and abundance at the same location under different streamflow conditions can produce significantly different results. Therefore, to accurately assess population changes through repeated surveys, one must account for variability due to streamflow. Streamflow data is available from the United States Geological Survey, however, these data do not cover all locations in a river system. Data from the Spoon River system in western Illinois were chosen to create streamflow models, because of the availability of repeated mussel survey data for that river system. Streamflow was modeled directly from rainfall runoff; this was estimated in ArcMap software using land use, land cover, soil property, and precipitation data. The stream was delineated in ArcMap from a digital elevation map, and weighted by the calculated rainfall runoff data. This work represents an important first step towards developing an adaptable method for estimating stream flow at any point on a river system for any period of time.
Estimating Stream Flow from Rainfall Runoff as a Tool for Predicting Variability in Freshwater Mussel Surveys
The goal of this study was to create a method to model streamflow and estimate the impact of streamflow on the results of threatened freshwater mussel surveys. Observations in recent studies have shown that surveying mussel biodiversity and abundance at the same location under different streamflow conditions can produce significantly different results. Therefore, to accurately assess population changes through repeated surveys, one must account for variability due to streamflow. Streamflow data is available from the United States Geological Survey, however, these data do not cover all locations in a river system. Data from the Spoon River system in western Illinois were chosen to create streamflow models, because of the availability of repeated mussel survey data for that river system. Streamflow was modeled directly from rainfall runoff; this was estimated in ArcMap software using land use, land cover, soil property, and precipitation data. The stream was delineated in ArcMap from a digital elevation map, and weighted by the calculated rainfall runoff data. This work represents an important first step towards developing an adaptable method for estimating stream flow at any point on a river system for any period of time.