Linking Weather Extremes to Coastal Sediment Supply in California
Study examines how hydrologic extremes can dramatically reshape sediment transport in a coastal California river
Erosion following wildfire has increased in California since 1984
Federal Scientists Assess Unusual River-Erosion Disaster in Ecuadorian Amazon
Fire plus Flood equals Beach
A new study combines decades of coastal satellite imagery with hydrologic and oceanographic data to look at how changes on land affect coastlines in Big Sur, California
How Wildfires Threaten Water Supplies By Unleashing Sediment
This project characterizes and measures sediment-related effects of landscape disturbances (such as major storms, drought, or wildfire) and river management. We focus primarily on the U.S. west coast, and our work relates to natural hazards and resource management.
Climate models project that in the future the western U.S. will experience more extreme rain events, greater wildfire activity, and more pronounced swings between extreme drought and extreme wet conditions. These changes could result in landscapes shedding more sediment from hillslopes and transporting it along rivers to the coast. At the same time, removal of aging dams is becoming common in the U.S.; dam removal (and some other human activities) releases sediment downstream, changing the river and coastal environments. Our research is guided by the questions: How does the scale of landscape response (such as the amount of sediment generated) correspond to the scale of disturbance (the amount of storm rainfall)? What controls lag times in landscape response signals—how long after a disturbance do its effects appear downstream, and how long do they last? How do superimposed disturbances, such as fire and subsequent storms, or a dam removal followed by extreme rain, combine to drive landscape evolution? How will variations in landscape sediment output affect the amount of sediment reaching the coast, and how might that affect the shape and evolution of beaches?
Currently active tasks:
1. Dam removal. Our team studies river and coastal response to sediment released by large dam removals, in collaboration with other federal, state, tribal, and academic researchers. Research efforts include long-term studies of the Elwha River, Washington, the Carmel River, and Klamath estuary (after four dam removals in California and Oregon), and state-of-the-science synthesis.
2. Landscape response to extreme rainfall. Extreme rain can cause landslides and flooding, greatly increasing the amount of sediment moving along rivers to the coast and influencing nearshore morphology and beach evolution. We study effects of extreme rain on river and coastal settings, in collaboration with other USGS groups (Landslide Hazards Program and others), the National Park Service, and California Geological Survey.
This project characterizes and measures sediment-related effects of landscape disturbances (such as major storms, drought, or wildfire) and river management. We focus primarily on the U.S. west coast, and our work relates to natural hazards and resource management.
Climate models project that in the future the western U.S. will experience more extreme rain events, greater wildfire activity, and more pronounced swings between extreme drought and extreme wet conditions. These changes could result in landscapes shedding more sediment from hillslopes and transporting it along rivers to the coast. At the same time, removal of aging dams is becoming common in the U.S.; dam removal (and some other human activities) releases sediment downstream, changing the river and coastal environments. Our research is guided by the questions: How does the scale of landscape response (such as the amount of sediment generated) correspond to the scale of disturbance (the amount of storm rainfall)? What controls lag times in landscape response signals—how long after a disturbance do its effects appear downstream, and how long do they last? How do superimposed disturbances, such as fire and subsequent storms, or a dam removal followed by extreme rain, combine to drive landscape evolution? How will variations in landscape sediment output affect the amount of sediment reaching the coast, and how might that affect the shape and evolution of beaches?
Currently active tasks:
1. Dam removal. Our team studies river and coastal response to sediment released by large dam removals, in collaboration with other federal, state, tribal, and academic researchers. Research efforts include long-term studies of the Elwha River, Washington, the Carmel River, and Klamath estuary (after four dam removals in California and Oregon), and state-of-the-science synthesis.
2. Landscape response to extreme rainfall. Extreme rain can cause landslides and flooding, greatly increasing the amount of sediment moving along rivers to the coast and influencing nearshore morphology and beach evolution. We study effects of extreme rain on river and coastal settings, in collaboration with other USGS groups (Landslide Hazards Program and others), the National Park Service, and California Geological Survey.