Assessing the vulnerability of cultural resources to rainfall-driven erosion in the Deadman Wash and Wupatki Wash drainages of Wupatki National Monument, Arizona
Increased precipitation events and environmental damage from wildfires have resulted in more severe flooding events in the southwest. While these events have impacts across the landscape, it has had a significant impact on cultural resources within the region’s National Parks and Monuments. Wupakti National Monument in particular has experienced adverse resource impacts due to erosion. Researchers supported by this Southwest CASC project will implement GIS tools to identify areas most vulnerable to erosional impacts and construct a hydrologic-landscape-erosion model to simulate the effects of current and projected climate conditions on runoff and erosion within the Wupatki Wash and Deadman Wash areas of Wupatki National Monument. In doing so, the team will be able to determine the most effective mitigation strategies to preserve the most important and vulnerable sites.
Project Summary
The American Southwest has become a climate change “hot spot” due to increasing temperatures and changes in precipitation, leading to increased flooding and wildfires. More intense precipitation events combined with wildfire damage result in larger flooding events across the landscape and within drainages. These, in turn, lead to an increase in erosion that can affect cultural resources within National Parks and Monuments, such as Wupakti National Monument (WUPA), which has already experienced adverse resource impacts as a result of extreme precipitation events. Currently, WUPA does not have a framework for prioritizing and planning erosion adaptation/mitigation strategies to preserve the highest priority and most vulnerable sites, highlighting a specific need for climate change information in addressing erosional impacts to cultural sites.
Over 2500 archaeological sites are located on the land now managed as Wupatki National Monument. Many of these sites, including the largest structure in the monument, Wupatki Pueblo, are located in the Wupatki Wash and Deadman Wash drainages. Previous studies have examined the impacts and potential impacts of erosion on cultural sites in the monument but have largely focused on Wupatki Pueblo. Relatively little work has addressed the potential impacts to the thousands of other smaller sites across the National Monument.
This project will lead to actionable science by direct collaboration with National Park Service (NPS), WUPA, and Tribal partners to develop adaptation/mitigation strategies informed by ancestral practices and model the effects of these strategies on site-specific erosion to identify best practices to preserve cultural sites. The USGS Arizona Water Science Center proposes to use a GIS tool to identify the areas most vulnerable to erosional impacts and construct a hydrologic-landscape-erosion model to simulate the effects of current and projected climate conditions on runoff and erosion within the Wupatki Wash and Deadman Wash areas of Wupatki National Monument. This approach will allow USGS and NPS partners to identify the sites most at risk from erosional impacts and plan mitigation strategies to preserve the most important and vulnerable sites.
- Source: USGS Sciencebase (id: 6966577cd4be023756ae8be6)
Increased precipitation events and environmental damage from wildfires have resulted in more severe flooding events in the southwest. While these events have impacts across the landscape, it has had a significant impact on cultural resources within the region’s National Parks and Monuments. Wupakti National Monument in particular has experienced adverse resource impacts due to erosion. Researchers supported by this Southwest CASC project will implement GIS tools to identify areas most vulnerable to erosional impacts and construct a hydrologic-landscape-erosion model to simulate the effects of current and projected climate conditions on runoff and erosion within the Wupatki Wash and Deadman Wash areas of Wupatki National Monument. In doing so, the team will be able to determine the most effective mitigation strategies to preserve the most important and vulnerable sites.
Project Summary
The American Southwest has become a climate change “hot spot” due to increasing temperatures and changes in precipitation, leading to increased flooding and wildfires. More intense precipitation events combined with wildfire damage result in larger flooding events across the landscape and within drainages. These, in turn, lead to an increase in erosion that can affect cultural resources within National Parks and Monuments, such as Wupakti National Monument (WUPA), which has already experienced adverse resource impacts as a result of extreme precipitation events. Currently, WUPA does not have a framework for prioritizing and planning erosion adaptation/mitigation strategies to preserve the highest priority and most vulnerable sites, highlighting a specific need for climate change information in addressing erosional impacts to cultural sites.
Over 2500 archaeological sites are located on the land now managed as Wupatki National Monument. Many of these sites, including the largest structure in the monument, Wupatki Pueblo, are located in the Wupatki Wash and Deadman Wash drainages. Previous studies have examined the impacts and potential impacts of erosion on cultural sites in the monument but have largely focused on Wupatki Pueblo. Relatively little work has addressed the potential impacts to the thousands of other smaller sites across the National Monument.
This project will lead to actionable science by direct collaboration with National Park Service (NPS), WUPA, and Tribal partners to develop adaptation/mitigation strategies informed by ancestral practices and model the effects of these strategies on site-specific erosion to identify best practices to preserve cultural sites. The USGS Arizona Water Science Center proposes to use a GIS tool to identify the areas most vulnerable to erosional impacts and construct a hydrologic-landscape-erosion model to simulate the effects of current and projected climate conditions on runoff and erosion within the Wupatki Wash and Deadman Wash areas of Wupatki National Monument. This approach will allow USGS and NPS partners to identify the sites most at risk from erosional impacts and plan mitigation strategies to preserve the most important and vulnerable sites.
- Source: USGS Sciencebase (id: 6966577cd4be023756ae8be6)