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Long-Term Total Suspended Sediment Yield of Coastal Louisiana Rivers with Spatiotemporal Analysis of the Atchafalaya River Basin and Delta Complex

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Long-Term Total Suspended Sediment Yield of Coastal Louisiana Rivers with Spatiotemporal Analysis of the Atchafalaya River Basin and Delta Complex LONG-TERM TOTAL SUSPENDED SEDIMENT YIELD OF COASTAL LOUISIANA RIVERS WITH SPATIOTEMPORAL ANALYSIS OF THE ATCHAFALAYA RIVER BASIN AND DELTA COMPLEX A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in The School of Renewable Natural Resources by Timothy Rosen B.S., Mount St. Mary’s University, 2009 May 2013 AKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the Louisiana Sea Grant Coastal Science Assistantship Program for providing me a graduate fellowship that allowed me to come to Louisiana and complete this research. I would also like to thank the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for financial support and the National Science Foundation who provided support for my research and travels in China. I am exceedingly grateful to my major professor, Dr. Jun Xu, for guiding me during this study and helping me develop professionally. The high standard he set helped me push myself to achieve at a higher level than I would have thought possible. For this I am greatly indebted to him. I would like to thank my committee members, Dr. Andy Nyman, and Dr. Lei Wang for their support, and enthusiasm in my research. Their willingness to help me through different problems as well as providing positive input helped make this research successful and fulfilling. I am also grateful for the support of my colleagues and friends who allowed me to voice my concerns and provided invaluable friendships during my time at LSU. Thank you to my lab mates, Abram DaSilva, April BryantMason, Kristopher Brown, Derrick Klimesh, and Ryan Mesmer for their help throughout the process. Finally, I would like to thank my parents, Sandy and Dennis, for their love, support, and guidance, helping shape the person I am today. I am also grateful for the rest of my family, my sister, Emily, to my grandfather, uncles, aunts, and cousins who have created a family that is full of love and support. Last, but not least, I would like to thank my wonderful and patient Sara, who has helped me through thick and thin with her diligent support. iii CONTENTS AKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................................... III LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................................................... VI LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................. VIII ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................ XI CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 LITERATURE CITED ....................................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER 2: RIVERINE SEDIMENT INFLOW TO LOUISIANA CHENIER PLAIN IN THE NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO............................................................................................................... 8 2.1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 8 2.2 METHODS ....................................................................................................................................... 11 2.2.1 Long-term Discharge, Sediment, and Precipitation Data ........................................................... 11 2.2.2 Sediment Load Calculation ........................................................................................................ 14 2.3 RESULTS ......................................................................................................................................... 15 2.3.1 Long-term Discharge and TSS Concentration ........................................................................... 15 2.3.2 Seasonal Trend of TSS Loads .................................................................................................... 20 2.3.3 Interannual Variation in TSS Loads ........................................................................................... 20 2.4 DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................................... 24 2.4.1 Hydrometeorological and Land Use Effects on Sediment Loads .............................................. 24 2.4.2 Sediment Source and Potential for Future Chenier Plain Development .................................... 26 2.5 CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................................... 31 2.6 LITERATURE CITED ..................................................................................................................... 32 CHAPTER 3: A HYDROGRAPH BASED SEDIMENT AVAILABILITY ASSESSMENT WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR MISSISSIPPI RIVER DIVERSION MANAGEMENT ....................................... 36 3.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 36 3.2 METHODS ..................................................................................................................................... 39 3.2.1 River Stage Classification for Sediment Availability Assessment .......................................... 39 3.2.2 Suspended Sediment Concentration and Load Calculation ..................................................... 42 3.2.3 Hydrograph-based Sediment Yield Quantification .................................................................. 43 3.3 RESULTS ....................................................................................................................................... 44 3.3.1 Sediment Availability under Different River Stages................................................................ 44 3.3.2 Sediment Availability on Rising and Receding Limbs .............................................................. 47 3.3.3 Flood Peak and Sediment Availability ....................................................................................... 49 3.4 DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................................. 52 3.5 CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................................. 58 3.6 LITERATURE CITED ..................................................................................................................... 59 CHAPTER 4: RECENT DECADAL GROWTH OF THE ATCHAFALAYA RIVER DELTA COMPLEX: EFFECTS OF VARIABLE RIVERINE SEDIMENT INPUT AND VEGETATION SUCCESSION ............................................................................................................................................ 64 4.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 64 4.2 THE ATCHAFALAYA RIVER DELTA COMPLEX ..................................................................... 67 4.3 METHODS ....................................................................................................................................... 69 iv 4.3.1 Discharge, Total Suspended Sediment, and Tropical Systems .................................................. 69 4.3.2 Total Suspended Sediment Discharge Calculation .................................................................... 71 4.3.3 Spatial Data Sets ........................................................................................................................ 72 4.3.4 Classification .............................................................................................................................. 73 4.3.5 Land Change Analysis ............................................................................................................... 73 4.4 RESULTS ......................................................................................................................................... 74 4.4.1 River Discharge and Total Suspended Sediment Yield ............................................................. 74 4.4.2 Deltaic Land Change .................................................................................................................. 76 4.4.3 Vegetated Land Change ............................................................................................................. 78 4.4.4 Inter-periodic Fluctuation of Barren and Vegetated Land ......................................................... 81 4.5 DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................................... 81 4.6 CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................................... 91 4.7 LITERATURE CITED ..................................................................................................................... 92 CHAPTER 5: ESTIMATION OF SEDIMENTATION RATES IN THE DISTRIBUTARY BASIN OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, THE ATCHAFALAYA RIVER BASIN, USA ............................................ 98 5.1 INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................
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