QUANTIFYING the EFFECTS of FREEZE-THAW PROCESSES on RIVERBANK EROSION in the WHITE CLAY CREEK WATERSHED, PA by Zachary Cannon A
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QUANTIFYING THE EFFECTS OF FREEZE-THAW PROCESSES ON RIVERBANK EROSION IN THE WHITE CLAY CREEK WATERSHED, PA by Zachary Cannon A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the University of Delaware in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Geology Summer 2019 © 2019 Zachary Cannon All Rights Reserved QUANTIFYING THE EFFECTS OF FREEZE-THAW PROCESSES ON RIVERBANK EROSION IN THE WHITE CLAY CREEK WATERSHED, PA by Zachary Cannon Approved: __________________________________________________________ Michael A. O’Neal, Ph.D. Professor in charge of thesis on behalf of the Advisory Committee Approved: __________________________________________________________ Neil Sturchio, Ph.D. Chair of the Department of Earth Sciences Approved: __________________________________________________________ Estella Atekwana, Ph.D. Dean of the College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment Approved: __________________________________________________________ Douglas J. Doren, Ph.D. Interim Vice Provost for Graduate and Professional Education and Dean of the Graduate College ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would first like to thank my thesis advisor Dr. Michael O’Neal for his extensive guidance and assistance throughout my two years at the University of Delaware. I am also incredibly appreciative for the endless support from Dr. Claire O’Neal. Additionally, the insights and suggestions from committee members Dr. James Pizzuto and Dr. Brian Hanson were greatly valued in the development of this project. The large volume of data collected for this project would not have been possible without the willingness of Troy Saltiel and Josh Edwards to lend a hand with numerous, cold days of fieldwork in the White Clay Creek. I must also recognize the Geology faculty, staff, and especially my fellow graduate students at the University of Delaware. I am tremendously grateful for the friendships that have been crafted during this experience. Finally, I must express my profound thankfulness to my parents for the unconditional love, kindness, and encouragement that they have always provided to help me reach this goal. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................ vi LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................... viii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................ xiii Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1 2 BACKGROUND ................................................................................................ 4 3 STUDY AREA ................................................................................................... 7 4 METHODS ......................................................................................................... 9 Near-Surface Soil and Air Temperature ............................................................. 9 Bank Profile Soil Temperature ......................................................................... 10 Soil Water Content ........................................................................................... 10 Erosion Pins ...................................................................................................... 11 Image Collection .............................................................................................. 12 Site Maintenance .............................................................................................. 13 Digital Elevation Model Generation ................................................................ 14 Difference Model Generation ........................................................................... 15 Aerial Image Analysis ...................................................................................... 17 Climate Data Processing ................................................................................... 18 5 RESULTS ......................................................................................................... 20 Near-Surface Soil Temperature ........................................................................ 20 Bank Profile Soil Temperature ......................................................................... 21 Soil Water Content ........................................................................................... 21 Erosion Pins ...................................................................................................... 22 Photogrammetry Models .................................................................................. 22 Yearly Total Bank Retreat ................................................................................ 25 6 DISCUSSION ................................................................................................... 26 FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... 31 TABLES ....................................................................................................................... 73 iv REFERENCES ............................................................................................................. 86 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Coordinates (Universal Transverse Mercator, North American Datum 1983) of 10-cm-deep soil temperature probes at field sites .................... 73 Table 2 Length of exposure measured in centimeters for each of the 6 erosion pins at Site 1. The pins are labelled as upper and lower positions at 50 cm and 100 cm from the top of the bank profile, respectively. Measurements were collected simultaneously with photogrammetry surveys ..................................................................................................... 74 Table 3 Length of exposure measured in centimeters for each of the 6 erosion pins at Site 2. The pins are labelled as upper and lower positions at 50 cm and 100 cm from the top of the bank profile, respectively. Measurements were collected simultaneously with photogrammetry surveys ..................................................................................................... 75 Table 4 Duration and magnitude of freeze-thaw cycles recorded by near- surface soil temperature sensors from Table 1. Note that only sensors that recorded a daily average temperature below 0°C were included in this table. Data collection began on 23 November 2017 for Site 1, and 2 December 2018 for Site 2, and 17 October 2017 for Site 3 ................. 76 Table 5 Duration and magnitude of freeze-thaw cycles recorded by bank-wall sensors. Data collection began on 18 January 2018 for Site 1 and 2 March 2018 for Site 2 .............................................................................. 77 Table 6 Number of images collected in the field, and the total number of topographic points produced (PointsT) and the number of points used for model comparisons (PointsA) for each CRDP survey at Site 1 ......... 78 Table 7 Number of images collected in the field, and the total number of topographic points produced (PointsT) and the number of points used for model comparisons (PointsA) for each CRDP survey at Site 2 ......... 79 Table 8 Summary statistics for DEMs of difference (DODs) from successive CRDP surveys at Site 1. Values in the negative direction represent erosion, while values in the positive direction represent expansion ....... 80 vi Table 9 Summary statistics for DEMs of difference (DODs) from beginning to end of CRDP survey datasets at Site 1. Values in the negative direction represent erosion, while values in the positive direction represent expansion. Note that each site has 2 beginning surveys and 2 end surveys because of positional adjustments to erosion pins, used as ground control points, made on 25 January 2019 ................................... 81 Table 10 Summary statistics for DEMs of difference (DODs) from successive CRDP surveys at Site 2. Values in the negative direction represent erosion, while values in the positive direction represent expansion ....... 82 Table 11 Summary statistics for DEMs of difference (DODs) from beginning to end of CRDP survey datasets at Site 2. Values in the negative direction represent erosion, while values in the positive direction represent expansion. Note that each site has 2 beginning surveys and 2 end surveys because of positional adjustments to erosion pins, used as ground control points, made on 25 January 2019 ................................... 83 Table 12 Total amount of change observed for Sites 1 and 2, collected during the winter of 2018 to 2019. Values in the negative direction represent erosion, while values in the positive direction represent expansion ....... 84 Table 13 Results from geospatial analysis of 1-ft aerial imagery collected by DVRPC in 2010 and 2015, and 1-m LIDAR DEM collected by DCNR PAMAP in 2008. Elevation data was extracted to mask an erosion polygon traced on channel margins at each site. The surface volume was then calculated with reference to the lowest point in the DEM, assumed to be the bottom of the bank ..................................................... 85 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 A map of the White Clay Creek study sites (red dots) used in this thesis ........................................................................................................ 31 Figure 2 Graphs depicting temperature time series (in °C) at each site