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THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS of AGGRADATION in MAJOR BRAIDED RIVERS at MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, WASHINGTON a Thesis

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THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS of AGGRADATION in MAJOR BRAIDED RIVERS at MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, WASHINGTON a Thesis THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS OF AGGRADATION IN MAJOR BRAIDED RIVERS AT MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, WASHINGTON A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science Scott Robert Beason University of Northern Iowa May 2007 ii This Study by: Scott Robert Beason Entitled: The Environmental Implications of Aggradation in Major Braided Rivers at Mount Rainier National Park, Washington Has been approved as meeting the thesis requirement for the Degree of Masters of Science, Environmental Science ___________ _____________________________________________________ Date Dr. James C. Walters, Co-Chair, Thesis Committee ___________ _____________________________________________________ Date Dr. Mohammad Z. Iqbal, Co-Chair, Thesis Committee ___________ _____________________________________________________ Date Dr. David W. May, Thesis Committee Member ___________ _____________________________________________________ Date Paul Kennard, M.S., Thesis Committee Member/On-Site Advisor ___________ _____________________________________________________ Date Dr. Susan J. Koch, Dean, Graduate College iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the following individuals for their hard work, support, patience, and wisdom provided to me during the course of this project: Monetary support was provided by the National Park Service’s North Coast and Cascades Research Learning Network and was critical to the success of this project. Mount Rainier National Park is an ideal outdoor research laboratory and I would like to thank the following at the Park: The Division of Natural & Cultural Resources, including Roger Andrascik and Rhea Gillispie; Ann Bell; Bret Christoe; Darin Swinney; Lee Taylor and the entire West District Interpretation Staff; and Superintendent Dave Uberuaga. Paul Kennard acted as an on-site advisor for this project. If it were not for Paul, this project would not exist. Paul’s knowledge of fluvial geomorphology and especially debris flows at the Park is second-to-none and contributed greatly to this project. The Geological Society of America (GSA) was instrumental to this project in numerous ways. I originally became interested in Mount Rainer through GSA’s GeoCorps program, which allowed me to work as an Interpretive Geologist at the Park in 2004. GSA awarded this project a Graduate Student Research Grant which assisted with the expenses for the November 2006 resurveying in the Park. Results of the research were orally presented at GSA’s annual meeting in Philadelphia, PA, in October 2006. Field assistants Elizabeth Beaulieu and Sharain Halmon worked long hours in the most hazardous terrain at the Park and their work contributed greatly to the project. Much of what is seen in this project has been greatly influenced by these two. I also want to iv thank Christina Forbes from Western Illinois University for assisting with the (very snowy) field work in November 2006. The Environmental Science program at the University of Northern Iowa – and specifically, Drs. James Walters and Mohammad Iqbal – supported my research interests and were available for counseling and help whenever problems did arise. John Dunn, a professional land surveyor at Rimrock Consulting, Inc., provided training for the total station and also critically reviewed the materials and methods chapter of the thesis. Finally, I would like to thank my friends and family who have put up with me the constant talk about “the Mountain” and continuous updates about the project. v TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE LIST OF TABLES...........................................................................................................viii LIST OF EQUATIONS ..................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION....................................................................................... 1 Location & Geographic Setting .................................................................................... 3 Geologic History........................................................................................................... 8 Geologic Hazards........................................................................................................ 15 Study Areas................................................................................................................. 17 CHAPTER 2: PRIOR RESEARCH ................................................................................. 24 CHAPTER 3: MATERIALS AND METHODS .............................................................. 28 Total Station................................................................................................................ 28 Trimble GPS ............................................................................................................... 32 Handheld GPS............................................................................................................. 35 Accuracy of GPS and Total Station Units .................................................................. 37 Post Processing of Total Station Data......................................................................... 38 Historical Topographic Map Analysis........................................................................ 42 Chemical & Sediment Analysis.................................................................................. 42 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS.................................................................................................. 48 Cross Section Results.................................................................................................. 48 Nisqually River at Longmire ................................................................................ 48 vi Nisqually River at Sunshine Point........................................................................ 57 Nisqually River and Van Trump Creek at Lower Van Trump Hairpin ................ 62 White River along State Route 410 ...................................................................... 67 Longitudinal Profile Results ....................................................................................... 74 Historical Topographic Map Analysis........................................................................ 81 Chemical Analysis ...................................................................................................... 88 Suspended Sediment Analysis .................................................................................... 95 CHAPTER 5: MAJOR FLOODING IN NOVEMBER 2006 .......................................... 97 Longmire..................................................................................................................... 98 Lower Van Trump Hairpin ....................................................................................... 102 Kautz Creek .............................................................................................................. 103 Tahoma Creek........................................................................................................... 108 Sunshine Point .......................................................................................................... 110 CHAPTER 6: INTERPRETATION AND DISCUSSION............................................. 113 Nisqually River at Longmire .................................................................................... 113 Nisqually River at Sunshine Point............................................................................ 117 Nisqually River at Van Trump Creek ....................................................................... 118 White River along State Route 410 .......................................................................... 120 Carbon River, Kautz Creek and Tahoma Creek ....................................................... 123 November Flooding .................................................................................................. 127 Chemical Analysis .................................................................................................... 133 Suspended Load........................................................................................................ 135 vii Limitations ................................................................................................................ 137 Implications of Climate Change ............................................................................... 138 CHAPTER 7: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE WORK.................................. 142 CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION ....................................................................................... 146 REFERENCES CITED................................................................................................... 148 APPENDIX A: RIVER AGGRADATION RESULTS FOR EACH TRANSECT ....... 152 viii LIST OF TABLES PAGE 3.1 Positional accuracies in surveying equipment.......................................................38 3.2 GPS positions of water sampling locations ...........................................................47 4.1 Average aggradation for all cross sections at Longmire........................................56 4.2 Average aggradation for cross sections near levee at Longmire ...........................56 4.3 Average aggradation for cross sections at Sunshine Point ....................................61 4.4
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