Hazard, Risk, and Opportunity in a Large-River Floodplain, Lower Missouri River, USA
Abstract
The Lower Missouri River (1,340,000 square kilometers drainage area) is bordered by extensive floodplains used mostly for agricultural production but also developed for urban and industrial land use, and in some areas, for conservation purposes. Recent flooding - especially in 2011 and 2019 - has engendered calls for re-examining how the river and its floodplain are managed. Despite being downstream from the largest reservoir system in North America and being extensively bordered by levees, recent flooding has resulted in billions of $US in damages. Our analysis has three objectives focused on the lowermost 500 km of the Lower Missouri River and its floodplain. 1) We seek to understand the geographic distribution of flood hazard by quantifying geomorphic influences on flood extent and severity. This information could be used to prioritize segments of the river for infrastructure investment or for "green" solutions like levee setbacks. 2) We document spatial and temporal inundation patterns that are relevant to quantifying ecosystem services, with an emphasis on habitat provision for native floodplain-adapted species. Although challenging, quantification of flood-related ecosystem services would allow for improved exploration of common ground between flood-risk reduction and conservation objectives. 3) We illustrate sensitivity of the flood regime on the Lower Missouri River to potential climate-change effects, with discussion of implications for resilient flood-risk reduction strategies.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2020
- Bibcode:
- 2020AGUFMH154...08J
- Keywords:
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- 1813 Eco-hydrology;
- HYDROLOGY;
- 1820 Floodplain dynamics;
- HYDROLOGY;
- 1825 Geomorphology: fluvial;
- HYDROLOGY;
- 4327 Resilience;
- NATURAL HAZARDS