Application of a Lidar-Derived Relative Elevation Model for Nutrient Flow Assessment and Salmonid Habitat Restoration in the Nooksack River Watershed (WA, USA)
Abstract
The Nooksack River consists of three forks that originate from the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest located in Washington State (USA). The three forks converge into one main tributary, which empties into the Bellingham Bay Delta. The Nooksack River is the main carrier of sediment, dissolved organic matter, and nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous) that flow downriver into Bellingham Bay, which experiences episodic toxic harmful algal blooms. The river is breeding habitat for five salmonid species important for harvest by commercial fisheries and by the many local Coast Salish Tribes. The riverbed is dynamic, but the annual and inter-annual variability of its topography is not well characterized and so impact of its change on salmonid breeding habitat is not well understood. Therefore, the development of a technique for displaying the changes in the riverbed channel structure and a process for assessing the nutrient flow in the river is proposed to determine the impact of episodic harmful algal blooms and its effect on salmonid habitat. In this research we explore the use of a Lidar-derived relative elevation model (REM) to better understand the riverbed's fluvial features and the river's flow dynamics. This research uses the GIS-based USDA Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to simulate nutrient flow and predict the environmental impact of upland agricultural land use and the potential 'overfeeding' of algae leading to an increase in harmful algal blooms in
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AGUFM.H11I1577M
- Keywords:
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- 1632 Land cover change;
- GLOBAL CHANGE;
- 1834 Human impacts;
- HYDROLOGY;
- 1847 Modeling;
- HYDROLOGY;
- 1879 Watershed;
- HYDROLOGY