Investigating floodplain geomorphic and geochemical functions as a tool for mitigating and adapting to climate change in the Midwestern United States
Abstract
Average annual precipitation and the occurrence of extreme precipitation events in the Midwestern United States have increased over the last three decades in response to anthropogenically induced climate change. As a result, flooding frequencies and durations have broadly increased and in some regions fluvial systems have become more mobile. Local, state, and national agencies, both government and not-for-profit, are increasingly concerned with mitigating current fluvial hazards and adapting to future changes in fluvial systems as climate continues to change. A central focus of these efforts concerns floodplains and their natural ability to mitigate peak flood discharges via storage and to address one of the fundamental causes of climate change, anthropogenic atmospheric CO2, through carbon sequestration in floodplain sediments. Here, we describe collaborative efforts between researchers at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, US Geological Survey, and The Nature Conservancy to improve the geomorphic and geochemical understanding of floodplain environments as part of an effort to best utilize them for flooding and climate mitigation strategies. Our approach is centered around the collection and analysis of floodplain sediments collected from floodplain accretion sequences and floodplain lakes (e.g., ox bows, meander scars, etc…) on large (the lower Ohio River) and intermediate (the Wabash and White rivers in Indiana) Midwest fluvial systems. Specifically, we are investigating the timing and evolution of floodplain development and flood histories using high-resolution radiocarbon dating (14C) and geochemical floodplain function using C, N, P, d13C, d15N. Here, we discuss our results to date and the ways in which they are being utilized by government and not-for-profit agencies.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AGUFMPA41A..03B
- Keywords:
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- 4999 General or miscellaneous;
- PALEOCEANOGRAPHY;
- 6309 Decision making under uncertainty;
- POLICY SCIENCES & PUBLIC ISSUES;
- 6620 Science policy;
- POLICY SCIENCES & PUBLIC ISSUES