Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Historical Floodplain Sedimentation Rates Using Mining Contaminant Profiles, Cesium-137, And Sediment Source Indicators Along The Lower Big River, Jefferson County, Missouri, Miranda M. Jordan

MSU Graduate Theses

Floodplain sedimentology and geochemistry can indicate the age of sediment layers to evaluate the history of human-caused sedimentation in a watershed. While the Ozark Highlands of Missouri has had a long history of settlement and land disturbance beginning in the early 1800s, there are few studies that have investigated the effects of these anthropogenic activities on river form and legacy sedimentation. The goal of this study is to characterize the sediment properties and geochemical trends in post-settlement floodplain deposits along lower Big River in Jefferson County, Missouri. This study evaluated trends of sediment properties at 3 cm intervals in a …