Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Wildfire In The West: An Initial Analysis Of Wildfire Impacts On Hydrology And Riverbed Grain Size In Relation To Salmonid Habitat, Natalie J. Gillard

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Historically wildfires have been beneficial to forests, however, human developments have encroached on forests when wildfire was artificially suppressed by federal and state agencies. The area burned by wildfire each year has increased twenty-fold in the past three decades. Large, high severity fires pose increased threats to human and aquatic communities within and downstream of the burned area due to post-wildfire effects on flooding and sedimentation. We need to understand the impacts of wildfires to be able to mitigate their damages and to recognize their potential benefits. This research addresses the questions: 1) Do wildfires impact rural and urban economies …

Historical Channel Change Caused By A Century Of Flow Alteration On Sixth Water Creek And Diamond Fork River, Ut, Jabari C. Jones

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Changes in the amount of water and sediment that enter a river can change its shape and size. The way that rivers change is affected by a variety of factors, including the size of the sediment in the river, and past changes to the river. The Diamond Fork River in central Utah has been altered by water delivered from the Colorado River system for over a century. Beginning in 1915, water used for irrigation was delivered through a tributary, Sixth Water Creek, with daily summer flows that were much larger than natural flows. This caused drastic change to the rivers, …

Twentieth Century Channel Change Of The Green River In Canyonlands National Park, Utah, Alexander E. Walker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Since the early 20^th century, river channels of the Colorado River basin have narrowed, decreasing available riparian and aquatic habitat. Changes are considered to be the result of three major factors: wide-spread water development, increasing hydroclimate variability and the invasion of non-native tamarisk (Tamarix spp.), altering flow regime and sediment supply. Different studies have reached different conclusions about the relative roles of flow regime, sediment supply and tamarisk in causing narrowing.

I investigated channel change in the lower Green River within Canyonlands National Park to describe channel changes in the 20^th century and understand the roles …

To What Extent Might Beaver Dam Building Buffer Water Storage Losses Associated With A Declining Snowpack?, Konrad Hafen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Dams built by North American Beaver create natural water storage and slow water as it moves through streams. In portions of streams with beaver dams, these effects have been observed to decrease the peak magnitude of floods and increase base flow during annual summer droughts. In the western United States changes to streamflow patterns have been observed in recent decades with large spring floods coming earlier in the year, causing annual summer droughts to start earlier and last longer. These changes are linked to decreasing snowpack which acts as the most significant natural water storage reservoir by holding onto precipitation …

A Post-Project Assessment Of The Provo River Restoration Project: Channel Design, Reconfiguration, And The Re-Establishment Of Critical Physical Processes, Randy Ray Goetz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A physical assessment of the Provo River Restoration Project was undertaken in order to determine how alterations to the channel were designed, the nature of as-built channel morphology, and the performance of the reconfigured channel in terms of achieving frequent (2-year recurrence) bankfull discharge and increasing transient storage. Measures of channelized and reconfigured channel morphology were obtained using total station survey, digital aerial photography, and pebble counts. Results of geomorphic analysis were compared with similar measurements made by a regional consulting company, and stream channel design data, in order to determine that intended mitigation included reducing channel capacity, increasing sinuosity, …