Temporal and Spatial Variability of Floodplain Currents by In-Situ Observations, Radar Interferometry and Numerical Simulations

The multidisciplinary research described here is in accordance with NASA SMD priorities because the planned activities will improve our understanding of the consequences of climate change and sea level rise on a critical Earth system, floodplains. Floodplains are important because they perform many functions that benefit humans while supporting high biodiversity, and they are important components of the terrestrial carbon cycle. Floodplain services are accomplished by water overflowing the channel banks to help maintain extant wetlands, to create temporary aquatic habitat, and the transport of particulate and dissolved carbon and other nutrients. This research will help advance our scientific understanding of how floodplains function, and how they are likely to respond to natural and human-induced perturbations. We propose to use airborne radar, numerical simulations and in situ observations to quantitatively assess the temporal and spatial dynamics of flow paths and water fluxes over the inundated floodplain of the Congaree National Park, South Carolina. Remote sensing studies have shown that floodplain circulation is highly complex and in this study we endeavor to quantify controls on flow complexity by answering the question: How do inundation flow paths and flow path connectivity, and water residence times vary with flood stage? The Unmanned Airborne Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) will provide data for interferometry analyses to observe water level at a one to two day cycle during annual flood conditions. The numerical model DELFT3D will be used to simulate water depths, flow directions and fluxes, and conservative tracer dynamics. Initial simulations will guide velocity profiler and stage meter placement, and they will help constrain topographic and vegetation roughness estimates. Later, more refined simulation results will be compared with airborne radar interferometry and in situ observations of velocity and stage. This project represents a major step toward establishing a Coastal Plain Observatory at U.S.C. that is dedicated to understanding large coastal plain systems of which the floodplain is the principle component. Moreover, the methods, findings and inferences resulting from this work will have important implications for all river systems that traverse the U.S. coastal plain, the low gradient landscape that extends from New Jersey to Texas, and to the 5.7x106 km2 of coastal plain worldwide. In addition to the scientific benefits to society we propose to mentor a new female assistant professor at a predominantly undergraduate institution, as well as graduate and undergraduate students. Moreover, this work advances a broader initiative of creating the first U.S. Coastal Plain Observatory and finally, this proposal is timely because South Carolina and the Congaree National Park recently experienced a “1000 year flood” (October, 2015) and results from this project will improve flood response planning and land management practices, and the development of best management practices for floodplain systems world-wide.

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