By Theme:Arts and Literature | Campus Sustainability | Community Perspectives | Development | Economic Analysis | Ecosystem Analysis | Education | Energy | Environmental Justice | Food Systems | Geology of the Watershed | Green Architecture | Green Business | History of the Watershed | Invasive Species | Land Use Patterns | Public Policy | Recreation | Transportation | Water Quality
Geology of the Watershed
A Survey of the Surficial and Bedrock Geology of the Kayaderosseras Watershed
Conor Taff '05 (2005)
The aim of this project was to provide a basic GIS database of relevant maps and layers of the Kayaderosseras watershed as a foundation for future WRI research. Detailed maps and layers of the Kayaderosseras watershed were created, including subwatershed divisions, topography, municipal boundaries, land use, roadways, bedrock geology and surficial geology. This project also includes an overview of the geologic history of Kayaderosseras watershed.
Erin E. Black '06 and Kyle K. Nichols, Department of Geosciences (2006)
The turbidity of streams can be caused by land use change, such as residential or commercial development and agricultural practices, or by natural erosion of stream banks. We measured stream discharge and turbidity in each watershed. Preliminary results show that discharge per unit area (Q/A) was controlled mostly by soil infiltration capacity and surficial geology, while residential and commercial development seemed to have little effect on the magnitude of Q/A. Our preliminary results suggest that farming practices increase stream turbidity, but the relationship between development and increased stream turbidity is less certain.
Full report is not available. Please contact Kyle Nichols for more information.
Michael Cleveland '06, Erin Black '06, Christine D'Esopo '07, Doug Donovan '06, Nicholas
Napoli, GIS Center for Interdisciplinary Research, and Kyle K. Nichols, Department
of Geosciences (2006)
Reinterpretation of 378 well logs provides a three-dimensional understanding of the
surficial sediments in the Kayaderosseras Creek watershed, which includes the proto-Hudson
River and the delta formed by its inlet into glacial Lake Albany. We utilized GIS
to produce a depth to bedrock map, define aquifer morphology and location, and identify
thickness of surficial sediment layers in the form of a three-dimensional block diagram.
We also produced isovel maps displaying depth to groundwater and water availability.
Full report is not available. Please contact Kyle Nichols for more information.
Allison Stafford '07 and Kyle K. Nichols, Department of Geosciences (2007)
Precipitation and discharge were recorded in the Loughberry basin and the Louden basin. The Loughberry site received 80% of the precipitation that the Louden site received. This difference may be a result of the urban center located to the west of the Louden rain gauge, which may form an urban heat island that affects local climate. Discharge normalized by basin area for the Louden creek cross-section was 1.2 times those for the Loughberry creek cross-section. This rapid increase in baseflow could be due to a decrease in groundwater withdrawal by agricultural and golf course irrigation wells in combination with a decrease in vegetation transpiration following defoliation.
Full report is not available. Please contact Kyle Nichols for more information.
Logging, Dams, and Jams: What Was the Geomorphic Impact of Adirondack Logging on Hudson
River Headwater Streams?
Matthew Shrensel ’09 and Kyle Nichols, Associate Professor of Geosciences (2008)
Adirondack logging from the early 1800s-1950 used waterways to drive logs through terrain too rugged and remote for overland transport. To facilitate log transport, dams were constructed to release water during spring melt. Such an increase of peak discharge may have had a lasting effect on drainage morphology and sediment distribution. Our goal was to develop a database of logging dams that were used during this time. We used several different means to acquire dam locations such as: literature, interviews with local ‘experts’, classifieds and web forums, and developing our own criteria based on basin morphology from topographic maps and aerial photographs. To date we have over 80 confirmed and potential sites.
Matthew Shrensel (2009)
I used satellite imagery to examine shifts in land use in Saratoga Lake Watershed over the past 20 years. I modeled hydrology for the watershed based on the land use from the imagery. Despite large changes in population, land use change is low, and associated hydrological shifts are minimal.
Full report is not available. Please contact Cathy Gibson for more information.
Eli Dibner-Dunlap and Vince Weeks (2010)
Rain gardens are modeled to reduce stormwater runoff by more than a third. Within the Saratoga Lake Watershed, 88% of existing residences contain soils suitable for rain garden implementation. Government regulation or economic benefit is necessary to incentivize developers. Successful implementation examples are required to convince engineers to implement rain gardens.