Date of Graduation

Fall 2019

Degree

Master of Science in Geospatial Sciences

Department

Geography, Geology, and Planning

Committee Chair

Toby Dogwiler

Abstract

Southeastern Minnesota has incised streams that are susceptible to bank erosion. Previously, efforts have been made to identify sections of Riceford Creek that have high erosion susceptibility using the Bank Erosion Hazard Index (BEHI). Locally harvested cedars were then used as a revetment strategy to mitigate erosion of the stream banks prioritized by the BEHI analysis. This study aims to 1) determine if cedar revetment effectively mitigates bank erosion in Riceford Creek and 2) determine if the BEHI method is an effective way of quantifying erosion hazard in Riceford Creek. This study focuses on two sections in Riceford Creek where cedar revetments have been installed. A detailed stream survey and aerial photography were collected in Spring 2016. A large flood occurred in September 2016, consequently additional aerial photography was collected in Spring 2017, followed by another detailed survey in Summer 2017. The imagery reveals multiple areas in Riceford Creek where the revetments are starting to be buried by sediment (effective) as well as areas where the revetment appears to have been washed out (ineffective). This study provides both visual and quantitative data on how effective the revetment was at mitigating bank erosion during the 2016 flood.

Keywords

Minnesota, cedar revetment, rivers, stream bank erosion, fluvial geomorphology, revetment failure, revetment success, Rosgen’s BEHI

Subject Categories

Geomorphology | Hydrology

Copyright

© Talia A. Klein

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Open Access

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