Login | Register

Geomorphological Assessment of the Sedimentary Dynamics of the Sunday River, Quebec

Title:

Geomorphological Assessment of the Sedimentary Dynamics of the Sunday River, Quebec

Lovi, Eric (2012) Geomorphological Assessment of the Sedimentary Dynamics of the Sunday River, Quebec. Masters thesis, Concordia University.

[thumbnail of Lovi_MSc_F2012.pdf]
Preview
Text (application/pdf)
Lovi_MSc_F2012.pdf - Accepted Version
Available under License Spectrum Terms of Access.
3MB

Abstract

Many streams and rivers in agricultural areas have been straightened in order to enhance the drainage of cultivated land and facilitate crop management. This practice is now viewed as unsustainable as periodic re-straightening is often necessary to address the problems associated with bank erosion, compromising the ecological integrity of lotic and riparian ecosystems. This research aims to assess the current sediment dynamics, as well as directions of current and future channel morphology change, of a straightened upland gravel-bed river in order to provide guidelines for sustainable management schemes. The case study is the Sunday River (Quebec), located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and regarded to contain prime trout habitat. The lowest reach has proved the most problematic as a mid-channel bar repeatedly establishes itself, resulting in considerable erosion of adjacent agricultural land. In response, stakeholders have sought to regularly intervene by extracting gravel and re-straightening the channel. The study methodology combines a GIS analysis of historical aerial photos, field data collection and hydraulic and sediment transport modeling. Topographic channel geometry, sediment grain size and discharge data were acquired over the span of 2 field seasons. Additionally, repeated terrestrial lidar scans of eroding banks were acquired to aid in sediment budget evaluation. The 1D model HEC-RAS was employed to simulate current hydraulics and sediment transport, and to recreate pre-disturbance hydraulics by increasing cross-section spacing to mimic a longer, more sinuous channel.

Divisions:Concordia University > Faculty of Arts and Science > Geography, Planning and Environment
Item Type:Thesis (Masters)
Authors:Lovi, Eric
Institution:Concordia University
Degree Name:M. Sc.
Program:Geography, Urban & Environmental Studies
Date:14 September 2012
Thesis Supervisor(s):Biron, Pascale
ID Code:974752
Deposited By: ERIC LOVI
Deposited On:30 Oct 2012 18:48
Last Modified:18 Jan 2018 17:38
All items in Spectrum are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved. The use of items is governed by Spectrum's terms of access.

Repository Staff Only: item control page

Downloads per month over past year

Research related to the current document (at the CORE website)
- Research related to the current document (at the CORE website)
Back to top Back to top