Evaluating the role of climate change and land cover change on increasing discharge within the Wabash River Watershed over the past 100 years

Keywords: geomorphology, landuse, landcover, climate,
Session Type: Virtual Poster Abstract
Day: Saturday
Session Start / End Time: 2/26/2022 09:40 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/26/2022 11:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 37

Abstract

The Wabash River Watershed is located within most of central Indiana and parts of western Illinois, draining an area of ~86,000 km2. The watershed is home to ~60% of Indiana’s population, which includes large cities such as Indianapolis, Bloomington, and Lafayette. Despite these large cities, the primary land use within the watershed is agricultural. The Wabash River is 810 km long, and is a major tributary to the Ohio River, with a mean annual discharge of ~1000 m3/s. Analysis of hydrologic records spanning the past 100 years collected from numerous river gaging stations within the watershed reveal a discernable trend of increased number of days per year above bankfull and mean annual discharge. The main objective of this research is to explore the cause(s) of this increasing trend and determine if these fluctuations are driven by external (climatic) or internal (land use, land cover) changes within the system. Climatic data were analyzed for different stations within the northern headwaters of the basin to evaluate any changes in the timing, magnitude, and seasonality of precipitation and temperature. Additionally, changes in land cover were determined using historical aerial photographs, satellite imagery, and data from the National Land Cover Database. Results from the climate and land cover analyses are compared to the increasing discharge trends observed for the Wabash River and its tributaries.