Wetlands have widely recognized functions of water quality improvement. For example, floodplain wetlands can trap sediment and phosphorus in streams. Recent studies show that many wetlands altered by humans were drained to support agricultural use. Indirect impacts from pollutants, urban runoff, and non-ntaive species invasion continue to degrade wetlands. While the value of wetland restoration to improve streamwater quality are recognized, our understanding and estimate of potential benefits of floodplain wetlands restoration are still limited. We are interested in studying the effects of vegetation characteristics (density, distribution, submerged and emergent vegetation) on surface water and sediment processes. We are also developing a coupled wetland hydrodynamic and sediment model that can simulate floodplain inundation and sediment transport. Detailed flow field and sediments concentrations in wetlands are used to calibrate the developing model. The wetland model can allow us to evaluate the benefit of floodplain wetlands restoration.
Sponsor : NSF-North Temperate Lakes Long-Term
Ecological
Research
City
of Madison,
WI
Dane
County Land and Water Resources
Department
Hilldale
Undergraduate/Faculty Research Fellowships
Status : Active
Student Investigators:
John Reimer (Ph.D.), Khurran Khan (Ph.D.), Kristi Freitag
(Undergraduate)
Henry Yuan (Ph.D.), Openings
Collabarator: Professor Anita
Thopmson at
Biological Systems Engineering, UW-Madison
- Yuan, H.L., Lathrop, R.C., Carpenter, S.R., and Wu, C.H., Wind-driven circulation in a small shallow lake: Roles of weak stratification and littoral-zone vegetation, to be submitted, 2009.
- Yuan, H.L. and Wu, C.H.,Numerical investigation of
vegetation effects on flow motions using a non-hydrostatic model with a
generic two-equation turbulence closure, to be submitted, 2009.
- Wu, C.H., Young, C.C., and Yuan, H.L., Non-hydrostatic modeling of vegetation effects on wave and flow motions, 10th Estuarine and Coastal Modeling, 304-321, 2008.
