Date Available
5-24-2013
Year of Publication
2013
Degree Name
Master of Science in Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering (MSBiosyAgE)
Document Type
Master's Thesis
College
Agriculture; Engineering
Department/School/Program
Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering
First Advisor
Dr. Carmen T. Agouridis
Abstract
Human activity such as surface mining can have substantial impacts on the natural environment. Performing a Cumulative Hydrologic Impact Assessment (CHIA) of such impacts on surface water systems requires knowing the location and extent of these impacted streams. The Jurisdictional Determination (JD) of a stream’s protected status under the Clean Water Act (CWA) involves locating and classifying streams according to their flow regime: ephemeral, intermittent, or perennial. Due to their often remote locations and small size, taking a field inventory of headwater streams for surface mining permit applications or permit reviews is challenging. A means of estimating headwater stream location and extent, according to flow regime using publicly available spatial data, would assist in performing CHIAs and JDs. Using headwater point-of-origin data collected from Robinson Forest in eastern Kentucky along with data from three JDs obtained via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), headwater streams in the Appalachian Coal Belt were characterized according to a set of spatial parameters. These characteristics were extrapolated using GIS to delineate headwater streams over a larger area, and the results were compared to the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD).
Recommended Citation
Villines, Jonathan A., "USING GIS TO DELINEATE HEADWATER STREAM ORIGINS IN THE APPALACHIAN COAL-BELT REGION OF KENTUCKY" (2013). Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering. 15.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/bae_etds/15
Included in
Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons, Environmental Engineering Commons, Environmental Health and Protection Commons, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons, Environmental Monitoring Commons, Geomorphology Commons, Hydraulic Engineering Commons, Hydrology Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons, Other Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons, Other Earth Sciences Commons, Other Engineering Commons, Other Environmental Sciences Commons, Sustainability Commons, Water Resource Management Commons
