CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

Dam Removal Dam removal has emerged as a hot topic in river management and restoration over the past decade. Our group has been studying dam removals in Wisconsin and North Carolina for the past 5 years, working in collaboration with Emily Stanley at the University of Wisconsin, and with Bob Wetzel here at UNC. Our studies have focused on the geomorphology, hydrology, and ecological response to dam removal. Within dam removal we have several nested projects of interest to particular students [contact: Jason Julian]
Ecological Dominant Discharge This research is focused on understanding how ecological processes in streams vary with discharge. We are working with Randy Fuller, a stream ecologist at Colgate University, on the Indian River and Hudson River in the Adirondacks of New York. We are working on a reach of river that receives regular flood releases from a dam, thus allowing us to collect targeted data during known flood times. [contact: Rebecca Manners, Daisy Small]
Biogeochemistry We are working to understand how geomorphic forms and hydraulics can drive changes in nutrient spiraling via shifts in transient storage parameters. We have been primarily utilizing stream manipulations, but have recently extended our research to include tidal streams, allowing us to work with Mike Piehler at the Institute of Marine Sciences. [contact: Scott Ensign]
Large Woody Debris Large woody debris is known to profoundly influence channel morphology and hydraulics, and it has also become a widely used tool in river restoration (for better or worse). We are working to understand the role of different size fractions of wood in streams, and different size debris jams. Big jams (Becca Debris) and little jams (Daisy Debris) should have variable influences, but understanding their combined role in streams is critical to management actions. [contact: Rebecca Manners]
Hydraulic Control on Organic Matter Transport For years ecologists have studied fluxes of organic matter through stream reaches. However, there is poor understanding of how fractions of organic matter is mobilized from the channel bed to be transported downstream. We are working with Doug Thompson (Connecticut College) to couple flume studies with field studies to understand how flow, and specifically turbulence fluctuations initiate the movement of organic matter in streams. [contact: Daisy Small]
Surface-groundwater interactions We are working through a series of model ‘gaming’ and a series of field experiments to understand how specific geomorphic forms and obstructions can enhance the amount of water exchange between the surface flow and hyporheic zone. [contact: Erich Hester]
Geo-archaeology This project is a very small piece of the excellent long-term work being done by the Rough Cilicia Survey Project, directed by Nick Rauh at Purdue. Our portion is to try to understand how deforestation in ancient south-coastal Turkey may have contributed to soil erosion (via landsliding), and downstream sedimentation. (link to RCSP)