Sediment and discharge yields within a minimally disturbed, headwater watershed in North Central Pennsylvania, USA, with an emphasis on Superstorm Sandy

Authors

Kelly O. Maloney, U.S. Geological Survey, Leetown Science Center, Northern Appalachian Research LaboratoryFollow
Dustin R. Shull, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2015

Citation

Water and Environment Journal, 2015

Comments

U.S. Government work

Abstract

We estimated discharge and suspended sediment (SS) yield in a minimally disturbed watershed in North Central Pennsylvania, USA, and compared a typical storm (September storm, 4.80 cm) to a large storm (Superstorm Sandy, 7.47 cm rainfall). Depending on branch, Sandy contributed 9.7–19.9 times more discharge and 11.5–37.4 times more SS than the September storm. During the September storm, the upper two branches accounted for 60.6% of discharge and 88.8% of SS at Lower Branch; during Sandy these percentages dropped to 36.1% for discharge and 30.1% for SS. The branch with close proximity roads had over two-three times per area SS yield than the branch without such roads. Hysteresis loops showed typical clockwise patterns for the September storm and more complicated patterns for Sandy, reflecting the multipeak event. Estimates of SS and hysteresis in minimally disturbed watersheds provide useful information that can be compared spatially and temporally to facilitate management.