Field Log #001 – Thaw flow
Hypothesis: Watching water flow routes during the thaw could help us better plan for heavy rainfall events to avoid additional sediment and coastal erosion.
The thaw is starting here. We can observe the erosion in action. Here’s what it looks like at a beach.
Erosion path at the top of the beach
Mid way pointWater flowing downhill
Midway point downhill
Draining to the lakeVideo showing this erosion path
There is ice and snow underneath some of the sand layer. It will be interesting to see how the melting of those layers will contribute to the additional erosion.It will also be interesting to see what the restoration action will be based on this. At the same park, here is a different location, though it is not draining to the lake as rapidly.
Water in a big puddle 
Exit location of the big puddle to the top of the beach
Path of erosion on the beach
Why is this interesting?
If we had more precise data on where the water does travel based on the soil, then…
- We could design better routes for the water to get to the lakeAND/ORWe could design better temporary drainage basins
This will be an interesting site to observe over the coming weeks of the thaw.
This post was written and uploaded from the field for the first time on this blog. Hope it works! ?