Contribution of valley-side erosion to sedimentation problems in Wolf Pen Creek, College Station, Texas /
Many of the physical and chemical aspects of an ecological system must be evaluated as part of the design phase of many man-made parks. If these factors are not taken into account, the result may be a park with little aesthetic appeal. One example of this can be found along Wolf Pen Creek in Colle...
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| Format: | Thesis eBook |
| Language: | English |
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[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
2000.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Link to OAKTrust copy |
| Summary: | Many of the physical and chemical aspects of an ecological system must be evaluated as part of the design phase of many man-made parks. If these factors are not taken into account, the result may be a park with little aesthetic appeal. One example of this can be found along Wolf Pen Creek in College Station, Texas. There has been little development over the past couple of decades in the Wolf Pen Creek drainage basin and therefore, Wolf Pen Creek is considered to be an urban stream that has maintained a state of quasi-equilibrium. However, a considerable amount of erosion of the stream banks can be found from Wolf Pen's headwaters to its confluence with Carter Creek in the form of vertical slopes and undercut banks. Prior studies in the College Station area have related the excessive erosion of stream banks to the stage of development within the drainage basin. In other words, previous authors related the hydraulics of the drainage basin to its state of urbanization (undisturbed, urbanizing, or urbanized). However, the state of urbanization is not the controlling factor in the case of Wolf Pen Creek and many other similar urban drainage basins. Instead, the level of stability varies with other factors, namely the geology of the basin and climate in the region. The bank material along Wolf Pen Creek is mostly that of silty and sandy clays. It is thought that the wetting and re-wetting of these dry clays during storm events causes slaking, a process resulting in the physical disaggregation, or crumbling, of clays when submersed in water. As a result, these urban streams that drain fine clastic material have high suspended loads. The process of slaking is believed to be a natural phenomenon in urban stream systems draining fine to very fine clastic material and is therefore, not feasible to manage such systems in ways that other watersheds are. Other approaches must be investigated in the design phase of such projects to make them work. Additionally, many projects may require an on-going maintenance program to be successful. |
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| Item Description: | "Major subject: Geology". Vita. |
| Physical Description: | x, 61 leaves : illustrations, maps ; 28 cm. Also available online. Issued also on microfiche from Lange Micrographics. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 57-60). |