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Bankfull Regional Curves for the Alleghany Plateau/Valley and Ridge, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain Regions of Maryland
Author(s) -
McCandless Tamara L.,
Starr Richard R.,
Harman William A.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/1752-1688.12332
Subject(s) - coastal plain , hydrology (agriculture) , plateau (mathematics) , ridge , geology , drainage , surface runoff , physiographic province , streams , landform , geomorphology , mathematical analysis , paleontology , ecology , computer network , geotechnical engineering , mathematics , computer science , biology
Regional curves are empirical relationships that can help identify the bankfull stage in ungaged watersheds and aid in designing the riffle dimension in stream restoration projects. Bankfull regional curves were developed from gage stations with drainage areas less than 102 mi 2 (264.2 km 2 ) for the Alleghany Plateau/Valley and Ridge ( AP / VR ), Piedmont, and Coastal Plain regions of Maryland. The AP / VR regions were combined into one region for this project. These curves relate bankfull discharge, cross‐sectional area, width, and mean depth to drainage area within the same hydro‐physiographic region (region with similar rainfall/runoff relationship). The bankfull discharge curve for the Coastal Plain region was further subdivided into the Western Coastal Plain ( WCP ) and Eastern Coastal Plain ( ECP ) region due to differences in topography and runoff. Results show that the Maryland Piedmont yields the highest bankfull discharge rate per unit drainage area, followed by the AP / VR , WCP , and ECP . Likewise, the Coastal Plain and AP / VR streams have less bankfull cross‐sectional area per unit drainage area than the Piedmont. The average bankfull discharge return interval across the three hydro‐physiographic regions was 1.4 years. The Maryland regional curves were compared to other curves in the eastern United States. The average bankfull discharge return interval for the other studies ranged from 1.1 to 1.8 years.