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WCP Travel Guide presents. Part 2 Rivers of the World: In your backyard. Last week, we visited the incredible Amazon River, one of the largest and most diverse habitats in the world. Here’s a brief re-cap of what we saw…. Amazon Facts. The largest watershed in the world
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WCP Travel Guidepresents Part 2 Rivers of the World: In your backyard
Last week, we visited the incredible Amazon River, one of the largest and most diverse habitats in the world. Here’s a brief re-cap of what we saw…
Amazon Facts • The largest watershed in the world • Second longest river in the world • Drains the entire northern half of the South American continent • 175,000 cubic meters of water per second empty into the ocean at the river’s mouth • The Amazon and its tributaries have over 2000 species of freshwater fish
Today’s travels will take us to Harker’s Run, a small watershed in southwestern Ohio.
Elliott Harker, The Real Dude… • A Rich cultural history extends back to the early settlers in the area… • Named after Elliot Harker, the hero of a 19th century Oxford poet’s ballad
Zachariah P. DeWitt • Owned the land for most of the early 1800’s • Late 19th century newspaper articles make reference to DeWitt’s adventures on the land • Died in 1843-land became part of Dr. G. F. Cook farm • DeWitt’s cabin still stands today
Land use • Always agricultural • Landscape has varied immensely over time • Historically: wheat, oats, dairy grazing, general • Today we find corn and soybean crops in the area • Effects of a long history of agricultural and human development are present • Creation of the Bachelor Reserve has been beneficial for conserving the land • Currently 40 acres devoted to agriculture
Joseph M. Bachelor • Miami University professor for 20 yrs • Lived on and farmed 406 acres that he left to Miami in 1947 • Observational and non-destructive natural science research • Hiking trail system in place • Maintained partially by grad students
The Bachelor Reserve’s Mission • “…to preserve the natural terrain and vegetation, and to protect the wildlife…visitors are invited to enjoy the Bachelor Wildlife and Game Reserve as its donor would have wished: keeping on the trails, avoiding disturbance of the animals and plants, and appreciating the natural environment while protecting it for others to enjoy, just as he once did” (1992 Trail Guide) • These beliefs echo the chorus of environmental thinking and give witness to the fact that wilderness still touches something in people and makes them care for it • Despite our technological society, we still feel a connection with the river and wilderness and want to protect them
Why do we care?? • “Our own brief moment alongside the river of time will be justified and fulfillled if we can gaze ‘upstream’ with gratitude at what we have received, then ‘downstream’ with pride and satisfaction at what we will bequeath.” (Partridge, The Rights of Future Generations, 62) • This connection to nature is evident in the ways that we interact with the environment today…
How do people use it today? • Many students, faculty/staff, and local residents frequent the area • Recreation, education, research • There is, in fact, a dog-walking social club that meets regularly.
Hey, look what they’re doing! • We got wind of a group of MU students testing the river and asked what they were up to • They told us they were testing the river’s rate of flow and sediment load to help them in formulating an understanding of the stream’s physical characteristics • In doing this, they came up with some pretty cool equations to figure out how much water and mud move through Harker’s Run every day
Equations(in meters) • They measured the width and depth at various sites along the river • With these numbers, they found out the area of the stream at each of those places • Then they averaged their flow measurements and multiplied that value by the area of the cross section… and that equals the number of cubic feet per second • During high water, 3.274m3 flow past a point every second • During low water, .264m3 per second
How much water? • 3.274m3/sec x 60 x 60 x 24 = 282,873 cubic meters during high water That’s a lot of Water! That’s equivalent to 226 olympic size Pools flowing down Harker’s Run every day!
Flow Graph • These stats are based on a small number of samples, but the graph shows that the current moves faster when there is more water in the system (and that’s what we were looking for)
On a regular day: • On a regular day, the amount of water is a lot lower • About 23,846 cubic meters of water pass through during an average day of low water • But we’ve still got 19 pools’ worth going by daily! Remember the Amazon? • The Amazon dumps about 175,000 cubic meters of water every second, over 15 billion every day, which is more than twelve million of our olympic pools! And that’s just in one day!
How much mud? • .1685g/L of sediment • 1mL=1000cm3 .1685 x 1000=168.5g/m3 • 168.5g/m3 x 3.274m3/sec = 551.7g/sec • 551.7g/sec ÷ 454g/lb = 1.2 lbs/sec • 1.2 x 60 x 60 x 24= 104,987 pounds of mud! • Holy Cow! • 57 tons of mud pass through Harker’s Run on a day of high water • That’s like 29 Buick LeSabres of mud every day! …
Buicks 29 of these babies!!! (made out of mud)
Sediment Graph • This next graph shows us that when the water is high, the river is carrying much more sediment than usual (thus confirming our hypothesis and proving Chris wrong) • But don’t worry Chris, our tests are based on a small number of statistics, so your theory might still hold water (or at least a little sediment!)
On a regular day: • There is a lot less mud on a regular day, but still more than you would probably think • 1760 pounds of mud passes through Harker’s Run every day on its way to Four Mile Creek … the Great Miami… the Ohio… the Mississippi…Nawlins.. • That’s like 147 12-pound bowling Balls! (Santa not included)
Physical characteristics • With that much mud moving through, it is very important that the riparian zones stay intact • If the trees are chopped down, what is there to hold all that dirt in place? Natural riparian corridors also provide diverse habitats that support a healthy biotic community and species diversity
Examples of riparian interference: • Deforestation in the Amazon can be devestating to the health of the river • Levees on the Mississippi cause the opposite problem: they don’t let the sediment escape from the river to replenish the land Lesson…
Here’s where Physical Facilities drives right through the riverbed
Are these results really important? • Believe it or not, these sediment and flow tests relate to cultural and social issues along the watershed • They give us an idea of the physical characteristics of the stream, which are a record of the change that has occurred due to both human-induced and natural forces • So everything that happens to the stream over time is reflected in the way it appears and functions today
Our results also have significance on a broader scale: • In just the past week, we have witnessed a significant change in the physical attributes of the river. Where flood damage once blocked the stream’s path entirely, last weekend’s rain cleared a channel where the water passes easily through once again. • This just goes to show that the river is always changing and attempts to harness or restrict the flow infringe on processes that are global in nature • Let’s take a lesson from Lee . . .
Relevance • The processes at work in Harker’s Run are the same processes that are working across the globe… and while it may not seem very important at first glance, this little river is part of a chain of connections that work constantly to replenish the land, sustain life, and keep the continent’s ecosystems in balance
A special thanks goes out to: • Hays, thanks for listening to us whine for hours • Kim Medley, who was always there with her dogs, for sharing lots of land use info • Paul Daniel for driving me around and telling me everything he knew about the area • Craig for letting us use his car every time we went to the river • The Miami Archives for cool historical stuff • The aborigines dwelling in Harker’s Run who allowed themselves to be filmed (for the first time)
To find out more exciting stuff… • http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu • http://www.riverresource.com/text/RIVER_SYSTEMS.html • http://www.amazonrivers.org • http://www.cityofoxford.org • http://www.butlercountyohio.org • http://www.tribesofharkersrun.org
