Late Holocene Climate-Flood Relationships on the White River, Indiana, USA
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) The frequency and magnitude of floods in the midcontinental United States have increased in recent decades due to changing precipitation patterns as global temperatures rise. These trends pose major social and economic risks to the region, wh...
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ftiupui:oai:scholarworks.iupui.edu:1805/29142 2023-10-09T21:49:30+02:00 Late Holocene Climate-Flood Relationships on the White River, Indiana, USA Wright, Maxwell N. Bird, Broxton Licht, Kathy Gilhooly, William, III. 2022-05 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/1805/29142 https://doi.org/10.7912/C2/2907 en_US eng https://hdl.handle.net/1805/29142 http://dx.doi.org/10.7912/C2/2907 climate White River Indiana floods flooding PNA paleoclimate oxbow accumulation rate Mississippian MCA LIA climate change land clearance fluvial river watershed Euro-American sediment Thesis 2022 ftiupui https://doi.org/10.7912/C2/2907 2023-09-22T14:24:30Z Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) The frequency and magnitude of floods in the midcontinental United States have increased in recent decades due to changing precipitation patterns as global temperatures rise. These trends pose major social and economic risks to the region, which is home to tens of millions of Americans and a global agricultural center. It is therefore critical to understand if current fluvial dynamics are within the scope of past fluvial-climate relationships, or if they represent a novel response to recent climate and land-use changes. Presented is a 1600-year-long flood frequency record for the moderately sized (~29,400 km2 watershed) White River, Indiana. Flood frequencies were determined using 14C-based sediment accumulation rates at Half Moon Pond, an oxbow lake on the lower White River’s floodplain. Comparison with regional paleoclimate data shows that White River flooding was frequent when atmospheric circulation resembled the negative mode of the Pacific-North American (PNA) teleconnection, particularly during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (950-1250 CE) and the Current Warm Period (last ~150 years). During these times, the regional climate was dominated by warm-season precipitation originating from the Gulf of Mexico. Conversely, White River flooding was less frequent during the Little Ice Age (1250-1800 CE) when cold-season precipitation from the North Pacific/Arctic dominated (+PNA-like conditions). The pre-1790 CE White River flood history was antiphased with reconstructed Ohio River flood frequencies from southern Illinois. This dynamic is consistent with discharge in small to moderate sized watersheds being sensitive to rainstorm runoff and large watersheds being sensitive to snowmelt runoff. After 1790 CE, flooding frequencies of both river systems increased to their highest levels, despite a shift to -PNA-like conditions. This change was likely due to extensive Euro-American land-clearance, which increased runoff/erosion by reducing evapotranspiration, ... Thesis Arctic Climate change Pacific Arctic Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis: IUPUI Scholar Works Arctic Pacific |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis: IUPUI Scholar Works |
op_collection_id |
ftiupui |
language |
English |
topic |
climate White River Indiana floods flooding PNA paleoclimate oxbow accumulation rate Mississippian MCA LIA climate change land clearance fluvial river watershed Euro-American sediment |
spellingShingle |
climate White River Indiana floods flooding PNA paleoclimate oxbow accumulation rate Mississippian MCA LIA climate change land clearance fluvial river watershed Euro-American sediment Wright, Maxwell N. Late Holocene Climate-Flood Relationships on the White River, Indiana, USA |
topic_facet |
climate White River Indiana floods flooding PNA paleoclimate oxbow accumulation rate Mississippian MCA LIA climate change land clearance fluvial river watershed Euro-American sediment |
description |
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) The frequency and magnitude of floods in the midcontinental United States have increased in recent decades due to changing precipitation patterns as global temperatures rise. These trends pose major social and economic risks to the region, which is home to tens of millions of Americans and a global agricultural center. It is therefore critical to understand if current fluvial dynamics are within the scope of past fluvial-climate relationships, or if they represent a novel response to recent climate and land-use changes. Presented is a 1600-year-long flood frequency record for the moderately sized (~29,400 km2 watershed) White River, Indiana. Flood frequencies were determined using 14C-based sediment accumulation rates at Half Moon Pond, an oxbow lake on the lower White River’s floodplain. Comparison with regional paleoclimate data shows that White River flooding was frequent when atmospheric circulation resembled the negative mode of the Pacific-North American (PNA) teleconnection, particularly during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (950-1250 CE) and the Current Warm Period (last ~150 years). During these times, the regional climate was dominated by warm-season precipitation originating from the Gulf of Mexico. Conversely, White River flooding was less frequent during the Little Ice Age (1250-1800 CE) when cold-season precipitation from the North Pacific/Arctic dominated (+PNA-like conditions). The pre-1790 CE White River flood history was antiphased with reconstructed Ohio River flood frequencies from southern Illinois. This dynamic is consistent with discharge in small to moderate sized watersheds being sensitive to rainstorm runoff and large watersheds being sensitive to snowmelt runoff. After 1790 CE, flooding frequencies of both river systems increased to their highest levels, despite a shift to -PNA-like conditions. This change was likely due to extensive Euro-American land-clearance, which increased runoff/erosion by reducing evapotranspiration, ... |
author2 |
Bird, Broxton Licht, Kathy Gilhooly, William, III. |
format |
Thesis |
author |
Wright, Maxwell N. |
author_facet |
Wright, Maxwell N. |
author_sort |
Wright, Maxwell N. |
title |
Late Holocene Climate-Flood Relationships on the White River, Indiana, USA |
title_short |
Late Holocene Climate-Flood Relationships on the White River, Indiana, USA |
title_full |
Late Holocene Climate-Flood Relationships on the White River, Indiana, USA |
title_fullStr |
Late Holocene Climate-Flood Relationships on the White River, Indiana, USA |
title_full_unstemmed |
Late Holocene Climate-Flood Relationships on the White River, Indiana, USA |
title_sort |
late holocene climate-flood relationships on the white river, indiana, usa |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/1805/29142 https://doi.org/10.7912/C2/2907 |
geographic |
Arctic Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Pacific |
genre |
Arctic Climate change Pacific Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change Pacific Arctic |
op_relation |
https://hdl.handle.net/1805/29142 http://dx.doi.org/10.7912/C2/2907 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7912/C2/2907 |
_version_ |
1779312529200119808 |