Date of Award

6-2016

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Geography

First Advisor

Dr. Laiyin Zhu

Second Advisor

Dr. Kathleen Baker

Third Advisor

Dr. David Lemberg

Keywords

Water, precipitation, stream discharge, watershed, land use land cover

Access Setting

Masters Thesis-Open Access

Abstract

The Huron River, located in the Great Lakes Region, Michigan, USA is a symbol of success, wealth and prosperity to the residents of Southeast Michigan. In the last 20 years, the river has been subject to degradation due to high growth rates of urban cities and often experience the cumulative effects of channelization, pollution from point and nonpoint sources, as well as a decline in wetland area and quality. Urbanization in watersheds of stream channels has intensified many incidences of flooding in metropolitan areas over the past few decades. Causes for the decrease in the capacity of the Huron River to handle streamflow are not limited to channelization, changing climate, and urbanization. This study will investigate possible influences from land use/land cover change (LULCC) and precipitation to extreme streamflows in selected subwatersheds during the summer season (June, July, August). Spatial and temporal variations will be presented for both extreme streamflows and precipitation, as well as their associations with the LUCCC between 1992 and 2011 to address and quantify how LUCCC and precipitation alter the flooding risk (frequency and magnitude of extreme discharges) in selected watersheds of the Huron River.

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