Modelling road surface sediment production using a vector geographic information system
Anderson DM and Macdonald LH. 1998. Modelling road surface sediment production using a vector geographic information system. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. 23:95-107
Report on research on erosion from unpaved roads on St. John. Measured rates related to surface area, gradient and drainage and created a model for estimating erosion in two catchment areas (one draining to Fish Bay, and the other to Lameshur Bay).Field investigations indicate that unpaved roads are the largest sediment source on St John, US Virgin Islands. Cross sectional measurements of eroded road surfaces were used to establish an empirical relationship to predict annual road surface erosion as a function of road gradient and contributing drainage area. A model (ROADMOD) for estimating and mapping average annual sediment production from a road network was developed by combining this empirical relationship with a series of network algorithms to analyse road data stored in a vector geographic information system. ROADMOD was used to estimate road surface erosion in two St.John catchments with very different road densities but similar land cover, topography and soils. Unpaved roads were found to increase sediment production in the more densely roaded catchment by a factor of three to eight, and in the less-roaded catchment by a factor of 1·3-2·0. Turbidity measurements in the receiving bays of these two catchments are consistent with model predictions and observed sediment delivery processes.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Anderson, Donald; Macdonald, Lee
- Units
- VIIS
- Keywords
- Erosion, Modelling, Physical Sciences, Roads, Virgin Islands National Park St. John US Virgin Islands