| |
| Title |
Fire-Related Sedimentation and the Evolution and Chronology of Alluvial Fans: Spring Creek, Colorado
|
| Author(s) |
Hunt, Emily P.
|
| School/Department |
Department of Geography
|
| Institution |
University of Denver
|
| Degree Type |
Master's
|
| Degree Name |
M.A.
|
| Type of Resource |
text
|
| Degree Date |
2003 June
|
| Digital Origin |
reformatted digital
|
| Rights Statement |
All Rights Reserved
|
| Reason for Restrictions |
No restrictions
|
| Type of Restriction |
No restrictions
|
| Keyword(s) |
Geography
Geology
|
| Genre |
Dissertations, Academic
|
| Abstract |
A 1996 forest fire in the Buffalo Creek and Spring Creek Watersheds followed by a 100-year precipitation event produced natural exposures to both new and older alluvial-fan stratigraphy. These recent and Holocene alluvial-fan deposits in the Spring Creek watershed were analyzed to interpret the response of alluvial fans to forest fire and other conditions of disequilibrium. In addition, a chronology of basin-wide alluvial fan-building episodes was developed based on the alluvial-fan stratigraphy and relative age-dating techniques. Four generations of alluvial fans were identified, three of which are likely fire-induced depositional events. The size, sedimentology, and stratigraphy of each depositional episode were distinctively varied. While the forest fues likely catalyzed similar geomorphic processes, including increased overland flow and sediment transport, the resulting deposition on alluvial fans was dramatically different. This indicates that throughout the stratigraphic record, the alluvial fans - and the watershed as a whole- have had distinctively different responses to forest fires and the increased sediment availability that typically follows. These differences are likely a result of factors including changes in the climatic regime, precipitation intensity and timing following the fire, burn intensity, and intrinsic sub-basin characteristics.
|
| Handle |
http://hdl.handle.net/10176/codu:58125
|
|
| |
| Attached Files |
| Name |
Description |
MIMEType |
Size |
Downloads |
du_mas_2003_Hunt.pdf
|
du_mas_2003_Hunt.pdf |
application/pdf |
49.68MB |
0 |
|
|
|