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Open-File Report 2007–1002G

Prepared in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior

Rainfall-Runoff and Erosion Data from the Mancos Shale Formation in the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area, Southwestern Colorado, 2003–2006

By John G. Elliott, James R. Herring, George P. Ingersoll, John J. Kosovich, and Juli Fahy

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Open-File Report
2007-1002G PDF (14.7 MB)
Abstract

Data were collected and experiments were conducted from 2003 to 2006 by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, to support research into understanding processes that liberate, disperse, and concentrate erosion byproducts in Mancos Shale landscapes. The study area was the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area near Montrose and Delta, Colorado. This report includes data collected from 24, small-plot, rainfall-runoff simulations, 6 hillslope-erosion monitoring plots, 20 hillslope-creep monitoring sites, and 3 precipitation gages. Small-plot rainfall-runoff simulations were performed on paired (undisturbed and disturbed) plots to examine the effect of off-highway vehicle use on runoff and erosion. These data were collected in conjunction with several other studies done by the U.S. Geological Survey in the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area. Data collected in companion studies are published in separate open-file reports.

Version 1.0

Posted May 2008


Suggested citation:

Elliott, J.G., Herring, J.R., Ingersoll, G.P., Kosovich, J.J., and Fahy, Juli, 2008, Rainfall-runoff and erosion data from the Mancos Shale Formation in the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area, southwestern Colorado, 2003–2006: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007–1002G, 67 p.



Contents

Abstract

Introduction

Purpose and Scope

Acknowledgments

Methods

Site Selection and Preparation

Topographic Surveys

Rainfall-Runoff Simulation

Runoff and Sediment Analysis

Runoff from Rainfall Simulations

Sediment Entrained in Runoff from Rainfall Simulations

Sediment in Soil Crusts

Microtopographic Measurement

Hillslope-Creep Measurement

Hillslope-Erosion Measurement

Precipitation Measurement

Rainfall-Runoff and Erosion Data

References Cited

Supplemental Information: Tables

 



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