Combining terrestrial lidar with single line transects to investigate geomorphic change: A case study on the Upper Verde River, Arizona

Geomorphology
By: , and 

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Abstract

The Upper Verde River in northern Arizona, USA is a vital resource for the wildlife and humans that rely on its waters. We characterize the riparian corridor topography using terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) data from 2021 to 2022. We also quantify geomorphic changes associated with human and climate-driven alterations in river flow and vegetation changes by combining the contemporary lidar surveys with legacy measurements from single line geomorphology transects measured by the United States Forest Service (USFS) in 2009. Seventeen plots along the Upper Verde River were surveyed with the TLS and the data were coregistered within individual plots with a Root Mean Square Error of <0.03 m among scan positions. Digital Elevation Models (DEM) were derived for each plot from the TLS data at 10 cm resolution and compared to the 2009 USFS cross-section data to quantify elevation changes. In areas with statistically significant change, we detected maximum changes in elevation due to erosion and deposition of −0.37 m and + 0.97 m, respectively. Topographic changes over the 13-year period were predominately aggradation and associated with sediment deposition, which we hypothesize might have resulted from altered river flow and vegetation encroachment. This study also demonstrates a quantitative and statistical methodology to fuse traditional single line cross-section data with contemporary lidar data to quantify geomorphic change. The novel approach demonstrated here is broadly applicable to natural resource managers for integrating and contextualizing legacy topographic data for understanding past, present, and future landscape and habitat changes.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Combining terrestrial lidar with single line transects to investigate geomorphic change: A case study on the Upper Verde River, Arizona
Series title Geomorphology
DOI 10.1016/j.geomorph.2024.109231
Volume 457
Year Published 2024
Language English
Publisher Elsevier
Contributing office(s) Southwest Biological Science Center
Description 109231, 13 p.
Country United States
State Arizona
Other Geospatial Upper Verde River
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