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Channel-Bank Conditions and
Accumulations of Large Woody Debris along White River between Anderson and
Indianapolis, Indiana, 2002
Study Methods
During August-October 2002, the USGS
surveyed the entire length of the study reach by canoe. Bank-condition observations were recorded on 7.5-minute quadrangle
USGS topographic maps and digital photographs were taken to document channel-bank
conditions and the location of LWD accumulations.
Channel-bank conditions were evaluated following the general method
outlined by Bhowmik and others (1997) working in the upper Mississippi
River Watershed and by Bhowmik and others (2001) as they mapped and described
bank conditions along the Kankakee River in Indiana and Illinois. The
bank-assessment criteria used to categorize bank conditions for White
River included bank angle, bank height, bank material, vegetative
conditions, and other signs of bank erosion or sediment deposition.
Bank conditions were inspected visually and from these observations the
banks were mapped using one of six descriptive categories: 1)
stable, 2) slight erosion, 3) moderate erosion, 4) severe erosion, 5)
depositional, or 6) hardened. Further description of these bank-condition
categories is provided on the Bank-Condition
Categories page. A seventh category--no information--was used where
bank-condition information could not be collected because of the small
size of some islands not shown on the USGS topographic maps used in the
field.
Note:
Details of how vegetative conditions can be used to assess bank-stability
are provided on the Bank Assessment page.
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