Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
This paper investigates the effectiveness of riparian buffers as a means of preventing pollutants from agricultural runoff from entering local stream channels. The study used three-dimensional stereo imagery to accurately visualize the topography of several farms in southeastern Virginia. Doing so enabled the development of high-resolution digital elevation models necessary to create microwatersheds on the scale of an individual field. Flow accumulation patterns were interpolated and used to indicate that a very small percentage of the forested buffer around the field receives any water flow. In contrast, most water exits the fields in one of a few points, which can sometimes be seen incised into the ground on aerial imagery. The water then flows into the channels, carrying with it any sediment, or worse, chemicals like pesticides and fertilizers that were applied to the field. These data indicate that, because so little water filters through the riparian buffe r, the buffers are not adequate measures for controlling pollutants in agricultural runoff.
Date Awarded
2011
Department
Geology
Advisor 1
Gregory S. Hancock
Recommended Citation
Loss, David, "An Investigation Into the Flow Accumulation ALong Agricultural Field Margins Using Geographic Information Systems in Charles County and King and Queen County, Virginia" (2011). Geology Senior Theses. William & Mary. Paper 256.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/geologyseniors/256
