The climate and weather of rivers: characterizing channel dynamics across scales
- Sponsor
- Water Resources Engineering and Science - CEE
- Speaker
- Dr. Claire Masteller - Associate Professor - Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences - Washington University
- Contact
- Jennifer Bishop
- jbishop4@illinois.edu
- Views
- 4
- Originating Calendar
- Water Resources Engineering and Science Seminars
Abstract:
Mountain rivers are dynamic systems that both record and respond to changing water and sediment fluxes. Yet distinguishing when a river is stable versus actively adjusting to a new state remains one of the central challenges in geomorphology. This seminar will explore how river channel geometry reflects both the “climate” and the “weather” of river systems—the long-term conditions that shape form and the short-term events that drive river channel change. We first examine how variability in bankfull geometry across diverse U.S. rivers reveals an extractable signature of differing flood frequencies between rivers. Then, we turn to extreme floods, highlighting results from Hurricane Helene in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where rapid satellite-based mapping reveals how pre-flood morphology predicts spatial patterns of channel widening and instability. Together, these studies demonstrate how remote sensing and high-resolution topographic analysis approaches can illuminate the processes that govern mountain river resilience.Bio:
Dr. Claire Masteller’s research investigates the processes and patterns that shape the surface of the Earth and other planetary bodies, or the "science of scenery". She received her undergraduate degree in Earth and Environmental Science from the University of Pennsylvania. She then pursued a PhD in the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She worked as a postdoctoral researcher and Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the Helmholtz Center, German Research Center for Geoscience from 2017-2019. She has been a faculty member in the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences at Washington University since 2020.