RAPID: Characterizing the response of a burned landscape to an unusual and extreme rain event

Colorado State University, Fort Collins CO

Investigators

Abstract

The project will examine how the area of Colorado burned in the 2012 High Park Fire was affected by the September 2013 storms that caused rainfall with estimated recurrence intervals of 200 to 1000+ years. The goals of the project are to 1) characterize the post-flood landscape in two study watersheds burned in the High Park Fire, 2) characterize the magnitude of the precipitation and resulting peak discharge in the study watersheds, 3) quantify patterns of erosion and deposition resulting from the flood in the study watersheds at a variety of scales, and 4) relate these patterns of topographic change to patterns of flood hydraulic forces. The project will utilize LiDAR datasets collected prior to and after the September 2013 event, and will focus on well-instrumented catchments in the burned area. Ground-based validation of the LiDAR-based observations is critical, and it is necessary to make field measurements before spring storms overprint or remove evidence of the rare September event. Wildfires and subsequent large rainfall events can exact a major one-two punch to landscape evolution and to inhabitants of those landscapes. This project aims to inform public understanding of the effects of fire and the post-fire storm on the landscape and on regional water resources. The work will be communicated to the community through presentations at regional events and seminars. In addition, this project will provide a graduate student with research and teaching experience. The student and PI will lead field trips to the study sites for undergraduate and graduate civil engineering classes.