Really happy to get this flume experiment running at the Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory. Such a rich history of river research at this place, and it’s a treasure trove of flumes for geologists, engineers, biologists and more. The lab is right on the Mississippi River in Minneapolis.

I’m looking at the effect of undulating bedrock below rivers, The undulating bedrock affects changes in stream power and the location of bedrock vs. alluvial channels. It was pretty nice to make a bedrock valley in an afternoon, and to make a flood whenever I wanted by turning the dial.

This house was up above the level of the flood waters. However, the riverbank washed away, and the house plunged into the river. There’s a flood control dam upstream that prevented the floodplain from flooding, but it doesn’t prevent the river for migrating.  Classic example of how homes and other structures might be safe from getting flooded by rising waters, but they may not be safe from the geomorphic processes during floods. This concept of high waters versus erosive waters is key to my work on flood hazards.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/10/30/house-washed-away-new-hampshire-river/2z9nl5sRBIHX9AQytx9DWP/story.html?event=event25&s_campaign=sm_gp&hl=en-US