Geomorphic classification of the Lower Platte River, Nebraska
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Abstract
Geomorphic attributes were collected from natural color aerial orthophotography to develop a multiscale classification for the downstream-most 220 kilometers of the Platte River in eastern Nebraska. The intent of this classification is to define discrete reaches that have geomorphic characteristics favorable to endangered interior least terns (Sternula antillarum) and threatened piping plovers (Charadrius melodus) who use riverine sandbars for nesting habitat. Annual to daily fluctuations in discharge present a challenge to characterizing emergent sandbar habitat directly from existing aerial orthophotography for the Platte River. Therefore, this classification is based on geomorphic measures that are relatively insensitive to prevailing river discharge but may be physically related to emergent sandbar locations. Such features include valley width, channel width, and sinuosity. The results provide four-cluster and seven-cluster classifications for the Lower Platte River based on naturally occurring, statistically determined clusters of features. The classification was validated using tern and plover nest data for 2006–08. Forty-nine percent of the nest locations fell within the same class type in the four-cluster classification, which represented 18 percent of the study area. This class is found primarily in the Eastern Platte River Gorge, downstream from Salt Creek and upstream from the junction of the Platte River with the Missouri River.
Study Area
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Geomorphic classification of the Lower Platte River, Nebraska |
| Series title | Scientific Investigations Report |
| Series number | 2009-5198 |
| DOI | 10.3133/sir20095198 |
| Edition | - |
| Year Published | 2009 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Publisher location | Reston, VA |
| Contributing office(s) | Columbia Environmental Research Center |
| Description | vi, 30 p. |
| Time Range Start | 2006-01-01 |
| Time Range End | 2008-12-31 |
| Country | United States |
| State | Nebraska |
| Other Geospatial | Lower Platte River |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |