Erosion Rates in Two Drainage Basins in Licking County, Ohio
Melissa Hatcher and Emily Elsom
Abstract
Soil erosion is an important environmental problem because it is detrimental to ecosystems and causes problems such as clogged reservoirs and flooding. The sedimentation rates of two ponds, Orchard Pond and Ebaugh Pond, were calculated from topographic and bathymetric data. From this data, the erosion rates of the two drainage basins were determined. The erosion rate for the Orchard Pond drainage basin is 17.3 metric tons/km2/year and 37.7 metric tons/km2/year for the Ebaugh Pond drainage basin. We predicted that the erosion rate would be slightly higher for Ebaugh Pond because of the steeper topography and the activities in the surrounding campus area.