Movie:Rio Puerco Flood over HW66 in 2013

Information Page: Rio Puerco Flood over HW66 in 2013

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Flow over HW66 during Rio Puerco Flood 2013

Key Attributes

Domain:	terrestrial, hydrology, environmental controls
Keywords:	arroyo system, dryland rivers, flood
Model name:	Animation model name
Name:	Irina, Overeem
Where:	Rio Puerco, New Mexico, USA
When:	September 15th, 2013

Short Description

Grade level: Middle (6-8), High (9-12), Under graduate (13-16), Graduate / Professional

Statement: Reduced flow velocity in the Rio Puerco floodplain after overtopping the arroyo system

Abstract: The Rio Puerco is a tributary to the Rio Grande in New Mexico. It is a an 'ephemeral' river, meaning that it only runs water once there are larger rainstorms in its watershed, in dry times the riverbed is dry or has only small stagnant ponds of water. The small river is incised into its old floodplain and forms a small arroyo system. The river has been monitored already for a really long time, there has been a gauging station near the location of the movie (at the Santa Fe railroad crossing) since 1913. The flood of 2013 was exceptionally high.

This movie shows the water running in the nearby old floodplain. You can see from the photo what this location looks like in dry conditions (April 2014). On September 15, 2015, the water overtopped the incised riverbed and gushed into the nearby farm field, and water overflowed the highway. The river water once it is in the floodplain and not in its main channel experiences more friction and flow is not as fast anymore. Still, the water has enough carrying capacity to transport fine sediment.

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