Title: Modelling hydraulics of flow-path cuts through dense vegetation in a northern Everglades wetland

Authors: Kyle R. Douglas-Mankin; Donatto D. Surratt

Addresses: Everglades Program Team, US Department of Interior, A.R.M. Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, 10216 Lee Road, Boynton Beach, FL 33473, USA ' Everglades Program Team, US Department of Interior, A.R.M. Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, 10216 Lee Road, Boynton Beach, FL 33473, USA

Abstract: Flow-path cuts through dense marsh vegetation can dominate wetland hydraulics. The friction equation, including Manning's, provides simple, effective modelling of flow velocity, but this was the first study to apply the friction equation to wetland flow-cut hydraulics. Side-facing acoustic Doppler velocity and channel geomorphologic data were collected at seven locations on three shallow airboat flow-cuts and one deeper canoe trail in the Everglades. Data were fitted to the friction equation using friction (a), water depth (b), and water surface slope (c) parameters. Manning's form of the friction equation (b = 1.67, c = 0.5) was inappropriate to simulate shallow, low-gradient flow-cuts. The best overall statistical performance for describing flow-cut hydraulics was a = 3.18 × 10⁷ m^0.72 d⁻¹, b = 1.28, c = 1.00 for airboat trails and a = 1.39 × 10⁷ m^0.72 d⁻¹ for the canoe trail. Two applications are presented to demonstrate use of these models to quantify impacts of flow-cuts.

Keywords: acoustic doppler velocity meter; friction equation; Manning's equation; marsh vegetation; wetland hydraulics; wetland hydrology.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHST.2018.093592

International Journal of Hydrology Science and Technology, 2018 Vol.8 No.3, pp.209 - 228

Received: 26 Aug 2016
Accepted: 26 Mar 2017
Published online: 30 Jul 2018 *

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