QUANTIFYING THE SOURCE AND AMOUNT OF SUSPENDED SEDIMENT TRANSPORTED DURING STORM EVENTS IN HUNTSVILLE CREEK, LUZERNE COUNTY, PA

The transport of suspended sediment in streams and rivers has important geomorphic and ecological implications. The amount of suspended sediment transported in the Susquehanna River has been well documented in recent years, as this river is a major tributary to the Chesapeake Bay. Little is known about how much sediment headwater streams have contributed to the North Branch of the Susquehanna River. In this study, we instrumented a section of Huntsville Creek with automated ISCO samplers and stage recorders to assess the amount of sediment transported from Huntsville Creek to the Susquehanna River during storm events. Our study goals are to 1) determine the contribution of suspended sediment to Huntsville Creek by an organic dairy farm, 2) determine the source of that sediment, and 3) provide a historical record of erosion rates in the Huntsville Creek watershed. Our study site is located on the The Lands at Hillside Farms property in Luzerne County, PA. Automated ISCO samplers were deployed at the top and bottom of the property to collect water samples over a 40-hour period during storm events. Additionally soil samples were collected from inside of the stream channel (banks) and outside of the channel (hillslopes). Total dissolved phosphorus concentration was utilized as a conservative tracer to assess the source of sediment throughout each storm event. Orthophotos dating back to 1940 were used to create a historical analysis of erosion and deposition in ArcGIS 10.2. Our goal is to provide a sediment flux for the Huntsville Creek watershed during our study period, determine the source of sediment transported in the stream channel during storm events, and use historical imagery to determine the long-term contribution of sediment from stream bank erosion in Huntsville Creek to the Susquehanna River.