IDENTIFYING SINKHOLES WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR THE ACCUMULATION AND PRESERVATION OF PALEOFLOOD SEDIMENTS IN THE UPPER TENNESSEE RIVER BASIN

Under the umbrella of a larger project to investigate the paleoflood history of the Tennessee River Basin, this study focuses on detecting and characterizing sinkholes, which can be repositories for paleoflood deposits, on and near the floodplain of the main stem of the Upper Tennessee River. Starting with the 2001 Shofner study database of 54,374 sinkhole locations derived from visual inspection of USGS 7.5' quadrangles, we used geomorphon, a landform classification method, to identify and characterize landform features surrounding each location in the sinkhole database. We ran geomorphon with different DEM resolutions (1m, 10m, and 30m) and in different kernel settings (slope, smoothness) to delineate common landforms (e.g., ridge, shoulder, spur, hollow, pit) and characterized their spatial characteristics (size, geometric ratios) at those locations. We then combined those landform characteristics with other geological and geomorphological information (e.g., karst areas, soil origin, land use type) to validate the mapped sinkholes on USGS topographic maps. In the next phase, we will use the updated sinkhole database to further explore sinkholes on and near floodplain areas along the main stem of the Tennessee River, focusing on those which have been filled by recent anthropogenic activities, or are not shown on the USGS 7.5' quadrangles. We will then conduct field work to explore and sample the sinkholes with high potential for the presence of paleoflood deposits.