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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Oxford, Mississippi » National Sedimentation Laboratory » Watershed Physical Processes Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #207478
Title: Goodwin Creek Experimental Watershed: A Historical Perspective

Author
item Bingner, Ronald - Ron
item Kuhnle, Roger
item Alonso, Carlos

Submitted to: Environmental and Water Resources Institute World Congress Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/2007
Publication Date: 5/15/2007
Citation: Bingner, R.L., Kuhnle, R.A., Alonso, C.V. 2007. Goodwin Creek Experimental Watershed: A Historical Perspective. In: Rogers, J. R. (Ed.) Environmental and Water Resources: Milestones in Engineers History, ASCE, Reston, Virginia p. 113-117.

Interpretive Summary: From the 1980’s to present, U.S. farm policy has focused conservation programs on an expanding array of natural resource issues. From the soil as the primary focus to now including water quality, water conservation, habitat and ecosystem protection, and air quality as high priority resource concerns. To assess the environmental benefits of conservation practices several ARS benchmark watersheds, including the Goodwin Creek Experimental Watershed, were established to collect long term data bases that will allow the evaluation of conservation practices on environmental parameters at the watershed scale. The Goodwin Creek Experimental Watershed was established in north central Mississippi by U.S. Congressional action and operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Sedimentation Laboratory since October, 1981. Since then, the watershed has provided a platform for research ranging from watershed hydrology, stream fluvial studies for sediment transport relationship development and channel evolution, stream restoration, landuse effects on sediment load, sediment source identification, climatic changes, and watershed and channel model development. These data, when combined with watershed and channel reach models, allow the effectiveness of conservation practices to be evaluated. This information can be used in the development of improved watershed and channel conservation management plans by Federal action agencies, such as NRCS and the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Technical Abstract: The Goodwin Creek Experimental Watershed was established in north central Mississippi by U.S. Congressional action and the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Sedimentation Laboratory has operated the watershed since October, 1981. Since then, the watershed has provided a platform for research ranging from watershed hydrology, stream fluvial studies for sediment transport relationship development and channel evolution, stream restoration, landuse effects on sediment load, sediment source identification, climatic changes, and watershed and channel model development. This paper will discuss the historical perspective and national impact of this climatological, hydrological, fluvial, and sedimentation research collected at the watershed.