WC133 NovDec 2023 - Magazine - Page 6
FRONT
Water related news,
events, and trends
from Canada and
around the world
Using satellite
imagery and
surveys from
2019 and 2021,
researchers found
that the river has
widened by up to
130 per cent and
its pace of erosion
has increased by
230 per cent.
6
NEW RESEARCH from Dr. Alessandro Ielpi at
UBC Okanagan, in collaboration with Stanford University’s Mathieu Lapôtre, examines
the long-term impact of the 2017 Elephant
Hill Fire on the Bonaparte River near Cache
Creek, BC. The study reveals that although
the river’s watershed accounts for less than
4,000 square kilometers, about half of it was
affected by the wildfire.
Using satellite imagery and surveys from
2019 and 2021, researchers found that the
river has widened by up to 130 per cent and
its pace of erosion has increased by 230 per
cent. This accelerated erosion and sedimentation impacts local communities, including
farmers and Indigenous peoples like the
WATER C AN ADA • NOV EMBER/ DECEMBER 2023
Bonaparte First Nation, by altering spawning
beds and increasing river silt.
Dr. Ielpi emphasizes that such medium-sized
watersheds can be significantly impacted by
large wildfires, as they are large enough to
sustain communities and small enough to show
measurable changes. The research has broader
implications for hydraulic engineering, hazard
forecasting, and understanding post-wildfire
river dynamics globally, including in regions
like the Amazon Basin and the Western United
States. It serves as a model to estimate increased
sediment supply, channel widening, and
accelerated migration post-fire, providing key
insights into the long-term, complex repercussions of wildfires on watersheds.
WAT E R C A N A D A . N E T
Getty Images
WILDFIRES RESHAPE WATERSHEDS
