Researchers at MIT have modeled how engineered and natural wood jams change river water levels, enabling an assessment of the trade-offs in flood risk and habitat creation for river restoration projects. In a recent paper published in Geophysical Research Letters, researchers Elizabeth Follett ’09 PhD ’16, postdoc Isabella Schalko, and Donald and Martha Harleman Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Heidi Nepf detail their analysis of 584 experiments measuring the backwater rise induced by model logjams in an experimental flume. Schalko ran these experiments, with the hope of filling gaps…
