Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2016IL311B

Identifying wetland inundation extent and patterns in Illinois

Institute: Illinois
Year Established: 2016 Start Date: 2016-03-01 End Date: 2017-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $10,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $20,000

Principal Investigators: Michael Eichholz

Abstract: This project aims to develop models to estimate wetland inundation for the entire state of Illinois. Two different approaches are being used to reach these ends. Objective 1 will use ground surveys to estimate the seasonal changes in inundation and NWI error at random sites and then scale those values to the statewide NWI layers. This will provide an estimate of total wetland inundation in the state, specific to wetland type. Objective 1 constitutes a portion of a larger project which is funded by Federal Grant-in-Aid W-184-R-1-4 in cooperation with IDNR. Objective 2 will utilize satellite-based synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery to detect inundation on a larger scale and use the results from that analysis to model inundation patterns in the state.