Floodplain Fragmentation Due to Transportation Infrastructure: Application of GIS-Based Methodology to the Upper Susquehanna River

Elaine Langone Center, Terrace Room

In a 2014 article by Blanton and Marcus, the impacts of transportation infrastructure on floodplain fragmentation were measured in three small cities along the Chehalis and Yakima Rivers in Washington using GIS technology. The purpose of this article was to test the viability of strategies for mapping the floodplain, as well as to produce a replicable methodology to measure fragmentation in other places. They found that around half of the functional floodplain was disconnected by transportation infrastructure in each reach. This methodology will be replicated along the Upper Susquehanna River from Oneonta to Sidney, New York with the goals of measuring floodplain fragmentation and exploring the applicability of Blanton and Marcus’ methodology to this study area. A comparison of soil and geological data will be performed and issues concerning differences between the study areas will be addressed. With two recent historic floods in 2006 and 2011, this methodology has the potential to reveal areas of fragmentation that could be the focus of future flood mitigation projects.