![]() The data for the map came from state and federal agencies - including the Texas General Land Office Natural Resources Information Service, the U.S. However, researchers were able to show the full extent of the branching networks they form by creating a high-resolution elevation map spanning the Gulf Coast from Texas to Mississippi. Scientists said that understanding the specifics of how the channels move water - especially during floods - in different areas will require more research, and ultimately the findings will need to be incorporated in national and regional flood models.Ĭhannels on their own are not an uncommon sight along the coastal plain. The research is published in the journal Nature Geoscience. "But we see through things like Hurricane Harvey that what is happening to the broader landscape when there is a lot of water present is really important." "Typically, flood risk has been characterized in Texas and Louisiana based on how close you are to a river," said the study's lead author, John Swartz, who started the research as a doctoral student at the UT Jackson School of Geosciences and is now a research scientist at the Water Institute of the Gulf. ![]() But the new research led by scientists with UT Austin and the Water Institute of the Gulf revealed that although the surface elevation is steady, the landscape is covered in narrow but deep channels that play an important role in moving water. The coastal plains are relatively flat, which has kept most research on flood risk and water flow focused on large rivers in the region.
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