MOTIVATION
River Flooding
In the last several years, there have been numerous flooding events in the North Fish Creek basin. More intense rainfall events associated with climate change and land use changes had contributed to more frequent flooding. These floods have caused damage to roads, property, and have threatened public safety and livelihoods.
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In marine environments, it is known that sea level fluctuations and tides influence estuary staging and flooding events (Eliot 2012). This relationship can be applied to Chequamegon Bay and one of its estuaries, North Fish Creek.
June 2018 Storms
On June 29 and 30, 2018, ​complex convective storms hit Chequamegon Bay and the North Fish Creek basin. The storms produced flooding in North Fish Creek but also water level oscillations in the Bay. These water level oscillations were recorded at the Ashland Breakwater Lighthouse in the Bay. The storms produced water level oscillations of about 1 meter with a period of about 3 hours. The recorded data from these storm events will be used to study the influence of water level oscillations in the Bay on upstream flooding in the North Fish Creek basin.