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Riverscape Inundation Mapper (RIM) tool

RIM_01

The Riverscapes Inundation Mapper Tool, or RIM, was developed as part of Karen Bartelt's Thesis (Bartelt et al. 2021) to aid in the efficient mapping of structurally forced inundation patterns in beaver impacted riverscapes.

Graphical Abstract

The contrast in inundation patterns and types in undammed (top) and dammed (bottom) situations, across dramatically different riverscape settings (left to right) produces a strikingly similar impact. That is, at the same baseflows, inundation is increased from 2 to 7 fold with a greater diversity of flow types (i.e. more ponded and overflow areas instead of just free flowing).

View or Download Projects

View or Download Projects from Bartelt 2021 using Riverscapes Viewer

A Riverscapes Consortium Tool

RIM 0.1.0 as published here, is a BETA research-grade tool. It is a mix of Python and R with ArcPY dependencies. It has been successfully deployed by others, but is finicky to deploy.

Development of RIM has shifted from its own ArcToolbox into a Protocol implemented as part of data capture events in Riverscapes Studio for QGIS or QRiS thanks to support from the USFS and NOAA.

The types of beaver dam building activity impacting riverscapes that RIM was designed to capture and distill:

References

  • Bartelt KM, Belmont P, Gilbert JT, Hammill E, Macfarlane WW, Saunders WC, et al. (2025) Mapping valley bottom inundation patterns from beaver dam activity: A potential proxy for hydrologic inefficiency. PLOS Water 4(11): e0000428. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pwat.0000428
  • Bartelt K. 2021. Valley Bottom Inundation Patterns in Beaver-Modified Streams: A Potential Proxy for Hydrologic Inefficiency, Masters Thesis, Utah State University: Logan, UT. Available from: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/8226. DOI: 10.26076/a66b-0708.