Conceptual frameworks for hydrological connectivity analysis in floodplain wetlands

Abstract

This thesis develops three conceptual frameworks to investigate hydrological connectivity in river-floodplain wetlands. The first framework establishes a method to examine temporal and spatial connectivity, using remote sensing data and a hydraulic model. A novel connectivity metric named the dynamic connection length was proposed. The second framework examines different machine learning methods to estimate flood extents for the connectivity analysis. In the third framework, various empirical relationships between connectivity statistics are evaluated. The outcomes from the thesis are expected to lead to a better understanding of hydrological connectivity in floodplain wetlands.