Dr. Tess Wynn Thompson
Dr. Theresa “Tess” Thompson has degrees in agricultural, civil, and biological systems engineering and has worked as an engineer in state government and private consulting. Her research in watershed management focuses on stream and wetland restoration, urban stream systems, and streambank erosion. She currently teaches courses in hydrology, fluvial geomorphology, stream restoration, and transport processes and is a frequent invited speaker on streambank erosion and low impact development. A former president of the American Ecological Engineering Society, she currently serves as vice-chair of the River Restoration Committee of ASCE-EWRI and on the advisory board for the International Ecological Engineering Society.
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CURRENT TEAM
Evaluating streambank retreat prediction using the BANCS model in the Valley and Ridge physiographic province.
While the overall objective of my thesis project is to assess the sensitivity and error in the BANCS model prediction of bank retreat, specific objectives are; assessing the spatial and temporal variability of bank erosion measurements, evaluating the sensitivity of the BANCS model to the input erosion data, quantifying the error in the BANCS model's erosion predictions, and comparing the model fit using a substitute for the NBS parameter. I also work on a funded project focusing on using HEC-RAS modeling to aid in stream restoration design.
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Do roots bind soil? Comparing the physical and biological role of roots in fluvial streambank erosion resistance.
Plants help shape how streams and rivers change over time. As plants mature, their roots grow and dig deep into the streambank soil, entangling the soil in a web of fibers. The physical entanglement, or binding, of soil has been thought to be the main mechanism in protecting soil from erosion by water. However, roots physically binding soil may not tell the complete story. Plant roots are living fibers that can, through their interaction with soil microorganisms, release sticky substances into the soil environment. This is a biological mechanism that can cause soil particles to stick to the surface of root fibers, making them harder to move by water. On a streambank, roots facing the stream channel slowdown water near the bank. This is a hydraulic mechanism employed by plant roots, with slower water leading to less erosion of streambank soils. All three root mechanisms (physical, biological, and hydraulic) play a role in protecting streambank soils from water erosion. To further our understanding of how plant roots protect streambank soils from erosion, the relative contributions of these mechanisms must be explored.
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Modeling Changes in Stormwater Thermal Load due to Bioretention Cells
Sport fishing is a valuable industry; the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries estimates that fishing alone is responsible for over $1.3 billion dollars in economic impact annually. In particular, cold-water fish species such as Brook and Brown trout are coveted by anglers; however, these species require a specific water temperature in order to sustain life. Thermally enriched runoff from urban watersheds increases average water temperature and heat load spikes, creating intermittent temperatures downstream which can degrade aquatic habitat and stress aquatic species such as the Brook and Brown trout. Typically used for nutrient removal, bioretention cells are a stormwater control measure that could be used to mitigate this thermal loading as water collects, infiltrates and is stored within the cell. The goal of this research is to build a model that evaluates the influence of bioretention design characteristics on urban stormwater thermal loads.
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FORMER STUDENTS/RESEARCHERS
U. Samuel Withers (2019)
Engineer I, Resource Environmental Solutions; Nashville, TN Linking Stream Restoration Success with Watershed and Design Characteristics |
Suraye Solis (MS, 2019)
Environmental Designer, Wildlands Engineering; Fairfax, VA Estimating Flow Through Rock Weirs |
Elizabeth Hickman (MS, 2019)
Environmental Scientist, Kansas Department of Agriculture - Division of Water Resources; Topeka, KS Improving Design Guidance for In-Stream Structures Used in Stream Restoration |
Mehdi Ketabchy (MS, 2018)
Co-advised by David Sample Water Resources Engineer, Gannett Fleming; Fairfax, VA Thermal Evaluation of an Urbanized Watershed using SWMM and MINUHET: a Case Study of Stroubles Creek Watershed, Blacksburg, VA |
Akinrotimi Akinola (PhD, 2018)
Co-advised with Saied Mostaghimi Civil Engineer, Stormwater and GIS Division, City of Durham; Durham, NC Temporal and Thermal Effects on Fluvial Erosion of Cohesive Streambank Soils |
Josh Moehrle (MEng, 2014)
Design Engineer, Civic Engineering & IT; Nashville, TN Evapotranspiration within an herbaceous floodplain wetland. |
Lory Willard (MS, 2014)
Co-advised by Leigh Anne Krometis PhD Student, Agricultural and Biological Engineering; University of Florida Does it pay to be mature? Assessing the performance of a mature bioretention cell seven years post-construction |
Eric Neuhaus (MS, 2013)
Water Resources Engineer, Wildlands Engineering; Asheville, NC Evaluation of a Water Budget Model for Use in Wetland Design |
Janell Henry Weiss (MS, 2013)
Taxmap Supervisor; Mercer County, OH Flow estimation for stream restoration and wetland projects in ungaged watersheds using continuous simulation modeling |
O. Waverly Parks Garnand (MS, 2013)
Civil Engineer, Stantec; Santa Barbara, CA Effect of Water Temperature on Cohesive Soil Erosion |
Siavash Hoomehr (Post-Doc, 2013)
Co-advised by Cully Hession Project Manager, Leonard Jackson Associates; New York, NY |
Daniel Allen (Post-Doc, 2013)
Co-advised by Bradley Cardinale, University of Michigan Assistant Professor of Biology University of Oklahoma; Norman, OK |
Karen Hall (MS, 2012)
Sustainability Manager, Universal Leaf Tobacco Company; Richmond, VA Surface Water Flow Resistance Due to Emergent Wetland Vegetation |
Matthew Gloe (MS, 2011)
Environmental Data Program Manager, Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District; Berthoud, CO Evaluating a Process-Based Mitigation Wetland Water Budget Model |
Candice Piercy (PhD, 2010)
Research Environmental Engineer, US Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center; Vicksburg, MS Hydraulic Resistance Due to Emergent Wetland Vegetation |
Barbra Utley (PhD, 2010)
Project Manager, HydroMet Group, Campbell Scientific, Inc; Logan, UT Continuous Suspended Sediment Concentration Monitoring Using a Permittivity Sensor |
Leslie Hopkinson (PhD, 2010)
Associate Professor, West Virginia State University; Morgantown, WV Boundary Shear Stress Along Vegetated Streambanks |
Frank Matthew Smith (MEng, 2009)
Co-advised by Cully Hession Forecasting Analyst II, Duke Energy Corporation; Charlotte, NC Stroubles Creek Restoration Project |
Kathy DeBusk Gee (MS, 2008)
Associate Professor, Longwood University; Farmville, VA Stormwater Treatment by Two Retrofit Infiltration Practices |
Sheila Ranganath (MS, 2007)
Co-advised by Cully Hession Water Resources Engineer, Otak; Redmond, WA Recovery of Channel Morphology and Benthic Macroinvertebrate Assemblages after Livestock Exclusion |
Nathan Staley (MS, 2006)
Senior Associate Engineer, Wetland Studies and Solutions Inc.; Roanoke, VA Modeling Channel Erosion at the Wetland Scale: A Comparison of GWLF, SWAT, and CONCEPTS |
Marc Henderson (MS, 2006)
Co-advised by David Vaughan Project Manger, Meliora Design; Philadelphia, PA Changes in Streambank Erodibility and Critical Shear Stress Due to Surface Weathering |