About
72
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Introduction
Ingrid Luffman is an Associate Professor at the Department of Geosciences, East Tennessee State University. Ingrid uses mix of spatial analysis, statistics and field research to study watershed processes and health geography. Their current project is 'Modeling gully erosion in clay rich soils using high temporal resolution meteorological data'.
Current institution
Additional affiliations
August 1997 - present
Education
August 2007 - August 2013
September 1993 - May 1997
September 1987 - May 1993
Publications
Publications (72)
This research introduces an unstable slope management program (USMP) for Tennessee based on federal slope management standards, along with improved methods for landslide monitoring with unmanned aerial systems (UAS) lidar and photogrammetry. In mountainous regions, monitoring slope hazards is a critical function of transportation management. A mobi...
Unfavorable orientations of geological discontinuities and their geometrical relationship with the topographic slopes play a crucial role in controlling slope instability. This study developed a GIS-based kinematic model based on the mutual relationship between topographic slope and geological discontinuities to delineate rockfall zones and underst...
Introduction
The newly emergent COVID-19 virus reached pandemic levels in March 2020. By the middle of August 2020, there were over 1 million deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the U.S., with those in rural areas outpacing urban counterparts. Prior to emergency approval of the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccine formulations, mitigation eff...
Ensuring access to safe drinking water to protect public health in communities underserved or unserved by centralized water systems requires regular water quality testing and reporting. However, households depending on unregulated water systems like wells and springs, which are less routinely tested, may be unaware of their water quality. Access to...
An important first step in the geotechnical asset management of Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GRSM) is the creation of an unstable slope inventory along major transportation corridors. Slope-stability problems are frequent in GRSM, often initiated in highly weathered and fractured metasedimentary rocks. In this study, an unstable slope inven...
Geomorphology, Quaternary Geology, and Soils
Karst springs are an essential source of private water supply for about 10% of households in Tennessee. However, the water quality of these springs is unmonitored and unregulated even though many springs are highly productive yet vulnerable to contamination. This study assesses spatial patterns in the water quality of roadside springs in northeast...
Volunteered Geographic Information, data contributed by community scientists, is an increasingly popular tool to collect scientific data, involve the community in scientific research, and provide information and education about a prominent issue. Johnson City, Tennnessee, USA has a long history of downtown flooding, and recent redevelopment of two...
Inorganic contaminants, including potentially toxic metals (PTMs), originating from un-reclaimed abandoned mine areas may accumulate in soils and present significant distress to environmental and public health. The ability to generate realistic spatial distribution models of such contamination is important for risk assessment and remedial planning...
Background:
In mid-March 2020, very few cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed in the Central Blue Ridge Region, an area in Appalachia that includes 47 jurisdictions across northeast Tennessee, western North Carolina, and southwest Virginia. Authors described the emergence of cases and outbreaks in the region between March 18 and June 11, 2020.
Met...
Sinking Creek (HUC 06010103046), in the Watauga watershed of northeast Tennessee, is impaired due to Escherichia coli. To assess how E. coli and other water quality parameters fluctuated during storm events, water samples were collected with automated samplers during eight storms at two locations: Sinking Creek and a feeder spring. Turbidity and el...
Debris-slides are fast-moving landslides that occur in the Appalachian region including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GRSM). Various knowledge and data-driven approaches using spatial distribution of the past slides and associated factors could be used to estimate the region's debris-slide susceptibility. This study developed two debris-...
This study examines the relationship between gully erosion in channels, sidewalls, and interfluves, and precipitation parameters (duration, total accumulation, average intensity, and maximum intensity) annually and seasonally to determine seasonal drivers for precipitation-related erosion. Ordinary Least Square regression models of erosion using pr...
Gullies are significant contributors of sediment to streams in the southeastern USA. This study investigated gully erosion in the clay-rich soils of east Tennessee under a humid subtropical climate. The aims of this study were to (1) estimate long-term erosion rates for different gully geomorphic settings, (2) compare patterns of erosion for the di...
Mining processes generate waste rock, tailings, and slag that can increase potentially toxic metal (PTM) concentrations in soils. Un-reclaimed, abandoned mine sites are particularly prone to leaching these contaminants, which may accumulate and pose significant environmental and public health concerns. The characterization and spatial delineation o...
Water shortages resulting from increased demand or reduced supply may be addressed, in part, by redirecting recycled water for irrigation, industrial reuse, groundwater recharge, and as effluent discharge returned to streams. Recycled water is an essential component of integrated water management and broader adoption of recycled water will increase...
Increased water demand attributed to population expansion and reduced freshwater availability caused by saltwater intrusion and drought, may lead to water shortages. These may be addressed, in part, by use of recycled water. Spatial patterns of recycled water use in Florida and California during 2009 were analyzed to detect gaps in distribution and...
Gully erosion is a global problem that degrades land and reduces its utility for agriculture, development, and water quality. Quantification of sediment yield and control of sediment sources is essential for environmental protection. Five methods to evaluate erosion rates and sediment yield on an east Tennessee, USA, hillslope were compared: (1) ph...
Post-dam removal geomorphologic adjustment of a stream channel has been documented in the scientific literature at watershed, hillslope, and laboratory scales. Hillslope-scale studies in channel cross sections are most common and add significant value in the dam-removal literature. This study examines geomorphic stream channel adjustment following...
For health, economic, and aesthetic reasons, allowable concentrations (as suggested by the United States Environmental Protection Agency) of the secondary contaminants iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) found present in drinking water are 0.3 and 0.05 mg/L, respectively. Water samples taken from private drinking wells in rural communities within Buncombe...
Post-dam removal geomorphologic adjustment of a stream channel has been documented in the scientific literature at watershed, hillslope and laboratory scales. Hillslope scale studies in channel-cross-sections are most common, and add significant value in the dam-removal literature. This study examines geomorphic stream channel adjustment following...
This study examines gully erosion in northeast Tennessee hillslopes in the Southern Appalachian Valley and Ridge physiographic province, where a thick sequence of red clay Ultisols (Acrisol, according to the World Reference Base for Soil) overlies dolomite and limestone bedrock. The role of freeze-thaw processes in gully erosion was examined weekly...
This study quantifies aeolian erosion in a system of gullies formed in ultisol soils in Washington County, TN, to evaluate the relationship between aeolian erosion and propagation of gullies in humid subtropical environments. A network of 91 erosion pins installed in gully interfluves, sidewalls, and channels were measured weekly from 2012 through...
Excess turbidity is a cause of surface water impairment for fish and aquatic life, and has been shown to be positively correlated to pathogen impairment. Turbidity in Tennessee streams is of special concern as sedimentation is the second ranking cause of surface water impairment after Escherichia Coli, with 9934.15 km (6,172.8 miles) of sediment im...
National Meeting of the AAG
Geologic structure often controls the location of recharge points, flow paths, velocities, and discharge locations in karst regions such as Morell Cave and its springshed, Bluff City, Tennessee. This study explores groundwater recharge points, velocities, and discharge locations within the Morrell springshed and its associated cave. Two dye tracing...
Spatial analytical techniques are important tools for crime pattern analysis. This research focuses on identification of spatial clustering and development of a risk surface map using a dataset of 282 robberies occurring in Nashville, TN from April through August 2014. Spatial point pattern analysis is a preferred approach because all of the availa...
Evacuation and shelter in place are two common protective action measures during hazardous events that involve the release of hazardous materials. These responses are complex and require advanced planning to determine their appropriateness to reduce human exposure to hazardous materials and minimize related health risks. Evacuation and shelter in p...
Tornado intensity and impacts vary drastically across space, and this is especially true in the United States. The objective of this research is to identify true spatial patterns in intensity in the Southeastern United States. This will answer questions concerning vulnerability and estimated recurrence of tornadic activity. Return periods (2-year,...
Evacuation and shelter in place are two main responses to a major disaster. These responses are complex and require advanced planning to determine their appropriateness and effectiveness. Each response was assessed for the town of Erwin - a small town in the mountains of east Tennessee. The population at risk was identified using historical meteoro...
The purpose of this project was to examine surface and groundwater connectivity in the Morrell Cave springshed to identify the hydrologic connection between Dry Creek and Morrell Cave Stream using dye tracings. Two fluorescent dyes (Fluorescein and Rhodamine WT) were injected in to Dry Creek at two different locations. Surface water and activated c...
This research examines risk factors for sporadic cryptosporidiosis and Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157 infection in East Tennessee, using a case-control approach and spatial logistic regression models. The risk factors examined are animal density, land use, geology, surface water impairment, poverty rate and availability of private water supply. Pr...
This study analyzes and models the potential impacts of a uranium hexafluoride (UF6) release in Erwin, Tennessee to determine if mandatory evacuations are preferable over sheltering in place, assess if the current infrastructure is sufficient to accommodate a mandatory evacuation, and identify critical facilities (e.g. schools, hospitals, nursing h...
Water induced soil erosion, relating to improper land management, is a serious land degradation problem in Ultisols that results in rill and gully erosion. The extent of land degradation depends largely on the severity of erosion, which modifies the soil’s physical and chemical properties. A detailed understanding of eroded soil properties is essen...
Water induced soil erosion, relating to improper land management, is a serious land degradation problem in Ultisols that results in rill and gully erosion. The extent of land degradation depends largely on the severity of erosion, which modifies the soil’s physical and chemical properties. A detailed understanding of eroded soil properties is essen...
Karst rocky desertification is a progressive process of land degradation in karst regions in which soil is severely, or completely,
eroded. This process may be caused by natural factors, such as geological structure, and population pressure leading to poor
ecosystem health and lagging economic development. Karst rocky desertification is therefore a...
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) provides federally-backed insurance for properties in Special Flood Hazard Areas, yet many property owners do not enroll in the program. I compared flood losses and flood insurance enrollment for three Tennessee communities: Chattanooga, Elizabethton and Pigeon Forge, to investigate the relationship betwe...
The Little River is on the state of Tennessee's Year 2004 list of impaired waters, and has existing total maximum daily loads for sediment and E. coli bacteria. In this study, we investigate how precipitation, discharge, sediment, and pathogens are related in the Little River. Our goals are to: (1) determine the degree of correlation between precip...
