Stream Bank Erosion Tracking With Phone Photos

ISEF Category: Earth and Environmental Sciences

Subcategory: Water Science  ·  Difficulty: Intermediate  ·  Setup: Home Setup  ·  Time: 1 to 2 Months

The Hook

A stream bank can move more in one storm than you expect in a whole month. Your phone can help you catch that change before it disappears. If you match photos with river flow data, you can turn a muddy edge into a real model. That makes this a strong project for anyone who likes field work and data.

What Is It?

This project tracks how a stream bank erodes over time. Erosion means soil and sediment get worn away and carried downstream. You use repeat photos from the same spot, then compare them to see how far the bank has retreated.

Photogrammetry is the trick that makes the photos useful. It means measuring shape and distance from images. Think of it like making a 3D model from a set of consistent pictures, then comparing that model across different dates. When you pair those changes with USGS gage hydrographs, which are graphs of stream flow over time, you can test whether bigger flows line up with faster bank retreat.

Why This Is a Good Topic

This is a good science fair topic because you can measure a real environmental process without needing a university lab. The question is testable, the data are visible, and the setup connects to flooding, habitat loss, and land management. You can learn field sampling, image analysis, graphing, and model building in one project.

Research Questions

• How does stream stage during high-flow events relate to measured bank retreat over a season?
• What is the effect of repeated storm peaks on the rate of bank erosion at one monitored site?
• Does bank height or slope predict which sections retreat fastest?
• To what extent do photo-derived retreat measurements match changes seen on the ground?
• Which reach of the stream shows the strongest link between USGS discharge and erosion?
• How does vegetation cover along the bank affect the amount of retreat after storms?

Basic Materials

• Smartphone with a good camera.
• Tripod or fixed mount for repeat photo angles.
• Measuring tape or survey tape.
• Flag markers or stakes for repeat camera positions.
• Notebook or field log.
• GPS app or handheld GPS receiver.
• Computer with spreadsheet software.
• Free photo analysis software such as ImageJ or similar.

Advanced Materials

• Smartphone or camera with manual exposure controls.
• Tripod with repeatable height and angle settings.
• Survey-grade measuring tape or total station targets.
• Drone, if allowed, for wider photogrammetry coverage.
• Ground control markers for scaling images.
• Laptop with photogrammetry software such as WebODM or similar open-source tools.
• ImageJ for image comparison and measurement.
• Spreadsheet or statistics software for regression and uncertainty analysis.

Software & Tools

• ImageJ: Measures bank position in repeat photos and helps compare changes across dates.
• QGIS: Maps the site, marks sampling locations, and layers erosion data with stream features.
• USGS Water Data: Provides discharge and stage records from nearby gages for your hydrograph comparison.
• Google Sheets: Organizes field notes, photo dates, and retreat measurements in one place.
• R or Python: Fits regression models and tests how well flow predicts bank retreat.

Experiment Steps

1. Define one stream reach and mark fixed photo points that you can return to all season.
2. Decide which bank features you will measure, such as toe position, top-of-bank line, or exposed root edge.
3. Build a repeat imaging plan so every photo uses the same angle, height, and framing.
4. Match each sampling date to nearby USGS gage records and decide which flow metrics you will compare.
5. Set up a measurement workflow that turns photo change into a numeric retreat rate.
6. Choose a model that tests whether discharge, stage rise, or peak flow best explains erosion.

Common Pitfalls

• Changing the camera position between visits, which makes the bank look like it moved when it did not.
• Measuring a bank reach without fixed reference points, which prevents repeatable comparisons.
• Using photos taken in very different light or water levels, which hides real edge changes.
• Comparing your erosion data to the wrong USGS gage, which breaks the flow relationship.
• Ignoring vegetation, slumps, or undercutting, which can make the retreat model too simple to be useful.

What Makes This Competitive

A strong version of this project goes past a simple before-and-after comparison. You can strengthen it by using fixed control points, uncertainty estimates, and a clear model that tests more than one flow variable. You can also compare multiple bank zones or multiple storm events instead of using just one date pair. That kind of design shows real field reasoning, not just data collection.

Project Variations

• Compare erosion on a vegetated bank versus a bare bank to test how plant cover changes retreat rates.
• Use drone or elevated-platform photos, if allowed, to compare wide-area retreat patterns with close bank measurements.
• Focus on one storm season and test whether peak discharge, rising limb rate, or total runoff best predicts erosion.

Learn More

• USGS Water Data for the Nation: Search nearby gage records to get discharge and stage hydrographs for your stream.
• USGS streambank erosion resources: Search USGS publications for review articles on bank erosion, stream power, and sediment transport.
• NOAA National Water Prediction Service: Use river forecast and water-level context for storm timing and flow events.
• MIT OpenCourseWare, Earth and Environmental Science courses: Look for free lecture notes on hydrology, geomorphology, and watershed processes.
• NASA Earthdata: Find satellite and remote-sensing background on surface water, land change, and environmental mapping.
• ImageJ documentation: Learn the basics of measuring distances, tracing edges, and comparing repeated images.