Application of Watershed Dimensionless Half Profiles for Climate Recognition

Marzieh Foroutan,Mazda Kompanizare

doi:10.19026/rjees.5.5715

Abstract

DEM analysis and profile extraction being used for finding many changes and phenomena in different regions, in this study dimensionless transverse half profile in two areas with different climates, in Fars province, Iran, were analyzed and compared. DEM data from 10 m intervals for 268 profiles selected from Jooyom and Doroodzan watersheds with respective warm arid and cold semi-arid climates. Profiles were selected from along main channels in each watershed with an average distance of 100 m. Dimensionless half profiles were clustered by the Discriminate method. Results demonstrated that the dimensionless half profiles in a warm and arid climate had more fluctuations and deviations of elevations from their means along profiles compared with those in warm climate and it could be a good way for comparing regions and climate recognition. It also shows that not just even too far weather conditions can be reflected in profiles but even two different regions in a same mountain chain but different weathers can clearly create different forms of watersheds.

Highlights

The transverse profile of a valley or a watershed can be defined as distance-elevation along a line orthogonal to the direction of the main stream
On the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) mesh the path of the main stream was shown by a vector connecting the centers of DEM cells through which the main stream was passing, Fig. 4 schematically illustrates the main channel of one watershed as an example and transverse profile perpendicular to the channel with 100 m intervals that extracted by GIS software
Discriminate analysis of the dimensionless half profiles: Discriminate analysis was conducted on the dimensionless elevations versus dimensionless distances for the half transverse profiles in both JM and DN areas

Summary

Introduction

The transverse profile of a valley or a watershed can be defined as distance-elevation along a line orthogonal to the direction of the main stream. Different directions various sizes of profiles, can be regarded as evidence demonstrating the history of geomorphologic processes history, climate regimes, lithology and surface processes in a region. In some studies a series of transverse and longitudinal profiles, designed in a watershed, have served to illustrate the detailed structure of valley formation within a watershed (Lin and Oguchi, 2006). Analyzing both transverse and longitudinal profiles demonstrates the geomorphological complexity of a watershed and shows that this does not always decrease with increasing relief because differences in bedrock erodibility affect watershed topography (Lin and Oguchi, 2009)

Methods

Results

Conclusion