DEVELOPMENT OF A DIGITAL ELEVATION MODEL OF KARA-BOGAZ-GOL BAY

Abstract

The article presents the results of the efforts to create a digital elevation model of Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay. The informational background for the digital elevation model was maps of 1:200 000 and 1:100 000 scales. The digital elevation model was created by digitizing topographic maps. The development process was organized sequentially in several stages. At the first stage, scanned images of topographic maps were referenced in accordance with the original coordinate system (Pulkovo 1942). Next, the maps were digitized. The resultant digital data were interpolated to the grid nodes. At the verification stage, the contour lines and depth values were visually checked on the basis of GRD models, and flaws were corrected. As a result, the digital elevation model of the bay bed was created with a spatial resolution of 100 × 100 m. Morphometric relationships were obtained for Kara-Bogaz-Gol – between the level and the area of the bay water surface, between the level and the storage of the bay. Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay has an irregular shape. Its shores above -30 m BS elevation are steep and precipitous. Between -30 and -34 m BS elevation the shore slope is 30-45%, and an almost flat bed extends below -34 m BS. The rock basin morphometry of Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay varies significantly depending on the water level in the sea and in the bay. The area of the waterbody remains almost invariable between -25 and -30 m BS height marks, and then shrinks towards -35.6 m BS elevation.