Abstract
Drainage network patterns influence the hydrological response of the watersheds and must be taken into account in the management of the water resource. In this context, it is important to identify the factors that control the configuration of drainage networks in and beyond specific climatic conditions. Here, we study 318 basins spread over three sectors (arid, semi-arid, and semi-humid) of Morocco where seven drainage network patterns have been identified. From each basin, 14 parameters were extracted, describing the relief, geology, morphometry, drainage network, land cover, precipitation, and time of concentration (Tc). Principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminant analysis (DA) processing were performed on the entire database and on each sector separately. The results show that the drainage network pattern is a feature of the landscape that contributes significantly to the variance of the basins. They suggest that the distribution of network patterns is controlled by the relationship between the different parameters, mainly those related to the relief, more than by the variations of each parameter taken individually. The network discrimination rate is 63.8%, which improves when each sector is treated separately. Confusion in discrimination are similar across all sectors and can be explained by similar conditions (active tectonic, deformation, and uplift) or transitions from one network pattern to another, due to the landscape evolution of certain sectors. A contribution of climatic variables appears locally but was attributed to a statistical coincidence, these parameters presenting a distribution close to that of the relief and geology variables.
Highlights
Climate change tends to intensify the global hydrological cycle, in particular by increasing inequalities in the spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation and the frequency of extreme events [1]
It is bordered to the north by the South-Rifain corridor (Saiss plain), to the south by the High Atlas and the high Moulouya Valley, to the east by the middle Moulouya Valley and to the west by the Central Morocco
Five of the seven drainage network patterns had a classification rate higher than 75%, namely the dendritic, pinnate, parallel, herringbone, and barbed patterns
Summary
Climate change tends to intensify the global hydrological cycle, in particular by increasing inequalities in the spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation and the frequency of extreme events [1]. The consequences are both longer periods of drought, modifying the climatic limits of arid regions, and floods, the severity of which seems to be increasing in many parts of the world [2]. Previous works have suggested that the development of drainage network patterns is controlled by two main factors, namely slope and geological structuring [4,5,6] These works lead to hypotheses and a classification of the drainage network patterns on the basis of findings, careful observations, and uni-factorial descriptions. Precipitation, temperature, and water storage capacity are relevant factors that control rock weathering and influence the formation and development of watercourses [8]
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