Abstract
A morphometric analysis of Bharathapuzha river basin has been carried out using geoprocessing techniques in GIS. This technique is found relevant for the extraction of river basin and its drainage networks. The extracted drainage network was classified according to Strahler’s system of classification and it reveals that the terrain exhibits dendritic to sub-dendritic drainage pattern. The Bharathapuzha drainage basin is sprawled over an area of 5,988.56 km2. The study area was designated as seventh-order basin and lower order streams mostly dominate the basin with the drainage density value of 1.07 km/km2. The slope of basin varied from 0° to 70° and the slope variation is chiefly controlled by the local geology and erosion cycles. The elongation ratio of the basin is 0.57 indicating that the study area is elongated with moderate relief and steep slopes. The drainage texture of the basin is 7.78 which indicates an intermediate texture that exists over the region. Hence, from the study, it can be concluded that remote sensing data (SRTM–DEM) coupled with geoprocessing techniques prove to be a competent tool in morphometric analysis and the data can be used for basin management and other hydrological studies in future.
Highlights
The development of a drainage system over space and time is influenced by several variables such as geology, structural components, geomorphology, soil and vegetation of an area through which it flows
The Bharathapuzha river basin is extracted from the Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data provided by the Consultative group for International Agriculture Research Consortium for Spatial Information (CGIAR-CSI) with a spatial resolution of 90 m
The present study has proved that the geoprocessing technique used in Geographical information systems (GIS) is an effective tool for computation and analysis of various morphometric parameters of the basin and helps to understand various terrain parameters such as nature of the bedrock, infiltration capacity, surface runoff, etc
Summary
The development of a drainage system over space and time is influenced by several variables such as geology, structural components, geomorphology, soil and vegetation of an area through which it flows. Morphometric analysis of a river basin provides a quantitative description of the drainage system, which is an important aspect of the characterization of basins (Strahler 1964). It is important in any hydrological investigation like assessment of groundwater potential, groundwater management, basin management and environmental assessment. The morphometric analysis can be performed through measurement of linear, aerial, relief, gradient of channel network and contributing ground slope of the basin (Nautiyal 1994; Nag and Chakraborty 2003; Magesh et al 2012b).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
