4th Order Streams Research Articles

Analysis of drainage morphometry and spectral indices using earth observation datasets in Palar River basin, India

In this research we analyzed the morphometric parameter of Palar River basin by using the satellite data from open sources for monitoring drainage network. Palar River basin covers 1972.27 sq.km areas with elevation of 226.9 m as highest and 38.01 m lowest above mean sea level. In this research it detected that Palar River basin having 5th order stream with drainage density of 0.40 km/km2 and drainage pattern of dendritic to rectangular. We also draw aspect map, relief map and slope map for the research area by using digital elevation model (DEM) data of 30 m resolution. In this research we also employed spectral indices like normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), normalized difference water index (NDWI), and soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI) for the vegetation, water and soil characteristics of the research area. In this research it found that there are major changes in land use/land cover as water bodies and land during these periods of 15 years. Highly positive correlation show between morphometric parameter and spectral indices. In this research groundwater level data for the year 2005 and 2020 are used to validation the study. This research work is very useful in developing solutions for dealing with different types of drought and management of groundwater extraction plans.

Investigation of the Basin Characteristics through Morphometric Analysis of Hadejia River Sub-Basin: Implications for Groundwater Recharge

Understanding the geohydrological properties of a drainage basin in relation to the topographical feature and its flow patterns depends heavily on morphometric analysis. Estimating a watershed's frequency of infiltration and runoff as well as its other hydrological characteristics is also helpful. The study was conducted using Geographical Information System (GIS) techniques with the aim of establishing relationship between surface morphometry, underlying geology and groundwater recharge. For detailed measurement and analysis, Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and high resolution imageries were employed for basin delineation, slope characterization, channel network extraction and stream ordering in order to derive the linear, areal, and relief aspects of morphometric parameters. The findings showed that a total number of 116 streams joined the 4th order stream in which 83 streams were 1st order, 25 streams were 2nd order, 7 streams were 3rd order and the major trunk was 4th order stream, occupied an area of 1486.86km2. The stream network's drainage system exhibits dendritic design. The results further indicate that the values for stream frequency, infiltration number, drainage density, drainage texture, length of overland flow, elongation ratio and basin relief are 0.08, 0.032, 0.41km/km2, 0.023, 1.22km, 0.54 and 28.59m respectively. The observed values of both linear, areal and relief parameters were generally low. Low values for the areal and relief criteria indicates that the sub-basin is at its youthful stage of development and possesses very good permeable subsurface formation and prospect with the possibility of high potential groundwater resources. The result help us understand the connections between hydrological variables and geomorphological parameters as guidance and/or decision-making instruments for the authorities to develop decisions for the environmentally friendly growth of the basin, water supply planning, water budgeting, and disaster mitigation within the Hadejia river sub-basin.

Exploring landscape and geologic controls on spatial patterning of streambank groundwater discharge in a mixed land use watershed

AbstractPreferential groundwater discharge features along stream corridors are ecologically important at local and stream network scales, yet we lack quantification of the multiscale controls on the spatial patterning of groundwater discharge. Here we identify physical attributes that best explain variation in the presence and lateral extent of preferential groundwater discharges along two 5th order streams, the Housatonic and Farmington Rivers, and 32 1st to 4th order reaches across the Farmington River network. We mapped locations of preferential groundwater discharge exposed along streambanks using handheld thermal infrared cameras paired with high‐resolution topographic and land use land cover datasets, surficial soil characteristic maps, and depth‐to‐bedrock geophysical measurements. The unconfined Housatonic River, MA, USA (12 km) had fewer discharge locations and less lateral extent (41 discharge locations with 38 m of active discharge/km of river) compared to the partially confined Farmington River, CT, USA (26 km; 169 discharge locations with 129 m of active discharge/km of river). Using a moving window analysis, we found along both rivers that discharge was more likely to occur where bank slopes were steeper, floodplain extent was narrower, and degree of confinement was higher. Along the Farmington River, groundwater discharge was more likely to occur where saturated hydraulic conductivity was higher and depth‐to‐bedrock was shallower. Among the 32 stream reaches surveyed (33.2 km of total stream length) within the Farmington River watershed, preferential discharge was observed in all but two stream reaches, varied from 0 to 25% of lateral extent along stream banks (mean = 6%), and was more likely to occur where stream reach slopes were steep, saturated hydraulic conductivity was high, and watershed urbanization was low. Our results show that, though both surface (e.g., topographic, land use land cover) and subsurface (e.g., soil characteristics, bedrock depth) factors control the prevalence of streambank preferential groundwater discharge, the dominant controls vary across valley settings and stream sizes.

Baseline assessment of the hydrological network and land use in riparian buffers of Pampean streams of Uruguay.

The integrated assessment of stream networks and terrestrial land use contributes a critical foundation for understanding and mitigating potential impacts on stream ecology. Riparian zone delineation and management is a key component for regulating water quality, particularly in agricultural watersheds. We present a national assessment of riparian zone land uses according to stream order for the entire hydrological network in the Uruguayan landscape in Southeastern South America. We classified over 82,500km of streams and rivers in Uruguay into seven Strahler order classes and delineated riparian buffers of 100 and 500m, depending on stream order, covering a total of 13% of the terrestrial land area in Uruguay. Natural vegetation cover in riparian zones averaged 77% among basins, whereby natural grassland dominated first and second order stream buffers at 58% and 49%, respectively. This highlighted the importance of grasslands in headwater regions of the country. Riparian forests formed corridors along larger streams, representing a mere 9% of buffers in first order streams but reaching 46% of buffers of 6th order streams. Among the six major basins of Uruguay, we found differences in the relative importance of riparian forests and crop cover in headwater stream riparian zones, as well as differences in relative crop cover within riparian zones. Results show that streams in subtropical grassland landscapes originate in open grassland environments, which has major implications for thermal regimes, carbon inputs, and stream biodiversity. Riparian buffer management should consider geographic differences among different basins and ecoregions within Uruguay.

Heat and smoke from wildfires influence water temperature and dissolved oxygen levels in headwater streams

Wildfire has become increasingly common and severe in forested landscapes across the western United States. Stream and air temperatures within these landscapes are influenced not only by direct heating during the fire but by shading from heavy smoke. In addition, dissolved oxygen (DO) can be affected by increased ash inputs from fire or reduced primary production under lower light conditions. Because collecting data as the event occurs is challenging, most research exploring fire effects on streams has focused on responses months to years after the event as opposed to during and immediately after the fire. We sought to understand how physical stream parameters change as wildfire burns near streams, how stream temperature responses vary through a stream reach, how parameters respond to shading from pervasive smoke during and shortly after the fire, and how fire severity correlates with observed changes. In this study, we report measurements of light, air temperature, stream temperature, and DO across eleven 2nd- to 4th-order streams in the western Cascade Mountains of Oregon, USA, 1 wk before, during, and 1 wk after an extensive wildfire in 2020. Burning near streams resulted in a brief increase in daily maximum stream temperature of 4.5°C at the most severely burned site but small increases or decreases at less affected sites. Longitudinal replication revealed that temperature responses can be patchy at relatively small scales (∼50 m). DO daily minima decreased by 1.3 to 16.9% saturation on the day of the fire, with the magnitude of effect corresponding to burn severity. Across all 11 sites, riparian and watershed estimates of Rapid Assessment of Vegetation Condition after Wildfire and soil burn severity were better correlated with stream temperature responses to fire than percentage of watershed burned. Smoke effects were pervasive, both spatially and temporally, resulting in decreased light, stream temperature maxima, and diurnal variation in DO. Our results suggest that acute changes to physical stream parameters caused minimal harm to aquatic biota at our sites, and the effects of smoke on physical stream parameters will likely impose larger immediate effects on headwater streams than heating from the fire itself.

Comparison of caddisfly (Insecta, Trichoptera) assemblages from lake and river habitats of the Huron Mountains of Michigan (USA).

The caddisfly assemblages of six lakes and 12 1st-4th order streams of the Huron Mountains of northern Upper Michigan (USA) were sampled monthly with ultraviolet lights during June-September 2019. A total of 169 species representing 63 genera and 19 families was collected, including five species not found elsewhere in Michigan and two species endemic to the state. Species assemblages between lotic and lentic habitats were distinct from each other, with 11 species indicating lakes and 23 indicating rivers. Despite the taxonomic differences, biomass of functional feeding groups (FFGs) was similar between lakes and rivers, except for higher biomass of predators in the former and higher biomass of filtering collectors in the latter. The FFG biomass of both habitat types was dominated (50-70%) by shredders. Considering the undisturbed condition of the habitats, the caddisfly assemblages and FFG biomass of the Huron Mountains can serve as regional biological monitoring reference conditions.

Morphometric Analysis by Using Remote Sensing & QGIS Approach to Evaluate the Aquifer Response of Two Sub Watersheds of Coastal Kerala

Global increase in demand of water resources stepped up due to climate change and increase in population, stimulates an efficient development, management and conservation of water resources by quantifying the available water within the catchment to bridge the gap between its demand and availability. Initiated at a watershed scale, it is important to quantitatively evaluate the geomorphological parameters, since all the hydrologic and geomorphic processes may be accounted and balanced within a watershed. This study presents an excellent morphometric characterization of Payppara and Tikovil sub watersheds of Meenachil basin, in the state of Kerala, India, evaluated using SRTM DEM at 30m×30m spatial resolution as input to QGIS. The important linear morphometric aspects like stream order, length of stream segments, bifurcation ratio, Rho coefficient, the areal morphometric aspects like form factor, drainage density, stream frequency, elongation ratio, length of overland flow and relief aspects like ruggedness number, watershed relief were calculated for a comprehensive understanding of the geomorphic characteristics of the watershed. The general terrain of Tikovil was found to be steep but it was relatively mild for Payppara. The gravity flow paths traced by few 4th order, 3rd order and 2nd order stream segments of Payppara were identified as potential groundwater recharge zones. The derived morphometric characteristics benefits a better understanding of the formation of erosive and permeable surface flow paths in response to precipitation, the principal input to the hydrological budget.

Assessment of Groundwater Potential Zones across Katrol Hill Fault, Kachchh, Western India: A Remote Sensing and GIS Approach

The present study focuses on the use of remote sensing and geographical information system tools for morphometric and geomorphic analysis of major river basins across the Katrol Hill Fault, which makes drainage divide. It aims to find groundwater potential for the management and planning of groundwater resources. The study area consists of 6 major watersheds of major river systems namely Bhurud, Khari, and Pat flowing north of the major divide, while Rukmawati, Nagavanti, and Bhukhi are southerly flowing rivers. Based on linear, areal, and geomorphic aspects, a watershed with excellent groundwater potential was found. The highest order in the area is the 5th order stream. Appropriate drainage network characteristics, elongated shape, and permeable lithological formation with low relief among all the watersheds made WS3 be excellent potential for groundwater. The statistical analysis, where Cp value was computed, showed the potential groundwater zone to be in WS3 followed by WS2 and WS5. These results were even verified with field data, collected from well-inventory and that too favored WS3 as an excellent groundwater potential.

Quantitative Geomorphological Parameters Analysis for the Aynalem- Illala Streams, Tigray, Northern Ethiopia

Morphometric analysis is the measurement and mathematical analysis of the configuration of the surface, shape, and dimension of landforms. The objective of this study is to characterize the Aynalem and Illala streams using the morphometric parameter. The topographic map at a scale of 1:50,000 taken from the Ethiopian National Mapping Agency was used to characterize the linear and areal aspects. ASTER Digital Elevation Model with 10m resolution was used to characterize the relief aspect. The Arc GIS 10.4.1 was used during the morphometric analysis. The analysis result of the streams is summarized based on the linear, areal, and relief aspects. The area is characterized by a dendritic drainage pattern which is characteristics of massive hard rock terrain. The Aynalem and Illala streams are 4th and 5th order streams. Considering the number of streams in the Aynalem (75.81%) and Illala (74.66%) is composed of first-order streams that indicate a flashy flood and the mean bifurcation value of Aynalem (6.8) and Illala (4.7) shows that the Aynalem area is more structurally affected than Illala but both show less stream integration. The analysis of areal aspects such as elongation ratio, circularity ratio, and form factor has indicated that both streams are characterized as elongated streams, this implies that both streams are flowing in heterogeneous rock material, presences of structural effect, and slow runoff discharge. The other areal aspect such as drainage density, stream frequency, infiltration number, and length of overland flow all show smaller values in both streams. This implies that the streams are characterized by a relatively permeable rock material with a higher infiltration capacity. The relief aspect of the Aynalem and Illala was also analyzed using basin relief, relief ratio, ruggedness number, hypsometric curves, and Hypsometric integral. The streams are characterized by a lower relief ratio and ruggedness number which implies a relatively flat slope and lower relief. The hypsometric curves and the Hypsometric Integral of the streams indicate that the Aynalem and Illala are at the maturity stage. This shows the area is characterized by higher erosion but less affected by recent structures. Based on the morphometric parameter analysis result it is possible to conclude that the stream development is dependent on the topography and geology of the study area and both streams show similar morphometric character.

Morphometric analysis and prioritization of Garud watershed using remote sensing and GIS technology

The quantitative analysis of morphometric parameters is found to be of immense utility in watershed prioritization for soil and water conservation and natural resources management at micro level. The present work is an attempt to carry out a detailed study of linear and shape morphometric parameters in four watersheds of Garud Catchment and their prioritization for soil and water resource management. The study area (Garud watershed) is located at Garud (Baijnath), on Kausani-Baijnath-Bageshwar route, near Baijnath Temple in Bageshwar district of Uttarakhand state. The watershed drains into Gomti river at Garud (Baijnath) and lies between 29o54’12” to 29o89’78” N latitude and 79o36’43” to 79o61’68” E longitude with 604 ha (6.04 km2) geographical area. The elevation varied from 1086 to 1700 m above mean sea level (msl). Topographic map (53 O/9) of 1964 on 1:50000 scale was utilized to delineate the basin boundary and drainage pattern was extracted from Digital Elevation Model (DEM), thus to identify precisely basin characteristics using Geographic Information System (GIS). According to Strahler’s system of stream ordering, the natural drainage system of watershed was classified and the main stream was found as 4th order stream. It showed that, the maximum frequency in case of first order stream was 34 and that for second, third and fourth order streams was found to be 8, 2 and 1, respectively. The stream length ratio (RL) was estimated to be 0.28 and 1.31 for II/I and III/II orders, respectively. The increasing trend in RL from lower order to higher order indicated matured geomorphic stage and change from one order to another order in stream length ratio indicated late youth stage of geomorphic development of streams. In the present study, bifurcation ratio (Rb) varied from 2.0 to 4.25 with an average of 3.42, which indicates that the value of Rb was not the same from one order to next order. The higher value of Rb indicated strong structural control on the drainage pattern. This showed its usefulness for hydrograph shape for watersheds similar in other respect. The bifurcation ratio between first and second order streams indicated the nature of head ward erosion. In the present case, the head ward erosion was moderate as bifurcation ratio was 4.25. The drainage density was found to be 3.48 km/km2. Lower drainage density of the basin (3.48 km/km2) indicates towards course drainage pattern. The course texture gives more time for overland flow and hence to ground water recharge. The circulatory ratio (Rc), elongation ratio (Re) and form factor (Rf) was estimated to be 0.45, 0.60 and 0.28 respectively, indicating them to be elongated in shape and suggesting flatter peak flow for longer duration. In sub-watershed GR-3 the stream length followed Horton’s law. But in sub-watersheds GR-1, GR-2 and GR-4, the stream segments of various orders showed variation from general observation. This change may indicate flowing of streams from high altitude, litho logical variations and moderately steep slopes. The stream length ratio between different sub-watersheds showed an increasing trend from lower order to higher order indicating their mature geomorphic stage in sub-watersheds. The prioritization was carried out by assigning ranks to the individual indicators and a compound value (Cp) was calculated. Watersheds with highest Cp were of low priority while those with lowest Cp were of high priority. Sub-watershed GR-4 with a compound parameter value of 2.22 received the highest priority, which consists of steep slopes, high drainage density, high stream frequency, low form factor and low elongation ratio and the sub-watersheds GR-1and GR-2 both have same Cp value as 2.55 received second priority. The sub-watershed GR-3 had highest Cp value as 2.67 received last priority. Highest priority indicated the greater degree of erosion in the particular sub-watershed and it became potential area for applying soil conservation measures. Thus soil conservation measures can first be applied to sub-watershed GR-4 and then to the other sub-watersheds depending upon their priority.

Geo-informatics based Morphometric Analysis of a Reservoir Catchment in Shivalik Foothills of North-West India

The present study examined 35 morphometric parameters related to stream/drainage network, catchment geometry, and relief aspects for hydrological characterization of the Thana Dam catchment using geospatial tools and techniques. The dam catchment was delineated using the high-resolution Advanced Land Observing Satellite Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (ALOS PALSAR) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data in ArcGIS 10.4.1 software using the Arc Hydro tools. The catchment is comprised of 4th order stream, obtained using a stream threshold value of 100 m length. The lower values of elongation ratio (0.61), circularity ratio (0.22), and form factor (0.29) indicated higher soil erosion potential, mainly due to their inverse relationship with land erodibility. Moreover, the higher values of stream frequency (15.7), drainage density (>5.0), drainage texture (7.48 km-1), and mean bifurcation ratio (4.08-6.33) indicated higher runoff potential, which would intensify the soil erosion, mainly due to their direct relationship with erodibility. Bifurcation ratio, elongation ratio, circulatory ratio, form factor, altogether indicated an elongated shape of the catchment with a fine drainage texture. The higher values of bifurcation ratio and texture ratio of the catchment also indicated severe overland flow (low infiltration rate) with a limited scope for groundwater recharge in the area, which in turn might significantly encourage the soil erosion. Overall, it was concluded that the catchment has a huge runoff potential resulting in high soil erosion due to its fine texture, impermeable subsurface material, steep slope, low infiltration rate, limited vegetation, longer duration of overland flow, and higher surface runoff. The morphometric analysis was found to be suitable for identifying catchment shape and the factors affecting hydrologic conditions and erodibility of the catchment. Thus, Geo-informatics based morphometric analysis of a reservoir catchment can be useful to study the erosion potential in relation to hydrologic (rainfall-runoff relationship) and other related land characteristics (e.g., relief, slope, infiltration rate, etc.).

A Multi Criteria Approach for Morpho-tectonic Evaluation of Sai River Basin in Uttar Pradesh

Abstract The study integrates the morphometric analysis, lineament evaluation and fluvial geomorphology to investigate the morphotectonic setup of Sai basin. The Sai river basin forms an integral part of the central Ganga plain where the gentle slope is significantly controlled by intra-basinal tectonic activity. The fluvial setup of the Sai basin which comprises of vast old flood plains now is displayed as an entrenched river with straight channel symmetry with multiple sinuous bends. The structural control and geomorphic asymmetry can be well established by using multi criteria approach of morphometric parameters and lineament analysis. The morphometric analysis of the basin shows that the Sai river comprises of 5th order stream basin with high elongation ratio and high bifurcation ratio suggesting structural and tectonic controls. The form factor, drainage density, and length of overland flow shows low permeability with low infiltration rate indicating sheet erosion as a major denudational process. The lineament analysis from the stream pattern analysis indicates structural control for drainages while geomorphology corresponds to the landscape of the basin. The lineaments analysis shows a major NW-SE trend in concordance to present foreland basin. Thus, the study confirms that the Sai basin has conclusive evidences of morpho-tectonic control in the central Ganga plain indicating the role of the tectonics in basin evoluation.

Geo-spatial topology based morphometric analysis for soil and water conservation in Dholbaha watershed of Kandi region

Morphometric analysis forms the basis for planning water and soil conservation treatments in a watershed. Geospatial topology based morphometric analysis in Dholbaha watershed, located in the Kandi region of Punjab, was carried out using the IRS data of LISS IV, Cartoset-1 merged satellite data, ASTER DEM and ArcGIS-10.2 software. As per topology, Dholbaha watershed is the 5th order watershed. Out of all the 279 streams identified, 213 are of 1st order and one 5th order stream. The total stream length is found to be 191.73 kms. The dendritic drainage pattern is found with stream frequency of 4.67 no./km2 and mean bifurcation ratio of 3.9. Both length as well as number of streams decrease with the increase in the order of streams. Topological model indicates lesser effect of geological structure on the drainage pattern of the watershed. Drainage density of watershed (3.21 km/km2) reflects the closeness of spacing in channels with permeable sub strata. Fine drainage texture (7.34 no./km) and large length of the overland flow (150 m) in watershed resulted into high peaked hydrographs and high sheet erosion in the watershed. The circularity ratio, form factor and elongation ratio of the watershed 0.412, 0.51 and 0.72, respectively indicate that watershed is less elongated in shape, associated with medium to high relief, having moderately permeable sub-soil conditions resulting in moderate peak discharge, and moderate runoff volume resulting in high soil erosion. The watershed requires urgent conservation measures to control siltation of the reservoir.

Streambank Erosion Susceptibility Index and Flood-prone Area Mapping along the Karra River, Hetauda, Central Nepal Sub-Himalaya

The Karra River, one of the major tributaries of the Rapati River, is the 5th order stream that extends for about 21.91 km length in 92 sq. km. of watershed area. It is situated in the southern region of the Hetauda City, which is under the rapid development as a settlement and industrial area. The Karra River area is frequently impacted by streambank erosion and flooding during the heavy rainfall in monsoon due to loosely consolidated sedimentary terrain of the Upper Siwalik Subgroup and the unconsolidated Late Quaternary Deposits, which are vulnerable to erosion. Morpho-hydraulic parameters and stream cross-sectional characteristics and parameters of streambank erosion susceptibility index (SESI) rating system were assessed along the Karra River at 19 transects. The rating of the SESI are based on bank angle, bank height ratio, root depth ratio, root density, surface protection, bank materials and characteristics of stratification. The flood-prone area map was prepared based on the morpho-hydraulic parameters of the stream based on the maximum bankfull depth. The ER and W/D ratio were estimated to determine the affinity of flooding and lateral instability of the stream. Near Bank Stress Index and SESI dealt with streambank erosion potential were assessed to estimate the streambank erosion rate.

Spatial and temporal variation in river corridor exchange across a 5th-order mountain stream network

Abstract. Although most field and modeling studies of river corridor exchange have been conducted at scales ranging from tens to hundreds of meters, results of these studies are used to predict their ecological and hydrological influences at the scale of river networks. Further complicating prediction, exchanges are expected to vary with hydrologic forcing and the local geomorphic setting. While we desire predictive power, we lack a complete spatiotemporal relationship relating discharge to the variation in geologic setting and hydrologic forcing that is expected across a river basin. Indeed, the conceptual model of Wondzell (2011) predicts systematic variation in river corridor exchange as a function of (1) variation in baseflow over time at a fixed location, (2) variation in discharge with location in the river network, and (3) local geomorphic setting. To test this conceptual model we conducted more than 60 solute tracer studies including a synoptic campaign in the 5th-order river network of the H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest (Oregon, USA) and replicate-in-time experiments in four watersheds. We interpret the data using a series of metrics describing river corridor exchange and solute transport, testing for consistent direction and magnitude of relationships relating these metrics to discharge and local geomorphic setting. We confirmed systematic decrease in river corridor exchange space through the river networks, from headwaters to the larger main stem. However, we did not find systematic variation with changes in discharge through time or with local geomorphic setting. While interpretation of our results is complicated by problems with the analytical methods, the results are sufficiently robust for us to conclude that space-for-time and time-for-space substitutions are not appropriate in our study system. Finally, we suggest two strategies that will improve the interpretability of tracer test results and help the hyporheic community develop robust datasets that will enable comparisons across multiple sites and/or discharge conditions.

An integrated evaluation of the National Water Model (NWM)–Height Above Nearest Drainage (HAND) flood mapping methodology

Abstract. Flood maps are needed for emergency response, research, and planning. The Height Above Nearest Drainage (HAND) technique is a low-complexity, terrain-based approach for inundation mapping using elevation data, discharge–height relationships, and streamflow inputs. The recent operational capacities of the NOAA National Water Model (NWM) and preprocessed HAND products from the University of Texas offer an operational framework for real-time and forecast flood guidance across the US. In this study, we evaluate the integrated National Water Model –Height Above Nearest Drainage (NWM–HAND) flood mapping approach using 28 remotely sensed inundation maps and 54 reach-level catchments. The results show the NWM–HAND method tends to underpredict inundated cells in 4th-order and lower-order reaches but does better with a slight tendency to overpredict in high-order reaches. An evaluation of the roughness coefficient used in the production of synthetic rating curves suggests it is the most important parameter for correcting these errors. Persistent inaccuracies do occur when NWM streamflow predictions are substantially biased (>60 % mean absolute error between NWM and observed streamflow) and in regions of low relief. Overall, the NWM–HAND method does not accurately capture inundated cells but is quite capable of highlighting regions likely to be at risk in 4th-order streams and higher. While NWM–HAND should be used with caution when identifying flood boundaries or making decisions of whether a cell is dry or wet, its applicability as a high-level guidance tool along larger rivers is noteworthy.

Qurain AL-Thamad Valley Hydrological Aspects Extraction Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques

In the arid to semi-arid lands the extracted hydrological features are essential ones, since their effect on water projects managing, agricultural projects administrating, and animals grazing, so that this research is considered to be vital research because the climate of Qurain AL-Thamad basin is arid climate and basin region inhabited by many tribes who works in agricultural and grazing fields. The illustration of hydrological features using morphometric analyses is optimum since the quantization issue of basin factors, in the past this would be difficult using classical procedures (i.e. using paper topographic maps and planmeter). Recently as in this work modern procedures has been used (i.e. satellite imagery DEM as ancillary image and Arc GIS 10.5 as geo-measuring and spatio-analyzing program).
 The pattern of Qurain AL-Thamad basin's drainage network shows dendritic configuration in low orders streams and parallel configuration in the high order streams. The spatial analysis using GIS environment categorize basin's shape parameters into three categories: firstly one is the linear parameters with streams divided into 1st order streams with (611.587 km) length, 2nd order streams with (384.015 km) length, 3rd order streams with (181.868 km) length, and 4th order streams with (103.674 km) length. Bifurcation ratios were calculated, Rb1 is (2.046), Rb2 is (1.869), and Rb3 is (1.624), with (1.852) Rb mean value. Secondly categorize deals with areal parameters; The longitudinal drainage density was (0.259 km??), the drainage frequency was (0.035 stream /km²), Drainage Texture value was (0.338 stream / km ), the elongation ratio was (0.483), the circularity ratio value was (0.244), the form factor was (0.183) , and the relief ratio was (0.447). according to these quantitative results the flood hazard in the basin main stream is absent, basin soil is high permeable and region rainfall rate is very low, there is significant differences in region geological structures solidity, land steepness and relief ratio are low valued yielding a few water erosion power, sediment yield, and runoff flood peak in the basin water catchment area.

Co-located contemporaneous mapping of morphological, hydrological, chemical, and biological conditions in a 5th-order mountain stream network, Oregon, USA

Abstract. A comprehensive set of measurements and calculated metrics describing physical, chemical, and biological conditions in the river corridor is presented. These data were collected in a catchment-wide, synoptic campaign in the H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest (Cascade Mountains, Oregon, USA) in summer 2016 during low-discharge conditions. Extensive characterization of 62 sites including surface water, hyporheic water, and streambed sediment was conducted spanning 1st- through 5th-order reaches in the river network. The objective of the sample design and data acquisition was to generate a novel data set to support scaling of river corridor processes across varying flows and morphologic forms present in a river network. The data are available at https://doi.org/10.4211/hs.f4484e0703f743c696c2e1f209abb842 (Ward, 2019).

Testing the River Continuum Concept with geostatistical stream-network models

The River Continuum Concept (RCC) provided one of the first unifying frameworks in fluvial ecosystem theory. While the RCC predictions held in many empirical tests, other research highlighted how the model overlooked sources of heterogeneity at different scales e.g. the effects of tributaries. Disentangling these effects requires an assessment of variation in key ecosystem variables over the longitudinal and lateral dimension of river networks. However, so far, no empirical tests have employed a spatially explicit statistical approach to this assessment.Here, we show how recently-developed spatially-explicit models for river networks can be used to test predictions of the RCC whilst taking into account cross-scale sources of heterogeneity. We used macroinvertebrate data from 195 monitoring sites from 1st to 4th order streams spread across the Adige River network (NE Italy). We compared theoretical expectations with empirical semivariograms that incorporated network topology to assess the continuity and patchiness in the proportion of invertebrates functional feeding groups (FFG) over Euclidean and in-stream distances. Geostatistical stream-network models were then used to quantify the influence of the longitudinal gradient relative to local-scale water quality and land-use drivers, while accounting for network spatial autocorrelation.Patterns in the semivariograms based on flow-connected relationships were characterised by a nested structure associated with heterogeneity at multiple scales. Therefore, the longitudinal variation in FFG was better described by a patchy discontinuum rather than a gradient, implying that both in-stream processes and landscape factors influenced stream ecosystem function. The overall shift in FFG along the longitudinal profile was generally consistent with the RCC predictions, although the best models often included water quality and local land-use predictors. Stream-network models further indicated that up to 90% of residual variation (mean=50%) was accounted for by spatial autocorrelation, especially among flow-connected communities. Accounting for such autocorrelation not only improved model performance relative to non-spatial approaches, but indicated that most flow-connected communities were spatially correlated to some extent. This has clear implications for the assessment of the RCC tenets. This is the first test of the river continuum model that explicitly accounted for stream network topology and autocorrelation. Results indicated that in the Adige River, macroinvertebrates feeding groups exhibited heterogeneity along the longitudinal gradient, which appeared punctuated by local habitat transitions. Such transitions could be associated with artificial impoundments that alter the natural continuity of river processes, and we advocate the use of spatially explicit network models to test the RCC in more natural contexts.

Defining broad scale habitat associates for an imperiled crayfish, Cambarus veteranus

The Guyandotte River Crayfish (Cambarus veteranus) is a federally protected species of crayfish known from two streams within the Upper Guyandotte river basin in West Virginia. The entire known range of C. veteranus is represented by two disjunct populations and as such an assessment of broad and fine-scale habitat associates is warranted. The goal of this study was to utilize maximum entropy modelling (Maxent) to predict broad scale habitat associates for C. veteranus and to create a map of detection probability for every stream reach within the basin. Occurrence records from a 2015 survey of the Upper Guyandotte were used to create the models. Environmental variables used in the models included stream order, elevation, landcover, and presence of mining activities. The mean area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was 0.975 showing the model had high predictive accuracy. Stream order had the highest variable contribution and permutation importance. The model predicted that C. veteranus prefers 4th and 5th order streams. Ground validation will be completed to further test the accuracy of the models.