Watershed morphometric analysis of Wadi Baish Dam catchment area using integrated GIS-based approach

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1 Arab J Geosci (2017) 10: 256 DOI /s ORIGINAL PAPER Watershed morphometric analysis of Wadi Baish Dam catchment area using integrated GIS-based approach Farid Radwan 1 & AA Alazba 1,2 & Amr Mossad 2,3 Received: 13 December 2016 /Accepted: 23 May 2017 /Published online: 13 June 2017 # Saudi Society for Geosciences 2017 Abstract The integration of Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) constitutes a powerful tool for the evaluation of watershed morphometric parameters. The benefits of this integration include saving time and effort as well as improving the accuracy of the analysis. Moreover, this technique is appropriate for describing the watershed and its streams. In this study, a detailed morphometric analysis of the Wadi Baish catchment area has been performed using the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). The performed morphometric analysis includes linear, areal, and relief aspects. The results of the morphometric analysis reveal that the catchment can be described as of eighth stream order and consists of an area of km 2. Additionally, the basin is characterized by a relatively high mean value of bifurcation (4.012), indicative of the scarcity of permeable rocks with high slope in the area. This value of bifurcation ratio is consistent with the high drainage density value of km/km 2 and confirms the impermeability of the subsurface material and mountainous relief. The hypsometric integral of the catchment is 47.4%, and the erosion integral of the catchment is 52.6%, both were indications of a mature catchment area. Keywords Morphometry. GIS. Hypsometric analysis. Wadi Baish Dam * Farid Radwan fradwan@ksu.edu.sa Alamoudi Water Research Chair, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Agricultural Engineering Department, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Agricultural Engineering Department, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt Introduction Water, a vital resource for life, can easily become a scarce element, threatening humanity in present times and in future eras. Furthermore, water is not equally distributed all over the world. The disparity in water distribution creates a severe water deficit in many regions as well as water surplus in others. The latter may occur because of a rapid and an extreme rainfall event. It follows that the reservoirs containing this precious element need to be carefully managed. In order to do so, decision makers need to be informed about hydrological characteristics of drainage basins and these can be appropriately studied through morphometric analysis. Morphometry is defined as the mathematical analysis of the Earth s surface that describes its topographic reliefs (Clarke 1966; Nongkynrih and Husain 2011; Bhunia et al. 2012; Hajam et al. 2013; Biswasetal.2014; Withanage et al. 2015). The morphometric analysis is performed by measuring linear, areal, and relief (gradient) aspects of the catchment area (Magesh et al. 2013; Ali and Ali 2014; Kaliraj et al. 2015; Ali et al. 2016). A broadly recognized concept of watershed morphometry is that the basin morphology affects both geological dynamics and geomorphological mechanisms. Moreover, it is known that the impact of morphometry on drainage is exceptionally critical for understanding a terrain and the physical and erosional properties of its soil (Bagyaraj et al. 2011; Dutta and Roy 2012). It follows that a morphometric analysis is indispensable when interested in the hydrological characteristics of a basin. The information obtained from morphometric analysis of watersheds is thus a crucial tool for water resource management. A morphometric analysis contributes to the understanding of linear, areal, and relief aspects of the drainage basin (Pareta and Pareta 2011; Pareta and Pareta 2012; Rai et al. 2014). The analysis includes the following parameters stream order,

2 256 Page 2 of 11 Arab J Geosci (2017) 10: 256 stream number, stream length, mean stream length, stream length ratio, bifurcation ratio, length of overland flow, basin length, basin perimeter, basin area, basin form factor, elongation ratio, circularity ratio, drainage density, stream frequency, drainage texture, infiltration rate, total relief, relative relief, relief ratio, hypsometric analysis, and gradient ratio. The traditional technique for determining the morphometric parameters uses measurements and calculations based on topographic maps. Recently, a new technique based on the integration of Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has been developed (Kant et al. 2015). This new approach can improve the accuracy of the analysis and save time. Two different Remote Sensing data sources are used: Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) and Advanced Space-borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER). These missions provide an accurate, fast, and economical technique for analyzing hydrological systems, and they are much more efficient than the traditional methods. For example, the Digital Elevation Model (DEM), the main product of SRTM, has been successfully applied in generating watershed characteristics in several morphometric studies (Rao et al. 2010; Nongkynrih and Husain 2011; Kumar 2013; Waikar and Nilawar 2014; Gabale and Pawar 2015; Kalam and Ramesh 2015). The aim of this work is to compute the morphometric parameters of the Wadi Baish Dam catchment area based on the integration of RS and GIS data. The analysis will help decision makers to understand the hydrological, geological, and topographical characteristics of the study area and will also constitute a solid starting point for all future studies on the Wadi Baish Dam catchment area. Fig. 1 Location map of the Wadi Baish catchment area

3 Arab J Geosci (2017) 10: 256 Page 3 of Materials and methods Study area description The Wadi Baish Dam catchment area (latitude to N and longitude to E) is located in Baish governorate, in the north of Jizan region, in the southwest part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Fig. 1). The catchment area is km 2, and the catchment length is km. The area is part of a semi-arid zone and experiences tropical climate. The annual average rainfall of the catchment is about 229 mm. The temperature reaches its maximum between June and August and is at its lowest between December and February, with a mean maximum of 41 C in August and a mean minimum of 18 C in January. Methodology Fig. 2 Digital elevation model of Wadi Baish catchment Morphometry is defined as the measurement and analysis of the surface, shape, and dimensions of landforms. The watershed is considered to be a basin-like landform. The characterization of the watershed network and the classification of its stream order can be performed manually, taking considerable time and effort, or it can be efficiently performed in an automatized way. In this study, a morphometric analysis was carried Fig. 3 The applied GIS-based methodology for Wadi Baish catchment morphometric analysis DEM Aspect map Fill Slope map Flow direction Watershed delineation based on pour point Flow accumulation Stream order Con Watershed with stream order

4 256 Page 4 of 11 Arab J Geosci (2017) 10: 256 out for Wadi Baish based on georeferenced satellite data. The morphometric parameters were then identified using the SRTM DEM to an accuracy of 30 m (Fig. 2). DEM data have been processed by the hydrology tool as in ArcGIS software, Table 1 Main morphometric parameters for Wadi Baish catchment and their computation methods Parameters Formula/definition References Linear Stream order (u) Hierarchical rank Strahler (1964) Stream number (N u ) (k u) N u = R b Horton (1945) where R b = constant bifurcation ratio; k = highest order of the basin; u = basin order Stream length (L u ) Length of the stream (km) Horton (1945) Mean stream length (L sm ) L sm = L u / N u Strahler (1964) where L u = total stream length of order u (km) N u = total number of stream segments of order u Stream length ratio (R L ) R L = L smu /(L smu 1) Horton (1945) where L smu = mean stream length of order u; L smu 1=mean stream length of its next lower order Bifurcation ratio (R b ) R b = N u /(N u +1) Schumm (1956) where N u = total number of stream segments of the order u N u + 1 = number of segments of the next higher order Mean bifurcation ratio (R bm ) R bm = average of bifurcation ratios of all orders Strahler (1964) Length of overland flow (L g ) L g =1/(2 D d ) (km) Horton (1945) where L g = length of overland flow and D d = drainage density Areal Basin length (L b ) The longest dimension of the basin which parallels to the principal drainage (km) Schumm (1956) Basin perimeter (P) Total length of outer boundary of drainage basin (km) Schumm (1956) Basin area (A) Area ofthe basin(km 2 ) Strahler (1964) Form factor (R f ) 2 R f = A / L b Horton (1932) where A = basin area (km 2 ) L 2 b = square of basin length Elongation ratio (R e ) R e =2 (A/π)/L b Schumm (1956) where A = area of the basin (km 2 )andl b = basin length (km) Circularity ratio (R c ) R c =4πA / P 2 Miller (1953) where A = basin area (km 2 ) P 2 = square of basin perimeter Drainage density (D d ) D d = L / A (km/km 2 ) Horton (1932) where L = total length of stream segments of a basin (km) A = basin area (km 2 ) Stream frequency (F s ) F s = N u / A Horton (1932) where N u = total number of stream segments of all orders A = basin area (km 2 ) Drainage texture (D t ) D t = N u / P Horton (1945) where N u = total number of stream segments of all orders P = basin perimeter (km) Infiltration number (I f ) I f = D d F s Zavoiance (1985) where D d =drainagedensity F s = stream frequency Relief Maximum relief (Z) The highest elevation at the source of the basin Minimum relief (z) The lowest elevation at the mouth of the basin Mean relief (Ź) Statistical analysis Total relief (H) H = Z z Strahler (1952) Relative relief (R) R = H / P Melton (1957) where H = total basin relief P = perimeter of the basin Relief ratio (R h ) R h = H / L b Schumm (1956) where H = total basin relief L b = maximum basin length Hypsometric integral (HI) (Ź z) /(Z z) Pike and Wilson (1971) Gradient ratio (R g ) R g =(Z z) /L b where Z = elevation at source z = elevation at mouth L b =lengthofmainstream Sreedevi et al. (2005)

5 Arab J Geosci (2017) 10: 256 Page 5 of version The performed digital processing on the DEM raw data includes filling DEM data gaps, flow direction, flow accumulation, conditional, stream order, and stream to feature for converting raster stream order into vector data (Fig. 3). The watershed was delineated by defining the dam location as a pour point. The results obtained with DEM data were then projected onto the WGS 84 UTM Zone 38 Coordinate System. Morphometric parameters are divided into three categories: (1) linear aspects, (2) areal aspects, and (3) relief aspects. The linear morphometric aspects involve several one-dimensional (x-axis) stream properties, such as stream order, stream number, stream length, mean stream length, stream length ratio, bifurcation ratio, and length of overland flow. These parameters are calculated using standard methods and equations as listed in Table 1. The areal morphometric aspects consist of two-dimensional (x- and y-axes) parameters that characterize the drainage basin, such as basin length, basin perimeter, and basin area. In this study, as mentioned before, these parameters are determined by the processing of DEM data via the GIS software. Others areal variables, such as basin form factor, elongation ratio, circularity ratio, drainage density, stream frequency, drainage texture, and infiltration rate, are computed according to Table 1. Finally, the relief morphometric aspects consider the three-dimensional parameters such as total relief, relative relief, relief ratio, hypsometric analysis, and gradient ratio (definition in Table 1). The hypsometric curve describes the relationship between the catchment land area and its altitude, which were calculated by dividing the catchment area by the number of altitude classes in the catchment area. Results and discussion Linear morphometric parameters The linear aspects of a catchment are mainly related to the characteristics of its drainage network, which in turn are influenced by the local topography. The linear aspects considered in this study include stream order, stream number, stream length, mean stream length, stream length ratio, bifurcation ratio, and length of overland flow. A detailed description of the results obtained for each of these aspects is provided below. The determination of stream order (u) constitutes the first step in the drainage catchment analysis. The literature considers several ordering methods (Gravelius 1914; Horton 1945; Strahler1957; Scheidegger 1965; Shreve1967). Because of its straightforwardness, this study adopts the method proposed by Strahler (1964). The Strahler method assigns the first order to the smallest stream segments; when two firstorder streams join, a second-order stream segment is generated; when two streams of the second-order join, a third-order Fig. 4 Stream orders of Wadi Baish catchment based on Strahler s method segment stream is generated; and so on. When two streams having different orders join, the higher order is assigned to the resulting stream segment. Figure 4 depicts the stream order classification of the Wadi Baish catchment area. It is remarkable that the lowest stream order has the maximum stream number and vice versa, as we will see in detail in the following paragraph. This catchment is classified as an eighth-order drainage basin. The catchment size and hierarchy are thus controlled by the stream order. The stream number (N u, count of the streams that have the same stream order u) is obtained using the method proposed by Horton (1945). Figure 5 shows an inverse relationship between the stream order and the stream number, with a Fig. 5 The relationship between the logarithm of stream number and the stream order of Wadi Baish catchment

6 256 Page 6 of 11 Arab J Geosci (2017) 10: 256 Table 2 Linear aspects of Wadi Baish catchment Stream order Stream number Stream length (km) Total Mean Cumulative Stream length ratio Bifurcation ratio Length of overland flow (km) 1 12, Total 16, percentage of variance of 99.2%. This indicates that the total number of streams gradually decreases for increasing stream order. This figure forms a geometric series such as that obtained by Horton s law. The series begins with a single stream for the highest order and increases in value according to a constant bifurcation ratio. In the case of the Wadi Baish catchment area, the total number of steams (16,384) is divided across 8 orders. The first and second stream orders consist of about 12,819 and 2770 streams, respectively. In contrast, the remaining catchment stream orders (third eighth) consist of fewer than 800 streams. The stream order and stream number of the studied catchment are shown in Table 2. These results are extremely important in investigating catchment characteristics such as the drainage pattern (Waikar and Nilawar 2014; Kant et al. 2015). Furthermore, they provide a good indicator of the impermeability and infiltration capacity of the area. Stream length (L u ) is one of the most significant hydrological features of the catchment as it can be considered as a proxy for the surface runoff characteristics. The stream length is based on Horton s law Horton (1945). Consequently, the stream length has been measured from the basin mouth to the drainage divide (Kant et al. 2015). Generally, long stream lengths are an indicator of flatter gradient. Usually, the value of stream length is maximum for the first order and decreases with increasing order (Strahler 1964). The stream lengths of first- and second-order streams are and km, respectively. In contrast, the total stream length relative to the remaining catchment stream orders (third eighth) is less than 2500 km. The results of stream orders and their corresponding stream lengths are shown in Table 2. The mean stream length (L sm ) is computed by dividing the total stream length of each order by the number of streams characterized by that order. This quantity is thus closely related to the drainage network and its associated surfaces (Strahler 1964). In the case of the Wadi Baish catchment area, the mean stream length is and km for the first and eighth orders, respectively. The cumulative stream length for the study basin is km. From Table 2, it can be noted that the mean stream length increases with increasing stream order. Analogously, the cumulative stream length of the Wadi Baish catchment increases with increasing stream order (the percentage of variance being 98.7%) (Fig. 6). This result seems to follow Horton s law (Horton 1945). Table 2 shows the stream length ratio at different stream orders for the Wadi Baish catchment area. The values of the stream length ratio vary from to for the fifth and eighth orders, respectively. This indicates the presence of moderately resistant rocks, low slope, and topography in the terrain (Bindu et al. 2012). The bifurcation ratio (R b, the ratio between the stream number relative to a certain order and the stream number relative to the next higher order) is found according to Schumm (1956). Values of bifurcation ratio obtained for the Wadi Baish catchment area are shown in Table 2. They range between 2 and for the seventh and fourth orders, respectively, with a mean value of According to these values, the Wadi Baish catchment area is classified as a normal basin. Results of different studies indicate that the mean bifurcation ratio for catchments without differential geological control ranges between three and five (Coates 1958; Kant et al. 2015). A higher Fig. 6 The relationship between the logarithm of cumulative stream length and the stream order of Wadi Baish catchment

7 Arab J Geosci (2017) 10: 256 Page 7 of mean bifurcation ratio value suggests the presence of rocks characterized by a low permeability and high slopes while a low mean bifurcation ratio value suggests the presence of rocks characterized by high permeability and low structural control (Pareta and Pareta 2011; Pareta and Pareta 2012). The studied catchment has an overland flow of km. This value is usually considered when considering the hydrological and physiographical development of catchment areas (Waikar and Nilawar 2014). Areal morphometric parameters The areal morphometric parameters (areal aspects) are relative to important features of the drainage catchment area such as geological structure, climatic conditions, and catchment denudation history. The Wadi Baish catchment area is characterized by an impermeable soil and its underlying lithology. The aspects considered in this study are basin length, basin perimeter, basin area, basin form factor, elongation ratio, circularity ratio, drainage density, stream frequency, drainage texture, and infiltration rate. The values of the areal morphometric parameters obtained for the Wadi Baish catchment area are presented in Table 3. The catchment total area is km 2 with a length of km and a perimeter of km. This indicates that the catchment shape is approximately circular, a fact that reflects its hydrological characteristics. In fact, compared to more elongated catchment areas, the Wadi Baish is characterized by higher peak flows with shorter lag times (Kant et al. 2015). In this study, three of the considered ratios were affected by the hydrological characteristics of the catchment area: the form factor (R f ), the elongation ratio (R e ), and the circularity ratio (R c ). These ratios calculated according to the formulas given by Horton (1932), Schumm (1956), and Miller (1953), respectively. The form factor of Wadi Baish is 0.621, confirming the aforementioned result as belonging to a circular catchment area (the higher the form factor value, the more circular the catchment area). As mentioned before, this means Table 3 Areal aspects of Wadi Baish catchment Parameter Value Basin length (km) Perimeter (km) Area (km 2 ) Infiltration number Drainage density (km/km 2 ) Stream frequency Drainage texture Form factor Circularity ratio Elongation ratio Fig. 7 Drainage density of Wadi Baish catchment that the catchment area is more prone to larger peak flows characterized by shorter durations (Pareta and Pareta 2011; Pareta and Pareta 2012; Kumar 2013; Waikar and Nilawar 2014). However, flood flows are easier to control in elongated basins than circular basins (Kant et al. 2015). The elongation and circularity ratios of the Wadi Baish catchment area are and 0.403, respectively. These values further confirm the circular shape of the catchment area. Generally, the drainage density and drainage texture are influenced by the terrain, land use/land cover, and soil of the basin area. Figure 7 shows that the high drainage density of the catchment area (2.064 km/km 2 ) is characterized by a texture ratio of Moreover, its stream frequency is 3.456, which means that the catchment area is characterized by low vegetation and low infiltration capacity with high relief and high runoff. The three values of drainage density, drainage texture, and stream frequency suggest that the Wadi Baish catchment area is characterized by high impermeability and Table 4 Relief aspects of Wadi Baish catchment Parameter Value Maximum relief (m) 2600 Minimum relief (m) 400 Mean relief (m) Hypsometric integral Relief ratio Relative relief (m) Gradient ratio 0.040

8 256 Page 8 of 11 Arab J Geosci (2017) 10: 256 Fig. 8 Contour map of Wadi Baish catchment Fig. 10 Slope map in degree of Wadi Baish catchment runoff with marked lithology. The infiltration number, computed following Zavoiance (1985), has a value of and thus confirms the results relative to the runoff and infiltration capacity. according to the Strahler (1952), the maximum and minimum relief values of the Wadi Baish catchment area are 2600 and 400 m, respectively, with a mean relief value of m. The catchment relative relief value is about m according to Melton (1957). The low relative relief value indicates the presence of less resistant rocks in the drainage basin (Magesh et al. 2011). The relief ratio (Rh) is approximately (Table 4) and is indicative of an inverse relationship between the catchment area and the catchment size. Its low value suggests the existence of a gentle slope in the terrain. Additionally, the gradient ratio (Rg) of (computed according to Sreedevi et al. (2005)) indicates that the basin is characterized by homogeneous lithology and lack of structural control. Relief morphometry Relief morphometry is critical when studying the catchment erosional characteristics (Sreedevi et al. 2009; Magesh et al. 2011; Rai et al. 2014; Vieceli et al. 2015; Al-Saady et al. 2016). In this study, three relief morphometric parameters are considered: relative relief (R), relief ratio (Rh), and gradient ratio (Rg). The three parameters are related to the progressive changes in the landform being analyzed. As shown in Table 4, Hypsometric analysis Wadi Baish s hypsometric characteristics (Hs) were calculated by dividing the catchment land area into eight classes, based on the contour map (Fig. 8). According to the hypsometric curve shown in Fig. 9, it is estimated that 60% of the area lies Table 5 Percentage of hypsometric integral with their corresponding development stages according to Pareta and Pareta (2012) Fig. 9 The percentage hypsometric curve of Wadi Baish catchment Stages % of hypsometric integrals Old Mature Youth Middle Initial

9 Arab J Geosci (2017) 10: 256 Page 9 of Fig. 13 Longitudinal profile of Wadi Baish catchment Fig. 11 Aspect map of Wadi Baish catchment below the 1500 m elevation, while only 5% lies above the 2500 m elevation. The hypsometric curve in Fig. 9 was used to obtain the hypsometric integral (HI) by analyzing the mean elevation and relief range of the basin. Moreover, the hypsometric curve appears to be inversely correlated with the total relief, slope steepness, drainage density, and channel gradients. The HI value was obtained using Pike and Wilson (1971) formula. The HI value of the Wadi Baish catchment area is estimated as 47.4%, and the erosion integral is 52.6%. These values reflect the distribution of a large volume of landmass ( km2) at relatively low elevations (<1500 m). Moreover, the HI value of Wadi Baish indicates that the catchment is at a mature stage, following the classification of hypothetical standard basin stages (Table 5) according to Pareta and Pareta (2012). Slope and catchment profile The slope map of the Wadi Baish catchment area is shown in Fig. 10. Values of catchment slope vary from 0 to 75.52%, with an average value of 22%. These values are strongly coherent with the local nature of the runoff and infiltration, as described in the previous sections referring to the linear and areal morphometric parameters. The catchment area slopes towards the South to Southwest direction, as clearly seen in the slope direction and hillshade maps (Figs. 11 and 12, respectively). The overall catchment longitudinal profile ranges between and m, as shown in Fig. 13. This parameter is considered as the best way to represent catchment forms geometrically (Pareta and Pareta 2011). Conclusions Fig. 12 Hillshade map of Wadi Baish catchment Morphometric analysis helps decision makers to understand several characteristics of a basin, such as underlying lithology, infiltration capacity, runoff, basin shape, and size. In this study, the RS and GIS based on DEM have been used to accurately estimate the parameters required by the analysis. Linear, areal, and relief aspects were the analyzed morphometric parameters for the Wadi Baish Dam catchment area. Based on the current analysis, the highest stream order present in the catchment is of the eighth order. Moreover, the analysis reveals high degrees of hierarchization and ramification. The

10 256 Page 10 of 11 Arab J Geosci (2017) 10: 256 most dominant order is the lowest order. The high number of low order streams is indicative of the adequacy of the catchment to provide sufficient superficial draining. The analysis of the linear aspects suggests the presence of impermeable rocks with high slope. The analysis of the areal aspects indicates that the catchment shape is approximately circular, and the basin is characterized by a high runoff, low infiltration capacity, high impermeability of the underlying lithology, mountainous relief, and lack of vegetation. Due to these characteristics, the catchment tends to have higher flood peaks with shorter lag times compared to a more elongated catchment. The relief aspects indicate the presence of less resistant rocks in the drainage basin. 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