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The accuracy of drainage network delineation as a function of environmental factors: A case study in Central and Northern Sweden
Author(s) -
Yan Yanzi,
Lidberg William,
Tenenbaum David E.,
Pilesjö Petter
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
hydrological processes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.222
H-Index - 161
eISSN - 1099-1085
pISSN - 0885-6087
DOI - 10.1002/hyp.13963
Subject(s) - drainage , drainage basin , digital elevation model , biogeochemical cycle , land cover , hydrology (agriculture) , scale (ratio) , drainage network , environmental science , land use , vegetation (pathology) , drainage system (geomorphology) , geology , physical geography , remote sensing , cartography , geography , ecology , medicine , geotechnical engineering , pathology , biology
Drainage networks delineated from Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), are the basis for the modelling of geomorphological and hydrological processes, biogeochemical cycling, and water resources management. Besides providing effective models of water flows, automatically extracted drainage networks based on topography can diverge from reality to varying degrees. The variability of such disagreement within catchments has rarely been examined as a function of the heterogeneity of land cover, soil type, and slope in the catchment of interest. This research gap might not only substantially limit our knowledge of the uncertainty of hydrological prediction, but can also cause problems for users attempting to use the data at a local scale. Using 1:1 scale land cover maps, Quaternary deposits maps, and 2 m resolution DEMs, it is found that the accuracy of delineated drainage networks tends to be lower in areas with denser vegetation, lower hydraulic conductivity, and higher erodibility. The findings of this study could serve as a guide for the more thoughtful usage of delineated drainage networks in environmental planning, and in the uncertainty analysis of hydrological and biochemical predictions. Therefore, this study makes a first attempt at filling the knowledge gap described above.