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An Enhanced Pfafstetter Catchment Reference System
Author(s) -
Stein J. L.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/2018wr023218
Subject(s) - tributary , drainage basin , subdivision , structural basin , drainage network , hydrology (agriculture) , drainage , environmental science , geology , geography , cartography , civil engineering , geomorphology , engineering , ecology , geotechnical engineering , biology
The Pfafstetter system delineates and codes hierarchically nested catchments. Its simple coding scheme denotes stream network position, enabling systematic analysis of the impacts of any activity on a river section without need for a GIS. However, widespread application has identified significant limitations. Issues raised include an inability to code complex drainage systems or large numbers of endorheic basins, the variability in both the levels of basin decomposition and subbasin sizes and main stem identification criteria not conforming to local understanding. To address these issues, the Pfafstetter system was modified to use an independent regionalization for the initial subdivision of the continent. New procedures were developed to code distributary drainage networks and endorheic basins and alternate criteria devised to identify the main stem and to produce a more even decomposition of a catchment. These modifications were successfully applied to the task of delineating and coding hierarchically nested catchments for the Australian continent including its complex distributary and anabranching drainage networks and large numbers of endorheic basins. The independent basin grouping produced initially smaller and more evenly sized subbasins and modeled estimates of flow identified the main stem correctly slightly more often than the original contributing area criterion. Enabling further subdivision of catchments with fewer than four tributaries produced the largest change in catchment delineations, doubling the number of subbasins and halving their size. Achieving the vision for a comprehensive basin reference system will require further development to include anthropogenic and other hydrological features not controlled by topography.