%0 Journal Article
%T Morphometry Governs the Dynamics of a Drainage Basin: Analysis and Implications
%A Atrayee Biswas
%A Dipanjan Das Majumdar
%A Sayandeep Banerjee
%J Geography Journal
%D 2014
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2014/927176
%X Mountainous rivers are the most significant source of water supply in the Himalayan provinces of India. The drainage basin dynamics of these rivers are controlled by the tectonomorphic parameters, which include both surface and subsurface characteristics of a basin. To understand the drainage basin dynamics and their usefulness in watershed prioritisation and management in terms of soil erosion studies and groundwater potential assessment and flood hazard risk reduction in mountainous rivers, morphometric analysis of a Himalayan River (Supin River) basin has been taken as a case study. The entire Supin River basin has been subdivided into 27 subwatersheds and 36 morphometric parameters have been calculated under four broad categories: drainage network, basin geometry, drainage texture, and relief characteristics, each of which is further grouped into five different clusters having similar morphometric properties. The various morphometric parameters have been correlated with each other to understand their underlying relationship and control over the basin hydrogeomorphology. The result thus generated provides adequate knowledge base required for decision making during strategic planning and delineation of prioritised hazard management zones in mountainous terrains. 1. Introduction Morphometry is the measurement and mathematical analysis of the configuration of the earth¡¯s surface and of the shape and dimension of its landforms [1]. The form and structure of drainage basins and their associated drainage networks are described by their morphometric parameters. Morphometric properties of a drainage basin are quantitative attributes of the landscape that are derived from the terrain or elevation surface and drainage network within a drainage basin. Application of quantitative techniques in morphometric analysis of drainage basins was initially undertaken by Horton et al. [2¨C8] from topographic maps using manual methods. Remote sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) techniques are increasingly being used for morphometric analysis of drainage basins throughout the world [9¨C13]. Quantitative techniques have been applied to study the morphometric properties of different drainage basins in India [14¨C23]. Several authors have studied morphometric properties of drainage basins as indicators of structural influence on drainage development and neotectonic activity [24¨C27]. In many studies morphometric analysis has been used to assess the groundwater potentiality of the basins and to locate suitable sites for construction of check dams and artificial
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/geography/2014/927176/