Extracting The Morphometric Characteristics Of The Wadi Al-Majinin Basin Using Satellite Images

Abstract

This study aimed to build a database of morphometric characteristics in the Wadi Al-Majineen basin by analyzing the digital elevation model (DEM) and using a suite of geographic information system (GIS) software, including ArcGIS9.2, WMS7, Global Mapper11, and others, to derive a large number of morphometric variables and measurements to understand the basin's morphometric properties.

The morphometric analysis of the drainage network from the DEM and the application of Horton's laws and Strahler's method revealed the relationship between the number of valleys, their orders, and the lengths of the valleys and their orders. The basin and its tributaries were characterized by a low number of tributaries and shorter lengths compared to the ideal numbers and lengths The results of the shape characteristics of the drainage basins, by comparing them to regular geometric shapes, showed that the main Al-Majineen basin is moderately circular, while the shapes of the sub-basins approach a triangular for

In terms of the stage of the erosion cycle, the topographic characteristics of the basins, as well as the analysis of the hypsometric curve and the hypsometric coefficient, indicated that the erosional cycle of the valleys has advanced, with Wadi Qadaf Al-Dam reaching the old age stage, while the main valley and the rest of the sub-valleys are still in the mature stage.