Terrain analysis for stream hillslope morphology Rob Payn Aquatic, Watershed, and Earth Resources Utah State University
Dissertation research How do stream hydraulics relate to hillslope morphology? Discharge (stream inflow) Stream – ground water exchange (hyporheic exchange) How can catchment drainage hydraulics be scaled based on these relationships?
Research area: Tenderfoot Creek Experimental Forest, MT
Why is this important? Stream water quality Water quantity Where is inflow (discharge) originating? Biogeochemical reactions in storage Water quantity How much retention? Reaction to storms and snowmelt Can we scale our reach understanding to whole catchments?
Quantifying hillslope morphology Riparian vs. hillslope area Hillslope vs. valley gradient
Finding riparian / hillslope boundaries with terrain analysis Find non-stream flow paths from all stream cells Check all cells for flow from neighbors 2 2 3 1 1 2
Finding riparian / hillslope boundaries with terrain analysis Find non-stream flow paths from all stream cells Check all cells for flow from neighbors 2 2 3 1 1 2
Research area: Tenderfoot Creek Experimental Forest, MT
Distance to stream
Elevation above stream
Riparian threshold
Riparian threshold
Current implementation Future implementation? ArcMap Toolbox Scripts TauDEM or ArcHydro Model builder ESRI grid files ESRI Lib. TauDEM Source C programs
Other potential algorithms Weighted threshold Slope breaks Potential morphologic analyses Average hillslope gradients Riparian widths Riparian width vs. valley slope