HR: 17:45h
AN: H32I-08    [PDF]
TI: A GIS Framework for Describing River Channel Bathymetry
AU: * Merwade, V M
EM: vmmerwade@mail.utexas.edu
AF: Center for Research in Water Resources, Pickle Research Campus, Bldg 119, MC R8000, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712 United States
AU: Maidment, D R
EM: maidment@mail.utexas.edu
AF: Center for Research in Water Resources, Pickle Research Campus, Bldg 119, MC R8000, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712 United States
AB: A geographic information system (GIS) approach for describing river channel bathymetry at regional-scale is presented. Based on the detailed bathymetry data collected for a reach along the Brazos River in Texas, a GIS framework for describing the channel bathymetry in three dimensions is developed. The framework inter-relates channel characteristics such as the meandering shape, the thalweg location, and the cross-sections with each other. Thus, by knowing only the meandering shape of the channel, it is possible to create a three-dimensional mesh that comprises a series of cross-sections and profile-lines (lines parallel to the flow). This approach is first applied to a short reach upstream of the study area to create a three-dimensional channel shape. Although the output does not reflect all the details that are typically observed with the river bathymetry, this approach provides a mean surface for the channel bed. The framework derived for the Brazos River is then modified to apply to two more reaches, namely the Guadalupe River and the Sulphur River in Texas, and the results are compared with the observed data.
DE: 1800 HYDROLOGY
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting