DEVELOPMENT OF DEM-BASED METHOD FOR MAPPING STREAM POWER DISTRIBUTION OF SOUTHERN ONTARIO STREAMS
Mapping of stream power along a stream system, a known determinant of channel form and dynamics, is a valuable component of geomorphic stream assessment procedures that, unlike current methods, is physically-based, time- and cost-effective, objective and repeatable. Continuous maps of stream power can be obtained by extracting channel slope from DEMs and combining them with a discharge-drainage area function. Using the case of Highland Creek, a highly urbanized basin in Scarborough Ontario for which extensive data and background information is available, it is shown that reliable and precise stream power maps can be obtained from the Ontario provincial DEM. Local stream power variation can be seen to match known features of the channel and both reach-scale and overall trends in stream power match those from a ID computational model (HEC-RAS). Stream power maxima and minima also coincide with known areas o f channel instability and deposition.
stream power, Highland Creek, GIS, Ontario Provincial DEM v.2.0, mapping, stream assessment, fluvial geomorphology.
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