Delineation and Morphometric Characterization of Small- and Medium-Sized Caspian Sea Basin River Catchments Using Remote Sensing and GISs
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This investigation endeavors to demarcate the boundaries of small- and medium-sized river catchments within the Caspian Sea drainage basin, with a specific focus on the Northeastern Caucasus, Azerbaijan, and Iran regions. A multi-faceted approach was employed, incorporating various remote sensing methods to select key areas, including the catchments of the Sunzha, Sulak, Ulluchay, Karachay, Atachay, Haraz, and Gorgan rivers. Subsequently, geoinformation systems (GISs) and topographic maps were utilized to determine the morphometric characteristics of these catchments, accompanied by an assessment of the accuracy of remote sensing data. The aim of this study is to evaluate the accuracy and suitability of digital elevation models (DEMs) with a spatial resolution of 30 m per pixel (including ASTER DEM, ALOS DEM, NASADEM, Copernicus 30 m DEM, and SRTM 30 m DEM) and 90 m per pixel (Copernicus 90 m DEM and SRTM 90 m DEM) for delineating small- and medium-sized Caspian Sea basin river catchments. For the DEMs that successfully and accurately delineated watershed boundaries, the morphometric characteristics of the river basins were calculated. This research has yielded novel findings regarding the morphometric characteristics (area, perimeter, ruggedness of the catchment line (roundness coefficient), maximum height, minimum height, average height of the river basin, maximum slope of the surface, average slope of the surface, length of the main watercourse, basin shape parameter (catchment elongation coefficient), shape coefficient, length of the river basin, average river basin slope, and average width of the basin) of individual mountainous small- and medium-sized rivers in the Northeastern Caucasus, Azerbaijan, and Iran, with the catchments of the aforementioned rivers serving as exemplars. The practical significance of these results lies in the fact that such detailed morphometric characteristics of catchments have been obtained for the first time, and their boundaries have been clarified (burned out according to various DEMs), which can serve as a basis for decision-making processes and contribute to the development of operational environmental monitoring of the state of rivers and their catchments.
Source: Water
DOI: 10.3390/w17050679
Language: English
Subfield: Environmental Engineering
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,137
OpenAlex ID: W4407954886