Algorithm for Precise Drainage‐Basin Delineation
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 120, Issue 3
Abstract
Computer‐based terrain models have become increasingly popular as a tool for automating much of the geometrical data acquisition necessary for hydrologic analyses. An algorithm is presented that uses triangulated irregular networks (TINs) to accurately delineate drainage‐basin boundaries. Boundary delineation can be performed for areas that drain to individual points or stream networks defined on the TIN. A special feature of the algorithm is that the segments of the stream network need not correspond to channel edges. This allows greater flexibility in defining stream networks on the TIN and makes it possible to apply the boundary delineation algorithm to urban areas where the stream networks may be dominated by manmade structures such as streets and canals or to rural areas where the terrain exhibits little relief. Once the basin boundaries are established, geometric parameters such as basin areas, slopes, and maximum flow distances are easily computed. These tools can be combined with hydrologic modeling software such as HEC‐1 to create a comprehensive hydrologic modeling environment.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Band, L. E. (1986). “Topographic partition of watersheds with digital elevation models.” Water Resour. Res., 22(1), 15–24.
2.
Gandoy‐Bernasconi, W., and Palacios‐Velez, O. L. (1989). “Automatic cascade numbering of unit elements is distributed hydrological models.” J. Hydr., 112, 375–393.
3.
Grayman, W. M., Males, R. M., Gates, W. E., and Hadder, A. W. (1975). “Land‐based modeling system for water quality management studies.” J. Hydr. Engrg. Div., ASCE, 110(5), 567–580.
4.
Grayman, W. M., Woolridge, B. A., Long, E. B., and Vidra, A. C. (1979). “Joint state/regional environmental planning using the PEMSO/ADAPT geographic information system.” AutoCarto IV; Proc. Int. Symp. on Cartography and Computing: Applications in Health and Environment, R. T. Aangeenbrug, ed., American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Bethesda, Md.
5.
Grayman, W. M., Males, R. M., and Harris, J. J. (1982). “Use of integrated spatial data and modeling capabilities for urban runoff analyses.” Int. Symp. on Urban Hydro., Hydr. and Sediment Control, Univ. of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky.
6.
Heil, R. J. (1979). “The digital terrain model as a data base for hydrological and geomorphological analyses.” AutoCarto IV; Proc., Int. Symp. on Cartography and Computing: Applications in Health and Environment, American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Bethesda, Md.
7.
Jenson, S. K., and Domingue, J. O. (1988). “Extracting topographic structure from digital elevation data for geographic system analysis.” Photogrammetric Engrg. and Remote Sensing, 54(11), 1593–1600.
8.
Jones, N. L., Wright, S. G., and Maidment, D. R. (1990). “Watershed delineation with triangle based terrain models.” J. Hydr. Engrg., ASCE, 116(10), 1232–1251.
9.
Jones, N. L. (1990). “Solid modelling of earth masses for applications in geotechnical engineering,” PhD dissertation, Univ. of Texas at Austin, Austin, Tex.
10.
Lawson, C. L. (1977). “Software for C1 surface interpolation.” Mathematical software III, J. R. Rice, ed., Academic Press, New York, N.Y., 161–194.
11.
Lee, D. T., and Schacter, B. J. (1980). “Two algorithms for constructing a Delauney triangulation.” Int. J. Comp. and Information Sci., 9(3), 219–242.
12.
Moore, I. D., O'Loughlin, E. M., and Burch, G. J. (1988). “A contour‐based topographical model for hydrological and ecological applications.” Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 13, 305–320.
13.
O'Callaghan, J. F., and Mark, D. M. (1984). “The extraction of drainage networks from digital elevation data.” Comp. Vision, Graphics, and Image Processing, 28, 323–344.
14.
Palacios‐Velez, O. L., and Cuevas‐Renaud, B. (1986). “Automated river course, ridge, and basin delineation from digital elevation data.” J. Hydr., 86, 299–314.
15.
Peucker, T. K., and Douglas, D. H. (1975). “Detection of surface specific points by local parallel processing of discrete terrain elevation data.” Comp. Graphics and Image Processing, 4, 375–387.
16.
Silfer, A. T., Kinn, G. J., and Hassett, J. M. (1987). “A geographic information system utilizing the triangulated irregular network as a basis for hydrologic modeling.” AutoCarto 8, Proc. 8th Int. Symp. on Computer‐Assisted Cartography, N. R. Chrisman, ed., American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Bethesda, Md.
17.
Watson, D. F. (1981). “Computing the n‐dimensional Delauney tesselation with application to Voronoi polytopes.” The Comp. J., 8(2), 167–172.
18.
Watson, D. F., and Philip, G. M. (1984). “Systematic triangulations.” Comp. Vision, Graphics, and Image Processing, 26, 217–223.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 120 • Issue 3 • March 1994
Pages: 298 - 312
Copyright
Copyright © 1994 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 22, 1992
Published online: Mar 1, 1994
Published in print: Mar 1994
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.