International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 2, Issue3, March-2013
ISSN 2278-7763
1
Geomorphological Valuation of Sitla Rao Watershed
Using ASTER- DEM, Dehradun, Uttrakhand, India.
Ziaur Rehman Ansari1, Liaqat.A.K.Rao1 and Sameer Saran2
1
Geology Department, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh-202002,INDIA,2Geoinformatics Division, Indian Institute
Remote Sensing (NRSC), 4. Kalidas Road, Dehradun, Uttrakhand-248001, INDIA.
Email: zia4amu@gmail.com
Abstract
In the present study geomorphological units of a part of Himalayan watershed has been delineated
with the help of ASTER imagery. DEMs used in the present study are generated from toposheet
contour interval, SRTM and ASTER. The morphological aspects of these features obtained from DEMs
generated from different sources are compared. Geomorphological studies reveal different landform
in the area of Sitla Rao watershed which lies in the foothill of Himalaya. Landforms identified in the
study area are Doon Fan Gravel Terrace, Doon Fan Gravel Dissected Hill, Sub Recent Fan Terrace,
Moderately Dissected Structural Hill, Piedmont Dissected Slope, River Terrace, Channel Bar and River
channel. The spatial and statistical distributions of topographic attributes of these units were
computed and compared using SAGA 2. 3 software as a digital terrain analysis tool for studying
topographic attributes extraction and analysis methods, based on grid DEMs. The study reveals that
the DEM resolution has a great influence on terrain or topographic attributes and the statistical value
become larger when DEM resolution changes from coarser to finer.
Keywords: Digital elevation model (DEM), SAGA 2.3, ASTER, Sitla Rao, Geomorphological units
1. Introduction
T
he
Doon
depression
valley
of
is
a
irregular
topographic
parallelogram
developed by the combine action of erosion,
deposition and
tectonic
activity.
Remote
shape with longer axis running parallel to
sensing method play an important role in the
Lesser Himalyan range (Chandel and Singh,
realization of the map, allowing the pattern
2001). The location of the valley makes it
that mark the landscape unit to be delineated.
interesting, with Lesser Himalaya in the north,
Digital elevation models (DEMs) are widely
Siwalik in the South and traversing Ganga and
used and play an increasing important role in
Yamuna
geomorphology, hydrology, soil erosion and
in
SE
and
NW
direction.
Goemorphologically landforms in the area are
Copyright © 2013 SciResPub.
many
related
geoanalysis
field
International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 2, Issue3, March-2013
ISSN 2278-7763
2
(Moore et al., 1991; Goodchild et al., 1993;
Wise, 2000). A good deal of work has been
done to analyze effect on the application
results
of
using
DEMs
with
different
resolution (Hutchinson and Dowling, 1991;
Jenson, 1991; Zhang and Montgomery, 1994;
Band and Moore, 1995; Braun et al., 1997;
Walker and Willgoose, 1999; Wilson and
Gallant, 2000; Wise, 2000; Tang et al., 2003;
Saran et al., 2009; Suganthi and Srinivasan,
2010). Topographical attributes derived from
DEMs analysis can be divided into primary
and secondary attributes (Moore et al., 1991).
In general, topographical information in DEMs
can be represented and stored as three
different forms: (i) a grid, (ii) a triangulated
irregular network (TIN) or (iii) contour-line
models (Weibel and Heller, 1991; Tarboton,
1997; Richard, 2004).
The present geomorphological studies carried
out, mainly aimed to identify and delineate
various geomorphic units using different
photographic element (Table-1) in the area
near Sitla Rao watershed highlighting the
diverse topographic and material characteristic
Fig.1: Location Map of the Study area
Uttrakhand, in the Lesser Himalayas. The
geographical
dimension
extends
from
30°24'00" to 30°30'00" N latitude and 77°45'33"
to 77°57'00" E longitude and is included in the
SOI toposheet no.53 F/15. The district is
bounded on the north-west by the district of
Uttarkashi, in the east by the district of Tehri
Garhwal and Pauri Garhwal, in the south by
the district of Saharanpur (U.P) and at the
southern tip touches the boundary of district
Haridwar, its western boundary joins the
Sirmur (Nahan) district of Himachal Pradesh.
3. Climate
using high resolution ASTER image of the
study area and to evaluate the dependence of
terrain characteristic of DEM of the identified
units depending upon the resolution of
different DEM.
2. Study Area
The study area, Sitla Rao (Fig.1) is situated in
the western part of the Dehradun district,
Copyright © 2013 SciResPub.
The climate of the district is generally
temperate and varies greatly from tropical to
severe cold depending upon the altitude of the
area and temperature variations due to
difference in elevation is considerable. Three
seasons experienced in the area include, cold
winter season (Oct-Feb), hot or summer season
(March-June) and wet monsoon season (July-
International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 2, Issue3, March-2013
ISSN 2278-7763
3
Sep). The area receives an average annual
rainfall of 2073.3 mm. The relative humidity is
high in monsoon season exceeding 70% on an
average. Most of the annual rainfall in the
district is received during the month from June
to September, July and August being the most
showery.
4. Geology and Geomorphology
Dehradun
is
situated
in
synclinal
Fig.2: Geomorphological Map of the Study area
Siwalik
Dehradun can be divided into three major
Formation and is separated from the Lesser
units; Lesser Himalayan Formation, Siwalik
Himalayan Formations in the north by Main
Formation and the Alluvium covered valley
Boundary Fault. Siwalik Group of rocks is
depression. Proterozoic to Lower Cambrian
thrusted over Indogangetic Plain sediments
rock of Lesser Himalaya is separated from the
along the Himalayan Frontal Fault, forming
Cenozoic Siwalik groupand the Pleistocene
Dehradun Valley as a piggyback basin (Ori
aged Dun gravels by the Main Boundary
abd Friend, 1984; Gupta, 1993). Geologically
Thrust.
intermonatevalley
within
the
Characteristics of Geomorphological Units
Topographic
Elevation
Drainage
Tone
Expression
(m)
Texture
S.No
Geomorphic
Unit
Geological
Unit
1
Doon Fan
Gravel Terrace
Doon Gravel
Light to
medium
2
Doon Fan
Gravel
Dissected Hill
Doon Gravel
Sub Recent Fan
Tterrace
Doon Gravel
Moderately
Dissected
Structural Hill
Middle
Siwalik
Upper
Siwalik
Lesser
Himalaya
3
4
5
Piedmont
Dissected Slope
Doon Gravel
6
River Terrace
Doon Gravel
7
Channel Bar
River
Alluvium
Undulating with
moderate slope
480-960
Coarse to
medium
Light to
medium
Rugged
480-1200
Medium to
fine
Light to
medium
Very gently
sloping
420-520
Coarse to
very coarse
Dark
Light to
medium
800-2400
Fine
Dark
Light to
medium
Light to
medium
Dark
Table-1: Characteristic of Geomorphic Units
Copyright © 2013 SciResPub.
Moderately to
steep sloping and
high relief
Upland with
grooves/
Undulating terrain
Gentle nearly flat
surface
Lenticular/
elongated
410-430
****
420-640
Very coarse
****
****
International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 2, Issue3, March-2013
ISSN 2278-7763
4
Doon valley is bounded by two perennial
layer were assigned; c) contour polyline
rivers Yamuna and Ganga that drains the
converted to TIN data; d) TIN data was
entire area with its tributaries, NW flowing
modified using spot elevation data; e) By
Asan and SE flowing Suswa-Song respectively.
interpolation method resample from TIN data
It is the largest “Doon” in the Sub-Himalayan
converted to Raster data to generate 20m×20m
region and a longitudinal, synclinal basin with
resolution DEM (the original DEM).
fluvialte sediments deposited in front of the
FCC of ASTER image was prepared using
abrupt rising of Lesser Himalaya (Mussoorie
band 123 of VNIR in Multispec W32 software
Range) in the north. The structural hills of
and landforms were identified after a complete
Middle Siwalik rocks rise abruptly over the
literature
upper piedmont because of a Foothill Fault.
Geomorphological map was prepared and
These
controlled
digitized after georefrencing and subsequently
morphologically by lithology whereas the
the saved GeoTIFF file was imported to
southern
alternating
Arcview to create shape files for each unit
sandstone and shale overlain by massive
which was then used to clip the required area
sandstone, which grassy slope facing south
for elevation, slope and aspect maps from the
and open mixed forest in northern aspects
SRTM
(Rao, 2002). The major part of the valley area is
Topographic DEM.
occupied by three fans i.e., Donga, Dehradun
ASTER on board of Terra spacecraft is multi
and Bhogpur fan (Singh, et al., 2001) deposited
spectral optical sensor, set in motion on
by the rivers, flowing from Lesser Himalaya
December 1999, works in 14 spectral bands
structural
part
hills
consisting
are
of
review
DEM,
of
the
ASTER
study
DEM
and
area.
the
ranging from visible to thermal infrared band.
5. Material and Method
DEM
These spectral bands have been divided into
generation was carried out is as follows: a)
three radiometers namely VNIR (Visible Near
Topographic basemap on 1:50,000 scale and
Infrared Radiometer), SWIR (Short Wave
was scanned image registration was carried
Infrared
out using UTM projection plane (Zone 43N),
Infrared Radiometer) (Ersdac, 2003). Out of
with the help of Georeferencing Tool 1.0.0.0
these three VNIR has a high performance, high
and Geographic Translator 2.3., and vectorized
resolution optical instrument with spatial
using ArcGIS 3.2 to generate contour layer and
resolution of 15 m. with two near infrared
spot elevation layer respectively to obtain
bands, having similar wavelengths namely 3n
spatial topological relation; b) The altitude
(nadir looking) and 3b (backward looking).
values to the contour lines and spot elevation
The 3b band is used to achieve the backward
The
detailed
procedure
of
grid
Radiometer)
and
TIR
(Thermal
looking and the setting angle between the
Copyright © 2013 SciResPub.
International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 2, Issue3, March-2013
ISSN 2278-7763
5
backward looking and the nadir looking has
6.1 Doon Fan Gravel Terrace
been designed to be 27.60° (Ersdac, 2002).
Doon Fan Gravels forming terraces, consisting
The successfully collected Synthetic Aperture
of gravels, pebbles, boulders, sand, clay and
Radar (SRTM)
data over 80 percent of the
rock fragments. These terraces also known as
landmass of the Earth between 600 N and 560 S
fan cut terraces formed by the erosional work
latitudes during an 11-day Space Shuttle
of the streams flowing down from the Lesser
mission in February, 2000. The SRTM data was
Himalaya and are extensively used for
processed using SAR interferometry (IFSAR)
agricultural purposes. At places, these fans
to obtain a nearly global DEM (Rabus et al.
show differential upliftment and subsequent
2003)
faulting in recent and sub-recent times.
and
is
srtm.csi.cgiar.org
freely
available
for
modeling
http://
and
environmental applications.
6. Result and Discussion
Geomorphically Doon valley is divided into
two slope regimes by axial drainage of NW
flowing Asan and SE flowing Suswa-Song
river joining the Yamuna and Ganga rivers
respectively. In the northern slope of the Doon,
the Siwalik Group occurs as uplifted and
dissected hills and further south as pediments
with a thick cover of gravel. Southern slope of
the valley is covered by piedmont fan gravels
derived from uplifted topography of the
frontal Siwalik range in the south.
6.2 Doon Fan Gravel Dissected Hill
Doon Fan Gravel Dissected Hill is represented
in the study area as an elongated feature
tapering towards south with variable slope
and is found to be very gentle towards south.
Quartzite, sandstone and clay constitute the
composition of the fan material and cover a
large area extending from apex of the fan in
the north up to the Sub Recent alluvial
deposits of Asan River. They are highly
dissected by streams and gullies running
down from the Lesser Himalaya and have
thick vegetation.
6.3 Sub Recent Fan Terrace
The geomorphological units namely Doon Fan
Gravel Terrace, Doon Fan Gravel Dissected
Hill, Sub Recent Fan Terrace, Moderately
Dissected Structural Hill, Piedmont Dissected
Slope, River Terrace, Channel Bar and River
channel have been identified and delineated
(Fig.2) are discussed below and is given in
Table-1.
Copyright © 2013 SciResPub.
Sub Recent Fan Terraces are conspicuous on
either side of the Asan River. They maintain a
bit higher elevation from valley floor of recent
alluvium. This unit is sub-recent in age and
comprises boulders, gravels, pebbles, sand and
clay, deposited on the lower part of the
piedmont dissected slope as well as on the
lower part of Doon Fan Gravel Terrace.
International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 2, Issue3, March-2013
ISSN 2278-7763
Geomorphological
Units
Dun Fan Gravel
Dissected Hill
Dun Fan Gravel
Terrace
Moderately
Dissected
Structural Hill
Piedmont
Dissected Slope
River Terrace
Subrecent Fan
Terrace
Minimum elevation in meter
ASTER- SRTM- Topographic
DEM
DEM
-DEM
Maximum elevation in meter
ASTER- SRTM- Topographic
DEM
DEM
-DEM
6
Mean elevation in meter
ASTER- SRTM- Topographic
DEM
DEM
-DEM
ASTERDEM
Relief in meter
SRTM- Topographic
DEM
–DEM
457.99
512.15
479.75
973.23
941.68
923.06
611.18
636.90
599.3
515.23
429.52
443.3
427.18
488.24
477.16
1220.16
1040.85
1045.58
658.37
666.95
634.14
792.98
552.60
568.42
719.07
838.57
676.92
2481.86
2108.66
2095.77
1468.88
1477.70
1234.39
1762.00
1270.08
1418.85
408.07
438.23
425.59
431.35
448.00
441.66
418.20
444.00
432.95
23.28
9.77
16.07
403.45
460.70
439.91
650.69
612.40
708.26
459.07
500.68
485.64
247.24
151.70
268.34
414.25
458.69
446.34
522.40
517.89
502.49
456.11
482.59
471.72
108.15
59.20
56.15
Table: 2: Minimum maximum, mean elevation (meter) and relief (meter) statistics of various geomorphological units obtained from ASTER-DEM, SRTM-DEM and Topographic-DEM
Copyright © 2013 SciResPub.
International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 2, Issue3, March-2013
ISSN 2278-7763
6.4 Moderately Dissected Structural
7
terrace consists of clay, silt, sand, gravel,
pebbles and boulders.
Hill
Moderately Dissected Structural Hills are
6.7 Channel Bar
confined to the Middle Siwalik in the study
Channel bar, the youngest and the lowest
area. These hills are characterized by fold and
geomorphic units identified in the floor of the
fault with gentle to steep dip towards NW
river bed. These low relief geomorphic
having moderate to high relief and posse’s
features are mostly observed in Sitla Rao river.
distinct water divide. Presence of compact,
Channel bars develop in the river flowing
massive, medium to coarse grained friable
through
sandstone favors moderate dissection in this
boulder, pebble, sand, silt and clay and
zone. This unit is characterized by high
develop channel bars. Channel bars are found
drainage
in the Asan, Sitla Rao, Mauti Nadi, Gauna
density
with
sub-dendritic
to
unconsolidated
materials
like
dendritic and at places trellis pattern.
Nadi, Koti Nadi and Chor Khala.
6.5 Piedmont Dissected Slope
6.8 River
The Piedmont zone extends from the Siwalik
In the study area Asan river bifurcates into
water divide in the south to synclinal axis of
many tributaries and streams, narrow/less
the Doon valley in north. It consists of
wide in the upper reaches of the valley and
assemblages of boulder, gravel, clay and
show valley widening as they enter into the
pebbles, derived from the Upper Siwalik
upper level of the gravel terrace. This unit
Formations. In the southern part it shows a
represents the lowermost relief and consists of
steeper gradient and parallel to sub parallel
soft saturated sediments. The bed consists of
drainage pattern.
reworked Doon fan gravel, older Doon gravel
6.6 River Terrace
River Terraces are the relicts of former flood
plain levels that have undergone cyclic uplift
and subsequent erosion under the influence of
different physical and climatic conditions. The
river terraces are formed by down cutting of
fan material (Piedmont) and shifting of river
courses constitute older alluvial formation
consisting of river borne detritus deposits of
varying dimensions. The sediment matrix of
Copyright © 2013 SciResPub.
mixed with boulders and pebbles, derived
from the Lesser Himalayan rocks.
7. DEM Analysis
The elevations (minimum, maximum and
mean) relief, mean slope and mean aspect
statistics of various geomorphological units
have been generated from ASTER-DEM,
SRTM-DEM and Topographic-DEM (Fig.3)
and given in Table-2, and shown in Fig.2.a, b, c
and d. The ASTER-DEM has been shown as
International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 2, Issue3, March-2013
ISSN 2278-7763
DEM-1,
SRTM-DEM
as
DEM-2
and
8
403.45, 460.70 and 439.91 meter respectively.
Topographic DEM as DEM-3 respectively.
The
7.1 Comparison
of
minimum,
maximum and mean elevation
and relief in meter of the
geomorphological units
minimum elevations are 414.25, 458.69 and
Sub
Recent
Fan
Terrace
showing
446.34 meter as obtained from DEM-1, DEM-2
and DEM-3 respectively.
The elevation statistics (Table-2) generated
Table-2, Fig.2.b shows that the maximum
from DEM-1, DEM-2 and DEM-3 depict that
elevations of the Doon Fan Gravel Dissected
the minimum elevations (Fig. 2.a) encountered
Hill obtained from DEM-1, DEM-2 and DEM-3
in the Doon Fan Gravel Dissected Hill are
are
457.99, 512.15 and 479.75 meter respectively.
respectively.
Further analysis shows that for Doon Fan
incurred from DEM-1, DEM-2 and DEM-3 for
Gravel
elevations
Dun Fan Gravel Terrace are 1220.16, 1040.85
obtained from DEM-1, DEM-2 and DEM-3 are
and 1045.58 meter respectively, while the
427.18, 488.24 and 477.16 meter respectively.
maximum elevations from DEM-1, DEM-2 and
The minimum elevations obtained from DEM-
DEM-3 for Moderately Dissected Structural
1,
Moderately
Hill are 2481.86, 2108.66 and 2095.77 meter
Dissected Structural Hill are 719.07, 838.57and
respectively. For Piedmont Dissected Slope the
676.92 meter respectively and for Piedmont
maximum elevations from DEM-1, DEM-2 and
Dissected Slope the minimum elevations are
DEM-3 are 431.35, 448.00and 441.66 meter
408.07, 438.23 and 425.59 meter as obtained
respectively. The maximum elevations from
from DEM-1, DEM-2 and DEM-3 respectively.
DEM-1, DEM-2 and DEM-3 for the River
The
based
Terrace are 650.69, 612.40 and 708.26 meter
minimum elevations for River Terrace is
respectively. Similarly for the Sub Recent Fan
Terrace
DEM-2
DEM-1,
and
the
minimum
DEM-3
DEM-2
and
for
DEM-3
Fig. 2 a: Minimum elevation (meter) of various geomorphological
units obtained from ASTER-DEM SRTM-DEM and TopographicDEM.
Copyright © 2013 SciResPub.
973.23,
941.68
The
and
923.06
maximum
meter
elevations
Fig.2 b: Maximum elevation (meter) of various geomorphological
units obtained from ASTER-DEM SRTM-DEM and TopographicDEM.
International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 2, Issue3, March-2013
ISSN 2278-7763
Fig. 2 c: Mean elevation (meter) of various geomorphological
units obtained from ASTER-DEM SRTM-DEM and
Topographic-DEM.
9
Fig. 2 d: Relief (meter) of various geomorphological units
obtained from ASTER-DEM SRTM-DEM and
Topographic-DEM.
Terrace the maximum elevations obtained
and
respectively from DEM-1, DEM-2 and DEM-3
Fig.2.c).
are 522.40, 517.89 and 502.49 meter.
The relief (Table-2, Fig.2.d) of the Doon Fan
The mean elevations of the Dun Fan Gravel
Gravel Dissected Hill obtained from DEM-1,
Dissected Hill encountered from DEM-1,
DEM-2 and DEM-3 are 515.23, 515.23 and 443.3
DEM-2 and DEM-3 are 611.18, 636.90 and 599.3
meter respectively. The relief obtained from
meter respectively (Table-2, Fig.2.c). The mean
DEM-1, DEM-2 and DEM-3 for Doon Fan
elevations obtained from DEM-1, DEM-2 and
Gravel Terrace are 792.98, 552.60 and 568.42
DEM-3 for Dun Fan Gravel Terrace is 658.37,
meter respectively while Moderately Dissected
666.95 and 634.14 meter respectively. For
Structural Hill shows the relief, obtained from
Moderately Dissected Structural Hill the mean
DEM-1, DEM-2 and DEM-3 are 1762.00,
elevations obtained from DEM-1, DEM-2 and
1270.08 and 1418.85 meter respectively. Relief
DEM-3 are 1468.88, 1477.70 and 1234.39 meter
obtained for Piedmont Dissected Slope from
respectively. For Piedmont Dissected Slope the
DEM-1, DEM-2 and DEM-3 is 23.28, 9.77 and
mean elevations obtained from DEM-1, DEM-2
16.07 meter respectively. For the River Terrace
and DEM-3 are 418.20, 444.00 and 432.95 meter
the relief obtained from DEM-1, DEM-2 and
respectively. For the River Terrace the mean
DEM-3 are 247.24, 151.70 and 268.34 meter
elevations obtained from DEM-1, DEM-2 and
respectively. Similarly for the Sub Recent Fan
DEM-3 are 459.07, 500.68 and 485.64 meter
Terrace the relief obtained from DEM-1, DEM-
respectively. Similarly for the Sub Recent Fan
2 and DEM-3 are 108.15, 59.20 and 56.15 meter
Terrace the mean elevations obtained from
respectively.
DEM-1, DEM-2 and DEM-3 are 456.11, 482.59
Copyright © 2013 SciResPub.
471.72
meter
respectively
(Table-2,
International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 2, Issue3, March-2013
ISSN 2278-7763
ASTER elevation map with geomorphic units
10
STRM elevation map with geomorphic units
Toposheet elevation map with geomorphic units
Fig.3: Elevation maps of various geomorphological units generated from ASTER-DEM, SRTM DEM and Topographic –DEM
Copyright © 2013 SciResPub.
International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 2, Issue3, March-2013
ISSN 2278-7763
7.2 Comparison of mean slope in
degree
of
different
geomorphological units:
The analysis of the slope statistics (Table-3,
Fig.4 and 5) generated from ASTER-DEM
(DEM-1),
SRTM-DEM
(DEM-2)
and
Topographic-DEM (DEM-3) reveal that the
mean slope of the Doon Fan Gravel Dissected
Hill are 13, 2 and 3 degree respectively.
Further analysis shows that for Doon Fan
Gravel Terrace the mean slope obtained from
DEM-1, DEM-2 and DEM-3 are 15, 3 and 5
degree
respectively
and
for
Moderately
Dissected Structural Hill the mean slope
11
obtained from DEM-1, DEM-2 and DEM-3 are
36, 16 and 24 degree respectively.
For Piedmont Dissected Slope the mean slope
obtained from DEM-1, DEM-2 and DEM-3 are
8, 1 and 1 degree respectively. For the River
Terrace the mean slope obtained from DEM-1,
DEM-2 and DEM-3 are 9, 0 and 1 degree
respectively. Similarly for the Sub RecentFan
Terrace the mean slope incurred from DEM-1,
DEM-2 and DEM-3 are 8, 1 and 1 degree
respectively.
7.3 Comparison of mean aspect in
degree
of
different
geomorphological units:
The analysis of the aspect statistics (Table-4,
Geomorphological
unit
Mean slope in degree
ASTERSRTMTopographic
DEM
DEM
–DEM
Dun Fan Gravel
Dissected Hill
13
2
3
Dun Fan Gravel
Terrace
15
3
5
Moderately
Dissected Structural
Hill
Piedmont Dissected
Slope
River Terrace
Subrecent Fan
Terrace
Fig.6 and 7) generated from ASTER-DEM
(DEM-1),
SRTM-DEM
(DEM-2)
and
Topographic-DEM (DEM-3) reveal that the
mean aspect of the Dun Fan Gravel Dissected
36
16
24
Hill obtained from DEM-1, DEM-2 and DEM-3
8
1
1
are 198, 240 and 245 degree respectively.
9
0
1
Further analysis shows that the mean aspect
8
1
1
Table-3: ASTER-DEM, SRTM-DEM and Topographic DEM
based comparison of mean slope statistics of different
geomorphological units.
obtained for Doon Fan Gravel Terrace from
DEM-1, DEM-2 and DEM-3 are 200,252 and
244 degree respectively and for Moderately
Dissected Structural Hill the mean aspect
obtained from DEM-1, DEM-2 and DEM-3 are
210, 220 and 218 degree respectively. The
mean aspect obtained for Piedmont Dissected
Slope from DEM-1, DEM-2 and DEM-3 is
174,222 and 229 degree respectively and for
the River Terrace the mean aspect obtained
Fig. 4: ASTER-DEM, SRTM-DEM and Topographic-DEM
based comparison of mean slope (degree) statistics of different
geomorphological units
Copyright © 2013 SciResPub.
from DEM-1, DEM-2 and DEM-3 are 187,235
International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 2, Issue3, March-2013
ISSN 2278-7763
ASTER slope map with geomorphic units
12
SRTM slope map with geomorphic units
Toposheet slope map with geomorphic units
Fig-5: Mean slope maps of various geomorphological units generated from ASTER-DEM, SRTM DEM and Topographic –DEM
Copyright © 2013 SciResPub.
International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 2, Issue3, March-2013
ISSN 2278-7763
Geomorphological
unit
Dun Fan Gravel
Dissected Hill
Dun Fan Gravel
Terrace
Moderately Dissected
Structural Hill
Piedmont Dissected
Slope
River Terrace
Subrecent Fan Terrace
Mean aspect in degree
13
attributes (such as elevation slope, aspect,
ASTERDEM
SRTMDEM
ToposheetDEM
relief etc) can be derived and can be displayed
198
240
245
with both image and attribute databases with
200
252
244
the help of GIS.
210
220
218
The elevation statistics (minimum, maximum
174
222
229
and mean), relief statistics, slope statistics and
187
235
236
aspect statistics of various geomorphological
189
266
262
units have been generated from ASTER-DEM
Table-4: ASTER-DEM, SRTM-DEM and Topographic DEM
based comparison of mean aspect statistics of different
geomorphological units.
(DEM-1),
SRTM-DEM
(DEM-2),
and
Topographic DEM (DEM-3) and the analysis
of
the
minimum
elevation
of
different
geomorphological units in the study area
shows that the DEM-1 has comparatively
lesser elevation as compared to the DEM-2 and
DEM-3 in all of the geomorphological units.
However the difference in the relief and mean
elevation among the various DEMs is more
Fig. 6: ASTER-DEM, SRTM-DEM and Topographic DEM based
comparison of mean aspect (degree) statistics of different
geomorphological units
and 236 degree respectively. Similarly for the
Sub Recent Fan Terrace the mean aspect
obtained from DEM-1, DEM-2 and DEM-3 are
189,266 and 262 degree respectively.
pronounced in the highland areas, such as
moderately dissected hill which is in the
Lesser Himalayan region, as compared to the
lowland areas of Doon Valley. An analysis of
the
minimum
geomorphological
8. Conclusion
The digital
elevation model
of
units
DEM-1
all
the
shows
comparatively lesser elevation as compared to
(DEM), an
important source of information, is usually
used to express a topographic surface in three
dimensions and to imitate essential natural
geography. The present study analyzed digital
elevation data sources and their structure, the
comparison of the statistics of numerous
terrain attributes extracted from the different
DEMs. The results show that DEM is a very
effective tool for terrain analysis: many terrain
Copyright © 2013 SciResPub.
elevation
the DEM-2 and DEM-3. This is due to higher
accuracy obtained in mapping 15m area by
ASTER. Moreover, the relief difference among
the studied DEMs is more obvious in all the
geomorphological units since the study falls in
the hilly terrain of Himalayan foothill. The
analysis of the slope statistics reveal that the
mean slope of the DEM-1 is showing the high
value
of
the
mean
slope
in
all
geomorphological units as compared to the
International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 2, Issue3, March-2013
ISSN 2278-7763
ASTER aspect map with geomorphic units
14
SRTM aspect map with geomorphic units
Toposheet aspect map with geomorphic units
Fig-7: Mean aspect maps of various geomorphological units generated from ASTER-DEM, SRTM DEM and Topographic –DEM
Copyright © 2013 SciResPub.
International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 2, Issue3, March-2013
ISSN 2278-7763
15
DEM-2 and DEM-3. The analysis of the aspect
the values provided in DEM mapped on
statistics reveal that the mean aspect show
different scale and the accuracy of mapping.
lower
the
The study clearly demonstrate that the DEM
geomorphological units in comparison to the
resolution has a great influence on terrain
DEM-2 AND DEM-3. Furthermore, the DEM-
attributes and the statistical values become
2- and DEM-3 show lesser difference in the
larger when DEM resolution changes from
aspect direction. These terrain parameter
coarse to fine.
value
in
DEM-1
in
all
variations depend on ability of GIS to process
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