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GEOG325 PrinciplesofFluvialSystems

DrainageNetworks

Drainagenetworks
Riversareorganizedinto networks,eachwithits ownrechargearea upstream,anddrainage channelandmouth downstream Canadasmajordrainage regionsaretheAtlantic Ocean,HudsonBay,Arctic Ocean,PacificOceanand GulfofMexico WeliveintheHudsonBay Nelsondrainage network

Drainagebasinsanddivides
Drainage divide

Fundamentalspatialunitin naturalresources Drainagebasina.k.a. catchmenta.k.a.watershed

Stream network

allsurfacewater sharesa commonoutlet Drainagedivide

source: Dunne, T. & Leopold, L.B. (1978) Water in Environmental Planning. W.H. Freeman & Company, San Francisco

Outlet or mouth

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Drainagebasinscont
Drainage basins can easily be subdivided in sub-basins it just matters where you draw the basin outlet

source: Dunne, T. & Leopold, L.B. (1978) Water in Environmental Planning. W.H. Freeman & Company, San Francisco

Drainagebasinscont
Dontforget:Groundwater divide doesnotnecessarily followdrainage divide

source: Gordon et al., 2004. Stream Hydrology: An Introduction for Ecologists, 2nd ed.

Watersheddelineation
Internetresourcesshowinghowtodelineatea watershed: http://paulbolstad.cfans.umn.edu/Courses/FR3 131/LecSupp/Delineating_Watersheds.pdf http://www.nh.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/Publicat ions/Topowatershed.pdf

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Drainagepatterns
Catchmentscanbedescribedaccordingtotheirdrainagepatterns (geometry)
asviewedfrommapsortheair

Allaretreelike,butdifferentpatternsresemblethebranchings of differentkindsoftrees Individualstreamshaveparticularcharacteristicsbasedonthe particulartopographicalandgeologicalobstaclesencountered Streampatternsmaydevelop

Randomlyonuniformsoils Inresponsetovariationsinunderlyinggeology

Somebasicdrainagepatterns

Dendritic

Radial

Centripetal

Rectangular

Pinnate

Trellis

Parallel

Distributary

Annular

Gordon et al. (2004)

Somebasicdrainagepatterns(cont)
Dentritic found in areas of relatively uniform geologic structure Trellis: usually develops on alternating bands of hard and soft strata Pinnate: forms in very fine-grained surfaces Rectangular: common in areas with right-angled faults and/or joints, such as some types of granitic bedrock Radial: forms where stream flow outward from a dome or volcanic cone Centripetal: results from a basin structure where streams converge centrally Annular: develops around a dome or basin where concentric bands of hard and soft rock have been exposed Parallel: occurs in areas of pronounced localized slope Distributary: refers to divergence of channels (e.g. in deltas or alluvial fans)

(sensu Gordon,2004)

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Effectsonhydrologicresponse
Thebasinformandchannel patternsaffectthe hydrologicalresponseofthe basin

Dendritic sub-forms

Pinnate channel network Stream discharge suddenly increases at point C

Palmate channel network Stream discharge gradually increases downstream

source: Gordon et al., 2004. Stream Hydrology: An Introduction for Ecologists, 2nd ed.

Drainagepatternefficiencies
Givenacertainarea,whatisthemostefficient methodofdrainingwaterfromitssurface?

source: Gordon et al., 2004. Stream Hydrology: An Introduction for Ecologists, 2nd ed.

Streamorders
Streamorderingisawidelyappliedmethodfor classifyingstreams Basedonthepremisethattheordernumberhas somerelationtothesizeofthe
Contributingarea Channeldimensions Streamdischarge

Manydifferentorderingmethodsexist,i.e.Horton, Strahler,Shreve,Scheidegger,etc.

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Streamorderingmethods
HortonStrahlerapproach most widelyapplied
Rules: (a) Fingertip tributaries originating at a source are designated order 1 (b) The junction between two streams of order u forms a downstream channel segment of order u + 1 (c) The junction of two streams of unequal order u and v, where v > u, create a downstream segment having an order equal to that of the higher-order stream v

source: Gordon et al., 2004. Stream Hydrology: An Introduction for Ecologists, 2nd ed.

Exercise streamordering

source: Thompson 1999 "Hydrology and Water management", Balkema

Exercise streamordering

source: Thompson 1999 "Hydrology and Water management", Balkema

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Bifurcationratio
Bifurcation=dividingintwo Horton(1945)introducedbifurcationratio(Rb)

Rb

# stream _ segments _ of _ given _ order # stream _ segments _ of _ next _ highest _ order

Rb normallyrangesfrom2to5andtendtobelargerformore elongatedbasins

Bifurcationratio

source: Thompson 1999 "Hydrology and Water management", Balkema

Zeroorderstreamchannels
Theydonotshowonmapsheetsaswatercourses Swalesthatbecomechannelsduringstorms Importantindeterminingrunoffresponsefrom basins Needtogroundtruththesetypesofchannels

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Channellength
Channellengthinfluences
amountofstreamhabitatareainacatchment traveltimeofwaterindrainagesystem availabilityofsedimentfortransport

Usuallyobtainedfrommeasurementontopographicalmaps Channellengthcanchange,basedonmapscalesand accuracies

Drainagedensity
Drainage density, Dd
(a)

Dd

L Ad

L = total channel length in a basin (km) Ad = basin area (km2)

(b)

(c)

source: Gordon et al., 2004. Stream Hydrology: An Introduction for Ecologists, 2nd ed.

Drainagedensity(cont)
Hence,drainagedensityD ismeasureofcloseness ofspacingbetweenstreamchannels. IflengthofoverlandflowLg:(lengthofnon channelflowpathfrompointondrainagedivideto pointonadjacentstreamchannel) thenaveragelengthofoverlandflow= 1/2distancebetweenchannels

Lg 1 2D

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Drainagedensity(cont)
Influencesefficiencywithwhichwateris dischargedfromanareaduringindividualstorm events Becauseofzeroorderchannels,drainagedensity canexpandandcontractduringstorms

MeanChannelSlope
Channelslopeisoneofthefactorscontrollingwater velocity Meanchannelslope(Sc)isgivenby

Sc

Elevation @ source Elevation @ mouth

Length _ of _ stream

Generalizedlongitudinalprofileofastream gradientdecreasesfromheadtomouth.

source: Thompson 1999 "Hydrology and Water management", Balkema

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PrairieHydrography
Unlikeotherareas
Relativelyyoung Flat! Dry! Notmuchflowto generateconventional drainagenetworks

Limitedcontributingareasforstreamflow

Localized hydrology affected by poor drainage, storage in small depressions

Non-contributing areas for streamflow extensive in the Canadian Prairies

source: http://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0037073812002011-gr5.jpg

Internaldrainagebasins

According to Sauchyn (2007), 62% of the Assiniboine River drainage basin, 40% of the Saskatchewan River basin, 30% of the Red River basin and 27% of the Canadian portion of the Missouri River basin are non-contributing.
source: http://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0037073812002011-gr5.jpg

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Ourdrainagebasin
XX Hudson-Nelson drainage basin

http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/sites/www.nrcan.gc.ca.earth-sciences/files/jpg/h2o/bow/images/intro1l_e.jpg

BowRiverdrainagebasin

source: Geoscape Canada, Natural Resources Canada

Discharge of Major Rivers in Saskatchewan

Exotic rivers in southern prairies

source: Pomeroy, J., De Boer, D. and Martz, L.W. 2006. Hydrology and Water Resources of Saskatchewan. In Saskatchewan: Geographic Perspectives, Lewry, M., Thraves, B., Schlichtmann, H., Dale, J. and Sauchyn D. (editors), Regina: CRRC. Originally from the Atlas of Saskatchewan

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Canadianmajorriverbasins
ID 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 Basin Maritime Provinces Drainage St. Lawrence River Drainage Northern Quebec Drainage Southwest Hudson Bay Drainage Nelson River Drainage Western Hudson Bay Drainage Great Slave Lake Pacific Drainage Yukon River Drainage Arctic Drainage Mississippi River Drainage

Source: Atlas of Canada, Natural Resources Canada

Majorbasin

Basin 05 - Nelson

source: Water Survey of Canada

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Subbasin

Sub-basin 05B

source: Water Survey of Canada

Subsubbasin
Sub-basin 05BA

source: Water Survey of Canada

GaugingStations
05BA001 05BA002 05BA003 05BA004 05BA005 05BA006 05BA007 05BA008 05BA009 05BA010 05BA011 Bow River at Lake Louise Pipestone River near Lake Louise Bath Creek near Lake Louise Louise Creek near Lake Louise Bow River above Bath Creek Johnston Creek near the mouth Baker Creek near the mouth Bow River below Hector Lake Bow Glacier outflow Bow River above Hector Lake Balfour Creek near the mouth

source: Water Survey of Canada

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TributariesoftheBowRiver

http://www3.gov.ab.ca/env/water/regions/bow/licence_flows/Images/bow_map.gif

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Grossandeffectivedrainageareas
Station Name Gross Area (km) Effective Effective Area Fraction (km) 41298 45398 75229 77003 83975 84616 73% 69% 57% 54% 53% 51%

05AJ001 South Saskatchewan River at Medicine Hat 56369 05AK001 South Saskatchewan River at Highway no. 41 65976 05HB001 South Saskatchewan River near Lemsford 132861 05HC001 South Saskatchewan River at Saskatchewan Landing 142580 05HG001 South Saskatchewan River at Saskatoon 158330 05HH001 South Saskatchewan River at St. Louis 165414

Theeffectivedrainageareaisthatportionofadrainagebasinwhichmight beexpectedtoentirelycontributerunofftothemainstemduringaflood withareturnperiodoftwoyears.

(PFRA,http://www.agr.gc.ca/pfra/gis/watershed/details_e.htm )

www4.agr.gc.ca

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