Morphometric Analysis of Wadi Aurnah Drainage System, Western Arabian Peninsula

ABSTRACT

The analysis of drainage morphometry is usually a prerequisite to the assessment of hydrological characteristics of surface water basin. In this study, the western region of the Arabian Peninsula was selected for detailed morphometric analysis. In this region, there are a large number of drainage systems that are originated from the mountain chains of the Arabian Shield to the east and outlet into the Red Sea. As a typical type of these drainage systems, the morphometry of Wadi Aurnah was analyzed. The study performed manual and computerized delineation and drainage sampling, which enables applying detailed morphological measures. Topographic maps in combination with remotely sensed data, (i.e. different types of satellite images) were utilized to delineate the existing drainage system, thus to identify precisely water divides. This was achieved using Geographic Information System (GIS) to provide computerized data that can be manipulated for different calculations and hydrological measures. The obtained morhpometric analysis in this study tackled: 1) stream behavior, 2) morphometric setting of streams within the drainage system and 3) interrelation between connected streams. The study introduces an imperial approach of morphometric analysis that can be utilized in different hydrological assessments (e.g., surface water harvesting, flood mitigation, etc). As well as, the applied analysis using remote sensing and GIS can be followed in the rest drainage systems of the Western Arabian Peninsula.

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