Description
River basins (known as watersheds in North America) are areas of land that drain precipitation, surface water, and underlying groundwater into a river and its tributaries, eventually reaching a common outlet such as a lake, reservoir, river, or estuary. The drainage pattern is from smaller sub-basins to larger sub-basins, and from higher elevation to lower elevation. Land surface processes, precipitation, stormwater, and wastewater runoff within basins have a substantial impact on the quantity and quality of the water draining into tributaries. Surface topography and elevation generally determine boundaries or drainage divides between sub-basins. Delineation is crucial for assessing the contribution to water quality and quantity in the river system, and for planning better land and water management practices.
This lightning-style training led by NASA's Applied Remote Sensing Training Program (ARSET) was focused on describing NASA digital elevation data and its application in deriving river basin information by using hydrological data and maps based on the SHuttle Elevation Derivatives at multiple Scales (HydroSHEDS) database. Exercises with instructions for river basin delineation using HydroSHEDS were provided.