Use of morphometric indices in drainage network changes (Indicators in the Kordkanlo Basin)

Abstract

The Kordkanlo Basin, one of the Atrak sub-basins, located in the northeastern of the Ghoochan city, the Khorasan Razavi Province; is situated in Kopet Dagh geologic zone. The overall objective of this study is to evaluate the morphotectonic effects on the drainage network of the basin, using morphometric indicators. In this research, morphometric quantitative indicators of hypsometric integral (H), the ratio of the valley area to the an area of half-circle with a radius equal to the valley depth (V), the ratio of the width of valley floor to a height of the river (VF), asymmetry factor (AF), the river’s length gradient index (SL), transverse topography symmetry factor (T) and index of mountain front sinuosity (SMF), the basin shape index (BS) and the index of (Lat) have been used. This purpose tries to identify the role of change in lithological and tectonic agents on the Kordkanlo river basin using topographic maps, digital elevation model (DEM) and the information obtained in the field survey. In this context, ArcGIS software has been used for determining geomorphic indicators to determine the tectonic characteristics of the basin. Finally, index values were evaluated by the lat index. The result reveals high tectonic activity in the study area.