Different models of digital elevation in physical characterization of Watershed River Nandico, MT, Brazil

Abstract

The use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has contributed in the study watershed by automating the process of delineation of watershed and hydrological models. The emergence of the processing methods of Digital Elevation Models (DEM) has allowed the generation of information regarding watershed and its drainage networks in regions where there is lack of more detailed cartographic databases, this being a common deficiency in the Amazon. The present work was performed automatic and manual delineation of river basin Nandico from MDE SRTM, TOPODATA and ASTER. Bounded basins were compared with the drainage network obtained from Spot satellite image. The results of this case study showed that the differences obtained in the delineation of the watershed and thus to obtain their physical parameters, generated by different databases MDE, differ and indicative of use, considering that there are no planialtimetrics letters with appropriate scales to compare and validate with reality. And the search for viable alternatives in the delineation of watersheds to regions that have cartographic databases with further elaboration, such as the Amazon, though lacking most studies, the use of MDE has obtained free of charge associated with the high resolution satellite images, one way for studies of watersheds for proper planning and management of water and environmental resources.