Application of Remote Sensing in Floodway Delineation
Issue Date
1974-04-20Keywords
Hydrology -- Arizona.Water resources development -- Arizona.
Hydrology -- Southwestern states.
Water resources development -- Southwestern states.
Remote sensing
Flood plain zoning
Flood protection
Arizona
Aerial photography
Regulation
Flood plains
Geomorphology
Flood data
Maximum probable flood
Instrumentation
Mapping
Surveys
Soils
Soil types
Vegetation
Hydrologic data
Historic floods
Soil horizons
Cochise County (Ariz)
Earth resource technology satellite (ERTS-1)
Metadata
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Copyright ©, where appropriate, is held by the author.Collection Information
This article is part of the Hydrology and Water Resources in Arizona and the Southwest collections. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science and the University of Arizona Libraries. For more information about items in this collection, contact anashydrology@gmail.com.Publisher
Arizona-Nevada Academy of ScienceAbstract
Population pressures on the land resources of Arizona have led to the sale and development of areas subject to flooding and because of the inadequacy of land use controls, the area is open to various land speculation schemes and unplanned subdivision growth. A floodplain delineation project was conducted for the planning department of Cochise County, Arizona, in which imagery acquired by earth resources technology satellite (ERT-1) and by high-altitude aircraft was employed. Parameters of the analysis included soils and geomorphology, vegetation, hydrologic calculations, and historical data. Floodplain soils lack developed b horizons, as compared to older, more mature soils not subject to flooding. General soil maps can only be used as guidelines, but a detailed soil survey can add significantly to the accuracy of image interpretations. Erosion-affected soil tones in areas adjacent to active channels proved beneficial in that the heightened contrast served to enhance resolution of vegetation-type boundaries. Hydrologic calculations were done based on valley cross-sections surveyed at two-to-three mile intervals. The historic data input into the system of floodplain delineation is dependent on the location of high-water marks and on obtaining a record of the amount of rainfall which resulted in the high-water mark.ISSN
0272-6106Related items
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