Active River Area
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Active River Area (ARA) Framework Refinement: Developing Frameworks for Terrace and Meander Belt Delineation and Defining Optimal Digital Elevation Model for Future ARA Delineation by Shizhou Ma Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Environmental Studies at Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia August 2020 © Copyright by Shizhou Ma, 2020 i Table of Contents List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... v List of Figures ................................................................................................................... vi Abstract ........................................................................................................................... viii List of Abbreviations Used .............................................................................................. ix Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... x Chapter 1. Introduction ................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Motivation ................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Problem to be Addressed........................................................................................ 3 1.3 Research Questions and Objectives ...................................................................... 6 1.4 Context ..................................................................................................................... 7 1.5 Active River Area Conceptual Framework .......................................................... 8 1.6 Riparian Area Delineation in the Literature ...................................................... 11 1.6.1 Fixed-Width Buffer Guideline ......................................................................... 12 1.6.2 Objective-Based Riparian Area Delineation .................................................... 13 1.6.3 Functional Riparian Area Delineation ............................................................. 14 1.6.4 Computer-Based Functional Riparian Area Delineation ................................. 15 1.7 Structure of the Thesis.......................................................................................... 16 Chapter 2. ARA Delineation with Multi-Spatial Resolution LiDAR-DEM and SRTM-DEM Data ........................................................................................................... 17 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 17 2.2 Materials and Method .......................................................................................... 21 2.2.1 Watersheds ....................................................................................................... 21 2.2.2 Study Area ....................................................................................................... 22 2.2.3 Data Acquisition and Preparation .................................................................... 25 2.2.4 Stream Classification and Watersheds Stratification ....................................... 28 2.2.5 Riparian Basezone Delineation ........................................................................ 31 ii 2.2.6 Floodplain and Terrace Separation .................................................................. 34 2.2.7 Riparian Wetland Delineation.......................................................................... 39 2.2.8 Material Contribution Zones (MCZs) Delineation .......................................... 41 2.2.9 ARA Components Combination ...................................................................... 43 2.3 Results .................................................................................................................... 45 2.3.1 Cost Threshold Values ..................................................................................... 45 2.3.2 Area of Openwater ........................................................................................... 46 2.3.3 Riparian Basezone ........................................................................................... 46 2.3.4 Floodplain and Terrace Separation .................................................................. 48 2.3.5 Riparian Wetlands ............................................................................................ 51 2.3.6 Material Contribution Zones (MCZs) Delineation .......................................... 52 2.4 Discussion............................................................................................................... 57 2.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 61 Chapter 3. Meander Belt Delineation: Developing an ARA-Based Framework for Channel Migration Extent ............................................................................................. 63 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 63 3.2 Materials and Method .......................................................................................... 67 3.2.1 Data Acquisition and Preparation .................................................................... 67 3.2.2 River Sinuosity................................................................................................. 69 3.2.3 Riverbank Lithology ........................................................................................ 72 3.2.4 Valley Confinement Ratio ............................................................................... 73 3.2.5 Stream Gradient ............................................................................................... 77 3.2.6 Meander Reach Separation and Manual Meander Belt Delineation ................ 78 3.3 Results .................................................................................................................... 82 3.3.1 Meander-Reach-Separation-Parameter Measurements .................................... 82 3.3.2 Meander Reach Separation .............................................................................. 89 3.3.3 Manually Meander Belt Delineation ................................................................ 91 3.4 Discussion............................................................................................................... 93 3.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 96 iii Chapter 4 Accuracy and Efficiency Assessment of Different DEM Data on ARA Delineation ....................................................................................................................... 98 4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 98 4.2 Materials and Methods ....................................................................................... 101 4.2.1 Feature-Preserving DEM Smoothing Algorithm (FPDEMS) ........................ 102 4.2.2 Effects of DEM Quality on Slope Grids and the TMI ................................... 103 4.2.3 Computer-Based Accuracy-Efficiency Tradeoff Analysis ............................ 105 4.3 Results .................................................................................................................. 107 4.3.1 High-Spatial Resolution LiDAR DEMs Smoothing ...................................... 107 4.3.2 Smoothed High-Spatial Resolution LiDAR DEMs-derived ARA Extent ..... 108 4.3.3 Effect of DEM Errors on Slope and TMI Value Distribution ....................... 112 4.3.4 Accuracy-Efficiency Trade-Off Analysis ...................................................... 116 4.4 Discussion............................................................................................................. 123 4.5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 127 Chapter 5 Conclusion and Discussion ......................................................................... 129 5.1 Revisiting Research Goals and Objectives ....................................................... 129 5.2 Key Findings ........................................................................................................ 130 5.3 Limitations and Implications for Future Studies ............................................. 134 5.4 Final Remarks ..................................................................................................... 136 References ...................................................................................................................... 140 Appendix A Cost Distance Thresholds ....................................................................... 153 Appendix B Riverbank Lithology Types .................................................................... 155 Appendix C River Meander Reaches Information .................................................... 157 Appendix D Confusion Matrix for Different ARA Delineation................................ 182 iv List of Tables Table 2-1 Brief descriptions of applied datasets ............................................................... 25 Table 2-2 The relationship between river size classes and Strahler stream orders ..........