Abstract
A new technique for automatic delineation of drainage basin perimeters within digital elevation data is described which applies the topographic primal sketch to digital terrain data, and is much more natural and much more efficient than usual methods that rely upon moving a window over the array of data. This method is able to find drainage channels, mark water flow direction, and recover drainage basin areas. Results appear to be comparable to drainage patterns which can be interpreted visually from contours of the elevation data.
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Zhang, M.C., Campbell, J.B. & Haralick, R.M. Automatic delineation of drainage basins within digital elevation data using the topographic primal sketch. Math Geol 22, 189–209 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00891823
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00891823