RESEARCH ARTICLE

IMPLEMENTATION OF MFD ALGORITHM IN ArcGIS

Abstract

Topography plays an important role in the distribution of energy and water on the land surface affecting river network formation, soil moisture, vegetation type, transport of solutes and contaminants. Digital Elevation Model (DEM) can comprehend these earth features in many ways which can be used for quantitative spatial predictions of topographic and derived attributes in the fields of ecology, hydrology and wildlife management. Till now only Single Flow Direction chosen from 8 possibilities (SFD8) algorithm for grid-based DEM is implemented in ArcGIS, one of the most widespread Geographic Information System (GIS). SFD8 has many limitations, especially in the calculation of total and specific catchment area.

In this paper authors describe the Multiple Flow Direction (MFD) algorithm implemented into ArcGIS as a separate toolbox and compare the SFD8 and MFD on coarse resolution SRTM DEM data of the Kelani River. Authors created an ArcGIS toolbox “MFD” of 7 tools for terrain analysis allowing to calculate TCA, SCA, contour lengths and show the path of solutes and contaminants from the source pixels.

Comparison of SFD8 and MFD on real data from the Kelani River basin demonstrates that SFD8 remains to be the best approach for channel delineation, MFD is a better fit for calculation of TCA and SCA for subsequent use for the calculation of ecological indices. Flow path tool allows assessment of impact of contamination sources on protected areas managed by the Department of Wildlife Conservation and Forest Department of Sri Lanka and this tool can be successfully used in wildlife management and environmental impact assessment applications.

Keywords: ArcGIS, digital terrain analysis, GIS, Kelani river, multiple flow direction, Sri Lanka

How to Cite: Rapoport,D,Bartak,B. V,Ali,A,Suraweera,C,Dahanayaka,D.D.G.L, (2018). IMPLEMENTATION OF MFD ALGORITHM IN ArcGIS.WILDLANKA, 6(1):Pages 024-031

Published On:2018-03-31

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