Introduction
While watersheds play a critical role in the Earth’s hydrologic cycle, contemporary human practices and development jeopardize the integrity of the water within these regions. Streams within watersheds provide many benefits, including drinking water supply, electricity production, and crop irrigation (WSS, 2019). While there are various forms of naturally induced mechanisms that may alter stream flow (i.e., snowmelt, evaporate on, groundwater recharge) human-stimulated variations have drastically increased runoff rates in recent years. An increasing percentage of impervious surfaces (and overall land use change), coupled with continual use of road salts (and other polluting contaminants) poses risks to not only the environment but also human and organismal health. Approximately 14,000 people die daily due to the implications surrounding water pollution (Chaudhry & Malik, 2017).
Affiliation
Villanova University
Course
GEV 3760: Geospatial Applications in Environmental Science
Tool Highlights
Raster Calculator, Slope, Hillshade, Aspect, Contour Lines, Extract By Mask, Fill, Flow Direction, Flow Accumulation, Watershed, Stream Order, Stream To Feature