The identification of runoff flows in an area of technogenic relief using hydrological models in GIS

Abstract

This article presents the results of mapping the flow routes of surface runoff in an area characterized by profound changes in relief caused by anthropic interventions. We chose the Tucum stream upper basin (Sao Pedro, São Paulo - Brazil) as a case study because it is marked by the advance of urbanization on land with strong susceptibility to erosion, with the presence of linear erosive features (ravines and gullies) and a complex history of interventions seeking to control them. We obtained primary data from a topographic survey in the field and carried out operations to develop a Hydrologically Consistent Digital Elevation Model (HCDEM) in the ArcGIS 10.1 program. Then, the Concentrated Flow Map of the area was elaborated from the modeling using the Multiple Flow algorithm in the ArcView 3.2 program. The results showed that topographic features of detail, especially technogenic terraces, have exercised marked control over the flow routes of surface runoff, contributing to generating erosive advance vectors of the ravines and gullies.