Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-20-2007

Abstract

The Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) clevation data revea] segments f inactive drainage channc] systems in the eastern Sahara. Four sites are investigated and their drainage networks arc delineated and compared with processed Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) images. These include parts of the drainage lines that lead to the Kufra Oasis in Libya; the castern Gilf Kebir drainage system that straddles the border region between Egypt and Sudan; the lower reach of Wadi F Howar, the extinct western Nile tributary in Sudan; and a reversed flow channel of Wadi Kubbaniya northwest of Aswan in Egypt. These features are delineated using SRTM data and a Geographic Information System (GIS) hydrologic routine. The results show that the SRTM signals penetratc the desert-sandy surfaces and map ancient drainage systems in the same way as SAR. The study also demonstrates that SRTM data can be used to confirm or modify pathways of n channel courses mapped from radar imagcs alone. Because of this capability, it is also recommended that SRTM data be used in placc of GTOPO30 elevation data 1 hydrologic modelling of sand-covered deserts.

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