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Arabian Journal of Geosciences

ISSN 1866-7511
Volume 6
Number 6

Arab J Geosci (2013) 6:1871-1881
DOI 10.1007/s12517-011-0492-3
Morphological characteristics of
Tirumalairajan river, East Coast of India
a GIS approach
Senapathi Venkatramanan,
Thirunavukkarasu Ramkumar,
Irudhayanathan Anithamary &
Poovalinga Ganesh
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Morphological characteristics of Tirumalairajan river,
East Coast of Indiaa GIS approach
Senapathi Venkatramanan &
Thirunavukkarasu Ramkumar &
Irudhayanathan Anithamary & Poovalinga Ganesh
Received: 22 August 2011 / Accepted: 25 November 2011 / Published online: 7 December 2011
#Saudi Society for Geosciences 2011
Abstract Morphological mapping plays an essential role in
understanding river processes. Evaluation of the morpho-
logical parameters requires preparation of basin, upstream
and downstream, stream link, stream network, stream order,
flow direction, flow accumulation, and digital elevation
model, which help to understand the nature of the river.
Assessments of morphological digital maps provide up-
stream and downstream flow rates, slope variation, sedimen-
tation, and specific stream erosive power in river systems.
The river patterns of the study area mainly controlled by
geological nature. Therefore, this paper discusses conceptu-
al foundations and illustrates how mapping approaches can
be used to produce morphological information of Tiruma-
lairajan river systems.
Keywords GIS
.
River morphology
.
Tirumalairajan
.
East
coast of India
Introduction
Geographic information systems (GIS) play an important role
in the analysis of morphology of river basins. Typical applica-
tions are computations of flow directions, flow accumulation,
upstream and downstream, stream link, stream network,
stream order, and digital elevation models (DEMs) (Fernandez
et al. 2003; Van Rompaey et al. 2001). Geomorphological
mapping plays an essential role in understanding the various
river processes (Blaszczynski 1997; Bishop and Shroder
2004). Historically, morphological mapping has been based
upon integration of multidisciplinary information from the
field, remotely sensed data, and cartographic map products.
Regional-scale morphology and physiographic analysis and
mapping (Baker 1986) were based upon the interpretation of
photography and smaller-scale maps to classify terrain types/
features at the regional (physiographic) scale. Detailed mor-
phological mapping was based upon surveying and other in
situ measurements, although detailed large-scale morphologi-
cal maps did not exist for many areas. These traditional map-
ping approaches emphasized qualitative interpretation, as
frequently dictated by the inherent limitations associated with
field-work, paucity of digital spacetime data, and human a
priori field/geographic experience and domain knowledge.
Consequently, the power of the human visualization system
was primarily relied upon, introducing subjectivity and biases
with respect to selection of criteria for terrain segmentation and
placement of boundaries (Quinn et al. 1991; Freeman 1991;
Tarboton 1997; Bishop et al. 2011). Multiple approaches are
used to create river morphology mapping, and DEM is a
common approach in creating river terrain models (Walsh et
al. 1997; Tate and Wood 2001; Bishop et al. 2003). Although
geological controls induce significant local discontinuity to
these general trends apparent in river longitudinal profiles, it
is nonetheless the downstream changes in these variables that
produce the striking downstream differences in morphology
that are evident along all river systems (Knighton 1999).
Meanwhile, the traditional geomorphological paper maps with
their scientific understanding of the landscape have hardly
developed over the last decades. Instead, the use of GIS has
to some extent replaced such maps with thematic digital maps
that highlight a specific theme or application. The focus has
thus shifted from general overviews and contexts to specific
S. Venkatramanan (*)
:
T. Ramkumar
:
I. Anithamary
Department of Earth Sciences, Annamalai University,
Chidambaram, Tamilnadu, India
e-mail: venkatramanansenapathi@gmail.com
T. Ramkumar
e-mail: tratrj@gmail.com
P. Ganesh
Core Logic India,
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
Arab J Geosci (2013) 6:18711881
DOI 10.1007/s12517-011-0492-3
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themes or problems to be solved. The use of GIS as a tool in
geomorphology, however, broadens the opportunities for both
research and practical applications (Butler and Walsh 1998;
Reinfeldsa et al. 2004; Conoscenti et al. 2008; Zhang et al.
2009; Yanga and Jin 2010; Bhagwat et al. 2011).
The objective of this paper is to set the stage for this
volume and address important concepts and issues if geo-
morphologists are to effectively use geospatial technologies.
Specifically, we focus on conceptual foundations and illus-
trate how spatial mapping approaches can be used to pro-
duce morphological information related to basin, flow
directions, flow accumulation, upstream and downstream,
stream link, stream network, stream order, and DEM.
Back ground of the study area
General setup
The study area (Fig. 1) is located between latitudes 1052 to
1053 N and longitudes 7948 to 7951 E in east coast of
India. Tirumalairajan River generally flows from west to
east, and the pattern is mainly sub-parallel. The eastern
coastal part near Tirumalairajapattinam is characterized by
back water. This river, a major waterway of the Trichy and
Thanjavur district, is formed by the bifurcation of the Cauvery
flows at Trichy and finally joins the Bengal.
Geology of the study area
The geology of the present study area (Fig. 2) mainly
comprises of quaternary sediments increases south of Cole-
roon River. These sediments have been delineated as allu-
vial plain deposit of the Cauvery River and its distributaries,
narrow fluvio-marine deltaic plain deposits, and marine
coastal plain deposits (east coast formation). The fluvial
deposits comprise flood plain, flood basin, point bar, chan-
nel bar, and paleo-channels with admixtures of sand, silt,
and clay. The deltaic plain includes paleo-tidal flats, with
clays and sands and sand ridges or gray brown sand. The
marine coastal plains include beach, tidal flats, salt marsh,
mangrove swamps, and deposits of sand and clay. The
Fig. 1 Location of the Tirumalairajan River
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mouth of the river comprises alluvium deposits which are
composed of clays and silts. The general stratigraphy suc-
cession of the study area is divided into three formations
such as recent to sub-recent, Pliocene, and Mio-Pliocene
formations.
Recent and sub-recent: brown sands, alluvium
Pliocene: Karaikal beds
Mio-Pliocene: Cuddalore formation
Climate and rainfall of the study area
The climate of the area is generally hot, semidry, and trop-
ical. March to June are the hottest months, and December to
February are the cooler months of the year. The major
portion of the annual rainfall is received during the northeast
monsoon period recorded during October to December. A
very meager amount of rainfall is received during the sum-
mer, January to April, and the remaining precipitation is
received during the southwest monsoon period from June
to September. The rainfall data of the present study are
given in Table 1.
Methodology
River Tirumalairajan morphological features were delineat-
ed from rectified, topographic maps of 58M/13 and 16
(1:50,000 scale) on polyconic projection system with the
help of GIS software. The methodology of generation of
thematic maps such as basin, flow directions, flow accumu-
lation, upstream and downstream, stream link, stream net-
work, stream order, and DEM were prepared by ARC GIS
(Version 9.3) software. All the thematic maps are verified
through field checks. The thematic details thus finalized are
transferred to the base map prepared from the survey of
India toposheets.
Results and discussion
River basin
The fundamental unit of virtually all watershed and fluvial
investigations is the river basin (Fig. 3) and is a finite area
whose runoff is channeled through a single outlet (Zavoianu
Legend
Fluvial (Qf), Fluvio Marine (Qfm),
Aeolian (Qa) and Marine (Qm)
Quternary sediment of sand, silt
and clay.
Ceramic, brick & tile clays
River
Fig. 2 Geology map of the study
area
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1985). A drainage divide is simply a ridgeline on either side
of which water flows to different streams (Jarvis 1977).
Therefore, we can begin drawing our perimeter line by
tracing its crest. Ridges are most easily recognized as a
series of bent contour lines whose apex point downhill.
The higher range of basin observed is in the southern
direction. In the middle range, it is observed at the center
of the river. The river basin was determining areas with
erosion and deposit features by using the length and width
of the river. Thus, the morphologically effective area could
be established (Hauer and Habersack 2009). The importance
of the need to understand the slope effect is related to the
prediction of future sites of bank erosion. The study area
basin shows the higher depression level was noticed in
southern part of the study area when compared with the
northern part, indicating the erosion activity dominating this
part. The lower level of the study indicates more amounts of
sediment deposition. So the silt and clay deposits are high in
the northern part, indicating the low energy level of the
river. Whereas the southern part of the basin, mainly com-
posed of sand grains, indicates the runoff is more when
compared with the northern part of the study area (Ramos
and Gracia 2011).
Drainage pattern (stream network)
A drainage map is a plan of all streams or river (Fig. 4).
Drainage analysis involves a detailed examination of the
drainage patterns, drainage texture, and stream patterns.
The drainage pattern map has been prepared from a survey
of India toposheets. The drainage type is mainly dentritic,
Table 1 Rainfall (mm) data of the study area
S. no Month 2007 2008 2009 2010
1 January 0.22 59.58 52.74 53.73
2 February 31.58 13.90 0.00 0.00
3 March 0.00 337.99 182.65 0.07
4 April 13.71 20.55 80.92 7.04
5 May 4.40 31.56 41.83 115.59
6 June 27.73 26.26 6.63 96.83
7 July 58.14 17.55 2.99 49.77
8 August 194.72 75.85 102.24 182.22
9 September 76.74 45.36 37.57 7.27
10 October 511.02 276.93 107.16 122.17
11 November 135.67 797.28 698.55 385.33
12 December 416.15 178.23 548.72 216.21
Total 1,470.08 1,881.04 1,862.00 1,236.23
Fig. 3 River basin of the
Tirumalairajan River
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and a few locations have the trellis type. It is also observed
that, in almost all rivers, new drainages have come up, and a
stream has changed its course in the center portion of the
study area. Stream orders are classified on the basis of its
origin. The main stream has the highest order from river
mouth and upstream to the head of a stream, and the largest
tributary has lower stream order by 1 than the stream.
Generally, as stream order increases, the numbers and the
mean gradient of streams decrease in an inverse geometric
ratio and the mean length of streams and the mean area of
drainage basin increase. The study area streams have the
shortest, and the steepest streams have the smallest drainage
basins. A first-order stream network was observed in the
majority of the area. The underlying geology, exogenic and
endogenic activities, and drainage morphology of the river are
considerable changes in climate during the Quaternary, influ-
encing the genesis and morphology of landforms (Subra-
manyan 1981). In this study area, drainage pattern helped to
identify the various fluvio-marine processes and deposits in-
cluding beach, tidal flats, salt marsh, mangrove swamps, flood
plain, flood basin, point bar, channel bar, and paleo-channels.
It is also helpful to identify the potential groundwater zone of
the study area. The hydrological analysis was performed
(Gustafsson and Pasadena 1993; Biedenharn et al. 2008;
Domnguez et al. 2010; Tejaswini et al. 2011) considering
the bridge construct in order to establish the river network
expected in minor and extreme events and the vulnerability of
the infrastructure. The river drainage pattern is divided into
four orders and distributed into the beach zone and wetlands
where its discharge is significant to maintain the ecosystems.
Digital elevation model
The rivers are highly responsive landforms; they may register
morphological phenomena (Hesterberg et al. 2000; Duvall et
al. 2004; Carretier et al. 2006) because DEM is very sensitive
in visualizing the river process (Keller and Pinter 1996). The
digital elevation model map (Fig. 5) of the Tirumalairajan
River reveals that higher ranges from 9 to 19 are observed at
the western direction, mainly confined to the upstream
Fig. 4 Drainage map showing
the Tirumalairajan River
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direction of river, whereas the lower ranging of elevation is
noticed from the western part of the study area. It is mainly
associated with the mouth of the river. So DEM analy-
sis was used to differentiate the elevation levels of the
river. The higher DEM level was observed at the west-
ern part of the river basin, indicating the slope of the
terrain increases towards the upstream direction of the
river. Whereas the lower level of DEM was observed in
the eastern direction of the study area, indicating the
river flow velocity was very low and slope of the
decrease toward mouth of the river. The upstream areas
are characterized by flash floods during the rainy season
in October to November and the summer season in
April to June. The duration of the floods is short be-
cause of the limited drainage area, but the instantaneous
flood discharge can be large (Oguchi et al. 2001). Wohl
(1992) indicates that such a condition with strong hy-
draulic action is favorable for the development of large-
scale alternation of steep and flat segments similar to
step-pool morphology, and the results of our study sup-
port this inference. A smooth and graded river longitu-
dinal profile though has been expected to occur in
rapidly eroding areas with large erosional power of
streams (Flint 1974; Snow and Slingerland 1987). In the
environmental parameters examined, the DEM, stream order,
flow pattern, river gradient, and drainage area are more essen-
tial factors in determining stream hydraulics and erosive
power.
Upstream and downstream
It is one of the most commonly adopted morphological
parameter for hydrological analysis and for comparing the
behavior of the various direction of the river. High upstream
values were observed at the center portion of the river basin
and downstream direction of the river observed at eastern
direction of the river basin. Upstream and downstream are
the important morphological parameters of the river. It is
useful to assess the groundwater infiltration, groundwater
recharge, sediment load, and flood zone of the area. This
similar observation was made by Arpita Pankaj and Pankaj
Kumar (2009) in Song River, Uttarakhand (Fig. 6a, b). The
upstream and downstream pattern provides more informa-
tion about the river morphological characteristics. The up-
stream pattern is shown as irregular and flows toward the
basin of the river, indicating the inclined slope nature of the
study area. The outer part of the river basin indicates the
gentle slope of the study area. It is the most important
parameter to control the ground water potential of the study
area. The upstream and downstream pattern of the study
Fig. 5 Digital elevation model
of the study area
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Fig. 6 a, b Upstream and down-
stream direction of the
Tirumalairajan River
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Fig. 7 a, b Map showing
the flow direction and flow
accumulation of the
present study
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Fig. 8 a, b Stream link and net-
work pattern of the river
Arab J Geosci (2013) 6:18711881 1879
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area indicates that the western and northwestern part of the
study area is good ground water potential zone (Agarwal
1998; Oguchi et al. 2001).
Flow direction and flow accumulation
A course of running water usually flowed in a particular
direction in a defined channel, discharging into some other
stream or body of water. Streams may be classified as
follows: In relation to time, it can be ephemeral, intermittent
or seasonal, and perennial (Lo 1992). Flow direction uses a
DEM to determine the direction of flow from every cell in
the raster. Flow accumulation, in its simplest form, is the
number of upslope cells that flow into each cell. By apply-
ing a threshold value to the results of flow accumulation, a
stream network can be delineated. Flow direction and flow
accumulation is an important tool of GIS in identifying
morphological characteristics of the river. The flow direc-
tion of the river indicates the high river velocity. In the
present study area, the high flow direction value of the river
is noticed at the river mouth. It indicates, flow accumulation
grid measured upstream accumulated study area (Fig. 7a, b).
In the present study, flow direction and accumulation spatial
pattern indicates the western direction of the study area. It is
the important hydrological tool of the rivers (Shuttleworth et
al. 2005). Classifying the weighted flow direction and ac-
cumulation grid by higher values indicate that the stream
network accumulates high loads because of the favorable
geology within their contributing river morphology. It is
interesting to note that, in many cases, the weighted flow
accumulation increases with increasing distance down-
stream, and then diminishes as the flow accumulation
becomes weighted towards flow from young sediments
deposited in western part of the study area.
Stream network and link
Stream link and network analysis of the river morphology
(Fig. 8a, b) is one of the most significant hydrological
features of the basin as it reveals that surface runoff charac-
teristics streams of relatively smaller value are character-
istics of areas with larger slopes and finer textures (Nag
1998; Vittala et al. 2004; PrezPea et al. 2009; Bhagwat
et al. 2011). Longer values of streams are generally indica-
tive of flatter gradients. The numbers of streams of various
orders in the basin are counted, and their lengths from
mouth to drainage divide are measured with the help of
GIS software. The stream link is noticed in southern direc-
tion of the river basin which shows linear pattern, and it
indicates the homogenous rock material subjected to weath-
ering characteristics of the basin. Deviation from its general
behavior indicates that the terrain is characterized by varia-
tion in lithology and topography. The individual streams are
linked together and form a network of the streams. Stream
network of the study area mainly focused on the river basin.
Conclusion
The study reveals that GIS-based approach in morphologi-
cal characteristics of Tirumalairajan River basin level is
more appropriate than the conventional methods. GIS-
based approach facilitates analysis of different morphologi-
cal characteristics of thematic maps and to explore the
relationship between the basin, stream order and network,
flow accumulation and direction, upstream and downstream
pattern, and DEM. The study shows that systematic analysis
of morphological features through integrated GIS can be
used effectively in DEM to understand the spatial distribu-
tion of river network characteristics and status of river
process. This morphological map reveals the stream power,
velocity, slope variation, and sediment depositional process-
es of the river. Characterization of inlet morphology is
dependent on the availability of surveys with high temporal
and spatial thematic maps. Although these data do not span
a full bypassing cycle, they provide considerable scope for
analysis of morphology and behavior. Continued monitoring
at this resolution is essential for the advancement of morpho-
logical understanding.
Acknowledgments The authors acknowledge the valuable sugges-
tions given by Abdullah M. Al-Amri, Editor-in-Chief, which greatly
helped in the final presentation of the paper. The authors are grateful to
anonymous referee for constructive comments and suggestions which
led to significant improvements in the manuscript.
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