ABSTRACT:
A new, objective approach for estimating slope gradient and slope length frequency distributions for watersheds using topographic maps and Grenville's spline function is described. Statistical analyses of slope segments and estimation of LS values for irregular slopes are used to analyze the computer-generated slope profiles and to produce the final LS values. The method was applied to 30 profiles in Ontario's Lovers Creek watershed. Slope gradients and lengths also were measured in the field. Results of estimated values were compared with measured values to show the accuracy of the new method and the significance of the scale and contour interval of topographic maps.
Footnotes
John P. Wilson is an assistant professor of geography in the Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, 59717. The author acknowledges the assistance of George R. Foster, Purdue University, in reviewing the manuscript. Financial support for the research was provided by the University of Toronto and the Soil Conservation Society of America's Kenneth E. Grant Research Scholarship program.
- Copyright 1986 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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