THE EFFECT OF RESAMPLED DIGITAL ELEVATION MODEL (DEM) ON

PREDICTION OF FLOW AND SEDIMENT LOADING UPSTREAM OF OYUN RIVER

CATCHMENT IN KWARA STATE

Abstract

The digital elevation model (DEM) is very essential in watershed delineation, but the
sensitivity of simulated flow and sediment loading is poorly understood. This study
investigates the effect of resampled DEM on the prediction of flow and sediment loading
upstream of the Oyun River catchment in Kwara State. To delineate the watersheds, a DEM
of 90-meter resolution was acquired by the space shuttle Radar Topography Mission
(SRTM), and the ASTER global DEM data source. 90M resolution was resampled to four
different resolutions which are 75M, 60M, 45M and 30M resolutions respectively. The
watershed and streamline were delineated, and hydrologic analysis was performed using Soil
and Water Assessment Tools (SWAT). Sensitive analysis on parameters contributing to flow
and sediment loading was also done using SWAT. In this research, there are little or no
effects on flows While in sediment concentration, 90M has the lowest value of sediment
concentration, while the 30M resampled DEM has the highest value of sediment
concentration (SEDCONCmg) which is 521,246.94. Also in the sediment yield (SYLDT/ha),
90M resampled DEM has the lowest value of sediment yield at 528 90 while the 30M
resampled DEM has the highest value of 2145.57.

KEYWORDS Resampled DEM, Sediment concentration, Sediment yield, SWAT

This study investigates the effect of a resampled digital elevation model (DEM) on the
prediction of flow and sediment loading upstream of the Oyun River catchment in Kwara
State. The DEM with a 90-meter resolution was acquired by the space shuttle Radar
Topography Mission (SRTM) and the ASTER global DEM data source. It was resampled to
four different resolutions of 75M, 60M, 45M, and 30M, respectively. Watershed and
streamline delineation were performed using Soil and Water Assessment Tools (SWAT).
Sensitive analysis was done on parameters contributing to flow and sediment loading using
SWAT.

The study found that there were little to no effects on flow, while sediment concentration and
yield were significantly affected by the resampled DEM. The 90M resampled DEM had the
lowest sediment concentration of 284,323.64 mg/l, while the 30M resampled DEM had the
highest of 521,246.94 mg/l (SEDCONCmg). Additionally, the 90m resampled DEM had the
lowest sediment yield at 528.90 SYLDT/ha, while the 30M resampled DEM had the highest
at 2145.57 SYLDT/ha. These results have important implications for hydrological and
environmental modeling, especially in areas where sediment loading is a concern. This study
emphasizes the importance of carefully evaluating the resolution of DEM data when
developing hydrological and environmental models to improve the accuracy of flow and
sediment predictions.

Keywords for the study include Resampled DEM, Sediment concentration, Sediment yield,
and SWAT.