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West Virginia Water Science Center

USGS Open-File Report 2008-1087

Basin Characteristics for Selected Streamflow-Gaging Stations In and Near West Virginia

This report is available online in pdf format: USGS OFR 2008-1087 (1.40 MB) (Opens the PDF file in a new window. )

Katherine S. Paybins

U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2008–1087, 9 pages, one table (Published 2008)

ABSTRACT

Basin characteristics have long been used to develop equations describing streamflow. In the past, flow equations used in West Virginia were based on a few hand-calculated basin characteristics. More recently, the use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) to generate basin characteristics from existing datasets has refined the process for developing equations to describe flow values in the Mountain State. These basin characteristics are described in this document for streamflow-gaging stations in and near West Virginia. The GIS program developed in ArcGIS Workstation by Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI®) used data that included National Elevation Dataset (NED) at 1:24,000 scale, climate data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA), streamlines from the National Hydrologic Dataset (NHD), and LandSat-based land-cover data (NLCD) for the period 1999-2003. Full automation of data generation was not achieved due to some inaccuracies in the elevation dataset, as well as inaccuracies in the streamflow-gage locations retrieved from the National Water Information System (NWIS). A Pearson’s correlation examination of the data indicates that several of the basin characteristics are correlated with drainage area. However, the GIS-generated data provide a consistent and documented set of basin characteristics for resource managers and researchers to use.


REPORT AVAILABILITY

This report is available online in pdf format:

Entire report, 1.40 MB: USGS OFR 2008-1087 (Opens the PDF file in a new window.)

To view the PDF documents, you need the Adobe Acrobat® Reader installed on your computer. (A free copy of the Acrobat® Reader may be downloaded from Adobe Systems Incorporated.)

Table 1, as a Microsoft Excel file: Basin characteristics for selected streamflow-gaging stations in West Virginia, and adjacent areas of Virginia, Maryland. Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky, 223 KB: (Opens a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet  file in a new window.)
Table 1, as a comma-delimited ASCII file: Basin characteristics for selected streamflow-gaging stations in West Virginia, and adjacent areas of Virginia, Maryland. Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky, 95.4 KB: (Opens a comma-delimited ASCII file  file in a new window.)

Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center

For more information, please contact dc_va@usgs.gov or dc_wv@usgs.gov.



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