MORPHOMETRIC ANALYSIS FOR SOIL EROSION PREVENTION PRIORITIZATION IN KUSHAVATI RIVER BASIN, GOA : A GEO-INFORMATIC APPROACH

Abstract

The present study focuses on the morphometric analysis of the Kushavati River basin in Goa for the purpose of prioritizing subwatersheds for development. Utilizing Survey of India (SOI) Topographical maps (1: 50000) and Cartosat DEM (30m resolution), various morphometric parameters were analyzed, including drainage density, bifurcation ratio, stream frequency, drainage texture, compactness constant, elongation ratio, circularity ratio, and form factor. These parameters, collectively known as erosion risk assessment parameters, were employed to assess the erodibility of the basin. The study also involved GIS software for tasks such as drainage map creation, digitization of the basin and streams, and sub-basin demarcation.