MORPHOMETRIC CHARACTERIZATION OF THE CATOLÉ RIVER WATERSHED, PARAÍBA, BRAZIL

Abstract

The study of watershed morphometry has become an occurring and important procedure in environmental studies and water resources management, because it enables the knowledge of its local and regional dynamics, occurrence of environmental processes and identifying the risks and potentialities that will subsidize planning measures of these cells. Thus, the study aimed to perform the morphometric characterization of the Catolé Creek Watershed, located in the Sertão of Paraiba. Alos Palsar satellite images with 12.5 meters resolution were obtained, made available on the Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF - Earthdata) platform, and processed using geographic information systems (ArcGIS/ArcMap 10.5) for the confection of the indices and maps. The basin covers an area of 2189.09 km² and a perimeter of 2189.09 km, with an oval shape, suggesting a medium susceptibility to flooding. According to its fluvial hierarchy, it was classified as 5th order, with few ramifications, and presented low drainage values, indicating poor drainage and low capacity to generate new water courses. The results obtained regarding relief show an average altitude of 471 meters and average slope of 11.8%, in which the wavy relief was predominant in the area, covering 38.4% of the basin, which favors surface runoff and erosive processes. The use of Geographic Information Systems proved to be efficient in the processing of data, enabling reliable results that can later subsidize adequate planning for the watershed and management measures for the environmental resources of the area studied.