TITLE:
Investigations into the Morphometric Characteristics of Obibia Drainage Basin, Awka Urban Area, Nigeria
AUTHORS:
Emma E. Ezenwaji, Emmanuel O. Nwabineli, Philip O. Phil-Eze
KEYWORDS:
Morphometry, Basin, Relief, River, Land Use
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Modern Hydrology,
Vol.8 No.1,
December
25,
2017
ABSTRACT: The aim of the study was to investigate the morphometric characteristics
of Obibia drainage basin which is wholly located within the Awka Capital territory
of Anambra State, Nigeria. The basin was delineated with conventional method
from topographic map (Udi SW) on the scale of 1:50,000 published by Federal
Survey office. Field survey was conducted for 9 months between April and
December 2015 and data were obtained on linear, areal and relief aspects of the
basin to ascertain the morphometric characteristics of the basin. Principal
Component Analysis (PCA) reduced our 19 variables into 5 while Principal Component
Regression (PCR) was employed to reveal the relative contributions of
morphometric variables. Result shows a bifurcation Ratio R (Rb) of 3.00 around
the month of the river basin indicating higher risk of flooding. The
relationship between mean stream length and stream order shows that order 2
drifts too far away from straight line on plotted graph suggesting some
structural imbalances. The study recommends proper urban land use planning
within the basin that would preserve the natural condition of the basin.