共查询到20条相似文献,搜索用时 220 毫秒
1.
Drainage basin object-based method for regional-scale landform classification: a case study of loess area in China 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
Landform classification is one of the most important procedures in recognizing and dividing earth surface landforms. However, topographical homogeneity and differences in regional-scale landforms are often ignored by traditional pixel- and object-based landform classification methods based on digital elevation models (DEMs). In this work, a drainage basin object-based method for classifying regional-scale landforms is proposed. Drainage basins with least critical areas are first delineated from DEMs. Then, terrain derivatives of mean elevation, mean slope, drainage density, drainage depth, and terrain texture are employed to characterize the morphology of the drainage basins. Finally, a decision tree based on the topographical characteristics of the drainage basins is constructed and employed to determine the landform classification law. The experiment is validated in the landform classification of regional-scale loess areas in China. Results show that clear boundaries exist in different landforms at the regional scale. Landform type in a specific region shows significant topographical homogeneity under its specific regional geomorphological process. Classification accuracies are 87.3 and 86.3% for the field investigation and model validation, respectively. Spatial patterns of classified landforms and their proximity to sediment sources and other factors can be regarded as indicators of the evolutionary process of loess landform formation. 相似文献
2.
T. Edwin Chow Michael E. Hodgson 《International journal of geographical information science》2013,27(10):1277-1295
This paper examines the effect of scale (exhibited by spatial sampling) in modeling mean slope from lidar data using two representations of scale: lidar posting density (i.e. post‐spacing) and DEM resolution (i.e. cell size). The study areas selected include six small (i.e. approximately 3 km2) urban drainage basins in Richland County, SC, USA, which share similar hydrologic characteristics. This research spatially sampled an airborne lidar dataset collected in 2000 at a 2 m nominal posting density to simulate lidar posting density at various post‐spacings, from 2 m through 10 m. DEMs were created from the lidar observations at a corresponding cell size using spatial interpolation. Finally, using these DEMs, a sensitivity analysis between modeled terrain slope and lidar post‐spacing was conducted. Results of the sensitivity analyses showed that the deviation between mean slope and modeled mean slope decreases with finer posting density and DEM resolution. The relationship of mean slope with varying cell sizes and post‐spacing suggests a linear and a logarithmic function, respectively, for all study areas. More importantly, cell size has a greater effect on mean slope than lidar posting density. Implications of these results for lumped hydrologic modeling are then postulated. 相似文献
3.
Comparison of landslide susceptibility based on a decision-tree model and actual landslide occurrence: The Akaishi Mountains, Japan 总被引:7,自引:0,他引:7
This paper proposes a statistical decision-tree model to analyze landslide susceptibility in a wide area of the Akaishi Mountains, Japan. The objectives of this study were to validate the decision-tree model by comparing landslide susceptibility and actual landslide occurrence, and to reveal the relationships among landslide occurrence, topography, and geology. Landslide susceptibility was examined through ensemble learning with a decision tree. Decision trees are advantageous in that estimation processes and order of important explanatory variables are explicitly represented by the tree structures. Topographic characteristics (elevation, slope angle, profile curvature, plan curvature, and dissection and undissection height) and geological data were used as the explanatory variables. These topographic characteristics were calculated from digital elevation models (DEMs). The objective variables were landslide occurrence and reactivation data between 1992 and 2002 that were depicted by satellite image analysis. Landslide susceptibility was validated by comparing actual data on landslides that occurred and reactivated after the model was constructed (between 2002 and 2004).This study revealed that, from 2002 to 2004, landslides tended to occur and reactivate in catchments with high landslide susceptibility. The landslide susceptibility map thus depicts the actual landslide occurrence and reactivation in the Akaishi Mountains. This result indicates that the decision-tree model has appropriate accuracy for estimating the probabilities of future landslides. The tree structure indicates that landslides occurred and reactivated frequently in the catchments that had an average slope angle exceeding ca. 29° and a mode of slope angle exceeding 33°, which agree well with previous studies. A decision tree also quantitatively expresses important explanatory variables at the higher order of the tree structure. 相似文献
4.
DEM-based morphometry of range-front escarpments in Attica, central Greece, and its relation to fault slip rates 总被引:4,自引:3,他引:4
In this paper, we apply current geological knowledge on faulting processes to digital processing of Digital Elevation Models (DEM) in order to pinpoint locations of active faults. The analysis is based on semiautomatic interpretation of 20- and 60-m DEM and their products (slope, shaded relief). In Northern–Eastern Attica, five normal fault segments were recognized on the 20-m DEM. All faults strike WNW–ESE. The faults are from west to east: Thriassion (THFS), Fili (FIFS), Afidnai (AFFS), Avlon (AVFS), and Pendeli (PEFS) and range in length from 10 to 20 km. All of them show geomorphic evidence for recent activity such as prominent range-front escarpments, V-shaped valleys, triangular facets, and tilted footwall areas. However, escarpment morphometry and footwall geometry reveal systematic differences between the “external” segments (PEFS, THFS, and AVFS) and the “internal” segments (AFFS and FIFS), which may be due to mechanical interaction among segments and/or preexisting topography. In addition, transects across all five escarpments show mean scarp slope angles of 22.1°±0.7° for both carbonate and metamorphic bedrock. The slope angle equation for the external segments shows asymptotic behaviour with increasing height. We make an empirical suggestion that slope angle is a function of the long-term fault slip rate which ranges between 0.13 and 0.3 mm/yr. The identified faults may rupture up to magnitude 6.4–6.6 earthquakes. The analysis of the 60-m DEM shows a difference in fault patterns between Western and Northern Attica, which is related to crustal rheology variations. 相似文献
5.
Methodological sensitivity of morphometric estimates of coarse fluvial sediment transport 总被引:9,自引:0,他引:9
The estimation of fluvial sediment transport rate from measurements of morphological change has received growing recent interest. The revival of the ‘morphological method’ reflects continuing concern over traditional methods of rate determination but also the availability of new survey methods capable of high-precision, high-resolution topographic monitoring. Remote sensing of river channels through aerial digital photogrammetry is a potentially attractive alternative to labour intensive ground surveys. However, while photogrammetry presents the opportunity to acquire survey data over large areas, data precision and accuracy, particularly in the vertical dimension are lower than in traditional ground survey methods. This paper presents results of recent research in which digital elevation models (DEMs) have been developed for a reach of a large braided gravel-bed river in Scotland using both digital photogrammetry and high-resolution RTK GPS ground surveys. A statistical level of change detection is assessed by comparing surfaces with independent check points. The methodological sensitivity of the annual channel sediment budget (1999–2000) to the threshold is presented. Results suggest that while the remote survey methods employed here can be used to develop qualitatively convincing, moderate precision DEMs of channel topography (RMSE=±0.21 m), the remaining errors imply significant limits on reliable change detection which lead to important information losses. Tests at a 95% confidence interval for change detection show that over 60% of channel deposition and 40% of erosion may be obscured by the lower level of precision associated with photogrammetric monitoring when compared to ground survey measurements. This bias reflects the difficulty of detecting the topographic signature of widespread, but shallow deposition on bar tops. 相似文献
6.
The relationship between geological fabric and drainage patterns in the 81.8 km2 Laceys Creek sub-catchment of the North Pine River catchment, southeast Queensland, Australia, is analysed using a new channel–ordination system. The Laceys Creek catchment is situated on the South D'Aguilar Block, which underwent metamorphism, faulting and uplift from the Late Carboniferous to Late Triassic. The catchment drains exposures of two main rock units, the Neranleigh–Fernvale Beds and the Bunya Phyllite. Both units are composed of metamorphosed deep-sea sediments that accumulated as an accretionary wedge during late Palaeozoic subduction of the palaeo-Pacific plate under the eastern margin of the Australian craton. The new channel ordination system used in this study allows improved classification of stream segments of equal prominence or rank in comparison to previous schemes. A 10 m contour digital elevation model (DEM) was produced within which drainage channels were digitised. Planar geological features, including bedding, faults, joints and cleavage, were mapped in the field and collated with data from previous geological mapping programs.Regional and local trends of geological fabric are reflected in the variable orientation of channels of different rank in the catchment. Cleavage and fractures are the dominant planar features of the Bunya Phyllite and these correlate most closely with the orientation of middle-order incised stream segments. In contrast, middle-order channels on the Neranleigh–Fernvale Beds most closely correlate with bedding, which dominates the fabric of this unit. Although anthropogenic factors exert local influence and climatic processes exert broad influence on the catchment, this study focuses on structural and lithological fabrics, which are the apparent dominant controls on middle-order channel orientations. Identification of congruent patterns between bedrock fabric and channel ranks is variable, depending on the scale and number of channels included in the analysis. Many low-rank channels correspond closely to the orientation of fine-scale bedding and foliation and these influences may not be detected by coarse-scale mapping. Understanding the extent of geological controls on the morphology of a catchment may assist geo-hazard identification, land-use planning and civil-engineering projects. 相似文献
7.
Application of Weights of Evidence Method for Assessment of Flowing Wells in the Greater Toronto Area,Canada 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
Flowing wells extracted from the Ministry of Ontario Environment and Energy (MOEE) water well data set from the Oak Ridges Moraine (ORM) area, Ontario, Canada, were treated as training point set to evaluate the potential distribution of artesian aquifers and their spatial associations with other geological and topological features in the study area. Evidential layers of geological and topographical features were constructed on the basis of the digital elevation model (DEM) and a geological map using GIS buffering functions in conjunction with weights of evidence method. It has been demonstrated that the locations of the flowing wells in the Oak Ridges Moraine area are associated spatially with the distances, (a) 500–5000 m from the oak ridges moraine deposits, (b) 500–4000 m from thick drift layer delineated on the drift thickness map created from water well data, and (c) 1500–2500 m from steep slope zones with slope above 8 degree calculated from a DEM. Applying a combination of these conditions can reduce the predicting target areas of having flowing wells by two thirds. Outcomes of this research are important both because the impact of the results on understanding of characteristics of aquifers and their relationships with other geological and topographical features and because it generates a probability map showing the potential location of artesian aquifers in the ORM area. In addition, the methodologies used in the paper will be applicable for modeling the distributions of other types of objects such as surface water bodies and low flow of streams in a watershed context in the study area. 相似文献
8.
黄河中游流域地貌形态对流域产沙量的影响 总被引:13,自引:7,他引:13
在黄河中游地区 ,选择了 5 0多个面积约 5 0 0~ 2 5 0 0平方公里的水文测站流域 ,分别代表 6种不同自然地理类型 ,在流域沟壑密度、沟间地坡度小于 15°面积百分比等地貌形态指标量计的基础上 ,进行了流域产沙量与地貌形态指标相关分析。结果表明 ,对于不同类型流域 ,流域产沙量随流域地貌的变化遵循不同的响应规律 ,而且视流域其它下垫面环境条件的均一程度 ,其相关程度和响应速率各不相同。受地面物质、植被、地貌发育阶段等流域其它下垫面环境条件的制约 ,除沟壑密度外 ,流域产沙量与流域地貌形态的关系都没有人们以前所预期的好。 相似文献
9.
Guiyun Zhou Xiaoli Liu Suhua Fu Zhongxuan Sun 《International journal of geographical information science》2017,31(6):1061-1078
With the increasing sizes of digital elevation models (DEMs), there is a growing need to design parallel schemes for existing sequential algorithms that identify and fill depressions in raster DEMs. The Priority-Flood algorithm is the fastest sequential algorithm in the literature for depression identification and filling of raster DEMs, but it has had no parallel implementation since it was proposed approximately a decade ago. A parallel Priority-Flood algorithm based on the fastest sequential variant is proposed in this study. The algorithm partitions a DEM into stripes, processes each stripe using the sequential variant in many rounds, and progressively identifies more slope cells that are misidentified as depression cells in previous rounds. Both Open Multi-Processing (OpenMP)- and Message Passing Interface (MPI)-based implementations are presented. The speed-up ratios of the OpenMP-based implementation over the sequential algorithm are greater than four for all tested DEMs with eight computing threads. The mean speed-up ratio of our MPI-based implementation is greater than eight over TauDEM, which is a widely used MPI-based library for hydrologic information extraction. The speed-up ratios of our MPI-based implementation generally become larger with more computing nodes. This study shows that the Priority-Flood algorithm can be implemented in parallel, which makes it an ideal algorithm for depression identification and filling on both single computers and computer clusters. 相似文献
10.
Topographic thresholds in gully development on the hillslopes of communal areas in Ngqushwa Local Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa 总被引:6,自引:0,他引:6
The relationships between the spatial distribution of gully erosion and topographic thresholds in the form of slope angle, position and configuration, as well as land use change in the form of abandoned lands were examined in several affected catchments of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Land use and permanent gullies were mapped, digitized from orthophoto maps in Arc/info 3.5.2 GIS and converted to shapefiles using ArcView 3.2 GIS. Relationships between the mapped phenomena and topographic variables were sought using a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) in Idrisi Kilimanjaro GIS. A comparison between areas with a high potential for gullying and actual gully erosion was made using the Stream Power Index (SPI) as a surrogate for critical flow shear stress. Field surveys were also conducted to assess the present condition of the gullied sites as well as to validate DEM derivations.Seventy five percent of the gullied area was noted to lie on abandoned lands. A predominance of gullying in concave bottom lands was also identified. The SPI values highlighted a distinct preferential topographic zone for gully location. A conceptual model depicting the interaction between land use and topographic parameters to induce gully erosion was developed. This should assist local authorities to develop a policy regarding management of abandoned lands. 相似文献
11.
The Southern Alps of New Zealand are the topographic expression of active oblique continental convergence of the Australian and Pacific plates. Despite inferred high rates of tectonic and climatic forcing, the pattern of differential uplift and erosion remains uncertain. We use a 25-m DEM to conduct a regional-scale relief analysis of a 250-km long strip of the western Southern Alps (WSA). We present a preliminary map of regional erosion and denudation by overlaying mean basin relief, a modelled stream-power erosion index, river incision rates, historic landslide denudation rates, and landslide density. The interplay between strong tectonic and climatic forcing has led to relief production that locally attains 2 km in major catchments, with mean values of 0.65–0.68 km. Interpolation between elevations of major catchment divides indicates potential removal of l01–103 km3, or a mean basin relief of 0.51–0.85 km in the larger catchments. Local relief and inferred river incision rates into bedrock are highest about 50–67% of the distance between the Alpine fault and the main divide. The mean regional relief variability is ± 0.5 km.Local relief, valley cross-sectional area, and catchment width correlate moderately with catchment area, and also reach maximum values between the range front and the divide. Hypsometric integrals show scale dependence, and together with hypsometric curves, are insufficient to clearly differentiate between glacial and fluvial dominated basins. Mean slope angle in the WSA (ψ = 30°) is lower where major longitudinal valleys and extensive ice cover occur, and may be an insensitive measure of regional relief. Modal slope angle is strikingly uniform throughout the WSA (φ = 38–40°), and may record adjustment to runoff and landsliding. Both ψ and φ show non-linear relationships with elevation, which we attribute to dominant geomorphic process domains, such as fluvial processes in low-altitude valley trains, surface runoff and frequent landsliding on montane hillslopes, “relief dampening” by glaciers, and rock fall/avalanching on steep main-divide slopes. 相似文献
12.
Soil nutrients in relation to land use and landscape position in the semi-arid small catchment on the loess plateau in China 总被引:12,自引:0,他引:12
Characterizing spatial variability of soil nutrients in relation to site properties, including climate, land use, landscape position and other variables, is important for understanding how ecosystems work and assessing the effects of future land use change on soil nutrients. In order to assess the effects of land use and landscape position on soil nutrients consisting of soil organic matter (SOM), total N (TN), total P (TP), available N (AN) and available P (AP), soil samples were collected in August and October 1998 and July 1999 from three transects in a small catchment on the loess plateau, China. The three transects consisted of typical land use structure from the top to foot of hillslope in the study area: fallow land – cropland – woodland – orchard (T1), fallow land – shrub land – fallow land – cropland – woodland – orchard (T2) and intercropping land – woodland (T3). Significant differences among land uses were found for SOM, TN and AN. Woodland, shrub land and grassland had the higher levels for them compared to fallow land and cropland. Use of soil deterioration index showed that soils deteriorated moderately (−17·05%) under orchard and seriously (ranging from −29·91% to −20·32%) under fallow land, cropland and intercropping land, while soils had no deterioration (−0·74%) under shrubland and (−0·69%) grassland. This study indicated that the cultivated hilly lands must be abandoned before a critical minimum SOM of 0·492%. Soil nutrient responses to landscape positions were variable depending on transect and the location of land use types. The highest levels in SOM, TN and AN were observed at middle slope position on T1, while they occurred at foot slope position on T3. However, an increasing trend from upper slope to foot slope for five nutrients were found on T2. 相似文献
13.
基于DEM的数字流域特征提取研究进展 总被引:9,自引:0,他引:9
数字高程模型(DEM)是地表形态高程属性的数字化表达,利用流域DEM数据构建数字水系模型并提取流域水文特征,是分布式水文过程模拟的重要基础。DEM中闭合洼地和平坦区域的处理、流向的确定以及DEM分辨率的大小都直接影响着流域水系特征提取的质量与效率。针对当前基于DEM提取河网与流域特征的诸多问题,阐述了DEM数据提取流域水系特征的原理,回顾了数字水系模型与流域特征提取方法,评述了洼地和平地的处理方法及水流方向的确定方法的研究进展,介绍了当前基于不同DEM数据类型的提取方法研究,探讨了DEM尺度和分辨率对提取流域特征的影响,总结了平缓区域数字水系和河网提取的研究进展。 相似文献
14.
High rill density may be regarded as indicative of frequent and integrated runoff along a drainage network. However, field observations of soil development and rill geometry in small, first-order catchments (0.1 to 1 ha) of the Zin Valley Badlands, northern Negev, Israel, suggest a pattern of partial area contribution and frequent flow discontinuities along hillslopes and channels. Changing soil properties, associated with an increase of slope angle and slope length, appear to be responsible for high infiltration on the slopes, leading to nonuniform runoff generation within small drainage basins. Runoff observation, sprinkling tests, and soil analysis along ridges and sideslopes were carried out to test this hypothesis. The results confirmed that infiltration capacity on the sideslopes is significantly higher than on the ridges. Under current rainfall conditions, only extreme rainfall intensities are sufficient to generate runoff along entire slopes. The discontinuous nature of most runoff events causes erosion on ridges and deposition on slopes, which enhances soil development on the valley sideslopes, creating a positive feedback on infiltration rate and depth. This demonstrates that the links between within-storm rainfall conditions and spatial distribution of soil characteristics have to be incorporated into our understanding of landscape development in badlands. 相似文献
15.
This study investigates the origin and regional tectonic implications of high-altitude Plio (?)–Quaternary fluvial deposits developed over the Bozdağ horst which is an important structural element within the horst–graben system of western Anatolia, Turkey.A total of 23 deposits occur near the modern drainage divide comprising fluvial to occasionally lacustrine deposits. The deposits are all elongated in N–S direction with a width / length ratio of 1 / 10. The largest of them is of 13 km in length with a maximum observable thickness of about 100–110 m. Morphological, lithological, deformational characteristics of these deposits and the drainage system of the area all suggest that the deposits were formed due to uplift and southward tilting of the Bozdağ horst. This tilting which is estimated as 1.2° to 2.2° caused accumulation of the stream load along channels flowing from south to north. All the deposits were later dissected by the same streams with the exception of one deposit which still preserves its original lake form. These deposits are of Quaternary age, which corresponds to the latest N–S directed extensional tectonic phase in the region. 相似文献
16.
The detailed topographic information contained in light detection and ranging (LiDAR) digital elevation models (DEMs) can present significant challenges for modelling surface drainage patterns. These data frequently represent anthropogenic infrastructure, such as road embankments and drainage ditches. While LiDAR DEMs can improve estimates of catchment boundaries and surface flow paths, modelling efforts are often confounded difficulties associated with incomplete representation of infrastructure. The inability of DEMs to represent embankment underpasses (e.g. bridges, culverts) and the problems with existing automated techniques for dealing with these problems can lead to unsatisfactory results. This is often dealt with by manually modifying LiDAR DEMs to incorporate the effects of embankment underpasses. This paper presents a new DEM pre-processing algorithm for removing the artefact dams created by infrastructure in sites of embankment underpasses as well as enforcing flow along drainage ditches. The application of the new algorithm to a large LiDAR DEM of a site in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, demonstrated that the least-cost breaching method used by the algorithm could reliably enforce drainage pathways while minimizing the impact to the original DEM. 相似文献
17.
Kiran Sharma 《Geografisk tidskrift / udgivet af Bestyrelsen for Det Kongelige danske geografiske selskab》2013,113(2):137-150
Forest canopy density (FCD) is a major factor in the evaluation of forest status and is an important indicator of possible management interventions. The study uses the FCD model with Landsat TM and Landsat 8 OLI images to assess canopy density in India’s Manipur valley and surrounding hills. Normalized difference built-up index (NDBI) was used to extract built-up areas and population density was retrieved from LandScan data, while elevation and slope were obtained from ASTER DEMs (30 m). Four types of canopy density were delineated with crown cover above 71%, 41–70%, 11–40%, below 10% and areas with no canopy cover, that is 0%. A sharp decline in forest area occurred during 1989–2016 at a rate of loss of 2.9 % year-1 with an average rate of deforestation of 3051 ha year-1. Dense forests exhibited remarkable degradation, especially towards the central valley. The variation in the topographical (elevation and slope) gradient resulted in significant differences in the canopy density over the study area barring some hill slopes. Population pressure and various developmental activities in recent decades led to forest degradation in this fragile yet rich Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot. 相似文献
18.
A study on DEM-derived primary topographic attributes for hydrologic applications: Sensitivity to elevation data resolution 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
Primary topographic attributes play a critical role in determining watershed hydrologic characteristics for water resources modeling with raster-based digital elevation models (DEM). The effects of DEM resolution on a set of important topographic derivatives are examined in this study, including slope, upslope contributing area, flow length and watershed area. The focus of the study is on how sensitive each of the attributes is to the resolution uncertainty by considering the effects of overall terrain gradient and bias from resampling. Two case study watersheds of different gradient patterns are used with their 10 m USGS DEMs. A series of DEMs up to 200 m grid size are produced from the base DEMs using three commonly used resampling methods. All the terrain variables tested vary with the grid size change. It is found that slope angles decrease and contributing area values increase constantly as DEMs are aggregated progressively to coarser resolutions. No systematic trend is observed for corresponding changes of flow path and watershed area. The analysis also suggests that gradient profile of the watershed presents an important factor for the examined sensitivities to DEM resolution. 相似文献
19.
黄河源区不同地貌环境下的河网发育模式、平面形态等具有显著差异,存在羽状、矩形状、对称羽状和树状4种典型的河网类型。选取黄河源区83个典型子流域,计算了河网平面特征参数,探讨了河网参数与地形和气候因子的关系及河网类型的分布规律。结果表明,4类河网平面特征差异性通过流域宽长比、河网密度和流域内河流流向最大频数得到了较好的体现。流域坡度和降雨量对河网密度及流向的影响显著,且能较好解释河网密度及流向最大频数的变化;降雨对流域宽长比的影响显著。羽状主要分布在源区上游北部边缘地带,气候干旱,地表裸露,流域坡度均值为4.5°,流域高差均值为730 m。矩形状集中分布在若尔盖地区,气候相对湿润,且有大量的沼泽湿地,流域坡度和流域高差均值分别为2.3°和177 m。对称羽状处于高山峡谷地带,流域坡度和流域高差均值分别为16.9°和1167 m,降雨量变化范围大。树状分布在黄河源中游山区及中下游的冲积地貌,流域坡度和流域高差均值分别为15.4°和968 m,植被覆盖较好。结合4类河网的空间分布特征及河网参数与环境因子的多元回归分析结果分析,认为地形是决定河网平面形态分异的主要原因;当地形限制减小,气候条件和植被覆盖情况对河网的发展起了重要作用。 相似文献
20.
Innocent Miebaka Aprioku 《Applied geography (Sevenoaks, England)》2004,24(4):323-338
The paper examines why Yenagoa, the major town and headquarter of Bayelsa State in Nigeria, is experiencing territorial problems, including boundary disputes, which do not exist in larger, fast growing urban areas in Nigeria (such as Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano and Ibadan). For the purpose of data collection, Yenagoa is divided into 14 zones. A questionnaire survey sought to discover the pattern of interzonal relocation and space preference of residents. An index of environmental deterioration was devised through a measure of the total number, length and width of the stream channels, drainage density, area subject to flood pondage and percentage dry land available for urban expansion in each zone.Using correlation technique to relate environmental quality with relocation and space preference, the resultant indices show two sets of relationships: that there is a direct association between degree of environmental deterioration and desire to relocate, and that the degree of environmental stability of a zone is directly related to its relative attractiveness. Based on these cause–effect relationships, it is argued that Yenagoa has exceeded its carrying capacity. Consequently, there is a fusion of Yenagoa with its neighbouring zones who are resisting the territorial expansion of Yenagoa engineered by the urbanization process. The paper suggests urgent reclamation of flood prone areas in Yenagoa. 相似文献