Valley Width @ 5x bankfull depth
Valley Width @ 5x Bankfull Depth
Parameter Description: Valley width at 5 times bankfull depth is used to calculate a confinement index (valley width divided by channel width) in NetMap's salmon habitat intrinsic potential models for coho, steelhead and Chinook (see here).
Data Type: Line (stream layer)
Field Name: VWI_Floor; Common Name: Valley Width Index-IP (width of valley floor at five multiples of bankfull flow depth above the channel (used in the original IP modeling for salmonids)
Units: meters/meters, dimensionless
NetMap Module/Tool: Fluvial Processes (map generator)
Model Description:
This parameter is created specifically for the Intrinsic Potential fish habitat model. It is based on valley width calculated at 5 times bankfull depth, a parameter created by the ‘River Builder Module’. The valley width is then divided by bankfull depth. Other channel confinement measures can be calculated using the Channel Confinement tool using measured floodplain widths at variable heights above the channel (in the ‘Fluvial Morphology Module’).
Technical Background:
See Burnett et al. 2007 for discussion of intrinsic potential model and the use of valley width @5x/channel width.