Assessment of natural and human effect in the alluvial deposits aquifer of Sperchios’ river plain

Investigating the Correlation of Tectonic and Morphometric Characteristics with the Hydrological Response in a Greek River Catchment Using Earth Observation and Geospatial Analysis Techniques

“…The north and north-eastern part are formed by an ophiolitic complex in a shale-chert formation, while the central and lower part of the catchment is occupied by Neogene and Quaternary unconsolidated deposits. In total, almost 74% of the catchment's southern part is dominated by impermeable rocks that form a dense drainage network with high values of surface runoff (Figure 3) [32,69,71].…”

“…The Inachos drainage density is calculated as 3.49, demonstrating the impact of the tectonic activity of the area (uplift of the Southern part of the Sperchios catchment), towards the development of few and short length streams (Figure 6b) [41,68]. Gorgopotamos and Assopos also demonstrate low density values (2.69 and 2.30), which are related to the presence of the permeable carbonate rocks, leading to the development of a sparse drainage network (Figure 5c,d) [54,71]. The overall conclusion is that the ongoing tectonic uplift of the southern part of the Sperchios catchment, along with the steep relief and the appearance of carbonate formation at the eastern part of the basin (cases of Xirias, Gorgopotamos and Assopos), contributes to the development of catchments with few streams and short lengths (Figure 6a-h, Table 2) [38,41].…”