Analysis and Benchmark of Hydrological Network Representation Models for Improved Access and Query in Web-based System

Abstract:

Web based systems allow users to delineate watersheds on interactive map environments using server side processing and databases. With increasing resolution of hydrological networks, optimized methods for storage of network representation in databases, and efficient queries and actions on the river network structure become critical. This presentation provides a comprehensive study on analysis of network models in relational databases for hydrological networks, and benchmarking common queries and operations on the network structure using these methods. The analysis has been applied to the hydrological network of the State of Iowa based on 90m DEM consist of 600,000 network nodes. The application results indicate that certain representation methods provide massive improvements on query times and storage of network structure in the database. Suggested method allows watershed delineation tools running on the client-side with desktop-like performance. This will allow users to carry out large scale analysis and visualizations tasks on the web.