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T. Telbisz, G. Kovács, B. Székely:
"Creation of swath profiles and swath analysis";
Talk: HunDEM 2011 conference, Miskolc, Ungarn; 2011-04-15 - 2011-04-22; in: "Possibilities in terrain modelling 2011, Proceedings of HunDEM 2011 conference and round-table discussion", (2011), ISBN: 978-963-358-006-6; 8 pages.

Classical elevation profiles often comprise some arbitrariness (e.g. missing local maxima or minima, the profile line deviates from the ridgeline etc.). If we use a swath instead of a line, the arbitrariness can be diminished and the resulted swath profile is statistically more robust and informative. Swath profiles usually contain maximum, mean and minimum values calculated for zones perpendicular to the swath direction. The analyzed swath is usually a rectangle but irregular shapes are also possible. A special case is also considered here, the "central swath profile", in which the profile distance is calculated from a centre point. Central swath profiles can be useful for studying (partly) circular landforms such as volcanoes, dolines or alluvial fans. Swath profiles, in general, are widely used in geomorphology e.g. to identify remnant surfaces or to quantify tilted surfaces. In this paper, the process of swath profile creation is discussed in terms of GIS and a Visual Basic macro (SwathCalc_v3.bas) is also appended to perform this process in Excel environment. A case study of the hilly landscape between Kőszeg Mts. and Rába river is also given to show the geomorphological application of the swath profile method.

swath profile, central swath, digital terrain model, geomorphology, Western Transdanubian Hills

http://publik.tuwien.ac.at/files/PubDat_216919.pdf