ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an introduction to some of the methods that can be employed to model the amount of direct, diffuse and total solar radiation received on sloping terrain, and to simulate hydrological networks, using digital elevation data stored in a two-dimensional array. Terrain slope also exerts an effect on other environmental processes, perhaps the most obvious example of which is rainfall run-off. Thus, the route that precipitation takes from the point at which it falls on the ground, via a sequence of streams and rivers, to the sea or to a lake is primarily controlled by the slope of the local terrain. More generally, the amount of solar radiation received at Earth’s surface varies according to the slope of the terrain and the angle of the sun. The chapter also presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book.
