Channel migration studies in the middle Ganga basin, India, using remote sensing data

Abstract

An area in the middle Ganga basin lying around Monghyr, Bihar, India, has been selected for channel migration investigations, using mainly remote sensing data. Changes in planform of the rivers over approximately 50 years have been evaluated and the palaeocourses of the Ganga and Burhi Gandak rivers have been reconstructed using the disposition and pattern of, among other things, oxbow lakes, meander scars and abandoned channels. It is inferred that the Ganga and the Burhi Gandak rivers moved from north to south by 20 km and 30 km respectively. The study demonstrates the utility of remote sensing data in such channel migration investigations.