Assessment of Changes in Planform Morphology of the Upper Yamuna River Segment, India, Using Remote Sensing and GIS

ABSTRACT

The current study explores the planform morphological changes that have occurred in the upper segment of the Yamuna River by using Landsat images from 1979 to 2019. The river segment was divided into 18 sections at equal spacing, viz., S1 to S18, and the centerline and bank line shifting, channel width, alterations in meander geometry and braiding characteristics in terms of sinuosity index (SI) and braiding index (BI) were evaluated. The results indicate a maximum centerline shifting eastward at section S-5 and westward at S17 during 1999, with respect to the base year of 1979. The average eastward and westward centerline shifting remained insignificant. The average west bank shifting ranged from 0.407 km to 0.892 km east and 0.440 km to 0.418 km west, indicating relatively higher west bank shifting towards east. The average east bank shifting ranged from 0.335 km to 0.505 km east and 0.344 km to 0.896 km west, indicating a narrowing of the bank width throughout the segment length. During the assessment period, the river segment exhibited sinuous characteristics and non-braided behavior. The outcomes of this study could be useful in predicting future trends in river shifting and developing sustainable land use planning strategies along floodplains.

KEYWORDS:

• River planform morphology
• sinuosity index
• braiding index
• centerline shifting
• bank line shifting

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the Department of Civil Engineering, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India, for providing all sorts of facilities to carry out this study and also acknowledge anonymous reviewers for their useful comments and suggestions that have greatly enhanced the quality of this manuscript. The authors did not receive financial support from any organization for the submitted work. The authors disclose no potential competing interest or any potential conflict to Taylor & Francis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the author, S. Said (Corresponding author), upon reasonable request.