A Simplified Concept to Test Erosion or Sedimentation Potential along a Tidal River in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta

Abstract

The Payra is a tidal river with meandering planform in which around 6.5 km long landmass is formed naturally during the last 40 years that is selected for an establishment by the Government of Bangladesh. However, the site experiences intermittent erosion at several locations and poses threat to the newly developed infrastructures. In the present study, a Rouse type simple model is used to estimate the equilibrium profiles of suspended sediment concentration below which the system is likely to be eroded and regarded as “Sediment Deficit System, SDS” and above which the system is likely to be sedimented and regarded as “Sediment Surplus System, SSS”. The model was then tested at the study reach using the measured flow-sediment data complemented by field observation and Landsat images-based planform analysis. The analysis revealed that the residual flow-sediment regime in the study site is representing the “sediment deficit system” that causes continuous threat for erosion throughout the tidal cycles. Therefore, the availability of new landmass should not be the only criterion for the quick selection of a project site, and residual flow-sediment regime needs to consider as an additional parameter for such decision-making process.