Geomorphic Analysis, Morphometric-based Prioritization and Tectonic Implications in Chite Lui River, Northeast India

Abstract

River morphometry is a useful approach in basin analysis which helps to interprets fluvially originated landforms. The aim of the present work is to evaluate the morphometric and morphotectonic parameters along with prioritization for soil erosion and water availability in Chite Lui watershed. Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is a useful approach to find out soil erosion and ground water potential zone with an aim to achieve successful management of a watershed. It helps to examine the susceptibility zone in watershed. The present paper documents the delineation of 14 sub-watersheds in Chite Lui River at 3rd order stream. Its prioritization has been performed using several morphometric parameters namely drainage density, elongation ratio and many other parameters using Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP). Sub-watersheds are ranked from 1–14 based on soil erosion and groundwater potential zones. The Chite Lui watershed is a fifth order drainage basin with a total area of 52.7 km2. The tectonic parameters of the watershed as the asymmetry value is 34%, indicates the structural control over the area either by uplift or tilting. The hypsometric integral value is 0.5 and the valley width height ratio is 0.05 which also suggest tectonic activity in the area. Sinuosity related many parameters along with geomorphic indices like stream power index (SPI), stream gradient index (SL) and topographic wetness index (TWI) were also calculated to suggest the watershed health. The present paper shows that the morphometric analysis is highly relevant and efficient in delineating susceptibility zones.