Geo-spatial analyses of meandering rivers, assessing past and future impacts on bank landforms and LULC changes

Abstract

ABSTRACT Morphological investigation of rivers is difficult but is one of the vital topics for the management of highly meandering river systems. The study employs GIS to analyse 32 years of Barak River data, addressing challenges in quantifying the morphology of meandering rivers. Earth observatory data from 1990 to 2022 track channel bank shifts and Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) alterations. Although the digital shoreline analysis system (DSAS) model identified long-term bank line migration analysis of shorelines, it's use is very new for rivers, especially in terms of the meandering of rivers. Conversely, research on long-term meandering river morphology in the Barak River channel has not been conducted despite evident land-use changes. Using DSAS for bank positions and CA–Markov models for LULC , future projections until 2043 reveal ongoing Barak River bank shifts and significant LULC pattern alterations. The findings of the research were validated through RMSE, Student's t-test, chi-square, and the kappa coefficient. Forecasts indicate that rapid urbanization impacts river morphology. The methodology is crucial for managing highly meandering rivers, particularly in contexts involving vulnerable river systems.