Assessing channel morphology and prediction of centerline channel migration of the Barak River using geospatial techniques.

Barak River is highly meandering rivers flowing through the alluvial plains of Assam in India. However, due to dynamic system, it is found that channel being subjected to regular shifting which creates uncertainty to the habitants residing nearby the river. Therefore, it is anticipated to carry out a study regarding changes in channel morphology and prediction of centerline channel migration during 1984–2030, using multiperiod Landsat remote sensing images along with autoregressive integrated moving average model (ARIMA). From morphometric analysis, it was found that the mean value of meander length (ML), meander width (MB), and meander ratio (MR) indicates an increasing trend, while sinuosity (C), wavelength (λ), and radius of curvature (RC) show a decreasing trend. The outcome of ARIMA model specifies that channel shifting of mid-line is going to change suddenly either to rightward or leftward directions. Throughout the whole alluvial part of the Barak River, rightward side is recognized as major concern. Observed and predicted values have shown a good R2 value (R2 = 0.89 and R2 = 0.88) at CS-30 and CS-18 respectively. Also, lowest RMSE is observed at CS-12 and highest RMSE is observed at CS-21. Finally predicted values were generated for the estimation of centerline channel shifting between two time intervals (2017–2023 and 2023–2030), which shows that the channel shifting of the river basin will occur at many regions particularly at critical sections. Overall, the findings of this study could be used further in river training works and in understanding the future dynamics of channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]