Flow dynamics and channel changes at Yamuna River in Delhi-National Capital Region, India.

The present work was carried out on River Yamuna passing through Delhi-National Capital Region (Delhi-NCR) of India for a stretch of about 125 km to assess the fluvial characteristics in the highly human-dominated region for a period of 200 years with the help of historical maps, topographical maps and satellite data with integration of geographic information system (GIS) environment. Erosion, deposition and channel stability data were analyzed for 1977–1986, 1986–1996, 1996–2006, 2006–2016, and 2016–2022 period. Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) application was utilized to quantify river channel movement with average channel migration of 22.8 m/year. Westward migration is 4149.2 m maximum in length and eastward migration is about 4083.8 m. The river has migrated a total of 32.26 km2 of area during 1955-2022. The findings indicate that various human activities, such as engineering structures, sand mining, embankments, urbanization, land use/land cover changes, and canal networks, have significantly impacted the river. The DSAS application was also used to predict the position of river channel centerline in future for 2032 and 2042 with channel length of 132.5 and 141.6 km respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]