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Assessment of Spatiotemporal Migration of River Ganga from Buxar to Azamabad Using Remote Sensing and GIS Technique

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Abstract

The dynamics associated with the morphological changes of the Ganga River being the largest river in India is yet to be understood. Population living near the floodplain gets crucially affected by migrating channels. Spatiotemporal relocation of Ganga River from Buxar to Azamabad over a period of 45 years (1975–2020) was measured using Landsat images. Study area was divided into 7 reaches (A, B, C, D, E, F and G) based on availability of field data. Temporal changes (at 5-year interval) of river centerline, bank line positions, area within banks, channel migration rates and sinuosity ratios have been computed and analyzed. Analysis suggests that river has experienced considerable course change and readjustment in configuration over the last 45 years with centerline and bank lines shifting of about 11.5 km during this period in leftward direction and about 8.6 km in rightward direction. With an average sinuosity ratio of about 1.32 in the study region, Ganga River can be classified as sinuous river except for Reach F in which the river is meandering. The channel's fluctuating lateral movement appears to be affected by strong fluvial hydraulics and the reactivation of cross-bar channels inside river valleys.

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Authors are thankful to Central Water Commission Patna, providing the field surveyed datasets of Ganga River.

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Acknowledgements

Authors are thankful to Central Water Commission Patna, providing the field surveyed datasets of Ganga River.

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Correspondence to Ratnesh Kumar.

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Kumar, R., Jha, R. Assessment of Spatiotemporal Migration of River Ganga from Buxar to Azamabad Using Remote Sensing and GIS Technique. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 50, 1945–1958 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12524-022-01583-y

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