Morphological changes in alluvial and coastal plains of Kandaleru river, Andhra Pradesh using RS and GIS

Abstract

Morphological changes attributed to anthropogenic activities is one of the fundamental drivers of local, regional and global environmental changes. Studies of morphology has become vital in enhancing the understanding and monitoring of environmental changes. On this aspect, the present study details the spatio-temporal status of the alluvial and coastal plains of the Kandaleru river of Nellore district using Landsat, LISS III and Sentinel 2A satellite images for the years 1973, 1988 and 2020. The study utilized Remote Sensing (RS), Geographical Information System (GIS) and Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) capabilities to identify the morphological changes and their impacts. Interpretation of morphological features from temporal satellite images were carried out using Maximum Likelihood Classifier (MLC) technique of remote sensing and the impacts were studied using spatial analyst tools of ArcGIS and river bank dynamics was assessed and quantified using DSAS model. The study indicated a decrease in the spatial extent of both alluvial and coastal plains of the Kandaleru river during the study period. The alluvial plain decreased from 106.98 km2 in 1973 to 64.34 km2 in 2020 predominantly due to growth of aquaponds and other anthropogenic human interventions such as the growth of commercial and habitation areas. The coastal plain decreased by 13% during the study period due to the development of port and its related activities. The study revealed the regional stress of morphological features around the river which is one of the vital data to allude restrictions in such fertile landforms.

Keywords

• Alluvial plain
• Coastal plain
• MLC
• Spatial analyst
• DSAS
• Impacts