Modeling on approximation of fluvial landform change impact on morphodynamics at Madhumati River Basin in Bangladesh

This study was carried out to investigate fluvial Landform characteristics and background causes of dynamic changes at Madhumati River Basin and to evaluate the impact of morphodynamics on the hydrology, agriculture systems, and ecosystems services and people livelihoods. To accomplish the research goal, the present study considered to evaluate bank line shifting, course change direction, change of channel patterns, change in channel width, rate of erosion, accretion and sedimentation, fluvial and floodplain landforms transformation, as well as hydrological dynamics. Furthermore, the spatial and temporal scale of morphological change were linked with drivers. For understanding the complex morphological process and response of the river, reliable historical time-series satellite images, and hydrological data were analyzed; as well as taking expert judgment and local knowledge into account. GIS and remote sensing (RS) tools, techniques and models were applied to process, analyze, and extract fluvial parameters from multitemporal Landsat satellite imagery. The results of the study demonstrate that erosion, accretion and historical migrated area significantly increased during the flooding period of 1988 and 1998 and that these hydromorphological hazards badly impacted on flood plain resources, agricultural systems, aquatic, and terrestrial biodiversity. Also, human interference, such as bridge construction and business purpose dredging badly impacted on the hydromorphological characteristics of this river. The results also reveal that Madhumati River had very low sinuosity in the time span 1973-2020. Gradually, the sinuosity value of this river is increasing over time. Sinuosity values of this river ranged between 0.98 (1973) and 1.11 (2020) with an average value 1.04 designating straight to sinuous nature. The scope of this research will suggest possible morphological adjustment for future management strategies of climate change, fluvial disasters, and develop resilience capability to the rural community.