Water Resources of Barak Valley, India: Spatial Assessment of Lentic and Lotic System Using Remote Sensing and GIS at 5.8 m Resolution

Abstract

High resolution remote sensing data are suitable for quantifying or analyzing very small land cover components. In this study, the spatial distribution of water bodies and the perennial rivers of Barak valley were mapped and studied. Mapping was done for the first time using the high resolution IRS-R2 LISS4 FX data. The study adopted a hybrid technique incorporating supervised technique using the maximum likelihood algorithm and Visual Interpretation technique after ground validation. The river Barak along with its tributaries and sub-tributaries were identified and mapped. 16 tributaries and sub-tributaries have been mapped and reported for the first time after ground validation. This is a first detailed study on the spatial assessment of the waterbodies in this region. A total of 549 surface water bodies have been mapped and studied. The result indicated that the total area under water cover during dry season was ca 21,186 ha of the total geographical area of the study region. The study revealed that maximum numbers of the surface water bodies were between the sizes of 1 to 50 ha in area. Sone beel (wetland) was found to be the largest surface water body of the valley covering a total area of 1,348 ha. The final map composed represents the surface water of Barak valley and their spatial distribution. Thus, this paper may significantly help decision makers and researchers for sustainable water management, monitoring, controlling and planning development at local and regional scales.