| Article Title |
Assessment of Flood Affected Areas using GEE and SAR Imagery: A Spatio Temporal Analysis of Morigaon District |
| Author(s) | Bipul Saikia, Deepam Talukdar, Dr. Bharati Gogoi, Dr. Jyotishmoy Bora. |
| Country | India |
| Abstract | Flooding is a recurrent and severe environmental hazard in Morigaon district, Assam, driven by the hydrodynamics of the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries. The study assesses the spatial extent of flood-affected areas and examines their interaction with land use and land cover (LULC) patterns using multi-temporal geospatial techniques. Sentinel 1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery for 2015 and 2025 was processed on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform to delineate flood inundation, employing VV and VH polarization in Interferometric Wide Swath (IW) mode. A refined Lee filter and image mosaicking were applied in SNAP to enhance data quality. Additionally, a LULC map for the years 2015 and 2025 were generated using Sentinel 2 imagery and visual interpretation techniques, classifying the district into six major land use categories. Results reveal that Morigaon district is predominantly agricultural, with cropland covering over 55% of its total geographical area in both years. Temporal flood analysis indicates a substantial decline in inundation from 25,748.67 ha in 2015 to 13,706.35 ha in 2025, although cropland consistently remained the most affected category. The reduction in flood extent over time may be linked to improved flood mitigation infrastructure, hydrological variations, rainfall intensity and pattern, and changes in sediment dynamics. Despite this decline, the district continues to exhibit considerable ecological and socio-economic vulnerability due to its agrarian dependence and exposure to riverine processes. The study highlights the value of integrating SAR and optical data for reliable flood assessment and underscores the need for sustainable floodplain management and adaptation strategies to enhance resilience in Morigaon district. |
| Area | Environment |
| Issue | Volume 3, Issue 2 (April - June 2026) |
| Published | 2026/04/11 |
| How to Cite | Saikia, B., Talukdar, D., Gogoi, B., & Bora, J.. (2026). Assessment of Flood Affected Areas using GEE and SAR Imagery: A Spatio Temporal Analysis of Morigaon District. Cosmos: A Journal of Geography, 3(2), 1-13. |
Cosmos: A Journal of Geography
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