A Comprehensive Hybrid Framework to Study the Impact of Dams on the Shoreline Evolution in the Downstream Estuarian Region

A Comprehensive Hybrid Framework to Study the Impact of Dams on the Shoreline Evolution in the Downstream Estuarian Region | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article A Comprehensive Hybrid Framework to Study the Impact of Dams on the Shoreline Evolution in the Downstream Estuarian Region Vengadesan Palanimanickam, Sannasiraj Sannasi Annamalaisamy, Murty Bhallamudi This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4780354/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 21 Feb, 2025 Read the published version in Estuaries and Coasts → Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The increasing demand for fresh water has led to a proliferation of dams worldwide. While humans benefit from water storage projects, the environment faces growing pressure. Dams significantly impact flow dynamics, reducing freshwater and sediment flow. This alteration in flow results in increased tidal dominance in estuarine areas. The combined effects of changes in water and sediment flow in the river, along with heightened tidal influence, have a significant impact on downstream morpho-dynamics. Understanding the long-term impacts of dam construction on shorelines is crucial as changes in shoreline evolution can have significant ecological, economic, and social implications. The present study proposes a novel hybrid framework, which combines Range of Variability Analysis (RVA) of river discharges, hydrologic modeling for sediment trapping by dams, hydrodynamic modeling of estuaries, and digital shoreline analysis, for gaining insight into shoreline changes triggered by the construction of large dams on rivers, and identifying the factors driving these changes. To illustrate the proposed methodology, it is applied to the Narmada River estuary in central India to study the impacts of the world’s second-largest concrete dam, Sardar Sarovar Dam (SSD). The construction of SSD reduced the magnitude of the flood by more than 40% and the sediment flow by 90%. The rate of shoreline change in the estuary has reduced during the post-construction period although the shoreline length undergoing erosion has significantly increased. The analysis using the hybrid approach suggests that the decreased rate of shoreline change is most likely due to reduced monsoonal flow, while the increased extent of erodible areas can be related to decreased sediment transport. Hydrologic Alternation (HA) Watershed modeling Estuarine modeling Shoreline 44 analysis Impacts of Dams Narmada estuary Comprehensive Framework Full Text Supplementary Files supplementarymaterial.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 21 Feb, 2025 Read the published version in Estuaries and Coasts → Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 30 Jul, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 25 Jul, 2024 Editor invited by journal 23 Jul, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 22 Jul, 2024 First submitted to journal 22 Jul, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4780354","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":331551847,"identity":"e26fc807-8734-4b4d-9a9f-37c28675ea8f","order_by":0,"name":"Vengadesan Palanimanickam","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Indian Institute of Technology Madras","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Vengadesan","middleName":"","lastName":"Palanimanickam","suffix":""},{"id":331551848,"identity":"597c5ceb-cbe2-4fe2-ad79-b878ed1eeae6","order_by":1,"name":"Sannasiraj Sannasi Annamalaisamy","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAvUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYNACHhseNhiTWC1pPGxspGlhOMzAwEZYFQTItx9/9uGHzHkZPvnuBIYfNQwy5oS0GJzJMZ7Zw3Mb6DDeDYw9xxh4LBsIaWHIYWbggWph4G1g4DE4QMhh/c8fM/7hOQex5S8xWhhuJBgz8/AcAGthJsoWgxtvjJlleJKBWnI3HJY5JkGMw9IfM77tsbOXbz678eGbGht7wg4DAcYeCA1ULEGMehD4QazCUTAKRsEoGJEAABUfM3OIbbBkAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5788-6696","institution":"Indian Institute of Technology Madras","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sannasiraj","middleName":"Sannasi","lastName":"Annamalaisamy","suffix":""},{"id":331551849,"identity":"8f94ebe6-4119-43d9-865c-36ed6618361b","order_by":2,"name":"Murty Bhallamudi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Indian Institute of Technology Madras","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Murty","middleName":"","lastName":"Bhallamudi","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-07-22 08:37:33","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4780354/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4780354/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-025-01505-4","type":"published","date":"2025-02-21T15:57:52+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":77053411,"identity":"6c500eb1-b8b7-4efa-a1bf-ff63b28e96c7","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-02-24 16:29:01","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1184538,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4780354/v1_covered_0d8683c2-4c97-4950-b08b-467a3db56193.pdf"},{"id":62918422,"identity":"202e29e1-7a96-41e4-a94a-419d9f2ef844","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-08-21 04:54:19","extension":"pdf","order_by":5,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":2882779,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"supplementarymaterial.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4780354/v1/b8b64349322ca0037398ba50.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"A Comprehensive Hybrid Framework to Study the Impact of Dams on the Shoreline Evolution in the Downstream Estuarian Region","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":true,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"estuaries-and-coasts","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"esco","sideBox":"Learn more about [Estuaries and Coasts](https://www.springer.com/journal/12237)","snPcode":"12237","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/esco/","title":"Estuaries and Coasts","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Hydrologic Alternation (HA), Watershed modeling, Estuarine modeling, Shoreline 44 analysis, Impacts of Dams, Narmada estuary, Comprehensive Framework","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4780354/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4780354/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"The increasing demand for fresh water has led to a proliferation of dams worldwide. 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