Assessing the Evolution of Point Bars along the Niger River in the Niger Delta, Nigeria (1974-2024) using Remote Sensing and Machine learning

Assessing the Evolution of Point Bars along the Niger River in the Niger Delta, Nigeria (1974-2024) using Remote Sensing and Machine learning | 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 Assessing the Evolution of Point Bars along the Niger River in the Niger Delta, Nigeria (1974-2024) using Remote Sensing and Machine learning Paaru Moses, Desmond Rowland Eteh, Okechukwu Okpobiri This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4770452/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 20 Jan, 2026 Read the published version in Applied Geomatics → Version 1 posted 7 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The evolution of point bars along the Niger River in the Niger Delta, Nigeria, from 1974 to 2024 using remote sensing and machine learning. The dataset includes DEM and Landsat series satellite imagery, supplemented by Sentinel-2 data for high-resolution analysis from USGS. Rainfall data from 1983 to 2023 was sourced from the Center for Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing. Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA) identified and mapped point bars. Support Vector Machines automated classification, ensuring accuracy through precision and recall metrics. ArcGIS 10.5 tracked changes over time, revealing significant fluctuations in river area and point bar dimensions. River area fluctuated significantly, decreasing from 46,376.54 km² in 1974 to 42,711.05 km² in 1984, rising to 49,601.2 km² in 2014, and falling to 44,796.47 km² in 2024. Contrarily, the total point bar area increased dramatically from 1,945.63 km² in 1974 to a peak of 7,026.33 km² in 2004, followed by a decline to 8,087.89 km² in 2024. This trend indicates complex interactions between sediment deposition, erosion, and river flow patterns. Notably, the maximum point bar area peaked in 1994 at 2,273.85 km², then fell to 783.84 km² in 2024, while the mean point bar area showed a general decrease over the study period. Spatial autocorrelation analysis revealed significant clustering of point bars and elevation (Global Moran’s Index = 1.059738), and a strong positive relationship between point bars and rainfall (R² = 0.9921). These findings align with global trends, underscoring the impact of climatic fluctuations and human activities on river morphology and sediment dynamics. Point bar dynamics Machine learning Remote sensing Niger Delta climatic fluctuations Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 20 Jan, 2026 Read the published version in Applied Geomatics → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 29 Jan, 2025 Reviews received at journal 16 Nov, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 07 Nov, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 05 Sep, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 22 Jul, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 22 Jul, 2024 First submitted to journal 19 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-4770452","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":334000810,"identity":"17618950-ae1e-4d4a-a737-d5c7c28f763a","order_by":0,"name":"Paaru Moses","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA1UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYHAD5gNAQkKGFC1sCSAtPKRo4TEAkwTVmbMffvaZN8fGnp//zOdXN2oseBjYDx/dgE+LZU+a8WzebWmJM2fkbrPOOQZ0GE9a2g18WgwOJBgz8247nGBwg3ebcQ4bUIsEjxl+LeeffwZpsbc/f+aZcc4/YrTcyAHbwriBIYf5cW4bEVosZ7wpZpwL9MuMG2lmzLl9EjxshPxizp++meHtNmCI9R9+/DnnW50cP/vhY/gdhsRmkwCT+JSja2H+QEj1KBgFo2AUjEwAAHS/RCDzXnubAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Niger Delta University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Paaru","middleName":"","lastName":"Moses","suffix":""},{"id":334000811,"identity":"900ea580-3328-4a09-8085-573770f62afb","order_by":1,"name":"Desmond Rowland Eteh","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Niger Delta University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Desmond","middleName":"Rowland","lastName":"Eteh","suffix":""},{"id":334000813,"identity":"f2b0b745-8c84-4113-98aa-8ba4ef166dc5","order_by":2,"name":"Okechukwu Okpobiri","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"River State University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Okechukwu","middleName":"","lastName":"Okpobiri","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-07-19 22:23:18","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4770452/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4770452/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12518-025-00687-7","type":"published","date":"2026-01-20T15:58:49+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":101151787,"identity":"9537ead0-abcb-4e46-b355-f5b2842257cb","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-26 16:05:35","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1004856,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"AssessingtheEvolutionofPointBarsalongtheNigerRiverintheNigerDeltaupdate.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4770452/v1_covered_132739a7-ab07-4108-b9ea-a58bf181cb96.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Assessing the Evolution of Point Bars along the Niger River in the Niger Delta, Nigeria (1974-2024) using Remote Sensing and Machine learning","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":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"applied-geomatics","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"agmj","sideBox":"Learn more about [Applied Geomatics](http://link.springer.com/journal/12518)","snPcode":"12518","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/12518/3","title":"Applied Geomatics","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Point bar dynamics, Machine learning, Remote sensing, Niger Delta, climatic fluctuations","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4770452/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4770452/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe evolution of point bars along the Niger River in the Niger Delta, Nigeria, from 1974 to 2024 using remote sensing and machine learning. The dataset includes DEM and Landsat series satellite imagery, supplemented by Sentinel-2 data for high-resolution analysis from USGS. Rainfall data from 1983 to 2023 was sourced from the Center for Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing. Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA) identified and mapped point bars. Support Vector Machines automated classification, ensuring accuracy through precision and recall metrics. ArcGIS 10.5 tracked changes over time, revealing significant fluctuations in river area and point bar dimensions. River area fluctuated significantly, decreasing from 46,376.54 km\u0026sup2; in 1974 to 42,711.05 km\u0026sup2; in 1984, rising to 49,601.2 km\u0026sup2; in 2014, and falling to 44,796.47 km\u0026sup2; in 2024. Contrarily, the total point bar area increased dramatically from 1,945.63 km\u0026sup2; in 1974 to a peak of 7,026.33 km\u0026sup2; in 2004, followed by a decline to 8,087.89 km\u0026sup2; in 2024. This trend indicates complex interactions between sediment deposition, erosion, and river flow patterns. Notably, the maximum point bar area peaked in 1994 at 2,273.85 km\u0026sup2;, then fell to 783.84 km\u0026sup2; in 2024, while the mean point bar area showed a general decrease over the study period. Spatial autocorrelation analysis revealed significant clustering of point bars and elevation (Global Moran\u0026rsquo;s Index\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1.059738), and a strong positive relationship between point bars and rainfall (R\u0026sup2; = 0.9921). These findings align with global trends, underscoring the impact of climatic fluctuations and human activities on river morphology and sediment dynamics.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Assessing the Evolution of Point Bars along the Niger River in the Niger Delta, Nigeria (1974-2024) using Remote Sensing and Machine learning","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-08-19 07:06:55","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4770452/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-01-29T08:48:00+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2024-11-16T08:10:34+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"198967115579749134190109370014216056343","date":"2024-11-07T14:00:14+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2024-09-05T16:23:17+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2024-07-23T03:26:54+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2024-07-23T03:24:55+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Applied Geomatics","date":"2024-07-19T22:12:52+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"applied-geomatics","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"agmj","sideBox":"Learn more about [Applied Geomatics](http://link.springer.com/journal/12518)","snPcode":"12518","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/12518/3","title":"Applied Geomatics","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"fc0a7ae0-03d0-4656-8773-5cfe2977494c","owner":[],"postedDate":"August 19th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-01-26T16:02:08+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-4770452","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12518-025-00687-7","journal":{"identity":"applied-geomatics","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Applied Geomatics"},"publishedOn":"2026-01-20 15:58:49","publishedOnDateReadable":"January 20th, 2026"},"versionCreatedAt":"2024-08-19 07:06:55","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s12518-025-00687-7","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12518-025-00687-7","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-4770452","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-4770452","identity":"rs-4770452","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}