Abstract
Amazonian rivers are highly interconnected and dynamic systems. Their
behavior depends, to a large extent, on their geomorphology, being
classified in 1) meandering rivers (MR), characterized by high rates of
migration and sinuosity, and 2) anabranching rivers (AR), known for
forming several permanent channels and islands. A planimetric
characterization of the main rivers of the Peruvian Amazon (Huallaga,
Ucayali, Marañon, and Amazonas), spanning from the Andes to the Amazon
lowland region, was carried out to understand their physical dynamics.
By a multi-temporal analysis from 1987 to 2017 using Landsat images, a
segmentation was made for each river based on 1) the characterization of
the geological valley, 2) the confluence of important tributaries, 3)
changes of the main channel through the years, and 4) planimetric
variables such as confinement, bend length, amplitude, sinuosity, and
asymmetry. As a result, a total of 160 sections were obtained, in which
a new set of 25 metrics was applied, filtered from an initial set of 31
variables and their statistics (i.e. mean, variance, kurtosis, and
skewness), calculated through different approaches (i.e. half-meander,
full-meander, and full-river). The variables were standardized and
principal component analysis (PCA) was performed. The resulting biplot
showed a distinction between AR and MR, with a shared area consisting
predominantly of Marañon and Huallaga sections. The average value of
sinuosity was found more associated with the MR, while higher length and
asymmetry variance values were more oriented to the AR. This study also
indicated the similarity in the behavior of some river sections of
different types, based exclusively on their morphometric
characteristics. At the same time, revealed how some sections could not
be differentiated from others despite being nominally different. In this
scenario, the PCA highlighted the need for a complete set of statistics
that can recognize different features of these rivers, capturing greater
complexity. Thus, the evaluation and segmentation of these planimetric
variables, according to their planform characteristics, allows a better
understanding of their dynamics, providing accurate information for
coherent decision-making.