Detection of Anthropogenic River Avulsion Using Multi-Sensor Remote Sensing Fusion and Historical Correlation: A Case Study of the Iput River Basin (Belarus)

This study presents a methodological framework for detecting and validating anthropogenically induced river avulsion using multi-sensor remote sensing fusion. The study area encompasses the Iput-Sozh interfluve in southeastern Belarus, where historical industrialization is hypothesized to have caused a significant hydrological reorganization. By integrating Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Sentinel-2 multispectral imagery (specifically the Red-Edge derived NDRE index), Landsat 8 thermal data, and FABDEM topographic data through Principal Component Analysis (PCA), we identified a 12-km linear paleochannel feature previously unmapped in regional hydrological assessments. The identified feature exhibits a consistent hydro-geomorphic signature characterized by topographic depression (50–100 cm below surrounding terrain), elevated soil moisture indices, and reduced surface temperature. Historical document analysis, including engineering reports from 1896 detailing a 0.75-m hydraulic head increase at the Dobrush Paper Factory dam, provides temporal constraints suggesting channel abandonment occurred during the period 1870–1900. Independent validation was achieved through analysis of the May 2022 flood event, during which satellite imagery confirmed preferential water flow along the mapped paleochannel.Vegetation succession analysis indicates an abandonment age of approximately110–180 years, consistent with the historical industrial timeline. This methodologydemonstrates the potential for detecting obscured anthropogenic landscapemodifications through multi-sensor data fusion and historical correlation.