Assessment effect of rainfall on sedimentation at watershed area using remote sensing / Nor Yusriyah Abdul Ghani

Rainfall and sediment movement are important for knowing how watersheds work, especially in terms of sediment levels and water quality. Muda Dam, located in northern Peninsular Malaysia, serves as freshwater storage for water supply. The dam's catchment area is mostly covered by natural forest and has recently seen increased logging activity. This study investigates sedimentation and land cover changes in the watershed using remote sensing techniques, specifically the Normalized Difference Suspended Sediment Index (NDSSI) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) derived from Sentinel-2 images. The goal is to understand how rainfall patterns and land cover changes influence sediment movement in the watershed. The research has three objectives which are to identify monthly rainfall data for 2018 and 2023, to analyze sediment and land cover changes using Sentinel-2 images, and to determine the correlation of rainfall and land cover changes using NDVI method on sedimentation at watershed area. Correlation analysis for 2018 and 2023 reveals a significant positive relationship between rainfall and NDVI on sedimentation, with values ranging from 0.4 to 0.8. This study concludes that rainfall has a significant impact on sedimentation, demonstrated by the strong positive relationship between rainfall and sediment levels.