Summary Field surveys for monitoring river morphology are resource-intensive, especially in large river systems. Earth observation (EO) satellites provide valuable alternatives, yet the integrated use of multiple missions remains underexplored. This study develops a framework that combines Landsat, Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2 and Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) data to estimate periodically inundated bed topography and morphological change in the large alluvial Jamuna River. The method achieved an accuracy of \ ∼1.5 \ m of RMSE in topography estimation, with a tendency to overestimate elevations with a mean bias of 1.24 m while preserving slope. By relating water occurrence probability to elevation, morphological changes were quantified for elevation bands, enabling the estimation of area and volume dynamics while accounting for interannual hydrological variability. Compared with the earlier EO-based morphological monitoring tool—which tends to overestimate erosion and accretion areas—the proposed framework reduced false detections (\ ∼65 \\%) by accounting for hydrological variability and refining change-classification thresholds. Estimated volumes were comparable in magnitude to EO-based estimates reported in the literature. However, validation with field data revealed that erosion and accretion volumes were underestimated primarily due to the inability to detect changes in aperiodic bed and an inconsistent temporal scale of field and satellite data. Despite these limitations, the method successfully captured dominant reach-scale morphological processes and is suitable for deriving first-order estimates of morphological changes in large rivers with seasonally fluctuating water levels. While further research is needed to better quantify errors/uncertainties and validate the SWOT-based water surface elevation profile correction, this work lays a foundation for using multi-satellite EO data for large-scale river morphological assessments.
@article{bhattarai2026morphology,author={Bhattarai, Tek Narayan and Moreno-Rodenas, Antonio and Giri, Sanjay and Bakker, Maarten and Omer, Amgad and Bateman, Allen},title={Quantifying river morphological changes using multi-satellite observations and in situ measurements},journal={Earth Surface Processes and Landforms},volume={51},number={3},pages={e70263},keywords={Google earth engine, morphological changes, river morphology, riverbed topography, satellite remote sensing},doi={https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.70263},url={https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/esp.70263},year={2026}}
GEO
SWOT versus legacy satellite missions: assessing water surface elevation and surface water extent in complex river settings
T.N. Bhattarai, S. Aryal, Y. Pokhrel, and 1 more author
@article{bhattarai2026swot,title={{SWOT} versus legacy satellite missions: assessing water surface elevation and surface water extent in complex river settings},author={Bhattarai, T.N. and Aryal, S. and Pokhrel, Y. and Pandey, V.P.},journal={Geocarto International},volume={41},number={1},year={2026},doi={10.1080/10106049.2026.2679903},publisher={Taylor \& Francis}}
NCR
Satellite-based monitoring of riverbed evolution and reservoir storage capacity
T.N. Bhattarai, M. Bakker, A. Moreno-Rodenas, and 3 more authors
@inproceedings{bhattarai2026ncr,title={Satellite-based monitoring of riverbed evolution and reservoir storage capacity},author={Bhattarai, T.N. and Bakker, M. and Moreno-Rodenas, A. and Giri, S. and Omer, A. and Bateman, A.},booktitle={NCR Days 2026},url={https://ris.utwente.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/527522540/NCR_DAYS_proceedings_2026.pdf#page=51},year={2026},note={Conference Abstract}}
2025
NBSEH
Save Soil: Phytoremediation to Restore Nepal’s Contaminated Soils
S. Ghimire, T.N. Bhattarai, S.R. Paudel, and 1 more author
@article{ghimire2025savesoil,title={Save Soil: Phytoremediation to Restore {Nepal}'s Contaminated Soils},author={Ghimire, S. and Bhattarai, T.N. and Paudel, S.R. and others},journal={Natural Built Social Environment Health},volume={1},number={3},year={2025},doi={https://doi.org/10.63095/NBSEH.25.293237},note={Letter to the Editor}}
REN
Catalytic Pyrolysis of Mixed Plastic Wastes from Public Places to Liquid Oil: A Case of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal
Anish Pandey, Tek Narayan Bhattarai, Narayan Prasad Adhikari, and 2 more authors
@article{pandey2025pyrolysis,title={Catalytic Pyrolysis of Mixed Plastic Wastes from Public Places to Liquid Oil: A Case of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal},author={Pandey, Anish and Bhattarai, Tek Narayan and Adhikari, Narayan Prasad and Shakya, Shree Raj and Paudel, Shukra Raj},journal={Results in Engineering},doi={https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2025.107408},pages={107408},year={2025},publisher={Elsevier}}
2024
MSc
Morphological changes in large rivers and reservoirs: development and application of earth observation methods in combination with in-situ data
@mastersthesis{bhattarai2024morphological,title={Morphological changes in large rivers and reservoirs: development and application of earth observation methods in combination with in-situ data},author={Bhattarai, T.N.},year={2024},url={https://hdl.handle.net/2117/420755},school={Universitat Polit{\`e}cnica de Catalunya},note={Master's Thesis}}
2023
SERRA
Projected changes in hydro-climatic extremes with CMIP6 climate model outputs: a case of rain-fed river systems in Western Nepal
T.N. Bhattarai, S. Ghimire, S. Aryal, and 5 more authors
Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment, 2023
@article{bhattarai2023hydroclimatic,title={Projected changes in hydro-climatic extremes with {CMIP6} climate model outputs: a case of rain-fed river systems in {Western Nepal}},author={Bhattarai, T.N. and Ghimire, S. and Aryal, S. and Baaniya, Y. and Bhattarai, S. and Sharma, S. and Bhattarai, P.K. and Pandey, V.P.},journal={Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment},volume={37},number={3},pages={965--987},year={2023},doi={10.1007/s00477-022-02312-0},publisher={Springer},}
APEN
Assessment of potential renewable energy alternatives for a typical greenhouse aquaponics in Himalayan Region of Nepal
S. Parajuli, T.N. Bhattarai, S. Gorjian, and 2 more authors
@article{parajuli2023aquaponics,title={Assessment of potential renewable energy alternatives for a typical greenhouse aquaponics in {Himalayan Region} of {Nepal}},author={Parajuli, S. and Bhattarai, T.N. and Gorjian, S. and Vithanage, M. and Paudel, S.R.},journal={Applied Energy},volume={344},pages={121270},year={2023},doi={10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.121270},publisher={Elsevier}}
JALA
Flood Susceptibility Analysis in West Rapti River Basin Using Frequency Ratio Model
@article{bhattarai2023floodsusceptibility,title={Flood Susceptibility Analysis in {West Rapti River Basin} Using Frequency Ratio Model},author={Bhattarai, T.N. and Ghimire, S.},journal={Jalawaayu},volume={3},number={1},pages={1--24},year={2023},doi={10.3126/jalawaayu.v3i1.52053}}
ACSWater
Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene of Nepal: Status, Challenges, and Opportunities
A. Shrestha, T.N. Bhattarai, G. Acharya, and 4 more authors
@article{shrestha2023wash,title={Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene of {Nepal}: Status, Challenges, and Opportunities},author={Shrestha, A. and Bhattarai, T.N. and Acharya, G. and Timalsina, H. and Marks, S.J. and Uprety, S. and Paudel, S.R.},journal={ACS ES\&T Water},year={2023},doi={10.1021/acsestwater.2c00303},publisher={American Chemical Society},note={Winner, 2023 ACS ES\&T Water Best Paper Award}}
2022
ESPR
Applications of smart grid technology in Nepal: status, challenges, and opportunities
T.N. Bhattarai, S. Ghimire, B. Mainali, and 3 more authors
Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2022
@article{bhattarai2023smartgrid,title={Applications of smart grid technology in {Nepal}: status, challenges, and opportunities},author={Bhattarai, T.N. and Ghimire, S. and Mainali, B. and Gorjian, S. and Treichel, H. and Paudel, S.R.},journal={Environmental Science and Pollution Research},volume={30},number={10},pages={25452--25476},year={2022},doi={10.1007/s11356-022-19084-3},publisher={Springer}}
CHEM
Estimation of greenhouse gases emission from domestic wastewater in Nepal: a scenario-based analysis applicable for developing countries
A. Shrestha, T.N. Bhattarai, S. Ghimire, and 3 more authors
@article{shrestha2022ghg,title={Estimation of greenhouse gases emission from domestic wastewater in {Nepal}: a scenario-based analysis applicable for developing countries},author={Shrestha, A. and Bhattarai, T.N. and Ghimire, S. and Mainali, B. and Treichel, H. and Paudel, S.R.},journal={Chemosphere},year={2022},doi={10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.134869},publisher={Elsevier}}