This study was aimed to find the signature based spatial patterns of suspended sediment concentration (SSC) by using satellite data for Indus river delta district Thatta, Sindh Province of Pakistan. The Normalized Difference Suspended Sediment Index (NDSSI) was used to find out the presence of SSC spatial patterns. In this study two types of satellite data, Landsat 7 ETM+ and Sentinel-2 were selected for a period of 16 years i.e. from 2000 to 2016. The Internal Average Reflectance (IAR) method was also used for enhancing to get highly accurate signatures of SSC. The Landsat 7 ETM + remotely sensed satellite data was acquired for pre-monsoon and post-monsoon season. Inter-satellite validation was also done using Sentinel-2 data and Landsat 7 ETM+ satellite sensor, the coefficient of correlation was calculated to be R2 = 0.84. Through NDSSI analysis, it was observed that in 16-year period seawater intruded due to the insufficient supply of water with SSC. For year 2000 to 2009 and year 2010 to 2014, similar spatial patterns of SSC were observed. After 2010 flood, district Thatta of Sindh faced widening of brackish lakes along both sides of Indus river channel. In year 2015, the southwest and southeast coastal area creeks of Indus deltaic region were more widened and seawater intrusion progressively increased on the land of district Thatta. Most of the coastal area creeks were submerged under the seawater, 4.1 square kilometer area erosion of Waddi Khuddi creek was observed and the condition of SSC deposits really worsted. It is utmost important to design a durable water regulation system which maintains a steady water flow containing sediments to indus delta creeks which is also important for the survival of mangroves.

This study was aimed to find the signature based spatial patterns of suspended sediment concentration (SSC) by using satellite data for Indus river delta district Thatta, Sindh Province of Pakistan. The Normalized Difference Suspended Sediment Index (NDSSI) was used to find out the presence of SSC s...