research paper on morphometric analysis

• Open access
• Published: 16 May 2022

Morphometric analysis for prioritizing sub-watersheds of Murredu River basin, Telangana State, India, using a geographical information system

• Padala Raja Shekar 1 &
• Aneesh Mathew 1  

Journal of Engineering and Applied Science volume  69 , Article number:  44 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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Metrics details

The Murredu watershed in Telangana State was chosen for the morphometric and land use/land cover (LULC) analysis in this current study. Geographical information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) techniques can estimate the morphometric features and LULC analysis of a catchment. A total of fourteen sub-watersheds (SWs) were created from the watershed (SW 1 to SW 14), and sub-watersheds were prioritized based on morphometric and LULC features. Evaluation of various morphometric characteristics such as linear aspects, relief aspects, and aerial aspects has been carried out for every sub-watershed to prefer ranking. Four parameters were utilized for the LULC analysis to rank and prioritize sub-watersheds. The sub-watersheds were categorized into three groups as low, medium, and high, for soil and water conservation priority based on morphometric and LULC analysis. Using morphometric analysis, higher priorities have been assigned to SW 12 and SW 1, while using LULC analysis, higher priorities have been assigned to SW 9 and SW 11. SW 10 and SW 13 are the most common sub-watersheds that fall within the same priority while using morphometric and LULC analysis. The coefficient of regression results reveals that stream length and stream order, and also stream number and stream order, have a strong association. The deployment of soil and water conservation measures may be conducted in the high-priority sub-watersheds.

Introduction

Morphometric characteristics are a mathematical and quantitative study of the Earth’s surface arrangement, as well as the shape and magnitude of its landforms [ 3 , 10 , 34 ]. A watershed is a section of land where rainwater contributes to a common location [ 11 ]. The study of watersheds is crucial for preventing soil erosion, conserving water, and ensuring long-term growth. Techniques like geographical information system (GIS) and remote sensing are powerful tools for analyzing the river basin’s hydraulic process [ 57 ].

The size, drainage, shape, and land use pattern of a watershed determine its classification. The many forms of watersheds are mini-watersheds (one to hundred hectares), micro-watersheds (hundred to thousand hectares), milli-watersheds (thousand to ten thousand hectares), sub-watersheds (ten thousand to fifty thousand hectares), and macro-watersheds (greater than fifty thousand hectares). Morphometric characteristics are a helpful process for analyzing watersheds as it shows the relationship among many features of a catchment like a stream order, stream length, etc. Watershed protection has drawn attention towards the safety of natural resources such as soil and water [ 14 ].

Various scientists have used traditional methods to analyze various watershed characteristics [ 13 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 45 , 50 , 52 , 53 , 54 ], and nowadays, remote sensing and GIS tools have been widely used for watershed analysis [ 2 , 7 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 21 , 32 , 36 , 37 , 41 , 43 , 44 , 47 , 49 , 51 , 58 ]. Morphometric characteristics provide a quantitative catchment report, which is valuable in studies like watershed prioritization, hydrologic modeling, natural resource conservation, etc. [ 49 ].

Extracting drainage features from the shuttle radar topography mission (SRTM) digital elevation model (DEM) has become a more popular, accurate, faster, and cost-effective way of conducting catchment studies [ 22 , 31 ]. Morphometric analysis is a quantitative catchment analysis that reveals the drainage features and development of soil erosion, surface runoff, groundwater infiltration capacity, groundwater potential, etc. [ 42 ].

A systematic analysis is essential for the configuration of a catchment, and its stream courses involve relief aspects, linear aspects, and aerial or shape aspects of the catchment [ 54 ]. Linear aspects involve the stream length, the number of streams, the bifurcation ratio, the mean stream length ratio, the stream frequency, the stream length ratio, the stream density, the drainage texture, the drainage intensity, the length of the overland flow, and the RHO coefficient. Relief features contain watershed relief, relief ratio, relief relative, ruggedness number, maximum elevation, and minimum elevation. Also, the areal features consist of circulation ratio, watershed area, perimeter, form factor ratio, basin length, elongation ratio, lemniscate ratio, and compactness coefficient [ 54 ].

According to scientific studies, morphometric features of a river basin play a significant role in prioritizing sub-watersheds [ 24 ]. Sediments, nutrients, and pollutants will be deposited and collected by the water flowing into and out of the basin [ 35 ]. They can have a significant impact on the river basin’s onsite and offsite ecosystem. As a result, studying the drainage basin process has the potential to help for a better understanding of how water moves through the hydrologic cycle. Implementing watershed management is crucial for achieving sustainable land and water resource use, as well as mitigating increasing pollutants’ impacts [ 18 , 40 , 38 ]. For the present study, the most relevant quantitative morphometric characteristics have been chosen and applied. Morphometric characteristics can be divided into three categories such as linear, relief, and areal aspects. These have been utilized to prioritize more susceptible sub-watersheds since they have a direct or indirect relationship with peak flow, runoff, and soil erosion hazards [ 33 , 18 , 48 , 46 , 41 ].

The status of the catchment’s land use/land cover (LULC) is another crucial factor to consider when prioritizing sub-watersheds [ 18 , 19 , 39 ]. The most influential factor and indicator of environmental degradation, including a catchment, is LULC changes. Several researchers have explored and used LULC analysis in catchment prioritizing [ 25 , 55 ]. Increased slope gradient irregularly enhanced soil erosion rates under various LULC scenarios, which were determined to be greatest at a particular critical degree of slope [ 59 ]. Changes in the catchment’s LULC have been recognized as the principal cause of environmental change, resulting in accelerated soil erosion, and are primarily anthropogenic [ 25 ]. RS and GIS techniques can represent various LULC categories through classification procedures [ 1 , 9 , 12 , 15 , 20 , 23 , 26 , 29 , 56 ]. RS and GIS techniques have been used in catchment prioritizing [ 28 ], which is a basic prerequisite for planners and policymakers to design management schemes that consider the immensity of the catchment area [ 19 ].

The objectives of the current study are to prioritize sub-watersheds depending on the morphometric characteristics of each sub-watersheds and also to prioritize sub-watersheds using LULC analysis of each sub-watersheds. Also, the study aims to locate the most common sub-watersheds that fall within the same priority by utilizing both morphometric and LULC analyses.

Murredu catchment is located in Telangana State. Murredu River is the sub-tributary of the Godavari River, as shown in Fig. 1 . Murredu watershed is located between longitudes 80° 20′ 0′′ and 80° 50′ 0′′ East and latitudes 17° 10′ 0′′ and 17° 50′ 0′′ North. It has a total area of 1593.33 km 2 . The hottest months of the year are usually March to June. The watershed’s rainy season is from July to September. In November, the weather turns cool and stays that way until February. The monsoon arrives in June and lasts until September. The Murredu River basin’s altitude ranges from 57 to 784 m above sea level, according to the SRTM digital elevation model.

Geographical map of the Murredu River basin

According to the World Geologic Maps of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the study area has two types of significant rocks. Lower Triassic to Upper Carboniferous and undivided Precambrian are the geological age of two rocks. Sedimentary (Lower Triassic to Upper Carboniferous) and metamorphic rocks (undivided Precambrian) are the type of rocks that were observed in the research area. The undivided Precambrian-Metamorphic Rock occupies the majority of the current study’s area. The drainage pattern of the catchment is dendritic to sub-dendritic. The geological and drainage network of the study area is shown in Fig. 2 .

Geological and drainage network of the study area

The SRTM DEM was used for the watershed delineation in this current study. It can be downloaded from USGS Earth Explorer. DEM has a resolution of 30 m. The quantitative morphometric characteristics were performed to examine fourteen sub-watersheds of the Murredu catchment. Table 1 shows the data that was used in this research.

Figure 3 shows the processing of DEM, including fill, flow direction, flow accumulation, stream definition, stream to features, etc. Using ArcGIS 10.4.1 software, sub-watersheds (SW 1 to SW 14) are categorized based on the length of the stream, stream order, stream number, etc. Three groups of morphometric features were studied and categorized; they were linear, relief aspect, and aerial aspect. These features are determined using various empirical methods shown in Table 2 . Linear parameters of the Murredu river basin (SW 1 to SW 14) were calculated and presented in Table 3 . After getting all the morphometric values, the next step is to find the rank of individual parameters in each sub-watershed. The sub-watershed having the maximum value in the relief and linear characteristics has been ranked as first, while the second maximum value has been ranked as second, the third maximum value has been ranked as third, and so on. The sub-watershed having the minimum value in the areal or shape characteristics has been ranked as first, while the second minimum value has been ranked as second, the third minimum value has been ranked as third, and so on. After getting all ranks for individual parameters in each sub-watershed, the next step is to find the compound parameter value for each sub-watershed. To arrive at the compound parameter value, all the ranks in SW1 are added together and divided by the number of characteristics (the present study area consists of 20 characteristics) and repeat the procedure for other sub-watersheds. Following the calculation of compound values, the sub-watersheds were categorized into three classes high, medium, and low. The high priority has been given to the sub-watersheds with the very low compound value, denoted by the number 1 (high). The medium priority has been given to the sub-watershed with the next low compound parameter value, denoted by the number 2 (medium). The low priority has been given to the sub-watershed with the lowest compound parameter value, denoted by the number 3 (low). The high priority signifies the sub-watershed having the highest risk of runoff, peak flow, and soil erosion [ 18 , 33 ].

Methodology of the morphometric analysis

Results and discussion

The quantitative morphometric measurements give information on the catchment’s hydrological features. There are fourteen sub-watersheds in the Murredu catchment. By examining multiple criteria like the basin’s linear aspect, aerial aspect, and relief aspect, the morphometric analysis was utilized to prioritize sub-watersheds (Murredu). The details of various parameters are discussed below.

Basic parameters of river basin

Area of the watershed (a).

The area of the watershed can directly reflect the overall volume of water. It is one of the important parameters because a watershed’s overall area is projected into the horizontal plane. It is denoted by “A.” The overall area of the watershed is 1593.33 km 2 . In the present study, the largest and smallest sub-watershed areas are 230.95 km 2 (SW 8) and 25.79 km 2 (SW 2), respectively.

The perimeter of a watershed (P)

Watershed’s outer boundary that encloses its area is defined as the watershed perimeter [ 21 ] and is designated by P . The total perimeter of the watershed is 314 km. Out of the fourteen Murredu basins, the largest and smallest sub-watershed perimeters are 164.32 km (SW 8) and 45.46 km (SW 9), respectively.

Watershed length (L b )

The major dimension among the essential parameters of the major drainage channel is the watershed length [ 33 ]. It is denoted by L b . In the current research, the longest length of the sub-watersheds is at SW 8 (and is 28.87 km), while the shortest is at SW 2 (8.31 km).

Relief (B h )

Catchment relief is described as the elevation variation between the maximum value and outlet value on the perimeter of the catchment and is denoted by B h [ 52 ]. In this current study, SW 13 has the maximum relief (0.66), and SW 9 has the minimum relief (0.13).

Stream order (U)

According to Strahler [ 54 ], the order of stream is termed as the calculation of the position of a stream in the hierarchy of streams. The smallest finger type, as well as any unbranched tributaries, is termed first stream order. Two first stream orders are combined to generate a second stream order. Following that, the second stream order combines the third, and so on. The letter U is used to represent stream order. Figure 4 depicts the representation of each sub-watershed and its drainage network. The Murredu catchment consists of fourteen sub-watersheds, in that 5th order for SW 9, SW11, and SW13; 4th order for SW 1, SW 3, SW 4, SW 5, SW 6, SW 7, S.W 8, SW 10, and SW 12; and 3rd order for SW 2 and SW 14. The catchment has a dendritic to sub-dendritic drainage structure.

Sub-watersheds and drainage networks

Stream number (N u )

In a given catchment, the number of streams is defined as the number of streams in each sequence of that catchment [ 17 ] and is denoted by the symbol N u . SW 9 (256) and SW 2 (20), respectively, have the highest and lowest stream numbers in this study.

Stream length (L u )

Stream length is defined as the mean length of the stream of each of the dissimilar orders in a catchment. As a result, the length of the stream is greater in a first-order stream, and also it increases as stream order increases [ 17 ]. It is designated by L u . In the present research, the lengths of the largest and smallest of the stream are SW 13 (160 km) and SW (28 km), respectively.

Linear aspects

Bifurcation ratio (r b ).

According to Schumm [ 45 ], the bifurcation ratio is termed as the proportion of the number of streams of any given order to the number of streams of the next higher order. It was indicated by R b . In the current study, SW 9 (16) has the maximum bifurcation ratio, and SW 2 has the minimum (8.33).

Mean stream length (L sm )

It is defined as the ratio of the length of the stream to the number of streams [ 17 ] and is denoted by L sm . In the current study, the maximum (20.97) and minimum (3.72) mean stream lengths are SW 12 and SW 9, respectively.

Stream length ratio (R l )

It is defined as the ratio of the given order’s average stream length to the next smaller order’s mean stream length [ 17 ]. R l is the symbol for it. SW 9 (3.05) and SW 2 (1.5) had the highest and lowest stream length ratio values, respectively, in the current study.

According to Horton [ 17 ], the stream length and number of unique orders in a drainage basin are linked by two fundamental rules. The foremost is the law of stream numbers that describes the link between the given order’s stream number and its stream order in terms of an inverted geometric series with the bifurcation ratio as the base. Figure 5 shows a strong correlation between stream order and stream number with better coefficients of determination ranging from SW 4 (0.975) to SW 6 (0.999).

Order of streams and the number of streams

The second is the law of stream length, which is the mean length of a particular order in terms of stream order, the average length of first-order streams, and stream length ratio. This rule is expressed as a direct geometric series. Figure 6 shows a strong correlation between stream order and stream length with coefficients of determination ranging from SW 14 (0.603) to SW 7 (0.996).

Order of streams and the stream length

Mean bifurcation ratio

Strahler [ 53 ] utilized a weighted average ratio of bifurcation generated by multiplying the ratio of bifurcation for every consecutive set of patterns by the overall number of streams occupied in the ratio and taking the average of the combination of these results to arrive at a more representative bifurcation number. SW 1 has the highest value, whereas SW 13 has the lowest value in this study.

Stream frequency (F s )

Stream frequency is defined as the number of stream segments of all orders per unit catchment area, according to Schumm [ 45 ]. It is denoted by F s . In the current study, the higher stream frequency is at SW 9 and the lower stream frequency is at SW 8.

Drainage density (D d )

According to Schumm [ 45 ], drainage density is defined as the proportion of the overall length of the stream segments of all orders to the catchment area projected on the horizontal surface. It is indicated by D d . In this study, drainage density is higher at SW 9 and lower at SW 8.

Drainage texture (D t )

It is defined as the total number of streams per perimeter of the catchment, according to Schumm [ 45 ], and is denoted by the symbol D t . In the current study, drainage texture is maximum at SW 9 and is minimum at SW 2.

Length of the overland flow (L o )

The highest value of the length of the overland flow indicates greater surface runoff and the lowest value of the length of the overland flow indicates shorter surface runoff, according to Schumm [ 45 ]. It is denoted by L o . The length of the overland flow is higher at SW 8 and lower at SW 9.

Drainage intensity (D i )

According to Faniren [ 13 ], drainage intensity is defined as the ratio of stream frequency to drainage density. It is denoted by D i . In this current study, the drainage intensity is higher and lower at SW 9 and SW 7, respectively, and shown in Fig. 7 .

Morphometric analysis of twenty sub-watersheds

RHO coefficient (ρ)

RHO coefficient is a proportion between the stream length ratio and the bifurcation ratio, according to Horton [ 17 ]. It is designated by ρ . In this current study, the RHO coefficient is higher and lower at SW 9 and SW 14, respectively.

Infiltration number (I f )

It is defined as the combination of stream frequency and drainage density, according to Faniran [ 13 ], and is denoted by I f . In the current study, SW 9 has a higher infiltration number and SW 8 has a lower infiltration number.

Constant of channel maintenance (c cm )

This property defines the number of units of catchment surface needed to support one unit of route length. In other terms, it is the number of square kilometers of catchment surface area required to support one linear kilometer of stream segment. It was first proposed by Schumm in 1956 [ 45 ], who defined the channel maintenance constant as the reverse of drainage density. In the current study, SW 8 has a higher constant of channel maintenance and SW 9 has a lower constant of channel maintenance.

Areal aspect

Circulatory ratio (r c ).

According to Miller [ 30 ], it is termed as the proportion of the area of a catchment to the area of the circle with an equal circumference as the catchment’s perimeter. It is indicated as R c . Its ratio indicates the shape of the catchment. In the current study, SW 5 has a higher circulatory ratio and SW 8 has a lower circulatory ratio.

Elongation ratio (R e )

It is defined as the proportion of the diameter of a circle covering the equal area as the catchment to the minimum length of the catchment, as per Schumm [ 45 ]. It is denoted by R e . In this current study, SW 2 has a higher elongation ratio and SW 8 has a lower elongation ratio.

Form factor (F f )

Form factor is defined as the proportion of catchment area to the square of catchment length, according to Horton [ 17 ]. It is denoted by F f . In this present study, SW 2 has a higher form factor and SW 8 has a lower form factor.

Lemniscate ratio (K)

It is used to calculate the catchment’s slope [ 8 ]. It is denoted by K . In this present study, SW 8 has a higher lemniscate ratio and SW 2 has a lower lemniscate ratio.

Shape index (S b )

The shape index is the reciprocal of the form factor. It was first proposed by Horton [ 16 ]. It is denoted by the symbol S b . In this present study, SW 8 has a higher shape index and SW 2 has a lower shape index.

Compactness coefficient (C c )

According to Horton [ 17 ], the compactness coefficient is termed as the proportion of the catchment’s perimeter to the circumference of an equivalent circular area and is indicated as C c . In this present study, SW 8 has a higher compactness coefficient and SW 5 has a lower compactness coefficient.

Relief aspect

Relief ratio (r h ).

According to Schumm [ 45 ], the relief ratio is termed as the proportion of the maximum catchment relief ( B h ) to the minimum catchment length which is parallel to the primary catchment line and is denoted by R h . In this current study, the higher value of the relief ratio is at SW 2 and the lower value of the relief ratio is at SW 13.

Relative relief (R hp )

The perimeter and watershed are used to determine relative relief [ 27 ]. R hp is the symbol for it. SW 2 has the higher value, whereas SW 8 has the lower value in this study.

Ruggedness ratio (R n )

According to Strahler [ 53 ], the ruggedness ratio is used to measure the surface unevenness or roughness. It is the combination of drainage density and maximum catchment relief and is denoted by R n . In this study, the higher value and lower value have been identified at SW 13 and SW 14, respectively.

Hypsometric analysis

The relative proportion of the catchment areas below or above a specific height is represented by the hypsometric curve for a catchment. The hypsometric integral is defined as the area below the hypsometric curve [ 52 , 45 ], and it has been used to determine the stage of development of a catchment, along with the hypsometric curve. The catchment is split into three phases such as old, mature, and young. The value of the hypsometric integral in the old stage is less than 0.3, the mature stage is between 0.3 and 0.6, and the youthful stage is greater than 0.6. The hypsometric integral is shown in Table 4 .

Morphometric sub-watershed prioritization and ranking

For this analysis, the most relevant quantitative morphometric characteristics are chosen and applied. Morphometric characteristics can be divided into three categories (linear features, relief features, and areal features). These have been utilized to prioritize more susceptible sub-watersheds since they have a direct or indirect relationship with peak flow, runoff, and risk of soil erosion [ 17 , 18 , 48 , 46 ].

Soil erosion is directly relevant to the linear and relief characteristics such as mean bifurcation ratio, drainage density, stream frequency, drainage texture, relief, ruggedness number, and so on [ 18 , 33 ]. The maximum value of linear and relief characteristics in a catchment indicates the most erodible soil. Consequently, the sub-watershed with the maximum value in the relief and linear characteristics is ranked first, while the second maximum value is ranked as second, the third maximum value is ranked as third, and so on.

The areal characteristics such as circularity ratio, shape index, compactness coefficient, elongation ratio, form factor, and lemniscate ratio have an indirect relationship with soil erosion [ 18 , 33 ]. The most erodible soil in a catchment is the soil with the minimum areal characteristic value. Hence, sub-watershed having the lowest areal characteristics values will be ranked first, the second lowest areal characteristic values will be ranked as second, the third lowest areal characteristic values will be ranked as third, and so on.

For linear and relief parameters, the maximum value is given a ranking of 1, and the next maximum value is given a ranking of 2, and so on. In the case of areal parameters, the minimum value was given a ranking of 1, followed by the next minimum value is given a ranking of 2, and so on.

After assigning a ranking based on each parameter, the ranking values for all fourteen sub-watersheds were averaged to arrive at a compound parameter value. Table 5 shows the results of ranking for all fourteen sub-watersheds. Sub-watershed 1 has a compound value of 5.75 if all the ranks in SW1 are added together and divided by 20 characteristics. The procedure has been repeated for other sub-watersheds (from SW 2 to SW 14) and presented in Table 6 .

Following the calculation of compound values, the sub-watersheds were categorized into three groups, high (≥ 5.05 to < 6.5), medium (≥ 6.5 to < 8), and low (≥ 8 to < 9.5). The sub-watershed with the minimum compound value represents as rank 1 category, SW having the next minimum compound value represents as rank 2 category, and so on. The sub-watersheds with the compound value in the range of ≥ 5.05 to < 6.5 have been specified as high priority. The sub-watershed with the compound value in the range of ≥ 6.5 to < 8 has been chosen as a medium priority. The sub-watersheds with the compound value in the range of ≥ 8 to < 9.5 have been specified as a slow priority. Among 14 sub-watersheds, SW 12 and SW 1 are falling within high priority; SW 2, SW 3, SW 4, SW 5, SW 6, SW 9, and SW 13 fall within a medium priority; and SW 7, SW 8, SW 10, SW 11, and SW 14 fall within a low priority. This means that the sub-watersheds with the highest priority have the greatest danger of runoff, peak flow, and soil erosion risk [ 18 , 33 ].

The final priority map of sub-watersheds in the Murredu catchment is shown in Fig. 8 . SW 12 and SW 1 are the most vulnerable sub-watersheds to land degradation, and they are more vulnerable to soil erosion and runoff. As a result, the findings will help in better planning and the management of the Murredu catchment.

Priority of sub-watersheds based on morphometric analysis

Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) analysis

Prioritization of LULC of sub-watersheds was based on LULC data of the year 2020 from Sentinel-2 imagery. LULC has a resolution of 10 m. LULC categories include eight primary classes such as grass, flooded vegetation, water, trees, crops, scrub/shrub, built-up area, and bare ground. Figure 9 depicts the LULC map of the research area. Table 7 shows the details of the various LULC categories. The following classes are the LULC criteria that were considered for prioritizing sub-watersheds.

Study area’s LULC cover map

SW 14 has the highest percentage of land with trees (55.48%), while SW 7 has the lowest percentage of trees (5.40%). Sub-watersheds with a smaller percentage of trees have been given a high rank, while those with a higher percentage of trees have been given a low rank.

SW 11 has the highest percentage of land with crops (79.97%), while SW 1 has the lowest percentage of crops (18.22%). Sub-watersheds with a small percentage of crops were given a high rank, while those with a high percentage of crops were given a low rank.

Scrub/shrub

SW 5 has the highest percentage of scrub/shrub (41.53%), while SW 11 has the lowest percentage of scrub (7.63%). Sub-watersheds with a lower percentage of scrub/shrub have a high rank, whereas those with a larger percentage of scrub/shrub have a low rank.

Built-up area

SW 9 has the highest percentage of land with the built-up area (25.80%), while SW 4 has the lowest percentage of built-up area (0.31%). Sub-watersheds with a larger percentage of the constructed area have a low rank, while sub-watersheds with a smaller percentage of the built-up area have a high rank.

For the built-up area parameter, the maximum value was given a ranking of 1, and the next maximum value was given a ranking of 2, and so on. In the case of trees, crops, and scrub/shrub parameters, the minimum value was given a ranking of 1, followed by the next minimum value is given a ranking of 2, and so on.

The compound parameter method of averaging values was applied for sub-watershed prioritization. Table 8 shows the results of the ranking of all fourteen sub-watersheds. All the ranks in SW1 are added together and divided by four characteristics, and then the compound parameter has been computed as 8. The procedure has been repeated for the remaining sub-watersheds from SW 2 to sw14, as shown in Table 9 .

Following the calculation of compound values, the sub-watersheds were categorized into three groups, high (≥ 4 to < 6), medium (≥ 6 to < 8), and low (≥ 8 to < 10). The sub-watershed with the minimum compound value represents as rank 1 category, SW having the next minimum compound value represents as rank 2 category, and so on. The sub-watersheds with the compound value in the range of ≥ 4 to < 6 have been specified as a high priority. The sub-watershed with the compound value in the range of ≥ 6 to < 8 has been chosen as a medium priority. The sub-watersheds with the compound value in the range of ≥ 8 to < 10 have been specified as low priority. Among four sub-watersheds, SW 9 and SW11 are falling within a high priority; SW 7, SW 8, SW 12, SW 13, and SW 14 fall within a medium priority; and SW 1, SW 2, SW 3, SW 4, SW 5, SW 6, and SW 10 fall within a low priority. Figure 10 shows the priority of sub-watersheds based on LULC analysis.

Priority of sub-watersheds based on LULC analysis

The quantitative analysis of morphometric factors will be used in the development of catchment, river basin prioritizing for soil conservation, and also for water conservation. Morphometric descriptors are simple techniques for defining catchment processes that can be used to compare catchment characteristics and for a better understanding of the geological history of the catchment. According to the data, SW 9 and SW11 have the highest priority, and SW 1, SW 2, SW 3, SW 4, SW 5, SW 6, and SW 10 have the lowest priority among sub-watersheds. The results of morphometric and LULC analysis were compared to determine the most common sub-watersheds associated with each priority. According to morphometric study and LULC analysis, two sub-watersheds, SW 10 and SW 13, are the common sub-watersheds that fall within a low and medium priority, respectively.

Conclusions

GIS and remote sensing approaches have been used for morphometric and LULC research over the Murredu catchment area. Twenty parameters of morphometric and four parameters of LULC have been calculated and scientifically analyzed in this current study. The results of morphometric analysis-based prioritization showed that the SW 12 and SW 1 sub-watersheds are of high priority. The results of the LULC analysis-based prioritizing showed that the SW 9 and SW11 sub-watersheds are of high priority. Comparing morphometric and LULC analysis, the common sub-watersheds falling within the same priority are SW 10 and SW 13. The deployment of soil and water conservation measures may be conducted in the high-priority sub-watersheds. As a result, effective land and water management strategies should be planned for each sub-watershed based on their sensitivity rankings.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

Land use/land cover

Sub-watersheds

Geographical information system

Remote sensing

Shuttle radar topography mission

Digital elevation model

United States Geological Survey

Environmental Systems Research Institute

Stream order

Stream length

Stream number

Stream length ratio

Bifurcation ratio

Mean stream length

Mean stream length ratio

Stream frequency

Drainage density

Drainage texture

Length of overland flow

RHO coefficient

Drainage intensity

Infiltration number

Constant of channel maintenance

Maximum elevation

Minimum elevation

Relief ratio

Relative relief

Ruggedness number

Area of watershed

Perimeter of watershed

Basin length

Circulatory ratio

Elongation ratio

Form factor

Lemniscate ratio

Shape index

Compactness coefficient

Sum of rankings

Total number of parameters

Compound parameter

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their instructive comments, which helped to improve this paper. In addition, the authors wish to thank the US Geological Survey (USGS) for making available the satellite data. Finally, the authors also want to thank ESRI for providing land use land cover data.

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PRS: conceptualization, methodology, software, data curation, and writing—original draft preparation; AM: supervision, visualization, and investigation writing—reviewing and editing. The authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Shekar, P.R., Mathew, A. Morphometric analysis for prioritizing sub-watersheds of Murredu River basin, Telangana State, India, using a geographical information system. J. Eng. Appl. Sci. 69 , 44 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s44147-022-00094-4

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MORPHOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF DRAINAGE BASIN USING RS AND GIS TECHNIQUES

2019, IJLTEM.COM

Geographical information system (GIS) has emerged as an efficient tool in delineation of drainage pattern and ground water potential and its planning. GIS and image processing techniques can be employed for the identification of morphological features and analyzing properties of basin. The morphometric parameters of basin can address linear, areal and relief aspects. The review related to 'Morphometric analysis of drainage basin using remote sensing and GIS techniques' is discussed in the present paper.

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show significant plant growth and contribute less runoff, relatively less land erosion and low peaks in hydrograph. The SW3 has highest potential for plant growth as it matches with the lowest weighted sum analysis. Thus, SW1 is given rank 1 with least compound factor value 1.317. The result illustrated that 13.64 to 45.40% of total area, falls in the good potential growth zone. The results of the work may be useful for watershed administrators and managers while planning conservation measures in the area.

Applied Geomatics

Nirmal Kuamr

In this study, a part of Yamuna and Ken basin was selected for quantitative estimation of morphometric parameters through open access earth observation datasets. Further, spectral indices, namely Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI), Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), and Soil Brightness Index (SBI), have been calculated to know the relationship with the morphometric parameters. The area has sub-dendritic to dendritic drainage pattern and designated as fifth order stream and drainage density (0.564 km/km2). The stream order is mainly controlled by physiographic and lithological conditions of the area. Spectral indices have been employed to understand the vegetation, wetness, and soil moisture and soil characteristics in the area. The water retention curves of the area have been developed. The spectral indices and morphometric parameters (Dd) shows highly positive correlation. The result has been validated with the aid of borehole/ lithology datasets. These quantitative estimates will help in achieving and developing long-term strategies for combating hydrological drought, meteorological drought, climate-related drought, agricultural drought, water mismanagement-related drought, and affected region for preparation of suitable groundwater management plans.

Prafull Singh

The quantitative analysis of the watershedis vital to understand the hydrological setup of any terrain. The present study deals with quantitative evaluation of Swarnrekha Watershed, Madhya Pradesh, India based on IRS satellite data and SRTM DEM. Morphometric parameters of the watershed were evaluated by computations of linear and areal aspect using standard methodology in GIS environment. ARC GIS software was utilized for morphometric component analysis and delineation of the watershed using SRTM digital elevation model (DEM). The watershed is drained by a fifth-order river and shown a dendritic drainage pattern, which is a sign of the homogeneity in texture and lack of structural control. The drainage density in the area has been found to be low which indicates that the area possesses highly permeable soils and low relief. The bifurcation ratio varies from 3.00 to 5.60 and elongation ratio is 0.518 which reveals that the basin belongs to the elongated shape basin and has the potential for water management. The main objective of the paper is to extract the morphometric parameters of the watershed and their relevance in water resource evaluation management. The results observed from this work would be useful in categorization of watershed for future water management and selection recharge structure in the area.

Prafull Singh , Madhulika Singh

The present study highlights the importance of Digital ElevationModel (DEM) and satellite images for assessment of drainage and extraction of their relative parameters for the Orr watershed Ashok Nagar district, M.P., India. Hydrological parameters such as drainage analysis, topographic parameters and land use pattern were evaluated and interpreted for watershed management of the area. Hydrological module of ARC GIS software was utilized for calculation and delineation of the watershed and morphometric analysis of the watershed using SRTM DEM. The stream order of watershed ranges from first to sixth order showing dendritic type drainage network which is a sign of the homogeneity in texture and lack of structural control of the watershed. The drainage density in the area has been found to be low to medium which indicates that the area possesses highly permeable soils and low relief. The bifurcation ratio varies from 4.74 to 5 and the elongation ratio is 0.58 which reveals that the basin belongs to the elongated shaped basin category. The mean Rb of the entire basin is 4.62 which indicates that the drainage pattern is not much influenced by geological structures. Land use map of the watershed was generated from latest available multispectral satellite data and whole watershed covers under agricultural land, settlement, fallow land, forest, mining areas and water body. The present study reveals that SRTM DEM based hydrological evaluation at watershed scale is more applied and precise compared to other available techniques.

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The morphometric analysis coupled with remote sensing and geographical information system techniques evaluates various valuable parameters for the watershed development plan of drought-prone Andhale watershed of Pune district, Maharashtra. The upper part of the watershed shows parallel–sub parallel and rectilinear drainage patterns indicative of structural control, whereas the lower part shows dendritic drainage pattern revealing the homogeneity in texture and lack of structural control. The elongated shape of this basin is indicated by values of form factor, circulatory ratio and elongation ratio. The mean bifurcation ratio is observed to be 4.65 indicating the watershed is less affected by structural disturbances, and drainage pattern is not much influenced by geological structures. The hypsometric integral obtained for Andhale watershed is 0.316 indicating maturity stage of the basin. The longitudinal profile depicts steep gradient at the origin but it gradually flattens out as the river erodes its base level. The high values of drainage density, stream frequency, infiltration number and drainage texture indicate that the study area is underlain by impermeable rocks responsible for high runoff. Thus, the results of this analysis would be useful in determining the effect of catchment characteristics such as size, shape, slope of the catchment on runoff vis-a-vis the scope for water harvesting.

JASH MATHEW

The morphometric analysis of the drainage basin and stream network deals with the measurement and geometrical analysis of the different aspects of a drainage basin. In the present study, morphometric analysis has been carried out using Geographical Information System (GIS) techniques to evaluate the different morphometric characteristics by considering three parameters: linear, areal and relief aspects. The basin is characterized by dendritic drainage pattern. The bifurcation ratio (Rb) between different successive orders varies revealing the geo structural control. The shape parameters (Rf = 0.37, Rc = 0.31, Fr = 0.18, Re = 0.52 and Wb = 11.88) indicate the elongated shape of the basin in association with areal (D = 0.99 km 2 , Dt = 1.66 km 2 etc.) and relief (H, S b etc.) parameters express that the basin has low discharge of runoff with permeable basement rock condition, high infiltration capacity and good groundwater storage and a flatter peak of flow of longer duration.

TJPRC Publication

Morphometry means, mathematically quantifying various aspects of a drainage basin. Morphometric parameters bring an idea, to know about rock structure, runoff, infiltration rate, erosion of the soil in the watershed etc. So that the study of morphometric characteristics is in demand, in order to work out a comprehensive development plan, for optimum use of watershed resources. The analysis could be achieved through measurement of linear, aerial and relief aspects. The present study has been undertaken, to compute morphological features of Kanakanala Reservoir Subwatershed, Karnataka. Computed values of Farm factor (R f =0.65), Circulatory ratio (R c =0.7) and Elongation ratio (Re=1) indicated that, the watershed is nearly circular in shape. The texture (7.9) indicated the intermediate texture, lying between coarse and fine. The drainage density (D d =2.37 km/km 2) indicated that, the area has a gentle slope, low rainfall and permeable bedrock. Hence, from the study, it is concluded that, the morphometric investigation is useful to bring an idea of watershed characterization so that we could make decision, about watershed prioritization, soil and water conservation and management of natural resources etc.

Transstellar Journals

A study was conducted from Kumulur watershed, Trichy district, Tamil Nadu located at latitude and longitude of10°56'41.50"N-10°55'57.85"N&78°50'4.34"E-78°50'4.58"E, respectively with an areal extent of 848694 sq. m. The spatial data of Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of 4-meter resolution and satellite imagery(Google Earth) were used for the extraction of the watershed characteristics through morphometric analysis. The hydrological module of ArcGIS software was used to analyze the geospatial data. The watershed was therein delineated and the various parameters for the morphometric analysis viz., stream order (U), stream number (N u), stream length (L u), mean stream length (L sm), stream length ratio (R L), bifurcation ratio (R b), drainage density (D d), drainage texture (T), stream frequency (F s), form factor (F f), elongation ratio (R e), circularity ratio (R c), relief (R) and relief ratio (R r)were calculated using the software. The basin morphometry shows the numerical analysis and mathematical quantification of different aspects of the watershed. The morphometric analysis includes aspects such as linear, areal & relief. The area and perimeter of the basin was calculated as 848694 sq. m. and 4923.06 m respectively. The total number of streams were found to be 213 and the total stream length of the watershed was calculated as 12833.6240 mof all the 4 stream orders forming a dendritic type of drainage pattern. The maximum length of the stream for the entire basin was observed to be 315.532 m. The bifurcation ratio of the basin varied from 1.543 to 5.000; the elongation ratio and the circularity ratio of the drainage basin were calculated as 0.5967 and 0.4398 respectively. The highest and lowest elevation of the watershed were observed to be 102.021 and 68.786 m which delivered the relief as 33.235 m and the relief ratio as 0.019.

International Journal of Advances in Scientific Research and Engineering (ijasre)

Editor Ijasre

The study aimed to quantify the morphometric characteristics of 11 watersheds in south Al Jabal Al Akhdar area (Green Mountain) located on northeast Libya. Where Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data of 1 arcsec resolution for the study area downloaded from USGS Earth Explorer and processed to extract the watershed attributes using ArcGIS software. In addition, the linear, areal, and relief aspects parameters and indices were computed. The stream number for the watersheds varies from first orders to seventh orders, where a large number of streams was found in the first, second, and third orders. Drainage networks of the watersheds are a dendritic pattern reflects the subsurface lithology. The total lengths of streams in the study area are 35757.8 km. Also, the correlation coefficients which calculated for the relationship between the stream number and the stream count and lengths showed strong inverse relation.Moreover,observed bifurcation ratio for the watersheds considered as low with exception of the seventh order in some watersheds, where the streams tend to be braided due to the stream runoff through the depositional zone that consisting of recent uncompacted fluvial deposits. Drainage densities in the study area are coarse which indicated the much susceptibility to flooding and soil erosion. Where the drainage texture in the study area mostly is very coarse with the exception of some watersheds those are considered as coarse texture. Stream frequencies show very low values. Furthermore, the length of overland flow classified as moderate. The results of relief aspects computation show variation among the watersheds from high to low values. For the ruggedness number values, all watersheds show sharp morphology. Finally, The morphometric characteristics of the watersheds show moderate geomorphologic characteristics, stability in tectonic geology, and homogenous lithology, also the watersheds have intermediate to low flooding susceptibility but in case of heavy rainstorms a very strong flash flood may occur ,as the upper stream areas of the watersheds prevail high risk of soil erosion, therefore flood protection ,and soil conservation measures are crucially demanded in the study area especially in the northern parts.

Journal of the Geological Society of India

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Volume 03, Issue 11 (November 2014)

Morphometric analysis of watershed using gis and rs: a review.

• Article Download / Views: 1,424
• Total Downloads : 1635
• Authors : Ashok S. Sangle, Pravin L. Yannawar
• Paper ID : IJERTV3IS110546
• Volume & Issue : Volume 03, Issue 11 (November 2014)
• Published (First Online): 14-11-2014
• ISSN (Online) : 2278-0181
• Publisher Name : IJERT

Ashok S. Sangle

Department of Computer Science and IT Dr. B .A. M. University

Aurangabad, India

Pravin L. Yannawar

Abstract The role of GIS and RS to prepare assessment, management and planning of the Geology are all over recognizing technology. We like this modern technology use as a concern because the availability of water is most critical thing, may be in particular situations, may be in particular season, if it is excess (flood) it may be issues, if it is less (drought)it may be issues. As concern us need deep sense towards the watershed plan for that we collect fourteen research papers. In all fourteen literatures the researchers analyses the morphometric study for watershed management plan and hydrologic implications. In that we focus on instead of locations, Paper name and author name we focus on matter of fact that is methodology, input raw data and process to enhance the study for sustainable watershed management water security.

The content of this review paper divided in to seven sections namely Introduction, Literature Review, Conceptual Framework about generally how idea behind morphometric analysis, Methodology, Result, conclusions followed by references.

Keywords IRS- Indian remote Sensing; RS-Remote sensing; GIS- Geographical information system; SOI- Survey of India; LISS- Linear imaging self-scanning; SRTM-Shuttle radar Topography mission; ASTER- Advanced Spaceborne Thermal emission and reflection

INTRODUCTION

The drainage basin has been seen as the fundamental hydrologic and geomorphic areal unit. We dealing with the water with in watershed the main source of water are due to precipitation. The water as per as water concern with respect to precipitation even though we classify in terms of watershed or particular river basin or drainage basin. we Identify watershed problem for integrated modeling approach. It may be like as certain issues that are resources under pressure, population under water stress, impact of population and water governess crises some people get more water some get less and poor people not get efficient and some challenges are the securing water for people, food production, developing job created activities within watershed, dealing with variability of water in time and space, protecting the vital ecosystems, managing the risk issues like climatic changes, creating popular awareness & understanding, forgiving the political view to act, and naturally critical important for resources availability and quality so to avoid this emerging certain situations as like growing population, climate change, and whimsical rainfall so we need to advanced study and planning of water or

implication for hydrologic processes. As an integrated approach we may have better or holistic watershed management plan to sustainable development of people life as when securing water and environment.

LITERATURE REVIEW

After collecting literature/research papers we go through these papers and depend upon our problem statement that is in short as straight forward for better watershed management & plan we want to predict drainage shape, shape area, shape perimeter, drainage streams, stream network, Stream hierarchy, stream length, etc it mean by using the morphometric analysis we want to study the drainage land area for analyses purposes so it may help for better land use/land cover, agriculture practices and in this stockholder or approach we want to reflect the better watershed management plan. Morphometry is the measurement and mathematical analysis of the configuration of earths surfaces, shape and dimension of its landforms [1].

As per this we thing and go ahead and we found that for morphometric analysis all they (research papers) use techniques GIS approach and as well as Remote sensing integrated with GIS techniques. In all these papers total number of watershed we found near about 55 major to mini watersheds and sub-watersheds. All these watersheds may be geographically located in different locations (longitude and latitude) that not matter of fact and so absolutely all researchers do this analysis as per its own problem statement concern as like excess water it may cause flood, less water it may cause drought affected area, soil erosion etc may be agriculture practices, land use/land cover some other hydrologic implications but through morphometric parameters they analysis its particular watershed area. So through which precise descriptions of the geometry of landforms could be harnessed as data could be collected, organized, and analyzed and visualized using GIS and remote sensing techniques [1]-[14].

In RS integrated With GIS they use input data as remote sensing images, DEM may be the images are different resolutions that are 90m, 30m depend upon application complexity they choose data but that is not matter of fact what resolution is that and also they use data toposheets, topographical maps, local knowledge and GIS tool. GIS tool for example ArcGIS for better Image interpretation and analysis purposes and that is matter of fact analyzing information as per application using GIS tool. Another

approach is that only GIS approach in that they use input data as a toposheets, topographical maps and some local knowledge to harness the morphometric parameters for watersheds evaluation and better plan.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Before According to Strahler (1964), systematic description of the geometry of a drainage basin and its stream channel requires measurement of linear aspects of the drainage network, areal aspects of the drainage basin, and relief (gradient) aspects of the channel network and contributing ground slopes.The American hydraulic engineer and hydrologist Robert E. Horton was the first to establish a quantitative methods for analysing drainage networks (Eze and Abua 2002, and Thorne 2006). Horton (1945) felt that the main stream should be of the highest order. He defined a first

– order stream as one receiving no tributaries. That is, a headwater stream with no tributaries. A second – order is formed by the junction of two first order streams and can receive other first order tributaries. A third order stream is formed by the junction of two streams of like order forms a stream of next higher order, which can receive tributaries of any order lower than its own. Hortons system further demands that, after all streams have been classified, an investigator starts at the mouth of the basin study and reclassify part of the streams (Broscoe, 1959 and Haggett and Chorley, 1969). Strahler (1952) modified Hortons system by allowing his provisional scheme to determine the final ordering, such that; fingertip channel are designated order 1; where two first order channels join, a channel segment of order 2 is formed; where two channel segments of order 2 joint, a segment of order 3 is formed; and so on[1]. The usefulness of the stream order system depends on the premise that, on the average, if a sufficiently large sample in treated, order number is directly proportional to size of the contributing watershed, to channel dimensions and to stream discharge at that place in the system (Strahler, 1964). He further noted that the number of stream segments of any given order will be fewer than for the next lower order but more numerous than for the next higher order [1].The ratio of number of segments of a given order, Nu to the number segment of the higher order Nu +1 is termed the bifurcationratio, Rb. The bifurcation ratio was introduced by Horton (1945) and modified by Strahler (1952). It characteristically ranges between 3 and 5 in homogeneous bedrock (Chorley 1969 and Waugh 1996). When natural log ln of number of stream is plotted against order, most drainage networks show a linear relationship with small deviation from a straight line [1].

The morphometric parameters were categorized in to three divisions: Basic Parameters, Derived Parameters and Shape Parameters. The basic parameters include area, perimeter, basin length, stream order, stream length, maximum and minimum heights and slope. The derived parameters are bifurcation ratio, stream length ratio, RHO coefficient, stream frequency, drainage density, drainage texture, basin relief and relief ratio. The shape parameters are elongation ratio, circularity index and form factor [7].

METHODOLOGY

Morphometric analysis is best method for isolation of problem through which precise descriptions of the geometry of landforms could be harnessed as data could be collected, organized, and analyzed and visualized using remote sensing integrated with GIS techniques to resolve the applications.

SOI Topographical maps, Toposheets (1:50000 scale). IRS – P6 (resourceSat-1) have three type of sensors namely; LISS IV high resolution sensors, LISS III medium resolution sensors i.e 23.5m resolution, AWIFA advanced wide field sensors, then IRS-1B LISS II, LISS 1D PAN, Landsat, SRTM data 90m resolution and ASTER data 30 m resolutions were data used as raw input in all research papers [1]-[14].

Morphometric parameters are harnessed using GIS tool. There are variety of software & hardware tools (ArcGis, Acrhydro, Arcswat, SAGA GIS and ERDAS and dozens of more) the important factor is the level of integration of these tools to provide a smoothly operating, fully functional geographic data processing environment through the input storage &retrieval manipulation and analysis then output of productive results. Methods may be applied for creation of maps, the management of forests, Land use, land cover, natural resources management such as watersheds, and evaluation of drainage network and watershed management system. Parks and infrastructure, such as roads and water ways, evaluation of places for the location of new stores, as well as applications in risk analysis of natural hazards, emergency planning and responses.

Fig. 1. Process Flow

In all papers they use morphometric parameters to conclude result in below table 1 we summarise the morphometric parameters and its formulas [1]-[14]. The evaluation of the morphometric parameters necessitates for preparation of drainage map, ordering of the various streams, measurement

of the catchment area and perimeter, length of drainage channels, drainage density and frequency, bifurcation ratio, texture ratio, circulatory ratio and constant channel maintenance, which helps to understand the nature of drainage basins [11] for efficient better sustainable watershed plan to reliable water security, enhance agriculture yield.

TABLE I. TABLE SHOWS THE COMPUTATION OF RESULTS USING MORPHOMETRIC PARAMETERS.ES

CONCLUSIONS

It is concluded that in all these papers near about 55 major- mini sub-watersheds used for morphometric analysis study so depend upon places the different researcher have different watershed problems some have soil erosion, some have drought affected area, flooding, some, for better land use/ land cover, drainage basin, drainage network evaluation, other hydrologic implications and watershed development and plan purposes they do study and for that they use modern technology to evaluate morphometric parameters.

In one paper they derived morphometric parameters from three different data sources viz., SOI Toposheet (1:50000), SRTM data(90 resolution) and ASTER data (30m resolution) are evaluated to examine any difference within the results itself for proper planning and management; minor differences there in result it matter of application complexity.

So depends upon slope and aspect, Curvature, profile curvature, plan form curvature i.e. the nature of surface as like small-small depressions and rising ground and hill etc. so because of that nature of surface or drainage geometry could have the different-different drainage surface pattern and on the basis of that we reflect the morphometric watershed analysis study for the purpose development, sustainable growth, improved living standard and through morphometric parameters are how influence the features of each parameter to evaluate the watershed and this is a deep sense towards the watershed management through morphometric analysis watershed area.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We all author thanks to Department of Computer Science and Information technology of Dr. Babashaeb Ambedkar Marathwada University Aurangabad fo providing the experimental lab and other facility.

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Panhalkar S.S., Mali S.P., Pawar C.T. Morphometric Analysis and Watershed Development Prioritization of Hiranyakeshi Basin in Maharashtra, IndiaInternational Journal of Environmental Science, volume 3 no. 12012.

Sujata Biswas, S.Sudhakarand V. R. Desai, Prioritization of Subwatersheds Based on Morphometric Analysis of Drainage Basin: A Remote Sensing and GIS Approach,PhotonirvachakJournal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing, vol. 27, no. 3, 1999.

G.Tamma Rao,V.V.S. GurunadhaRao, Ratnakardakate, S.T.MallikharjunaRao and B. M. Raja Rao, Remote Sensing and GIS Based Comparative Morphometric Study of Two Sub- watershed of Different Physiographic Conditions, West Godavari District, A.P.,Journal Geological Society of Indiavol.79, april 2012, pp.383-390.

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Ziaur Rehman Ansari, A.K. Rao and Alia Yusuf,GIS Based Morphometric Analysis of Yamuna Drainage Network in Parts of Fatehabad Area of Agra District, Uttar Pradesh,Journal Geological Society of India vol.79, May 2012, pp.505-514.

S. A. Ahmed, K.N. Chandrashekarappa, S. K. Raj, V. Nischitha, G. Kavitha, Evaluation of Morphometric Parameters Derived from ASTER and SRTM DEM A study on Bandihole Sub-watershed Basin in Karnataka, journal of Indian Society Remote Sensing, June 2010 38 : 227238.

Sharad Chandra Dwivedi, Morphometric Analysis of Four Sub-watersheds in Bah Area of Agra District using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques, 12th ESRI India user conference 2011.

Arpita Pankaj, Pankaj Kumar, GIS-Based Morphometric Analysis of Five Major Sub-watersheds of Song River, Dehradun District, Uttarakhand with Special Reference to Landslide Incidences, Journal Indian Society Remote Sensing March 2009, 37:157166.

Amee K. Thakkarand S. D. Dhiman, Morphometric Analysis and Prioritization of Mini watersheds in Mohr watershed, Gujarat using Remote Sensing and GIS techniques, Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing, vol. 35, no. 4, 2007.

H. Vijith and R. Satheesh, On GIS based Morphometric Analysis of two Major Upland Sub-watersheds of Meenachill River in Kerala, Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing, vol. 34, no. 2, 2006.

RrajivChopra, Raman Deep Dhiman and P.K. Sharma,

Morphometric Analysis of Sub-watersheds in Gurdaspure District, Punjab using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques, Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing, vol. 33, no. 4, 2005.

S. K. Nag, Morphometric Analysis using Remote Sensing Techniques in the Chaka Sub-basin, Purulia District, West Bengal, Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing, vol. 26, no. l&2, 1998.

V. Mallikarjuna, K. R. K Prasad, P. Udaya Bhaskar and M. Sailakshmi, Watershed Modeling of Krishna Delta, Andhra Pradesh using GIS and Remote Sensing Techniques, International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology, ISSN: 0975-5462, vol. 4 no.11 November 2012.

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• 27 March 2024

Tweeting your research paper boosts engagement but not citations

• Bianca Nogrady

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Even before complaints about X’s declining quality, posting a paper on the social-media platform did not lead to a boost in citations. Credit: Matt Cardy/Getty

Posting about a research paper on social-media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) doesn’t translate into a bump in citations, according to a study that looked at 550 papers.

The finding comes as scientists are moving away from the platform in the wake of changes after its 2022 purchase by entrepreneur Elon Musk.

An international group of 11 researchers, who by the end of the experiment had between them nearly 230,000 followers on X, examined whether there was evidence that posting about a paper would increase its citation rate.

“There certainly is a correlation, and that’s been found in a lot of papers. But very few people have ever looked to see whether there’s any experimental causation,” says Trevor Branch, a marine ecologist at the University of Washington in Seattle and lead author on the paper, published in PLoS ONE last week 1 .

Every month for ten months, each researcher was allocated a randomly selected primary research article or review from a journal of their choice to post about on their personal account. Four randomly chosen articles from the same edition of the journal served as controls, which the researchers did not post about. They conducted the experiment in the period before Elon Musk took ownership of what was then known as Twitter and complaints of its declining quality increased.

‘Nail in the coffin’

Three years after the initial posts, the team compared the citation rates for the 110 posted articles with those of the 440 control articles, and found no significant difference. The researchers did acknowledge that their followers might not have been numerous enough to detect a statistically significant effect on citations.

The rate of daily downloads for the posted papers was nearly fourfold higher on the day that they were shared, compared with controls. Shared papers also had significantly higher accumulated Altmetric scores both 30 days and three years after the initial post. Calculated by London-based technology company Digital Science, an Altmetric score, says Branch, is a measure of how many people have looked at a paper and are talking about it, but it’s not a reliable indicator of a paper’s scientific worth. “It’s thoroughly biased by how many people with large followings tweet about it,” he says.

The findings echo those of information scientist Stefanie Haustein at the University of Ottawa, whose 2013 study 2 found a low correlation between posts and citations.

Haustein says the problem with using posts as a metric is that, even a decade ago, there was a lot of noise in the signal.

“We actually showed that a lot of the counts on Twitter you would get were bots, it wasn’t even humans,” says Haustein, who wasn’t involved in the new study.

She says the more recent departure of scientists from the platform has been the final nail in the coffin of the idea that posting could increase citations.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-00922-y

Branch, T. A. et al. PLoS ONE 19 , e0292201 (2024).

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Haustein, S., Peters, I., Sugimoto, C. R., Thelwall, M. & Larivière, V. J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol. 65, 656–669 (2014).

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A GIS-based approach in drainage morphometric analysis of Kanhar River Basin, India

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• Published: 07 November 2014
• Volume 7 , pages 217–232, ( 2017 )

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• Praveen Kumar Rai 1 ,
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• Sameer Mishra 1 ,
• Aariz Ahmad 1 &
• Varun Narayan Mishra 2  

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The study indicates that analysis of morphometric parameters with the help of geographic information system (GIS) would prove a viable method of characterizing the hydrological response behaviour of the watershed. It is also well observed that remote sensing satellite data is emerging as the most effective, time saving and accurate technique for morphometric analysis of a basin. This technique is found relevant for the extraction of river basin and its stream networks through ASTER (DEM) in conjunction with remote sensing satellite data (Landsat etm+, 2013 and georeferenced survey of Indian toposheet, 1972). In this study, Kanhar basin a tributaries of Son River has been selected for detailed morphometric analysis. Seven sub-watersheds are also delineated within this basin to calculate the selected morphometric parameters. Morphometric parameters viz; stream order, stream length, bifurcation ratio, drainage density, stream frequency, form factor, circulatory ratio, etc., are calculated. The drainage area of the basin is 5,654 km 2 and shows sub-dendritic to dendritic drainage pattern. The stream order of the basin is mainly controlled by physiographic and lithological conditions of the area. The study area is designated as seventh-order basin with the drainage density value being as 1.72 km/km 2 . The increase in stream length ratio from lower to higher order shows that the study area has reached a mature geomorphic stage.

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Introduction

Morphometry is the measurement and mathematical analysis of the configuration of the earth’s surface, shape and dimension of its landforms (Clarke 1996 ; Agarwal 1998 ; Obi Reddy et al. 2002 ). The morphometric analysis is done successfully through measurement of linear, aerial, relief, gradient of channel network and contributing ground slope of the basin (Nautiyal 1994 ; Nag and Chakraborty, 2003 ; Magesh et al. 2012b ).

A widely acknowledged principle of morphometry is that drainage basin morphology reflects various geological and geomorphological processes over time, as indicated by various morphometric studies (Horton 1945 ; Strahler 1952 , 1964 ; Muller 1968 ; Shreve 1969 ; Evans 1972 , 1984 ; Chorley et al. 1984 ; Merritts and Vincent 1989 ; Ohmori 1993 ; Cox 1994 ; Oguchi 1997 ; Burrough and McDonnell 1998 ; Hurtrez et al. 1999 ). It is well established that the influence of drainage morphometry is very significant in understanding the landform processes, soil physical properties and erosional characteristics.

The analysis of the drainage does not appear to be complete if it lacks the systematic approach towards the development of drainage basin in the area. Drainage lines of an area not only explain the existing three-dimensional geometry of the region but also help to narrate its evolutional process (Singh 1980 ). Drainage provides a basic to understand initial gradient, variation in rock resistance, structural control, geological and geomorphologic history of the drainage basin or watershed. Evaluation of morphometric parameters requires the analysis of various drainage parameters such as ordering of the various streams, measurement of basin area and perimeter, length of drainage channels, drainage density (Dd), bifurcation ratio (Rb), stream length ratio (RL), and relief ratio (Rh).

Besides, the quantitative analysis of drainage system is an important aspect of characteristic of watershed (Strahler 1964 ). It is important in any hydrological investigation like assessment of groundwater potential, groundwater management, basin management and environmental assessment.

Hydrologic and geomorphic processes occur within the watershed and morphometric characterization at the watershed scale reveals information regarding formation and development of land surface processes (Singh 1992 , 1995 ; Dar et al. 2013 ). Drainage characteristics of many river basins and sub-basins in different parts of the globe have been studied using conventional methods (Horton 1945 ; Strahler 1957 , 1964 ; Krishnamurthy et al. 1996 ). The surface runoff and flow intensity of the drainage system can be estimated using the geomorphic features associated with morphometric parameters (Ozdemir and Bird 2009 ). Strahler’s system of classification designates a segment with no tributaries as a first-order stream. Where two first-order stream segments join, they form a second-order stream segment and so on. The morphometric analysis of the drainage basin is aimed to acquire accurate data of measurable features of stream network of the drainage basin. Various hydrological phenomena can be correlated with the physiographic characteristics of an drainage basin such as size, shape, slope of the drainage area, drainage density, size and length of the contributories, etc. (Rastogi and Sharma 1976 ; Magesh et al. 2012a ).

The remote sensing technique is the convenient method for morphometric analysis as the satellite images provide a synoptic view of a large area and is very useful in the analysis of drainage basin morphometry. The fast emerging spatial information technology, remote sensing, GIS, and GPS have effective tools to overcome most of the problems of land and water resources planning and management rather than conventional methods of data process (Rao et al. 2010 ).

GIS-based evaluation using Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data has given a precise, fast, and an inexpensive way for analysing hydrological systems (Smith and Sandwell 2003 ; Grohmann 2004 ). The processed DEM was used successfully for generating the stream network and other supporting layers (Mesa 2006 ; Magesh et al. 2011 ).

The digital elevation model (DEM) of the area was generated to deduce the morphometric parameters like drainage basin area, drainage density, drainage order, relief and network diameter in GIS environment. Combination of the remote sensing satellite data and hydrological and spatial analysis in GIS environment is made easy to identify and discriminate the drainage area (Pirasteh et al. 2010 ). The geographic and geomorphic characteristics of a drainage basin are important for hydrological investigations involving the assessment of groundwater potential, etc.

The present study aims at using the remote sensing and GIS technology to compute various parameters of morphometric characteristics of the Kanhar River watershed. This is in consonance with the latest developments and researches as cited above.

The Kanhar River (23°12′N to 24°272′N and 83°2′E to 84°1′E) is an important tributary of the River Son. The total geographical area of the basin is 5,654 km 2 . It flows through the Indian states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh (Fig. 1 ). The Kanhar originates at Gidha-Dhodha on the Khudia plateau in Jashpur district of Chhattisgarh. It initially flows north forming the boundary with Garhwa district in Palamu division of Jharkhand. Thereafter, it flows for about 100 kilometres (62 miles) through Surguja district of Chhattisgarh.

Location map of the study area

Subsequently, it runs parallel to the Son River in Garhwa district and turns north-west and flowing through Sonbhadra district in Mirzapur division of Uttar Pradesh. It confluences with the Son River (which itself is the tributary of the national holy river ‘Ganges’) to the north-east of the village of Kota. Son River plays an important role in increasing the catchment area of Ganga River. It has a rocky bed almost throughout its course. Flowing through forested areas, it becomes a dangerous stream. The elevation of the basin ranges from a low height of 180 m where the Kanhar meets the Son River to 1,223 m (Gaurlpat) at Kavradara in Sarguja district of Chhattisgarh.

The tributaries of the Kanhar River are Pangan, Thema, Lauwa, Malia, Pandu, Goitha, Banki, Hathi nala, Suria, Chana, Sendur, Kursa, Galphulla, Semarkhar Rigar, Cherna nala. A number of waterfalls are located along the track of the river. Pavai fall near Kothali village (Balrampur) is of about 61 m. The dense rich forest area provides an abode to thousands of species of flora and fauna. It is the home to various tribes and natives which lived here since long.

The climate of the watershed is characterized by hot summer and well-distributed rainfall during the monsoon season. With its general monsoon character, the region according to Thornthwait’s classification falls in the Tropical Thermal belt assigns it the grassland type character. According to Trewartha’s classification, the Kanhar watershed falls in AW (Tropical Swanah) class which is based on temperature and vegetation. The symbol AW denotes Tropical Swanah region. The chief feature of this climate is long dry period average monthly temperature rising over 18 °C, through maximum summer temperature may even go up to 46 °C. In winter the temperatures does not go below 18 °C. The monsoon brings sufficient rains. The major rainfall recorded at Dudhi ranging 80–90 % occurs mainly in the summer monsoon during June to September, which is very uneven. Maximum rainfall (293.0 mm) recorded in month of August. The study area is located on the northern fringe of peninsular shield of India. It is very hot during the summers but gets quite cool during the winters. The mean annual temperature in the area is 27.76 °C. The highest value of atmospheric pressure, in the study area, is noted in the month of January (1,023.2 mb) and lowest in the month of June (1,003.3 mb).

Erosion surfaces of the Kanhar basin

Lower Kanhar plain (less than 250 m): it is the lowest area being drained by Lauwa, Kanhar, Hathinala and small tributaries of Kanhar River. The denuded hillocks form watersheds for the Kanhar river and its tributaries. The area may be classified as the recent most developed during tertiary orogeny. Limestone, shales and conglomerates are found mixed with sedimentary rocks are met in the area.

Middle Kanhar valley (250–650 m): It is a long denuded plateau inter spurred with hillocks. The nature and structure of the area are responsible for erosion and recession of rivers.

Upper Kanhar plain (650–1,050 m): This area forms the confluence zone of many rivers which join Kanhar from different directions as the upper area and acts as vertical divide between these small rivers where the height of the area is about 1,000 m.

It is a dense forested area also because of the nature of the terrain which restricts transformation from one place to another. This is the most eroded area formed by the river erosion.

Highest Kanhar Divide (above 1,050 m): this area lies in the south-western part of Kanhar basin, where a series of flat topped and in pointed hillocks of different size are found. They appeared to have been formed by Archaean rocks. The irregular nature of this surface also indicates the completion of the denudation cycle. Some of these summits show long continued erosion and which form platforms within the hillocks.

Geomorphological units of Kanhar River basin

The Upper Kanhar basin

The Upper Kanhar basin lies in the southern part of basin covering an area of about 1,499.57 km 2 (24.01 %). The notable tributaries of upper Kanhar basin are Semarkhar Nadi, Galphula Nadi and Suria Nadi. In general, the area is hilly with steep slope. The region is characterized by dominance of very high absolute relief, moderate drainage frequency, moderately high relative relief, low dissection index, coarse drainage density and moderate slope. It has been sub divided into four second-order morpho-units, namely Lahsunpat Bhalanad hills, Galphula-Kanhar confluence, Semarkhar-Rigar divide and Kusmi upland.

Middle Kanhar basin

The middle Kanhar basin lies in the central part of the study basin covering an area of about 3,268.44 km 2 or 52.34 %. The main tributaries of Kanhar River in this area are Sendur River, Chanan River, Kulwanti River, Rigar River, Sarsotla River, Cherra River, etc. In general, the area is flat and hilly towards western part of middle Kanhar basin and there are waterfalls of up to 30 m. The highest elevation of the basin (1,225 m Gaurlata) also lies in this region. The region is characterized by dominance of moderate absolute relief and drainage frequency, low relative relief and dissection index, moderately fine drainage density and moderate slope. It has been further divided into 11 s order morpho-units, namely Thema-Pangan Water Divide, Daukiduba-Pangan Confluence, Jogidah Upland, Kameshwar Nagar UPLAND, Kursa valley, Chutru upland, Biropani valley, Ramanuj Ganj upland, Chumki-Kanhar confluence, Budhudih hills, and Bhandaria upland.

The Lower Kanhar basin

The lower Kanhar basin lies in the northern part of the basin covering an area of about 1,476.99 km 2 (23.65 %). The tributaries of upper Kanhar watershed are Hathi Nala and Dhanmarwa Nala. In general, the area is plateau type with gentle slope towards North. The region is characterized by dominance of moderately low absolute relief moderate drainage frequency, moderate relative relief, moderate dissection index, coarse drainage density moderate slope.

It has been sub divided into six second-order morpho-units, namely Hathwani upland, Kanhar-Malia confluence, Gularia plain, Vinrhamganj upland, Dudhi upland and Baghmandwa upland.

Methodology

Manual extraction of drainage network and assigning the stream order from a published Survey of India (SOI) topographic map and from georeferenced satellite data for a large area is a time taking tedious exercise. To overcome this problem, automatic extraction techniques have been used for evaluating the morphometric parameters of a basin, i.e., extraction of River basin/watershed boundary and extraction of drainage/stream network from the Kanhar River basin using ASTER DEM in conjunction with geocoded standard false colour composite remote sensing satellite data (Landsat etm+ of 2013) and georeferenced SOI toposheets of 1972 (63P/3, 63P/4, 63P/7, 63P/8, 63P/12, 64M/6, 64M/9, 64M/10, 64M/11, 64M/12, 64M/14, 64M/16 and 73A/4 having 1:50,000 scale) and Lib Texas Toposheets No — NF44-4, NG44-11, NG44-12, NG44-16 having 1:250,000 scale using ARC GIS-9.3 and ERDAS Imagine-9.1 software’s. The extracted basin and stream networks are projected to the regional projection (WGS-1984, UTM zone 44 N). The different morphometric parameters have been determined as shown in the Table  1 . Landsat etm+ data are used to prepare digital terrain model (DTM) of Kanhar basin for perspective view (Fig. 5 c and d) .

Extraction of Kanhar River watershed

The Kanhar River basin is automatically extracted from the ASTER DEM data with a spatial resolution of 15 m using the georeferenced SOI toposheets. The contributing basin area was extracted with the help of various geoprocessing techniques in ArcGI-9.3. The DEM and the pour point are the two input parameters required for the extraction purpose. A pour point is a user-supplied point to the cells of highest flow accumulation (Magesh et al. 2013 ). The pour point of the basin is shown in Fig.  2 . The systematic process required for the automatic extraction of the basin/watershed is shown in Fig.  2 . The result of this process will create a watershed boundary polygon from the flow direction raster data.

Extraction of Kanhar River basin boundary through ASTER data

Extraction of drainage network

The drainage network of the Kanhar basin is extracted from a series of geoprocessing tools in ARC GIS-9.3 (Fig.  3 ). The output of this method is a basis for creating a stream/drainage network grid with stream order based on Strahler 1964 . As pointed out above that Strahler’s system of classification designates a segment with no tributaries as a first-order stream. Where two first-order stream segments join, they form a second-order stream segment and so on. The highest stream order in the Kanhar basin was identified as seventh. This technique requires two input model parameters: DEM and a minimum upstream area in hectares, which is the minimum drainage area required to create a stream segment (Magesh et al. 2013 ). The output of the drainage network is smoothened using a smooth line tool in ArcGIS-9.3. To evaluate the drainage basin morphometry, various parameters like stream number, stream order, stream length, stream length ratio, bifurcation ratio, basin length, basin area, relief ratio, elongation ratio, drainage density, stream frequency, form factor and circulatory ratio, etc., have been analysed using the standard mathematical formulae given in Table  1 . Moreover, the aspect and slope map of the study area were derived from the ASTER DEM using the aspect and slope tool in ArcGIS-9.3 spatial analyst module (Fig.  4 ).

Erosional surface of Kanhar River basin

Automatic extraction of Streams through ASTER data

Results and discussion

The morphometric parameters of Kanhar River basin have been calculated and the results are given in the Table  2 . The total drainage area of the Kanhar River basin is 5,654 km 2 . The drainage pattern is dendritic in nature and it is influenced by the general topography, geology and rainfall condition of the area. Aster DEM is used to prepare slope, aspect and contour maps. Based on the stream order, the Kanhar basin is classified as seventh-order basin to interpret the morphodynamic parameters as listed in Table  1 (Horton 1932 , 1945 ; Smith 1950 ; Schumm 1956 , 1963 ; Hadley and Schumm 1961 ; Strahler 1964 ; Sreedevi et al. 2005 ; Mesa 2006 ). Different sub-watershed of Kanhar River basin is shown in the Fig.  7 .

Aspect generally refers to the direction to which a mountain slope faces. The aspect of a slope can make very significant influences on its local climate because the sun’s rays are in the west at the hottest time of day in the afternoon, and so in most cases a west-facing slope will be warmer than sheltered east-facing slope. This can have major effects on the distribution of vegetation in the Kanhar watershed area. The value of the output raster data set represents the compass direction of the aspect (Magesh et al. 2011 ). The aspect map of Kanhar basin is shown in Fig.  6 a. It is clearly seen that east-facing slopes mainly occur in the Kanhar basin. Therefore, these slopes have a higher moisture content and lower evaporation rate although and some parts are falling towards west facing which have a lower moisture content and have a high evaporation rate.

Slope analysis is an important parameter in geomorphological studies for watershed development and important for morphometric analysis. The slope elements, in turn, are controlled by the climatomorphogenic processes in areas having rock of varying resistance (Magesh et al. 2011 ; Gayen et al. 2013 ). A slope map of the study area is calculated based on ASTER DEM data using the spatial analysis tool in ARC GIS-9.3. Slope grid is identified as “the maximum rate of change in value from each cell to its neighbors” (Burrough 1986 ). The degree of slope in Kanhar watershed varies from <2.7° to >72.37° (Fig.  6 b). The slope map of Kanhar basin is shown in Fig.  5 . Higher slope degree results in rapid runoff and increased erosion rate (potential soil loss) with less ground water recharge potential. Higher slope is identified in southern part of the Kanhar basin where it originates.

Triangular irregular network ( a ), drainage density map ( b ) and perspective views of digital terrain model (DTM) from different angles ( c , d ), respectively

Relative relief

Relative relief is an important morphometric variable used for the assessment of morphological characteristics of any topography (Gayen et al. 2013 . The highest relative relief is calculated as 1,238 m, while the lowest value is recorded as 151 m (Fig.  6 c). The low relief indicates that the northern area under Kanhar basin is flat to gentle slope type. Therefore, the area could be basically used for agricultural activities around stream sides due to being flat in nature and also a water accessibility.

Aspect map ( a ), slope map ( b ), relief map ( c ) and stream order ( d ) of Kanhar River basin

Stream order (U)

In the present study, ranking of streams has been carried out based on the method proposed by Strahler ( 1964 ). The stream orders are classified up to seventh orders in the Kanhar basin. Details of stream order of several tributaries of Kanhar River and their sub-watershed area are shown in the Table  2 . Kanhar River could be designated as a seventh-order stream (Fig.  6 d; Table  3 ). The maximum stream order frequency is observed in case of first-order streams and then for second order. Hence, it is noticed that there is a decrease in stream frequency as the stream order increases and vice versa.

Stream number (Nu)

The count of stream channels in each order is termed as stream order. As per Horton’s law (1945) of stream numbers, “the number of streams of different orders in a given drainage basin tends closely to approximate as inverse geometric series of which the first term is unity and the ratio is the bifurcation ratio”.

According to this law, the number of streams counted for each order is plotted on logarithmic scale on the y axis against order on arithmetic scale on the x axis. Number of streams of different orders and the total number of streams in the basin are counted and calculated in GIS platforms. During calculation it is identified that the number of streams gradually decreases as the stream order increases; the variation in stream order and size of tributary basins is largely depends on physiographical, geomorphological and geological condition of the region. 13,987 stream line including Kanhar River is recognized in the whole basin, out of which 68.13 % (9,541) is 1st order, 23 % (3,337) 2nd order, 6.11 % (856) 3rd order, 1.45 % (204) 4th order, 0.27 % (39) 5th order, 0.064 % (9) 6th order and 0.007 % comprises 7th order stream (1).

Stream length (Lu)

According to Horton ( 1945 ), streams lengths delineate the total lengths of stream segment of each of the successive orders in a basin tend to approximate a direct geometric series in which the first term is the average length of the stream of the first order. The stream length is a measure of the hydrological characteristics of the bedrock and the drainage extent. Wherever the bedrock and formation is permeable, only a small number of relatively longer streams are formed in a well-drained watershed, a large number of streams of smaller length are developed where the bedrocks and formations are less permeable (Sethupathi et al. 2011 ).

The result of order-wise stream length in Kanhar basin is shown in Table  4 . It is clearly identified that the cumulative stream length is higher in first-order streams and decreases as the stream order increases. The highest stream order (7th), i.e., for Kanhar River has a length of 113.38 km. Stream length of different order under sub-watersheds of Kanhar basin is given in Table  4 .

Mean stream length (Lsm)

Mean stream length (Lsm) reveals the characteristic size of components of a drainage network and its contributing surfaces (Strahler 1964 ). It has been computed by dividing the total stream length of order ‘u’ by the number of stream segments in the order (Table  3 ). The Lsm values for the Kanhar basin range from 0.52 to 113.38 km (Table  2 ) with a mean Lsm value of 21.47 km. It is noted that Lsm value of any stream order is greater than that of the lower order and less than that of its next higher order in the basin. The Lsm values differ with respect to different basins, as it is directly proportional to the size and topography of the basin. Strahler ( 1964 ) indicated that the Lsm is a characteristic property related to the size of drainage network and its associated surfaces. Mean stream length (km) of sub-watershed of Kanhar basin based on stream order is shown in the Table  5 .

Stream length ratio (RL)

Horton’s law ( 1945 ) of stream length points out that mean stream length segments of each of the successive orders of a basin tends to approximate a direct geometric series with stream length increasing towards higher order of streams.

The stream length ratio of Kanhar basin showed an increasing trend. The RL values are presented in Table  2 . The stream length ratio between the streams of different orders of the Kanhar basin shows a change in each sub-watershed (Table  6 ). This change might be attributed to variation in slope and topography, indicating the late youth stage of geomorphic development in the streams of the Kanhar basin (Singh and Singh 1997 ; Vittala et al. 2004 ).

Bifurcation ratio (Rb)

Horton ( 1945 ) considered Rb as an index of relief and dissection while Strahler ( 1957 ) opined that Rb shows only a small variation for different regions with different environments except where powerful geological control dominates. According to Schumn ( 1956 ), the term bifurcation ratio (Rb) may be defined as the ratio of the number of the stream segments of given order to the number of segments of the next higher orders. It is a dimensionless property and shows the degree of integration prevailing between streams of various orders in a drainage basin. The Rb for the Kanhar basin varies from 2.86 to 9 (Table  2 ).

According to Strahler ( 1964 ), the values of bifurcation ratio characteristically range between 3.0 and 5.0 for drainage basin in which the geological structures do not disturb the drainage pattern. The mean bifurcation ratio (Rbm) characteristically ranges between 3.0 and 5.0 for a basin when the influence of geological structures on the drainage network is negligible (Verstappen 1983 ). Thus, Verstappen ( 1983 ) favours the opinion of Strahler ( 1964 ).

In the Kanhar basin, the higher values of Rb indicate a strong structural control in the drainage pattern whereas the lower values indicate that the sub-basins are less affected by structural disturbances (Strahler 1964 ; Vittala et al. 2004 ; Chopra et al. 2005 ).

The mean bifurcation ratio (Rbm) may be defined as the average of bifurcation ratios of all order (Table  2 ) and it is 4.92 in case of Kanhar River basin. In the present study, Rb for the each sub-watershed of Kanhar basin is given in the Table  7 .

Relief ratio (Rh)

Schumm ( 1956 ) states that the maximum relief to horizontal distance along the longest dimension of the basin parallel to the principal drainage line is termed as relief ratio. Difference in the elevation between the highest point of a basin and the lowest point on the valley floor is termed as the total relief of that river basin. Schumm ( 1963 ) also stated that it is a dimensionless height-length ratio equal to the tangent of angle formed by two planes intersecting at the mouth of the basin, one representing the horizontal and other passing through the highest point of the basin.

Low value of relief ratios is mainly due to the resistant basement rocks of the basin and low degree of slope (Mahadevaswamy et al. 2011 ). The Rh normally increases with decreasing drainage area and size of a given drainage basin (Gottschalk 1964 ). Rh for Kanhar basin is calculated, i.e., 0.092. Mean relief ratio of each sub-watershed of Kanhar basin is shown in the Table  8 .

Elongation ratio (Re)

Elongation ratio (Re) is defined as the ratio of diameter of a circle having the same area as of the basin and maximum basin length (Schumm 1956 ). It is a measure of the shape of the river basin and it depends on the climatic and geologic types. A circular basin is more efficient in runoff discharge than an elongated basin (Singh and Singh 1997 ). Re value of Kanhar basin is 0.48. Higher values of elongation ratio show high infiltration capacity and low runoff, whereas lower Re values which are characterized by high susceptibility to erosion and sediment load (Reddy et al. 2004 ).

Drainage density (Dd)

Drainage density (Dd) is a measure the total stream length in a given basin to the total area of the basin (Strahler 1964 ).The drainage density is affected by the factors that control characteristic length of the watershed. Drainage density is related to various features of landscape dissection such as valley density, channel head source area, relief, climate and vegetation (Moglen et al. 1998 ), soil and rock properties (Kelson and Wells 1989 ) and landscape evolution processes. The drainage density of the Kanhar basin is 1.72 km/km 2 , which indicates that basin area has a highly resistant permeable subsurface material with intermediate drainage and low to moderate relief. Higher drainage density is associated with the basin of weak and impermeable subsurface material, sparse vegetation and high relief. Low drainage density leads to coarse drainage texture while high drainage density leads to fine drainage texture, high runoff and erosion potential of the basin area. (Strahler 1964 ). Drainage density of each sub-watershed of Kanhar basin is given in the Table 9 . Higher density (3.23) is identified for Thema River sub-watershed whereas low drainage density (1.18) is calculated for Suria River sub-watershed (Table 9 ). Triangular irregular network (a), drainage density (b) and DTM from different angles for perspective views are shown in the Fig.  5 .

Stream frequency (Sf)

Stream frequency (Sf) is the total number of stream segments of all orders per unit area (Horton 1932 ). Reddy et al. ( 2004 )) stated that low values of stream frequency Sf indicate presence of a permeable subsurface material and low relief. The channel segment numbers for unit areas are difficult to be enumerated (Singh 1980 ), but an attempt has been made to count stream frequency of Kanhar basin. The stream frequency value of the Kanhar basin is 2.45 km/km 2 . Stream frequency mainly depends on the lithology of the basin and reflects the texture of the drainage network. The value of stream frequency (Fs) for the basin exhibits positive correlation with the drainage density value of the area indicating the increase in stream population with respect to increase in drainage density.

Channel frequency density serves as a tool in establishing the erosional processes operating over an area; to be more specific, the same in relation to the stream orders and their characteristics provides data which can throw light even on the sequences of relief developments and the degree of ruggedness in the area (Singh 1980 ).

Form factor (Rf)

Horton ( 1932 ) stated form factor as the ratio of the area of the basin and square of the basin length. The value of form factor would always be greater than 0.78 for perfectly circular basin. Smaller the value of form factor, more elongated will be the basin. Rf value of the Kanhar basin is 0.18 (Table  2 ). Thus, the Kanhar basin is elongated one.

Circularity ratio (Rc)

Miller ( 1953 ) stated circularity ratio is the ratio of the area of the basins to the area of circle having the same circumference as the perimeter of the basin. Miller ( 1953 ) described Rc as a significant ratio that indicates the dendritic stage of a watershed. This is mainly due to the diversity of slope and relief pattern of the basin. The circulator ratio is mainly concerned with the length and frequency of streams, geological structures, land use/land cover, climate, relief and slope of the basin. It is a significant ratio that indicates the dendritic stage of a watershed. Low, medium and high values of Rc indicate the young, mature, and old stages of the life cycle of the tributary watershed (John Wilson et al. 2012 ). Rc value of Kanhar basin is 0.15 (Table  2 ). In the study area, Rc value of different sub-watershed of Kanhar basin is ranging from 0.246 to 0.411 (Table  10 ; Fig.  7 ).

Sub-watershed of Kanhar River basin ( a – g )

Morphometric analysis of drainage system is prerequisite to any hydrological study. Thus, determination of stream networks’ behaviour and their interrelation with each other is of great importance in many water resources studies. Remote sensing satellite data and GIS techniques have been proved to be an effective tool in drainage delineation. Their updation in conjunction with old datasets brings a bright picture enabling geomorphologist to infer concrete conclusion about the drainage basin. In the present paper, morphometric analysis of the Kanhar River basin, based on several drainage parameters using remote sensing satellite data and latest GIS tools for drainage analysis, has been delineated. It is inferred that the Kanhar River falls under seventh-order basin. Kanhar basin is mainly dominated by lower order streams. The morphometric analysis is carried by the measurement of linear, aerial and relief aspects of basins. Detailed morphometric study of all sub-watersheds shows dendritic to sub-dendritic drainage patterns, which thus indicate homogenous lithology and variations of values of Rb among the sub-watersheds attributed to difference in topography and geometric development. The maximum stream order frequency is observed in case of first-order streams and then for second order. Hence, it is noticed that there is a decrease in stream frequency as the stream order increases and vice versa. The values of stream frequency indicate that all the sub-basins show +ve correlation with increasing stream population with respect to increasing drainage density.

The drainage density values of the Kanhar basin have values below five revealing that the subsurface area is permeable, a characteristic feature of coarse drainage. The variation of stream length ratio might be due to differences in slope/gradients and topographic conditions of the area. The values of stream frequency indicate that all the sub-watershed show positive correlation with increasing stream segments with respect to increasing drainage density. Elongation ratio (Re) value of Kanhar basin is 0.48. Higher values of elongation ratio show high infiltration capacity and low runoff, whereas lower Re values which are characterized by high susceptibility to erosion and sediment load The database obtains through analysis of morphometric parameters would be suggested for its proper utilization in the integrated watershed programme aimed at development and management of water resources of the Kanhar River basin by the ministry of water resources, New Delhi (India) in future.

The used approaches in this study include a comprehensive morphometric analysis that can be applied for any drainage system elsewhere. They introduce the major elements needed to assess water resources and their hydrologic regime, thus it is recommended to apply similar studies in anywhere in India.

The general budget, 2014–2015 passed in the Lok Sabha on 10th of July 2014 also promises for proper management of different water resources of the country. The result calculated in this paper will suggest and recommend developing a better water usage mechanism for proper watershed management in the Kanhar River basin.

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Praveen Kumar Rai, Kshitij Mohan, Sameer Mishra & Aariz Ahmad

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Rai, P.K., Mohan, K., Mishra, S. et al. A GIS-based approach in drainage morphometric analysis of Kanhar River Basin, India. Appl Water Sci 7 , 217–232 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-014-0238-y

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Received : 08 July 2014

Accepted : 16 October 2014

Published : 07 November 2014

Issue Date : March 2017

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-014-0238-y

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2 Department of Communication, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States

3 School of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

4 Polk School of Communications, Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY, United States

5 College of Business, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States

Corresponding Author:

Jueman M Zhang, PhD

Harrington School of Communication and Media

University of Rhode Island

10 Ranger Road

Kingston, RI, 02881

United States

Phone: 1 401 874 2110

Email: [email protected]

Background: The initiation of clinical trials for messenger RNA (mRNA) HIV vaccines in early 2022 revived public discussion on HIV vaccines after 3 decades of unsuccessful research. These trials followed the success of mRNA technology in COVID-19 vaccines but unfolded amid intense vaccine debates during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is crucial to gain insights into public discourse and reactions about potential new vaccines, and social media platforms such as X (formerly known as Twitter) provide important channels.

Objective: Drawing from infodemiology and infoveillance research, this study investigated the patterns of public discourse and message-level drivers of user reactions on X regarding HIV vaccines by analyzing posts using machine learning algorithms. We examined how users used different post types to contribute to topics and valence and how these topics and valence influenced like and repost counts. In addition, the study identified salient aspects of HIV vaccines related to COVID-19 and prominent anti–HIV vaccine conspiracy theories through manual coding.

Methods: We collected 36,424 English-language original posts about HIV vaccines on the X platform from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022. We used topic modeling and sentiment analysis to uncover latent topics and valence, which were subsequently analyzed across post types in cross-tabulation analyses and integrated into linear regression models to predict user reactions, specifically likes and reposts. Furthermore, we manually coded the 1000 most engaged posts about HIV and COVID-19 to uncover salient aspects of HIV vaccines related to COVID-19 and the 1000 most engaged negative posts to identify prominent anti–HIV vaccine conspiracy theories.

Results: Topic modeling revealed 3 topics: HIV and COVID-19, mRNA HIV vaccine trials, and HIV vaccine and immunity. HIV and COVID-19 underscored the connections between HIV vaccines and COVID-19 vaccines, as evidenced by subtopics about their reciprocal impact on development and various comparisons. The overall valence of the posts was marginally positive. Compared to self-composed posts initiating new conversations, there was a higher proportion of HIV and COVID-19–related and negative posts among quote posts and replies, which contribute to existing conversations. The topic of mRNA HIV vaccine trials, most evident in self-composed posts, increased repost counts. Positive valence increased like and repost counts. Prominent anti–HIV vaccine conspiracy theories often falsely linked HIV vaccines to concurrent COVID-19 and other HIV-related events.

Conclusions: The results highlight COVID-19 as a significant context for public discourse and reactions regarding HIV vaccines from both positive and negative perspectives. The success of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines shed a positive light on HIV vaccines. However, COVID-19 also situated HIV vaccines in a negative context, as observed in some anti–HIV vaccine conspiracy theories misleadingly connecting HIV vaccines with COVID-19. These findings have implications for public health communication strategies concerning HIV vaccines.

Introduction

Vaccination has long been recognized as a crucial preventive measure against diseases and infections, but opposition to vaccines has endured [ 1 ]. HIV vaccination has been regarded as a potential preventive measure to help combat the HIV epidemic in the United States, with research and progress dating back to the mid-1980s but without success thus far [ 2 ]. An estimated 1.2 million people were living with HIV in the United States by the end of 2021, with 36,136 new HIV diagnoses reported in 2021 [ 3 ].

On January 27, 2022, the biotechnology company Moderna announced the initiation of clinical trials for an HIV vaccine using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology [ 4 ]. In March 2022, the National Institutes of Health announced the start of clinical trials for 3 mRNA HIV vaccines [ 5 ]. The mRNA technology had previously been used in the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, which protected individuals against severe symptoms and fatalities during the pandemic [ 6 ]. Following the successes of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, which led to the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine being awarded to 2 scientists in October 2023 [ 7 ], researchers have been investigating the potential of mRNA vaccines for various other diseases, including HIV [ 8 , 9 ]. The announcements of clinical trials for mRNA HIV vaccines revived public discussion on the prospect of vaccines to combat HIV [ 9 ] despite >3 decades of unsuccessful research [ 2 ]. Meanwhile, these announcements were made against the backdrop of intense vaccine debates during the COVID-19 pandemic, with misinformation and conspiracy theories fueling vaccine hesitancy [ 10 - 12 ].

The X platform, formerly known as Twitter, has been a significant social media platform and a vital source for text-based public discourse. Posts on X have been studied to understand public discourse about vaccines in general [ 13 - 15 ] and about specific vaccines, such as COVID-19 vaccines in recent years [ 12 , 16 , 17 ]. However, there is a dearth of research about public discourse on HIV vaccines on social media. Given the advancement in mRNA technology in COVID-19 vaccines and heated vaccine debates, it has become especially important to gain insights into public discourse and reactions regarding potential new vaccines.

This study is grounded in the growing field of infodemiology and infoveillance, which investigates the “distribution and determinants of information in an electronic medium,” specifically on the web, by analyzing unstructured text with the aim of informing public health practices or serving surveillance objectives [ 18 ]. In recent infodemiology and infoveillance studies, machine learning algorithms have been increasingly used to examine substantial amounts of social media content, such as posts on X related to COVID-19 vaccines [ 12 , 16 , 17 ] and HIV prevention [ 19 ], to extract insights into public discourse and reactions. These algorithms automatically analyze extensive volumes of posts and capture latent textual information such as topics and sentiments. This study aimed to investigate how users used different post types to contribute original content to topics and valence identified through machine learning algorithms and how these topics and valence affected user reactions on X regarding HIV vaccines. In addition, by manually coding the most engaged posts, similar to an approach used in previous infodemiology and infoveillance research [ 20 ], the study intended to identify salient aspects of HIV vaccines related to COVID-19 as well as prominent anti–HIV vaccine conspiracy theories. Analyzing posts on X about HIV vaccines can shed light on public discourse and information diffusion. These findings have implications for shaping public health communication strategies about HIV vaccines [ 18 ]. Furthermore, the findings may help in understanding the acceptability of the HIV vaccine upon its successful development in comparison with adherence to existing HIV prevention measures. Previous infodemiology and infoveillance research effectively increased the forecast accuracy of COVID-19 vaccine uptake by leveraging insights derived from posts on X [ 21 ].

Literature Review

Public discourse about hiv prevention on x.

Social media platforms have become important channels for HIV communication, enabling the dissemination of and engagement with content encompassing a wide array of issues related to HIV prevention, treatment, coping, and available resources [ 22 , 23 ]. An earlier infodemiology study examined 69,197 posts on the X platform containing the hashtag #HIVPrevention between 2014 and 2019 and categorized these posts into 10 identified topics concerning HIV prevention [ 19 ]. Among them, pre-exposure prophylaxis had the highest representation with 13,895 posts, followed by HIV testing; condoms; harm reduction; gender equity and violence against women; voluntary medical male circumcision; sex work; postexposure prophylaxis; elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV; and abstinence, which had the lowest representation with 180 posts. Furthermore, that study suggested a consistency between the volume of posts related to specific HIV prevention measures on X over time and the temporal trends in the uptake of those measures [ 19 ]. It is noteworthy that the topic of HIV vaccines was absent, which suggested minimal public discourse on the topic during these years. This may be associated with the extensive history of unsuccessful research in this area [ 2 ].

Despite the availability of current HIV prevention measures, efforts have been made to develop HIV vaccines, which are considered necessary to bridge the gap between the challenges in adhering to existing HIV prevention measures and the ambitious goal set by United Nations member states to end the HIV epidemic by 2030 [ 24 , 25 ]. The surge in public discussion about HIV vaccines, possibly elicited by the clinical trials for mRNA HIV vaccines [ 9 ], presented an optimal opportunity to investigate public discourse and reactions regarding HIV vaccines. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to analyze posts on X about HIV vaccines.

Public Discourse and Post Types on X

On the X platform, public discourse featuring original content can be observed through 3 post types: self-composed posts, quote posts, and replies [ 26 ]. X users can compose a post. They can also create a quote post, which entails reposting a post while adding their comments. In addition, they can reply to a post to share their comments [ 26 ]. While self-composed posts initiate new conversations, quote posts and replies enable users to join existing conversations by contributing their own comments [ 27 ]. The Pew Research Center’s analysis of survey respondents’ posts on X from October 2022 to April 2023 revealed the composition of different types of posts. Regarding the 3 types of posts containing original content, replies accounted for the highest proportion at 40%, followed by self-composed posts at 15% and quote posts at 9%. The remaining 35% were reposts [ 28 ].

Machine learning algorithms have been increasingly used in recent years to identify latent message features, including textual topics and sentiment valence, among vast numbers of social media posts, as exemplified by previous research analyzing posts on X about COVID-19 vaccines [ 12 , 16 , 17 ] and HIV prevention [ 19 ]. However, the patterns of public discourse in social media conversations are unclear. Specifically, there is a scarcity of research on how people contribute their original content to topics and valence related to a public health issue. This study aimed to address this gap by examining the relationship between post types and message features, specifically topics and valence uncovered using machine learning algorithms, with a focus on HIV vaccines as the subject matter. The findings will advance our knowledge of user contributions to social media conversations about HIV vaccines.

Message Features Influencing User Reactions on X

Examining message diffusion on social media has been a multifaceted challenge, especially with vaccines being a contentious issue debated fervently during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 16 ]. Another contribution of this study is to advance this research area by using machine learning to investigate the synergistic impact of content and account features on user reactions regarding a potential new vaccine amid the context of intense vaccine debates.

The extent to which a message results in optimal diffusion on social media can be gauged by user reactions [ 16 , 29 - 31 ]. On X, a user can engage with posts—be it a self-composed post, quote post, or reply—in 2 primary 1-click reactions: liking and reposting [ 26 ]. An X user can like a post to show appreciation for it or repost it to share it publicly. Compared to liking, reposting is a more social behavior [ 16 , 32 ]. Unlike X’s old timeline, which mostly displayed posts from accounts that a user followed, its current “For you” timeline also shows posts that those accounts have engaged with along with other posts recommended based on user reactions [ 33 ]. The nature of promoting posts based on user reactions makes it more important to investigate the factors that influence user reactions.

This study investigated 2 categories of message-level features that, according to previous research, can drive user interactions: content features in terms of topics and valence and account features in terms of user verification and follower count. Post topics affect likes and reposts on X [ 16 , 30 , 34 ]. Previous research on COVID-19 vaccine posts on X has indicated that posts containing useful information garner more likes and reposts [ 16 ]. This is likely because information utility fills people’s knowledge gaps and serves their utilitarian needs in the face of health risks [ 16 , 32 , 34 - 36 ]. In addition, previous studies have suggested that the novelty of useful information further facilitates sharing of digital health information [ 32 , 36 ], such as updates about COVID-19 vaccine development [ 12 ]. Given the initial success of mRNA technology in COVID-19 vaccines, mRNA HIV vaccine candidates may possess the inherent features of prospective usefulness and ongoing novelty. As a result, posts presenting pertinent information have the potential to generate more likes and reposts. Meanwhile, the announcements of clinical trials for mRNA HIV vaccines were made amidst intense vaccine debates during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 12 ]. Previous research has shown that perceived controversiality in health information increases viewership but not sharing on social media [ 32 ]. In the context of the heated controversy surrounding vaccines, it is crucial to understand user reactions to new potential vaccines.

In addition to post topics, post valence can play a role in user reactions [ 34 ]. Past research has generally revealed that there are more positive than negative posts on X about vaccines in general [ 13 - 15 ] and, more recently, about COVID-19 vaccines in particular [ 12 , 16 , 17 ]. However, the influence of post valence on user reactions remains unclear. One study on COVID-19 vaccines showed that positive posts on X received more likes but not more reposts [ 16 ]. Another study on vaccines regardless of their type revealed that antivaccine posts garnered more reposts than provaccine posts on X [ 13 ]. A psychological rationale supporting the social transmission of positive content is the motivation of individuals to present themselves positively and shape their self-identity [ 35 , 37 ]. In comparison, social transmission of negative content can be attributed to the idea that certain negative content triggers activation, which drives user reactions [ 35 ].

Furthermore, previous research has shown that account features such as verification status and follower count affect user reactions on social media [ 13 , 16 , 34 ]. Given the vast amounts of information available in the digital age, the authenticity of user accounts becomes crucial in the diffusion of health information. One study revealed that account verification enhanced the number of likes and reposts for posts about COVID-19 vaccines on X [ 16 ]. Another study indicated that follower counts increased the number of reposts for posts about vaccines on X regardless of vaccine type [ 13 ].

Conspiracy Theories

A conspiracy theory refers to the belief that a coalition of powerholders forms secret agreements with malevolent intentions [ 38 , 39 ]. It differs from other types of misinformation by hypothesizing a pattern in which people, objects, or events are interconnected in a causal manner [ 39 ]. Previous research has revealed conspiracy theories as a salient theme in antivaccine discourse on social media, along with other themes such as side effects and inefficacy [ 40 , 41 ]. For HIV vaccines, conspiracy theories are crucial in understanding public discourse against them given the limited information about side effects and inefficacy until future success. An additional contribution of this study is the identification of prominent anti–HIV vaccine conspiracy theories through manual coding of the most engaged with negative posts.

Antivaccine conspiracy theories contribute to vaccine hesitancy [ 42 - 44 ], as observed recently with COVID-19 vaccines [ 10 , 11 ]. Understanding the themes and reasoning behind antivaccine conspiracy theories will provide vital implications for deploying evidence-based and logic-driven strategies to counter them [ 45 - 47 ]. A systematic review of antivaccine discourse on social media from 2015 to 2019 revealed pre–COVID-19 conspiracy theories [ 41 ]. These theories claimed that powerholders promoted vaccines for self-serving interests, including hiding vaccine side effects for financial gain and controlling society and the population [ 40 , 41 ]. During the COVID-19 pandemic, antivaccine conspiracy theories thrived on social media. Some theories claimed that the pandemic was invented for pharmaceutical companies’ profit from vaccines [ 44 ], whereas others linked mRNA COVID-19 vaccines to infertility and population control [ 10 , 11 , 44 , 48 , 49 ]. Another conspiracy theory claimed that Bill Gates and the US government aimed to implant trackable microchips into people through mass vaccination [ 11 , 27 , 49 ]. This aligns with conspiracy theories from earlier years. In particular, the Big Pharma conspiracy theory claims that pharmaceutical companies, together with politicians and other powerholders, conspire against the public interest [ 50 ]. The New World Order conspiracy theory alleges that a power elite with a globalization agenda colludes to rule the world [ 51 ]. Conspiracy theories have also linked other vaccines, such as poliovirus vaccines in the past [ 52 , 53 ] and COVID-19 vaccines in recent years, to HIV infection [ 54 , 55 ]. These conspiracy theories were based on the claims that alleged vaccines contained HIV.

Research Questions

To understand public discourse and reactions surrounding HIV vaccines on the X platform, we put forward the following research questions (RQs):

• What are the topics of the posts about HIV vaccines? (RQ 1)
• What is the valence of the posts about HIV vaccines? (RQ 2)
• How do topics and valence vary across different types of posts? (RQ 3)
• How do content features (topics and valence) and account features (verification status and follower count) affect 1-click reactions in terms of likes and reposts, respectively? (RQ 4)
• What are the prominent anti–HIV vaccine conspiracy theories that receive the most reactions? (RQ 5)

Data Source

We collected English-language original posts about HIV vaccines on the X platform from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022, using Netlytic [ 56 ]. The selected time frame began in January 2022 with the initiation of mRNA HIV vaccine clinical trials fueling public discussion and concluded in December 2022, a significant month for HIV and AIDS awareness marked by World AIDS Day on the first day of the month. Posts, excluding reposts, that contained both keywords (case insensitive)—“HIV” and “vaccine”—were extracted, resulting in a total of 36,424 posts across 365 days. Posts were collected weekly. Posts published from the last ending time point to at least 24 hours before each collection time point were included in the data set, allowing for a substantial reaction time.

The unit of analysis was a post. For each post, automated extraction produced data for user reactions (the number of likes and reposts) as well as account features (account verification status and follower count). All 36,424 posts underwent topic modeling using latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) to identify latent topics, as well as sentiment analysis using Valence Aware Dictionary and Sentiment Reasoner (VADER) to access valence. LDA generated topic-specific loadings and identified the dominant topic for each post. VADER generated a valence compound score for each post, which was also categorized as positive, neutral, or negative based on standard VADER classification values.

LDA revealed 3 topics. As the topic of HIV and COVID-19 dominated in a large proportion of posts, we manually coded the 1000 most engaged posts containing the words “HIV” and “COVID” to uncover the salient aspects of HIV vaccines related to COVID-19. To develop coding for subtopics, 2 researchers initially reviewed and coded the top 200 posts with the most reactions. Subtopics were categorized by adapting existing categories from the literature [ 16 , 34 ] and integrating newly identified subtopics from the posts. The Scott π was 0.80 for categorizing subtopics. Subsequently, each researcher independently coded half of the remaining 800 posts.

We then conducted cross-tabulation analyses among all posts to examine the distribution of topics and valence among different types of posts. Furthermore, we conducted linear regression analyses among all posts to assess the influence of content and account features on these 1-click reactions. Of all 36,424 posts, 19,284 (52.94%) received ≥1 like, and 9155 (25.13%) received ≥1 repost. We added a constant value of 1 to all data points for likes and reposts before applying the natural logarithm. This was done to include posts with 0 likes or reposts and to mitigate the skewness of the data distribution.

Of the 28,439 posts that received likes or reposts, 6176 (21.72%) were negative. We manually coded the top 1000 negative posts with the most reactions to uncover prominent anti–HIV vaccine conspiracy theories. To develop coding for conspiracy theories, 2 researchers initially reviewed and coded the top 200 negative posts that received the most reactions. Posts containing conspiracy theories were identified based on expressions of postulated causal connections between people, objects, or events with malevolent intent [ 38 , 39 ]. Conspiracy theories were then classified based on the existing ones from the literature [ 50 , 51 ] and the emerging ones observed in the posts. Coding discrepancies were resolved through a further review of questionable posts and refinement of the conspiracy theories following the approach used in previous social media content analyses [ 40 , 57 ]. The procedure identified conspiracy theories and established intercoder reliability. The Scott π was 0.83 for identifying conspiracy theories and 0.81 for categorizing them. Each researcher then independently coded half of the remaining 800 negative posts.

User Reactions

One-click reactions were measured by the number of likes and reposts, which were automatically extracted. Because a small number of posts garnered significant 1-click reactions, the distribution of likes and reposts was right skewed. To reduce right skewness, we used the natural logarithm of the number of likes and reposts in linear regression analyses, as done in previous research [ 16 , 30 , 34 ].

Post Topics

All posts underwent topic modeling using LDA [ 58 ]. Topic modeling is a commonly used unsupervised learning method that generates a probabilistic model for a corpus of text data [ 59 ]. As a widely used topic model [ 59 ], LDA has been applied to discover topics within rich sources of digital health information, such as electronic health records [ 60 ], reviews on the web [ 61 ], and posts on X [ 16 , 34 ].

LDA relies on 2 matrices to define the underlying topical structure: the word-topic matrix and the document-topic matrix [ 62 ]. In this study, a post was considered a document. The general idea is that a post is represented by a Dirichlet distribution of latent topics, with each latent topic being represented by a Dirichlet distribution of words [ 59 ]. In the word-topic matrix, where the rows represent words and the columns represent topics, each element reveals the conditional probability of a word appearing within a topic [ 62 ]. A topic can be interpreted by examining a list of the most probable words ranked by their frequencies within a given topic using 3 to 30 words [ 63 ]. In the document-topic matrix, where rows represent posts and columns represent topics, each element reveals the conditional probability of a topic underlying a post [ 62 ]. In other words, it reveals the topic-specific loadings for each post.

When interpreting each topic, we reviewed the word-topic matrix as well as sample posts with high topic-specific loadings and significant reactions. LDA generated topic-specific loadings for each post ranging from 0 to 1, with values closer to 1 indicating a higher probability of a topic being associated with a post. Furthermore, LDA determined the dominant topic for each post by selecting the topic with the highest topic-specific loading among all topics. In the cross-tabulation analysis examining the distribution of topics across post types, the dominant topic for each post was entered for analysis. In the linear regression models assessing message-level drivers of user reactions, topic-specific loadings for each post were entered as topic values following previous research [ 16 , 34 ].

Post Valence

We used VADER to analyze the sentiment valence of each post. VADER is a rule-based model specifically attuned for assessing sentiments expressed in social media text [ 64 ]. VADER generated a compound valence score for each post ranging from –1 to 1, with a value of –1 indicating the most negative sentiment and a value of 1 indicating the most positive sentiment [ 65 ]. The standard VADER compound value thresholds for classifying valence categories are as follows: 0.05 to 1 for positive, −0.05 to 0.05 for neutral, and −0.05 to −1 for negative [ 65 ]. In the cross-tabulation analysis examining the distribution of valence among post types, the valence category for each post was entered for analysis. In the linear regression models assessing message-level drivers of user reactions, the VADER compound valence score for each post was used.

This study collected original posts excluding reposts. For each original post, it was automatically extracted whether it was a self-composed post, a quote post with comments, or a reply.

In total, 2 researchers manually coded the top 1000 out of 6176 negative posts with the highest total number of likes and reposts to uncover highly engaged conspiracy theories. They distinguished conspiracy theories from other types of negative information, particularly other types of misinformation, by recognizing the presence of a hypothesized pattern of causal connections between people, objects, or events for malicious intent [ 38 , 39 ]. Conspiracy theories were then categorized based on the existing ones from the literature and the emerging ones observed in the posts.

As an example, consider a post paraphrased as follows:

Image using condoms consistently, only to contract HIV from a COVID vaccine.

It was posted on February 9, 2022, and received 783 likes and 296 reposts. This post was not coded as displaying a conspiracy theory as it only presented misinformation suggesting that COVID-19 vaccines caused HIV. In comparison, another post was paraphrased as follows:

The COVID vaccine contained a spike protein derived from HIV. I was banned from saying this and ridiculed for months. Also, pharmacies stock up HIV self-tests.

It was posted on February 8, 2022, with 147 likes and 48 reposts. This post was coded as displaying a conspiracy theory. It was further classified within the category of conspiracy theories linked to COVID-19 vaccines containing, causing, or increasing HIV. This post suggested a hypothesized pattern of maliciously intended causal connections between the claim that the COVID-19 vaccine contained HIV and the stocking of HIV self-tests in pharmacies. As another example, a post was paraphrased as follows:

Scientists uncover a “highly virulent” strain of HIV in the Netherlands.

It was posted on February 12, 2022, and received 11 likes and 11 reposts. This post conveyed negative information but did not present a conspiracy theory. In comparison, another post was paraphrased as follows:

By coincidence again, the development of a new mRNA HIV vaccine began just before the emergence of the new HIV strain.

It was posted on February 8, 2022, and received 102 likes and 4 reposts. This post was coded as presenting a conspiracy theory and further classified into the category of conspiracy theories linked to the identification of a new highly virulent HIV strain. This post emphasized the speculative timing of the discovery of the new highly virulent HIV strain occurring shortly after the announcement of the development of a new mRNA HIV vaccine.

Account Features

For each post, the posting account’s verification status and follower count were automatically extracted.

Data Analysis

We used cross-tabulation analyses to investigate the distribution of topics and valence across different post types, in which the dominant topic and valence category for each post were entered, respectively, alongside the post type. We used linear regression models to examine the message-level drivers of user reactions among posts that received likes or reposts. In the linear regression models, a constant value of 1 was added to all data points of like and repost counts. The natural log-transformed values for each post were then regressed on 3 topic-specific loadings generated from LDA, the valence compound score generated from VADER, and 2 autoextracted account features—account verification status and follower count. The “plus one” technique was used to include posts that received 0 likes or reposts and to address the skewness of the data distribution.

Ethical Considerations

Following Long Island University’s institutional review board determination process, an institutional review board review was deemed unnecessary for this study, which collected and analyzed publicly available social media data. All referenced posts were paraphrased to avoid association with any particular user on the X platform.

RQ 1 asked about the topics present in all the posts. We trained a topic model using LDA exploring topic numbers ranging from 2 to 20. The optimal number of topics ( k ) was selected considering both the coherence score ( C v ) and the topic model visualization in a Python library called pyLDAvis , as done in previous research [ 16 , 66 ]. C v is a metric that reflects the semantic coherence of topics by evaluating the word co-occurrence likelihood within topics [ 67 ]. A higher C v indicates a better classification achieved by the topic model. In this study, the model with 2 topics ( k =2) yielded the highest C v (0.42), whereas the model with 3 topics ( k =3) yielded the second highest C v (0.35). The pyLDAvis chart depicts each topic as a circle. Overlapping areas between circles suggest similarities in topics. Thus, a chart without overlapping circles is preferable for k . The pyLDAvis chart for this study showed that, when the value of k was 2 or 3, the circles did not overlap. However, when k reached 4, the circles began to overlap, and overlapping circles persisted for values of k ranging from 4 to 20. Between the k values of 2 and 3, we opted for a model comprising 3 topics ( k =3) considering that a smaller number of topics tends to result in overly broad meanings for each topic [ 68 ].

Table 1 summarizes the 3 topics and lists their representative posts. Each topic was interpreted by examining the top 10 probable words ranked by frequency, along with sample posts exhibiting high topic-specific loadings and 1-click reactions. Topic 1 was HIV and COVID-19, covering 78% of the tokens [ 69 ] and dominating in 92.46% (33,678/36,424) of the posts. Topic 2 was mRNA HIV vaccine trials, covering 14% of the tokens and dominating in 5.91% (2151/36,424) of the posts. Topic 3 was HIV vaccine and immunity, covering 8% of the tokens and dominating in 1.63% (595/36,424) of the posts.

Figure 1 illustrates the daily numbers of original posts about HIV vaccines throughout 2022, in total and categorized into 3 topics. Moderna’s announcement of clinical trials for its first mRNA HIV vaccine on January 27, 2022, likely triggered the initial surge, culminating in a daily peak when the number of posts reached 805 on January 29, 2022. The daily number of posts about mRNA HIV vaccine trials (topic 2) in the week following Moderna’s announcement was higher than on other days throughout the year. Nevertheless, even during that week, there were higher daily numbers of posts about HIV and COVID-19 (topic 1), which remained dominant among the 3 topics during the entire year. The year’s second and highest daily peak occurred on February 8, 2022, recording a total of 1603 posts, most of which focused on HIV and COVID-19 (topic 1). This could be attributed to the emergence of new HIV-related events in early February 2022, including the promotion of HIV tests by public figures [ 64 ] and the discovery of a new highly virulent HIV strain [ 65 ]. The third highest daily peak, comprising 1085 posts, occurred on May 18, 2022, which has marked HIV Vaccine Awareness Day since 1998. Most of the posts centered on HIV and COVID-19 (topic 1). The remainder of the year did not reach such high peaks, with the largest daily volume of 205 posts occurring on December 2, 2022, the day following World AIDS Day, observed since 1988. Similar to previous daily peaks, most of the posts revolved around HIV and COVID-19 (topic 1).

The results revealed the dominance of HIV and COVID-19 (topic 1) in 92.46% (33,678/36,424) of the posts, with HIV as the most frequent word and COVID as the fourth most frequent word. To gain a deeper understanding of salient aspects of HIV vaccines related to COVID-19, we manually coded the top 1000 posts with the highest total number of likes and reposts that contained both HIV and COVID . Table 2 summarizes the subtopics and their representative posts with like and repost counts.

The first major subtopic, comprising 24% (240/1000) of the posts, focused on the reciprocal influence of HIV vaccines and COVID-19 vaccines on each other’s development. Years of HIV vaccine research facilitated the rapid development of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, and the success of COVID-19 vaccines might accelerate the development of mRNA HIV vaccines. The second major subtopic, comprising 17.6% (176/1000) of the posts, involved comparisons between HIV and COVID-19 in various aspects. Specifically, the development speed of HIV vaccines compared to COVID-19 vaccines was a major point of comparison. In addition, some posts questioned whether potential HIV vaccines could be comparable to COVID-19 vaccines in terms of cost and accessibility during rollout. Others raised concerns about efficacy, safety, and inequality for both vaccines. The third major subtopic, comprising 26.5% (265/1000) of the posts, connected COVID-19 vaccines with HIV. One issue discussed was whether COVID-19 vaccines contained, caused, or increased HIV. Another issue raised was distinguishing between HIV symptoms and COVID-19 vaccine side effects, such as a fabricated condition called VAIDS , short for vaccine-acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. The fourth major subtopic, comprising 13.6% (136/1000) of the posts, featured conspiracy theories that presented hypothesized patterns linking COVID-19, HIV, and their vaccines with malicious intent. Prominent conspiracy theories in this subtopic included connecting misinformation that COVID-19 vaccines contain, cause, or increase HIV with the ongoing development of HIV vaccines; associating HIV and AIDS symptoms with side effects of COVID-19 vaccines; and claiming that COVID-19 originated from unsuccessful HIV vaccine research. As this study also manually coded the 1000 most engaged negative posts to identify prominent conspiracy theories, additional results pertaining to conspiracy theories will be discussed further in another subsection. The remaining posts related to HIV and COVID-19 included those that generally mentioned research on them or made connections without specifying details.

a mRNA: messenger RNA.

a The reaction count is the total number of likes and reposts.

b PrEP: pre-exposure prophylaxis.

c VAIDS: vaccine-acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

d The categories labeled as “other” contain various topics. Thus, no representative post is displayed.

RQ 2 asked about the sentiment valence present in all the posts. According to the standard VADER classification values, valence is categorized by compound scores as follows: positive (0.05 to 1), neutral (−0.05 to 0.05), and negative (−0.05 to −1) [ 65 ]. On average, all posts had a marginally positive score of 0.053. HIV and COVID-19 (topic 1) had a slightly positive average score of 0.055. The mRNA HIV vaccine trials (topic 2) had a neutral average score of 0.040, leaning toward the positive side. HIV vaccine and immunity (topic 3) had a more neutral average score of −0.0008. Moreover, 42.78% (15,584/36,424) of the posts were positive, 25.64% (9338/36,424) of the posts were neutral, and 31.58% (11,502/36,424) of the posts were negative.

Topics and Valence Across Post Types

Of the 36,424 posts, 18,580 (51.01%) were replies, making up over half of the overall count. Self-composed posts totaled 41.6% (15,151/36,424), whereas the remaining 7.39% (2693/36,424) were quote posts. RQ 3 asked about the distribution of topics and valence among the 3 post types. As Table 3 shows, the distribution of topics varied by post type (N=36,424, χ 2 4 =2511.4, P <.001). Of the self-composed posts, 85.36% (12,933/15,151) focused on HIV and COVID-19 (topic 1) and 13.21% (2001/15,151) focused on mRNA HIV vaccine trials (topic 2). In comparison, quote posts and replies exhibited a different pattern, in each case >97% of posts centering on HIV and COVID-19 (topic 1; 2616/2693, 97.14% and 18,129/18,580, 97.57%, respectively).

As Table 4 shows, the distribution of valence also varied by post type (N=36,424, χ 2 4 =911.7, P <.001). The proportion of positive posts was slightly higher among self-composed posts at 44.95% (6810/15,151) compared to replies at 41.09% (7634/18,580) and quote posts at 42.33% (1140/2693). Self-composed posts had a smaller proportion of negative posts at 23.56% (3570/15,151) compared to replies at 37.64% (6994/18,580) and quote posts at 34.83% (938/2693). The proportion of neutral posts was larger for self-composed posts at 31.49% (4771/15,151) compared to quote posts at 22.84% (615/2693) and replies at 21.27% (3952/18,580).

Regarding the distribution of topics and valence among the 3 types of posts, quote posts and replies displayed similarities, whereas self-composed posts diverged. Compared to self-composed posts, which initiate new conversations, there was a higher proportion of HIV and COVID-19-related posts (topic 1) and a greater proportion of negative posts among quote posts and replies, which contribute to existing conversations.

a N=36,424, χ 2 4 =2511.4, P <.001.

b mRNA: messenger RNA.

a N=36,424, X 2 4 =911.7, P <.001.

Content and Account Features Influencing User Reactions

RQ 4 asked about the influence of content and account features on likes and reposts.

Liking is more common than reposting. While 52.94% (19,284/36,424) of posts received an average of 24.83 likes, ranging from 1 to 102,843, a total of 25.13% (9155/36,424) posts received an average of 11.38 reposts, ranging from 1 to 10,572. Table 5 reveals the influence of content features (topics and valence) and account features (verification status and follower count) on the natural log-transformed number of likes and reposts. Both linear regression models were significant at P <.001. The adjusted  R 2 was 0.072 for the like model and 0.090 for the repost model.

Among the 3 topics identified using LDA, HIV and COVID-19 (topic 1) did not affect like counts but decreased repost counts. In comparison, mRNA HIV vaccine trials (topic 2) decreased like counts while increasing repost counts. Positive valence increased like and repost counts. Account verification status and follower count increased like and repost counts.

a The natural logarithm, ln (Y i +1), was calculated on like and repost counts. This transformation was conducted to include posts receiving 0 likes and reposts, as well as to account for the skewness of the data distribution.

b F (model significance): P <.001; adjusted R 2 =0.072.

c F (model significance): P <.001; adjusted R 2 =0.090.

d mRNA: messenger RNA.

e The models excluded topic 3 on HIV vaccine and immunity to address multicollinearity issues arising from its correlations with topics 1 and 2. The reported standard β for topic 3 represents a possible β value if it had been included in the models.

Posts With Most Reactions

Table 6 summarizes posts ranked within the top 5 for the number of likes and reposts presented in chronological order. It is worth noting that all posts in the top 5 for likes and reposts were self-composed. One particular post, which garnered the most likes (n=102,843) and reposts (n=10,572), expressed the incredible feeling of witnessing the development of an HIV vaccine within our lifetimes. It was posted by an unverified account on January 28, 2022, the day after Moderna’s announcement of clinical trials for its first mRNA HIV vaccine.

a Ranks beyond the fifth were not indicated.

Anti–HIV Vaccine Conspiracy Theories

RQ 5 asked about prominent anti–HIV vaccine conspiracy theories. Of the 1000 negative posts that received the most reactions, 227 (22.7%) contained conspiracy theories. As Table 7 shows, we classified these prominent anti–HIV vaccine conspiracy theories into 4 categories and presented their representative posts and the number of reactions.

The first category, comprising 44.9% (102/227) of the posts, formulated conspiracy theories by connecting COVID-19, COVID-19 vaccines, HIV, and HIV vaccines. For instance, 52.9% (54/102) of these posts connected the misinformation regarding COVID-19 vaccines containing, causing, or increasing HIV with the ongoing efforts to develop HIV vaccines. This misinformation may have arisen from past occurrences resurfacing following Moderna’s initiation of its mRNA HIV vaccine trials. One incident occurred at the end of 2020, when an Australian COVID-19 vaccine, which used a small fragment of protein from HIV to clamp SARS-CoV-2’s spike proteins, was abandoned due to false HIV-positive results [ 70 ]. Another incident occurred in October 2020, when 4 researchers sent a letter to a medical journal expressing concerns about the potential increased risk of HIV acquisition among men receiving COVID-19 vaccines using adenovirus type-5 vectors without supporting data from COVID-19 vaccines [ 71 ]. The misinformation typically interpreted the incidents out of context and generally suggested that COVID-19 vaccines contained, caused, or increased HIV without specifying details. In addition, there were conspiracy theories linking HIV and AIDS to COVID-19 vaccine side effects, including a fabricated condition known as VAIDS. VAIDS falsely suggests that COVID-19 vaccines caused immune deficiency [ 72 ]. Furthermore, there were claims that COVID-19 originated from unsuccessful HIV vaccine research.

The second category, comprising 38.3% (87/227) of the posts, suggested that the alignment of concurrent events with Moderna’s start of mRNA HIV vaccine trials in late January 2022 was intentional to manipulate the market for HIV vaccines. These events included the rising HIV discussion and fear; promotion of HIV tests by public figures [ 73 ]; the discovery of a new highly virulent HIV strain [ 74 ]; and the passing away of HIV researchers, including Luc Montagnier, codiscoverer of HIV with an antivaccine stance during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 75 ], all occurring in early February 2022.

The third category, with 11.5% (26/227) of the posts, revealed conspiracy theories based on the distrust of powerholders [ 76 ]. Some posts extended existing conspiracy theories, such as the Big Pharma conspiracy theory [ 50 ] and the New World Order conspiracy theory [ 51 ], into the context of HIV vaccines, emphasizing the intent of powerholders, including major pharmaceutical companies and governments, behind vaccine promotion for financial profits and society control. Other posts created conspiracy theories about the government’s research on HIV vaccines. The remaining posts generally stated that HIV vaccines were a scam. The final category comprised the remaining 5.3% (12/227) of the posts with other conspiracy theories.

It is worth noting that, of the 227 posts containing conspiracy theories, 39 (17.2%) were posted by accounts that had already been suspended at the time of manual coding. For these posts, the X platform displays the following message—“This post is from a suspended account”—and the content of the post is not visible. The X platform suspends accounts that violate its rules [ 77 ]. However, specific details of the violations are not accessible on the platform. The invisibility of these posts halted their spread when the suspension was enacted. For our manual coding of these posts, we used the text obtained during the data collection process.

b The posts were from suspended accounts.

d The categories labeled as “other” contain various conspiracy theories. Thus, no representative post is displayed.

Principal Findings

This study investigated the patterns of public discourse and the message-level drivers of user reactions on the X platform regarding HIV vaccines through the analysis of posts using machine learning algorithms. We examined the distribution of topics and valence across different post types and assessed the influence of content features (topics and valence) and account features (account verification status and follower count) on like and repost counts. In addition, we manually coded the 1000 most engaged posts about HIV and COVID-19 to understand the salient aspects of HIV vaccines related to COVID-19 and the 1000 most engaged negative posts to identify prominent anti–HIV vaccine conspiracy theories.

The results revealed that COVID-19 plays a substantial role as a context for public discourse and reactions regarding HIV vaccines. Of the 3 topics identified using LDA, the leading topic was HIV and COVID-19, covering 78% of tokens and dominating in 92.46% (33,678/36,424) of the posts. Furthermore, on each of the top 4 days with the highest post counts, most of the posts were about HIV and COVID-19. This comprehensive topic included important subtopics that linked HIV vaccines with COVID-19 vaccines, as demonstrated through the manual coding of the 1000 most engaged posts about HIV and COVID-19. These subtopics encompassed the reciprocal influence of HIV vaccines and COVID-19 vaccines in advancing each other’s development; comparisons in their development speed; inquiries about the possible alignment of HIV vaccines with COVID-19 vaccines in terms of cost and accessibility during distribution; and concerns about efficacy, safety, and equality for both vaccines.

COVID-19 positioned HIV vaccines in both a positive and negative context. On the one hand, the success of mRNA technology in COVID-19 vaccines [ 6 ] potentially cast mRNA HIV vaccines in a positive light. The topic of HIV and COVID-19 had a marginally positive valence score of 0.055. Moreover, 3 (60%) out of the 5 most liked posts and 2 (40%) out of the 5 most reposted posts expressed excitement about advancements in HIV vaccines that were based on the experience with COVID-19 vaccines. On the other hand, antivaccine discourse, including conspiracy theories, heated up during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 10 , 11 , 27 , 44 , 48 , 49 ], which posed challenges to HIV vaccines. Of the 1000 most engaged posts about HIV and COVID-19, a total of 136 (13.6%) featured conspiracy theories. Of the 1000 most engaged negative posts, 227 (22.7%) contained conspiracy theories, with 102 (44.9%) of them revolving around HIV and COVID-19. For instance, a prominent conspiracy theory connected the misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines containing, causing, or increasing HIV infection [ 55 ] with the initiation of clinical trials for mRNA HIV vaccines [ 4 , 5 ], implying a malevolent intent behind the deliberate connection. The results indicate that conspiracy theories tend to elicit an approach-oriented response, as evidenced by people engaging in liking and reposting, as opposed to an avoidance-oriented approach [ 39 ]. This underscores the need to intensify efforts to counter conspiracy theories in public health communication about HIV vaccines.

According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, irrespective of the subject matter, replies constituted the largest portion of original posts on X, followed by self-composed and quote posts [ 28 ]. Specifically, the number of replies was 3 times greater than that of self-composed posts. In this study, although replies constituted slightly more than half (18,580/36,424, 51.01%) of the posts, it is worth noting that the subject of HIV vaccines elicited a higher proportion of self-composed posts at 41.6% (15,151/36,424). Specifically, the number of replies was 23% higher than that of self-composed posts. Moreover, the topic of mRNA vaccine trials was most evident in self-composed posts compared to replies and quote posts. In comparison, there was a higher proportion of focus on the topic of HIV and COVID-19 and a greater proportion of negative posts among quote posts and replies, which contribute to existing conversations. This suggests that users were more likely to initiate new conversations rather than joining existing conversations about mRNA HIV vaccines. In contrast, they were more likely to join existing conversations rather than starting new conversations about HIV and COVID-19. In addition, users were less likely to initiate new conversations negatively but more likely to contribute negatively to existing ones.

As the primary topic, HIV and COVID-19 had no impact on like counts but had a negative impact on repost counts. In comparison, the topic of mRNA HIV vaccine trials had a negative impact on like counts and a positive impact on repost counts. The results should be interpreted while considering that, as revealed in previous research [ 16 , 34 ] and this study, most posts on the X platform are unlikely to receive likes and even less likely to receive reposts. In this study, among the total of 36,424 posts, approximately half (n=19,284, 52.94%) received likes, and approximately one-quarter (n=9155, 25.13%) received reposts. To include all posts and mitigate the data distribution skewness in the linear regression analysis, we applied the “plus one” technique. This involved adding a constant value of 1 to all like and repost data points before taking the natural logarithm. Although most posts were not liked or reposted, it is noteworthy that the topic of mRNA HIV vaccines led to an increase in repost counts, highlighting its positive influence on social sharing. In addition, 2 (40%) out of the 5 most reposted posts were about mRNA HIV vaccine trials. These results correspond to the findings of previous research that suggested the diffusion of novel useful information [ 12 , 16 , 32 , 36 ].

The overall valence of the posts about HIV vaccines was marginally positive. The positivity aligns with the positive sentiment found in posts on X about vaccines in general [ 13 - 15 ] and COVID-19 vaccines in particular [ 12 , 16 , 17 ]. However, the positivity about HIV vaccines was not apparent as the average score of 0.053 placed it on the edge of the neutral range, which goes from −0.05 to 0.05 according to the standard VADER classification values. Positive sentiment had a favorable impact on like and repost counts, partially consistent with findings of previous research on COVID-19 vaccines [ 16 ]. The post that achieved the most likes conveyed the incredible feeling of witnessing the development of an HIV vaccine in our lifetimes. This could be attributed to the psychological rationale that social transmission of positive content fulfills people’s motivation to present a positive image [ 35 , 37 ]. In alignment with the findings of previous research [ 13 , 16 , 34 ], account verification status and follower count increased like and repost counts.

This study has implications for public health communication related to HIV vaccines and potentially other vaccines. Given the massive scale of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, it is understandable that people will draw comparisons with other vaccines. Topic modeling identified HIV and COVID-19 as the primary topic, and manual coding revealed various intertwined aspects. Leveraging the advantages observed in the COVID-19 vaccine campaign, such as its widespread accessibility, could be valuable. Furthermore, addressing common concerns such as efficacy, safety, and inequality could also prove beneficial.

In the case of HIV vaccines, it is essential to tackle concerns associated with COVID-19 vaccines, especially those related to HIV vaccines. A major subtopic of HIV and COVID-19 involved suspicions about COVID-19 vaccines containing, causing, or increasing HIV. Another major subtopic was the confusion between HIV symptoms and the alleged side effects of COVID-19 vaccines, such as VAIDS. Misinformation concerning both subtopics has been woven into conspiracy theories, further complicating this situation. To combat misinformation and conspiracies that have these elements, efforts could focus on promoting evidence-based factual information [ 45 - 47 ].

Another notable technique in the conspiracy theories was linking concurrent COVID-19 and other HIV-related events in unsubstantiated relationships to create false perceptions, suggesting that these events were intentional to manipulate the market for HIV vaccines. These HIV-related events included rising HIV discussion and fear, promotion of HIV tests by public figures [ 73 ], the discovery of a new highly virulent HIV strain [ 74 ], and the passing away of HIV researchers, all occurring in early February 2022. These findings suggest that refuting false connections among such concurrent events can be an effective strategy to counter these conspiracy theories [ 45 - 47 ]. These occurrences, frequently entwined within conspiracy theories, could be specifically addressed in public health communication efforts.

Limitations

This study has several limitations. Because we used autoidentified content features (topics and valence) and autoextracted account features (verification status and follower count) in the regression models to predict the autoextracted number of user reactions (likes and reposts), the results were mostly limited to the examined autoidentified and autoextracted factors. For instance, political polarization, which manifested in a wide range of issues, including response to vaccines [ 78 ], could be a factor worth investigating in future studies. Furthermore, manual coding of conspiracy theories revealed a prevalent technique of twisting concurrent events into false relationships. This underscores the significance of refuting unfounded associations among these incidents to counter such conspiracy theories. It will be interesting for future research to assess the impact of this technique on user reactions to conspiracy theories. These findings could provide further insights into public health communication strategies to combat conspiracy theories.

Conclusions

The results highlight COVID-19 as a significant backdrop for public discourse and reactions on the X platform regarding HIV vaccines. COVID-19 situated HIV vaccines in both a positive and negative context. The success of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines shed a positive light on HIV vaccines. However, COVID-19 also situated HIV vaccines in a negative context, as evident in anti–HIV vaccine conspiracy theories falsely linking HIV vaccines to COVID-19. The findings provide implications for public health communication strategies concerning HIV vaccines.

Acknowledgments

This study was supported in part by the College of Arts and Sciences and the Harrington School of Communication and Media at the University of Rhode Island. The authors express their appreciation for the support. The funders had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing of the report.

Data Availability

The data sets collected and analyzed during this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

Conflicts of Interest

None declared.

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Abbreviations

Edited by G Eysenbach; submitted 04.10.23; peer-reviewed by X Ma, J Zhang; comments to author 18.10.23; revised version received 08.11.23; accepted 28.02.24; published 03.04.24.

©Jueman M Zhang, Yi Wang, Magali Mouton, Jixuan Zhang, Molu Shi. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 03.04.2024.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://www.jmir.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.

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Regions & Countries

The Hardships and Dreams of Asian Americans Living in Poverty

Illustrations by Jing Li

Asian Americans are often portrayed as economically and educationally successful.

In reality, about one-in-ten Asian Americans live in poverty. Asian Americans also have the most income inequality of any major racial or ethnic group in the United States.

Without closely examining the diversity of Asian American experiences, it’s easy to miss the distinct stories of Asian Americans living with economic hardship.

To understand more about this population, Pew Research Center conducted 18 focus groups in 12 languages to explore the stories and experiences of Asian Americans living in poverty.

Table of Contents

Of the 24 million Asians living in the United States, about 2.3 million live in poverty . Many are working to overcome the economic hardships they encounter and achieve their American dream. But they face challenges along the way, from Asian immigrants grappling with language barriers to U.S.-born Asians navigating pathways to success.

In February 2023, Pew Research Center conducted 18 focus groups with adult participants from 11 Asian origin groups in different regions across the U.S. These are among the most likely Asian origin groups to experience economic hardship in the U.S. Focus groups included those whose approximate family income is at or below 140%-250% of the 2022 federal poverty line, depending on their location. Accompanying these focus group findings are results from a Pew Research Center survey about the hardships and dreams of Asians living in poverty, conducted from July 2022 to January 2023.

Some common themes that focus group participants shared include day-to-day financial difficulties, assumptions by others that they do not need help because they are Asian, and the importance of financial security in achieving the American dream.

Related:   1 in 10: Redefining the Asian American Dream (Short Film)

Focus groups also reveal that Asian Americans’ experiences with economic hardship differ by whether they were born in the U.S. or outside the country. Some immigrants not only experience difficulties making ends meet, but also face challenges that come with living in a new, unfamiliar country. These include learning English, navigating daily life in a new place and finding a stable job.

Even though U.S.-born Asians grew up in this country and speak English, they talk about the challenges of understanding what it takes to succeed in America. This includes getting the “right” education, getting access to the “right” knowledge and knowing the “right” people to succeed.

The findings in this data essay reveal what participants shared about their experiences with economic hardship, overcoming challenges, and their views of the American dream and social mobility in America.

The terms Asians and Asian Americans are used interchangeably throughout this data essay to refer to those who self-identify as Asian, either alone or in combination with other races or Hispanic identity.

The terms living in poverty, living near or below the federal poverty line and living with economic hardship are used interchangeably throughout this essay to refer to adults whose family income is close to or below the 2022 federal poverty line.

• For results on Asian adults from the focus groups, this refers to adults whose approximate family income is at or below 140%-250% of the federal poverty line. Thresholds varied by focus group recruitment locations to account for differences in the cost of living.
• For results on Asian adults from the survey , this refers to adults whose approximate family income falls at or below 100% of the federal poverty line.
• For data on the total U.S. Asian population from the U.S. Census Bureau , this refers to all Asian Americans whose family income is at or below 100% of the federal poverty line.

The terms federal poverty line and poverty line are used interchangeably to refer to the federal poverty guidelines published yearly by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The term U.S. born refers to people born in 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico or other U.S. territories.

The term immigrant refers to people who were born outside the 50 U.S. states or the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico or other U.S. territories.

Asian Americans and financial struggles

Financial difficulties are part of many Asian Americans’ day-to-day lives, according to the 2022-23 survey. Asian adults were asked if they had experienced any of the following financial challenges in the past 12 months: gotten food from a food bank or a charitable organization, lost their health insurance, had problems paying for their rent or mortgage, had trouble paying for medical care for themselves or their family, had trouble paying their bills, or been unable to save money for emergencies.

“It got really bad to the point where a simple bowl of rice, we weren’t even able to afford that. So there were times where a bowl of rice would be a meal for all three meals, or we just simply did not eat.” NOLAN , FILM PARTICIPANT

The most common financial difficulty experienced is being unable to save for emergencies. More than half of Asian adults living in poverty (57%) said this had happened to them. By comparison, fewer Asian adults living above the poverty line (40%) said this.

Note: “Asian adults living in poverty” refers to survey respondents whose approximate family income is at or below 100% of the federal poverty line. Share of respondents who didn’t offer an answer or answered “no” not shown.

Source: Survey of Asian American adults conducted July 5, 2022-Jan. 27, 2023. “The Hardships and Dreams of Asian Americans Living in Poverty”

Some focus group participants shared how challenging it was for them to save because of their earnings and their family needs. Participants also talked about the urgency they feel to save for their children and retirement:

“I feel a bit helpless [about my financial situation]. … I don’t want to be in debt. I have to save money to raise my kids, but I don’t have money to save.”

–Immigrant man of Korean origin in early 30s (translated from Korean)

“[I save money] to go to Pakistan. Because I have four children … I needed five or six tickets, in case my husband traveled with us, and it required a lot of money. We used to save for one whole year, and when we were back from Pakistan, we were usually empty-handed. Then the cycle started again.”

–Immigrant woman of Pakistani origin in late 40s (translated from Urdu)

“You’re not going to work forever. No one is going to work forever. You want to have savings … for your rent [or] in case of medical bills [if] something happens. [You] might as well [save for] some trips down the while when you [can] travel still. But you’re not going to be working at 80 years old, are you?”

–U.S.-born man of Chinese origin in early 40s

“We were all four of us in one apartment, four siblings, plus the parents, so that’s six people in a house, which was very, very cramped.” SABA , FILM PARTICIPANT

Other common difficulties for Asian Americans living near or below the poverty line include having trouble paying their bills (42%), needing to get food from a food bank or a charitable organization (38%) and having problems paying their rent or mortgage (33%), the survey found. Smaller shares of Asian adults living above the poverty line say they experienced difficulties paying their bills (17%), got food from a food bank or a charity (6%) or had trouble paying their rent or mortgage (11%).

These findings were echoed in our focus groups, where participants recalled the stress and tension their families felt when things like this happened to them:

“My dad lost his car a couple of times. There was this one time where I remember it was nighttime. All of a sudden, a cop comes over to our home [with another person]. … And my dad was forced to give up his car to this stranger … because, I don’t know, he wasn’t paying off the car or something. And it was very humiliating, and my brothers wanted to get physical with that person because he was acting very arrogantly. My dad was able to eventually pay back the car and somehow get it back. But there were many times when we might not have had a roof over our heads.”

–U.S.-born man of Pakistani origin in late 20s

Asian immigrants face challenges navigating life and employment in the U.S.

Immigrant and U.S.-born Asians experience economic hardship in different ways. Asian immigrants in the focus groups discussed how a lack of English proficiency, navigating transportation and getting a good job all shape their experiences with economic hardship.

“I felt sad about life, didn’t know the language, didn’t know the roads. I had no friends, so I felt very sad.” PHONG , FILM PARTICIPANT (TRANSLATED FROM VIETNAMESE)

For example, not knowing English when they first arrived in the country created extra challenges when using local transportation systems and meeting basic daily life needs such as shopping for groceries:

“When we were very young, the most difficult thing we faced [after coming to the U.S.] was not being able to speak the language. Unless you lived in those times, you wouldn’t know. We didn’t know how to buy food. … We didn’t know the language and there was no interpreter available. … I didn’t know how to take the bus, I didn’t know where to go, or to which place they were taking me to school. When we were asked to go to the classroom, we didn’t know where to go. … There was no other way, because there was no communication.”

–Immigrant woman of Hmong origin in late 50s (translated from Hmong)

Language barriers also brought extra hurdles for Asian immigrants in the job market. Some focus group participants said it was hard to explain their skills to potential employers in English effectively, even if they had the relevant education or skills for the job and had learned English before they immigrated:

“After coming [to the U.S.], there were many problems to face, first … the language problem. We have read English … but we are not used to speaking. … We also had education … but since we can’t explain ourselves in English – what we can do, what we know … we are getting rejected [from jobs] as we cannot speak. … Another problem was that I had a child. My child was small. I could not go to work leaving him. At that time, my husband was working. He also had the same thing – he had education, but he could not get a good job because of the language. [As another participant] said, we had to work below the minimum wage.”

–Immigrant woman of Bangladeshi origin in late 30s (translated from Bengali)

Not wanting to be a burden influenced life choices of many U.S.-born participants

For many U.S.-born focus group participants, concerns about being a burden to their families shaped their childhoods and many of their life decisions:

“It’s difficult to talk to [my parents] because you grew up here and it’s just totally different from them growing up in Vietnam. … It’s the same like what [another participant] was saying, when you take off the burden to your parents, right? So I dropped out of college, just because I didn’t want them paying anymore. I just didn’t think that I was going to do or be anything in college, right? So I would rather work. So I started taking responsibility of my own and you start working really hard and you getting out of the house and helping them pay for bills.”

–U.S.-born man of Vietnamese origin in mid-40s

“My family’s struggling. Is education more important, [or] is working more important? I really felt that growing up because a lot of my friends, education – going to college and going to a techno school – wasn’t really on their radar, it wasn’t really something on their plan. I think talking to a lot of the folks and a lot of my friends during their time, they felt like they had to grow up to provide for their family or for you to find some type of income to kind of help their family. And so that really drove the direction of at least one of my friends, or a lot of my friends.”

–U.S.-born man of Hmong origin in mid-30s

Some U.S.-born focus group participants said that when reflecting on their childhoods, they could see the financial burden they had on their families in a way they did not realize as a child:

“At a certain point you become very aware of how much of a financial burden you are. You don’t ask for anything you want. Like, you don’t ask for prom. You don’t ask to join clubs. You don’t ask to go on field trips, things like that. You just know that it’s going to cause so much drain on your parents.”

–U.S.-born woman of Vietnamese origin in mid-20s

“[My parents] had like a lot of responsibilities, like … giving money back to their father, and then their sisters and brothers, helping them out back [in Pakistan]. … [My father] had to support us and then send money back constantly there. I didn’t know that until now, basically. … We would hardly see him. Maybe like on Sunday, we would see him a couple of hours. But it was on the weekdays, we would hardly see our father. He was always working.”

–U.S.-born woman of Pakistani origin in early 30s

Overcoming economic challenges

The survey found that when Asian adults living in poverty have needed help with bills, housing, food or seeking a job, about six-in-ten (61%) say they’ve turned to family or friends.

Some focus group participants mentioned that families and friends in their ethnic community were a great source of financial help. For others, the limited size of their ethnic community in the U.S. posed obstacles in obtaining assistance.

“My dad arrived in the U.S. when he was 26 years old, and I’m now 29 years old. … I have seven siblings and my parents who support me. And my parents didn’t have that, they didn’t have their parents to support them.” TANG , FILM PARTICIPANT

“It was very difficult during [my] study [at university]. … I had a scholarship, most of the part was scholarship; however, I had to pay something between $10,000 and $15,000 per semester. And I had to eat, I had to pay rent, I had to do everything. At the same time, there are many other things too, aren’t there? And there was always a stress about money. This semester is over now, how do I pay for the next? I had no clarity about what to do and not to do. In that situation, I approached those friends studying there or who came there a little earlier and were working to borrow money. … I [was] offered help by some friends and in finding a job and being helped for my needs.”

–Immigrant man of Nepalese origin in early 40s (translated from Nepali)

“We didn’t have a large Burmese community to ask for such help. It was not yet present. As we had no such community, when we had just arrived, we told close friends, got directions and went to ask for help.”

–Immigrant woman of Burmese origin in late 40s (translated from Burmese)

However, not all Asians living with economic hardship have asked for or received help. In the focus groups, participants shared why they or their families sometimes did not do so or felt hesitant. Fear of gossip and shame were mentioned multiple times:

“[I experienced financial difficulties after I first arrived in the U.S.] because I came here as a student. … It’s because I had to pay monthly rent and I paid for living expenses. I felt a little pressured when the monthly payment date approached. I had no choice but to ask my parents in Korea for money even as an adult, so I felt a sense of shame.”

–Immigrant woman of Korean origin in early 40s (translated from Korean)

“My cousin will [help me financially] without judgment. But, like, my aunt and elders – if it gets back to them [that I asked for help], it’s going to for sure come with judgment. And if I could figure it out myself, I will take the way without judgment.”

“To add on to what [another participant] said, if you go to the community [for help] or whatever, you know, by tomorrow everybody’s going to know it’s your problem.”

–U.S.-born woman of Pakistani origin in early 40s

Immigrants who came to the U.S. because of conflict are more familiar with government aid programs

Asian immigrants come to this country for a variety of reasons. In the focus groups, immigrant participants who came to the U.S. due to conflict or war in their origin countries referenced government assistance programs more often than those who came for other reasons.

This reflects a broader pattern among Asian immigrants overall: Those who came because of conflict or persecution have turned to federal, state or local governments for help with living expenses or employment more often than immigrants who came for economic or educational opportunities, according to the survey.

Focus group participants reflected on differences in the amount of government help available. Sometimes, they expressed a sense of unequal treatment:

“Vietnamese have this program where people got sponsored because of the war. So for other Asians, they feel that we are more privileged. Because from what I know, the Koreans and the Japanese, they must have money in order to come to America. As for us, we can come here through the refugee program, we can come here through the political program. They feel that we got more preferential treatment than other Asians in that regard.”

–Immigrant man of Vietnamese origin in early 40s (translated from Vietnamese)

“During the pandemic, I had to go through housing assistance and everything [to pay my rent]. Something like that with EBT [Electronic Benefits Transfer], how they send you stimulus checks. Korea doesn’t have any of that stuff.”

–U.S.-born woman of Korean origin in late 40s

“I think my community is relatively traditional. Because 20 years ago, we went straight to Chinatown fresh off the plane [after immigrating]. I still remember being in [the local] hospital, lots of social workers were there to help out, including with a medical insurance card, and applying for service, most importantly medical insurance. We all went to [the same] street. We relied on other Chinese people.”

–Immigrant man of Chinese origin in late 30s (translated from Mandarin)

Family ties contribute to increased awareness of government programs. For example, when asked how they learned about using government programs for help, some U.S.-born participants said:

“[I learned about the government programs from] my parents. I had to translate for them.”

–U.S.-born woman of Cambodian origin in mid-30s

“I was working at [a smoothie shop], and I was 17 and a half. … My college loan was like $50,000 [and I was] making $12.50 [an hour], how the hell am I supposed to be paying that month to month? Because my month-to-month was damn near $300, $500. My $12.50 an hour does not even cover for it, any of it, whatsoever. And, you know, me [having] been kicked out of home … I was living with my aunt. … I don’t want to burden her. So I had to go and ask her. She told me, ‘Hey, you should go and apply for food stamps.’”

–U.S.-born woman of Laotian origin in mid-30s

U.S.-born and immigrant focus group participants hold different views on education’s role in achieving a better future

“My friend, he started out at internship … I was too naive. I was laughing at the time, like, ‘Man you spend your time? You took buses there every day? No pay?’ … I just didn’t know the big picture behind [it]. I wish I could plan for [it] just like how they did.” PHUOC , FILM PARTICIPANT

Reflecting on what could lead to success and achieving the American dream, focus group participants who were born in or grew up in the U.S. emphasized the value of getting connected to the “right” opportunities:

“[You don’t have] to go to school to be successful. I mean, they say there are people who are book smart and just people who are street smart, you know. [As long as you] grow up and you know the right people … networking on the right people to get into things. Or, you know, the right people to do the right things to get to where you want to be in life.”

–U.S.-born man of Hmong origin in late 20s

Other participants said it would have helped if their families had a deeper understanding of how the education system prepares them for good careers:

“I feel if my parents were educated and they could have guided me in the right direction [for college] – although, they tried their best. I’m not blaming them. But, you know, if I had someone of a more academic background who knew the system … I will try my best to help my daughter out in college or help her choose what her major is going to be. [My parents couldn’t provide] that kind of help that really helped me in choosing my major. … And so I think just the background that we come from was not the best – or not having the full grasp of this system. … Versus someone who’s had parents here for multiple years, and their parents are now telling them, like, ‘Hey, this is not the right decision for you. Try doing this. This will be better in the long run.’”

–U.S.-born man of Pakistani origin in early 30s

Some also said firsthand knowledge of how to invest and how the U.S. financial system works would have helped:

“[In] the newer generation, we have access to learn all the things we need to, right? [I watch videos] that talk about, like, ‘These are the things you need to do in order to be financially successful. You need to invest your money, get into stocks,’ and stuff like that. And I know that not even 1% of my Hmong community knows anything about that stuff. … So I think we can be more financially successful, including myself, if we were to look more deeply into those things.”

–U.S.-born woman of Hmong origin in late 20s

“If you’re educated and know how, like, let’s say investments work, if you know how that’s done and then you apply it actually going through [someone] like investors or even stockbrokers, then you’ll see the fruits of your labor, or at least experience that, as opposed to not even having the knowledge or even the experience to begin with.”

–U.S.-born man of Cambodian origin in mid-30s

Some participants shared that even when they have some knowledge of financial institutions, they feel the system is working against them:

“I think systematic racism [is a barrier to achieving the American dream]. … I mean, if you own a car, you got to get the bank to approve you. … And they charge people with, like, no credit the highest fee, the most percentage, which are a lot of the folks [like] us trying to achieve the American dream. And then we go to neighborhoods that have the highest crime rate, we also have the most premiums. … And so I think that, one, we’re paying a lot more with much less … the system [was] set up well before minorities, and I think we’re pretty much going to fall behind.”

Many focus group participants also see the value of education, especially a college one, in leading toward a better future and achieving the American dream:

“[When I think of the American dream, it means] if you work hard enough, you can succeed. … You can get an education or a higher education. Then you have so many choices here and exposure to so many ideas and concepts that you wouldn’t otherwise.”

“The bachelor’s degree was important to me in the sense that I needed it so that I could apply for the jobs I wanted. … I guess it made things a bit easier.” THET , FILM PARTICIPANT (TRANSLATED FROM BURMESE)

But this sentiment resonated more with immigrant participants than those born in the U.S.:

“It is the education and the relevant knowledge I think that our Hmong people must have. We’ve been living in this country for the last 45 years. I think that to live in this country, it is very important for some people. I do not think everyone has a ‘lawyer’ or a ‘doctor’ in their house. If it happens, maybe we will reach our goal and the poverty will gradually disappear from our lives.”

–Immigrant woman of Hmong origin in mid-30s (translated from Hmong)

“I think if I obtain any degree, I would perhaps be able to do something.”

Assumptions about Asians hurt their chances of overcoming challenges

Participants shared that other people’s assumptions about Asians complicate their experience of living with economic hardship. Asians are often characterized as a “model minority” and portrayed as educationally and financially successful when compared with other groups.

Some participants shared how the assumption that all Asians are doing well hurt their ability to seek help:

“I have a daughter … she’s the only Asian in class. … Everybody tends to think, ‘She’s Asian; she’s so smart; her mommy has money. So you got to invite her to your birthday party because her mom is rich. [Her] mom will buy you a present.’ … I’m not rich, but because we’re Asian … she’s invited to all these parties.”

–U.S.-born woman of Hmong origin in early 30s

“What I can assume is that outside of our community, especially at the government level, [including] state level and central federal level here, we are missing out or not eligible for benefits. In their opinion, we are rich, no matter if we are working or not. [They may think] our stories may not be genuine. They may think we are making up a story [if we apply for benefits].”

Striving for the American dream

Freedom was a recurring theme in how focus group participants define their American dream. Two aspects were mentioned. The first was freedom from debt and stress over making ends meet, such as paying for everyday basic needs including rent and food. The second was the ability to make life choices freely without financial constraints, enabling them to live the life they aspire to.

Reaching the American dream

Half of Asians living near or below the federal poverty line say they believe they have achieved the American dream or are on their way to achieving it, the survey found. This includes 15% who say they have achieved it and 36% who say they are on their way. By comparison, among those living above the poverty line, 27% say they’ve achieved the American dream, and another 46% say they are on their way.

“Before I came to America, I had never heard of the American dream. … But because I was able to at least bring my son along, not only my life but also his education has improved significantly.” THEIN , FILM PARTICIPANT (TRANSLATED FROM BURMESE)

Among focus group participants, many were optimistic about reaching the American dream for themselves:

“[To me, the American dream is] the opportunity to come to America. I’ve learned a lot after reaching here. And I’ve been able to help my parents and relatives. Despite facing some troubles here, I’ve [provided them a] little financial assistance. I would’ve been unable to help them if I had been in Bhutan.”

–Immigrant woman of Bhutanese origin in late 40s (translated from Dzongkha)

Some participants were also hopeful that the next generation can achieve their American dream, even when they themselves are not there yet:

“When I think about the American dream, I look back at myself, because I belong to the first generation that came to this country. We all started very late. I know that this country will help you, but really it will not be easy for us. … What I think will help me to be happy is to ‘reach the American dream.’ If I can’t achieve it, then I will support my children so that they can reach the dream and I will be happy with them. I will give my children money to help them study.”

“If I can’t get [the American dream] for myself, it is okay. No matter how I am, I’ve already reached half of my life. But I’ve done as much as I can do for [my children], so my responsibility is done. If it’s their turn, I believe they will be able to do all that I couldn’t. I believe it.”

“I would like to own a home one day. And at this rate, and like many of my peers, that’s not a reachable goal right now. I don’t see it being a reachable goal for me for a very, very, very long time.” TANG , FILM PARTICIPANT

Still, the survey found that 47% of Asian adults living in poverty say the American dream is out of reach for them, higher than the share among those living above the poverty line (26%). Not all Asians living in poverty feel the same way about achieving the American dream, with U.S.-born Asians in the focus groups being less optimistic about reaching the American dream than immigrant Asians.

“In a certain era with the U.S. and the immigrants coming, the American dream [was] you come, you study, you do this, you can climb up the ladder, etc., etc. That was the big American dream. And I think there was a period where that was possible. Not any longer.”

Others also shared worries about their prospects of reaching the American dream because of different immigration histories and economic concerns such as inflation:

“I think I was conditioned to think too small to have the American dream. … Vietnamese Americans came over here at a very specific time. … There were Chinese Americans that came here like centuries ago, and they had the time to build generational wealth. We know that Vietnamese people came here in the ’70s. That’s not enough time to grow generational wealth.”

–U.S.-born woman of Vietnamese origin in late 20s

“I have kids. … They’re spoiled. … Now with inflation, houses are more expensive now [than 10, 20 years ago], right? Let’s say 20 years from now, when they buy a house, [the American dream] is going to be unachievable, you know what I mean? Like, unless they are a TikTok star or an entertainer or some kind. … [It’s] going to be tough.”

–U.S.-born man of Chinese origin in late 30s

Freedom from debt

For many participants, being debt-free is important to their vision of the American dream and promotes a life with more financial stability and independence:

“[If I could choose one dream in America, it would be to have] no debt. … When buying something, they always say, ‘Be careful, or you’ll be in debt.’ … And that is what got stuck in my throat.”

–Immigrant woman of Laotian origin in mid-30s (translated from Lao)

“[I haven’t achieved the American dream because I’m not] debt-free, you know, just trying to have extra money, instead of living paycheck to paycheck.”

“[My dream in America is] to be independent, for example, we always lived with the money of mom and dad. One is to be independent when you come here. Let me earn so much money that if I go to the store and buy something, I don’t even have to look at the price tag. That [is] my dream.”

–Immigrant woman of Nepalese origin in early 40s (translated from Nepali)

Participants shared that being debt-free also means having less stress and worry about making ends meet so that they can have extra resources and bandwidth to help their families:

“[The most important thing to achieving the American dream is] being debt-free and having real estate and income steadiness. … If you have rent income, you’re not trading in your time for money, so you have real estate. … You’re not stressing, you have time for your kids more, and your family. You’re probably a little bit happier.”

–Immigrant man of Cambodian origin in mid-20s

“The main thing is that I want to fully support my father and mother, and that I don’t have to worry about [how] I will support myself, or how I will pay my house rent. This is my number one.”

–Immigrant woman of Bangladeshi origin in late 20s (translated from Bengali)

For others, having a stable job is an important step to reaching the American dream:

“I want to have a job, and if I have a job, I’ll have money. I’m only working three and a half days a week right now, and I want to work more. I want more jobs the most, right now. I don’t need anything in America. Just a job.”

Freedom to dream

Focus group participants mentioned having the financial ability to not only meet their basic needs, but also pursue their dreams. Asians born in the U.S. mentioned the freedom to chase one’s aspirations without financial constraints more often than immigrants. Regardless of nativity, the ability to live the life they want is fundamental to many focus group participants’ definitions of the American dream:

“[When] everyone around you is immigrants and you’re all just trying to survive, the only thing you’re trained to think about is survival. But you’re not thinking about investment. Like, when you grow older and you start thinking, ‘Okay, I need to spend money to make money,’ that’s when you start thinking bigger. Yeah, I’m not just thinking about like having one home, I want 10 homes.”

“[Financial] stability is you have nothing but you could survive. [Financial] freedom is you have enough that you can do anything you want. That’s my financial freedom.”

“As it was so hard at that time … what motivated you to keep going and work so hard?” “My strength, my mindset was I wanted to earn money so that my children could have a bright future.” PHUOC AND PHONG , FILM PARTICIPANTS (TRANSLATED FROM VIETNAMESE)

The American dream, to some focus group participants, is about more than financial achievements. Finding happiness and helping others, ultimately leading them to live the life they desire, are key parts of their American dream.

“I want to thank [another participant] for saying ‘self-actualization,’ because personally I think it’s really powerful to be able to know what you want. Because then you’ll know what kind of job you want, what kind of house you want, whether you want to be in politics or not. Like, loving yourself and understanding yourself to your core, then that will be the [deciding factor].”

–Immigrant man of Cambodian origin in early 40s

“I think for me [the American dream] is that there is a house for me, with no interest, I do not owe any loan, my parents could live there comfortably, their struggle is over, and also I have enough … to be able to do something for Pakistan later [in life], God willing.”

–Immigrant woman of Pakistani origin in mid-20s (translated from Urdu)

“[Some people define success as having] lots of money, kids, cars, right? But that’s not really … what I would consider success. Success is something that – does it make you happy? … Are you happy every day going to work? Does it make you happy? When you come home, are you happy?”

About this project

Pew Research Center designed these focus groups and survey questions to better understand the experiences of Asian Americans living with economic hardship. By including participants who are among the Asian origin groups most likely to experience poverty, the focus groups aimed to capture, in their own words, their experiences and challenges in America today. The discussions in these groups may or may not resonate with all Asians living in poverty in the United States.

The project is part of a broader research portfolio studying the diverse experiences of Asians living in the U.S.

Survey and demographic analysis of Asians living in poverty

For a comprehensive examination of Asian adults’ experiences with economic hardship from Pew Research Center’s 2022-23 survey of Asian Americans, as well as a demographic analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey, read “Key facts about Asian Americans living in poverty.”

Videos throughout this data essay illustrate what focus group participants discussed. Individuals recorded in these video clips did not participate in the focus groups but were selected based on similar demographic characteristics and thematically relevant stories.

Watch the short film related to the themes in the data essay.

Methodological note

This multi-method research project examines the many facets of living with economic hardship among Asian Americans today.

The qualitative analysis is based on 18 focus groups conducted in February 2023 in 12 languages with 144 participants across four locations. Recruited participants had an approximate family income that is at or below 140%-250% of the federal poverty line, depending on the location. More information about the focus group methodology and analysis can be found in the focus group methodology .

The survey analysis included in this data essay is based on 561 Asian adults living near or below the poverty line from Pew Research Center’s 2022-23 survey of Asian Americans, the largest nationally representative survey of Asian American adults of its kind to date, conducted in six languages. For more details, refer to the survey methodology . For questions used in this analysis, refer to the topline questionnaire .

Acknowledgments

Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder. The Center’s Asian American portfolio was funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, with generous support from The Asian American Foundation; Chan Zuckerberg Initiative DAF, an advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation; the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; the Henry Luce Foundation; the Doris Duke Foundation; The Wallace H. Coulter Foundation; The Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation; The Long Family Foundation; Lu-Hebert Fund; Gee Family Foundation; Joseph Cotchett; the Julian Abdey and Sabrina Moyle Charitable Fund; and Nanci Nishimura.

We would also like to thank the Leaders Forum for its thought leadership and valuable assistance in helping make this survey possible.

The strategic communications campaign used to promote the research was made possible with generous support from the Doris Duke Foundation.

This is a collaborative effort based on the input and analysis of a number of individuals and experts at Pew Research Center and outside experts.

• In this data essay, definitions of “living near or below the poverty line” and related terms differ between survey respondents and focus group participants. Refer to the terminology box for details. ↩

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About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts .