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Hydrodynamic Study of Weathered Zone of Hardrock Aquifers Using Dugwell Data

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Abstract

The present study discusses a technique of locating high-discharging dugwells in Precambrian metamorphic rocks in Balarampur, Purulia district, West Bengal, India and describes the hydrodynamic properties of hardrock aquifers using bedrock joints/fractures, lineaments and weathered zone. Dugwells with higher discharges are mainly concentrated in metapelites, rich in biotite. In groups of dugwells, high-discharging wells exhibit linear spatial distribution, denoted as “well-line,” and consistently show high well discharge along each well-line in every dugwell group. The spatial distributions of high-discharging wells are associated with thick weathered-zones. Well-lines, comprising abruptly high-discharging wells, are spatially correlated to the lithostratigraphic contacts and lower elevation zones.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are really thankful to the editor and the two anonymous reviewers to make this manuscript better and more scientific. The authors gratefully acknowledge Prof. (retired) S. Basumallik, Department of Geological Sciences, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, for invaluable suggestions and advices at various stages of the present research work. The authors heartily thank Mr. Rajib Dhar and Mr. Atin Mitra for their help during the fieldwork. Financial assistance for the work was provided by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India; University Grants Commission, India and Department of Science and Technology, India. The authors are also grateful to Dr. S. K. Mukhopadhyay, Principal, Hooghly Mohsin College for his constant cooperation and inspiration.

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Acharya, T., Prasad, R. Hydrodynamic Study of Weathered Zone of Hardrock Aquifers Using Dugwell Data. Nat Resour Res 23, 331–340 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-014-9238-8

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