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Appraising Hydro-dynamics of Alluvial Aquifers from Indo-Gangetic Plains

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Journal of the Geological Society of India

Abstract

Aquifer behaviour in alluvial plains is a complex phenomenon owing to the discrete lithological units, hydro-dynamics and erratic rainfall patterns. Therefore, the aquifer geometry, recharge and rainfall which define the hydro-dynamics of alluvial aquifers are important to understand in view of sustainable groundwater management. This study appraises the time series hydro-climatic data on daily basis during July-2008 to March-2011 in Indo-Gangetic plains, India. It includes field site monitoring of six piezometric wells installed with borehole data loggers and daily rainfall events. The temporal variations recorded for hydro-climatic (i.e. piezometric surface and rainfall) data sets are examined applying classical statistical tools. Results showed, a) the linear regression value R2 = 0.81–0.98 (mean: 0.94) calculated for consecutive three monsoons indicated the rise of static WL by 1.59 m/monsoon, b) the linear trend for three hydrological cycles denotes, rainfall deficit of 9.83% and 14.10% corresponds to WL decline by 0.914 m and 1.478 m, c) for an individual hydrological year, a negative response of rainfall to WL decline with correlation coefficient r=−0.921 indicates multiple variables of aquifer discharge. The derived negative linearity y=−1.196x+223.35 has assisted to simulate the declining mode of WL by 1.196 m/year. It assists to draw the similar results for alluvial aquifers in other regions of Indo-Gangetic plains.

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Acknowledgement

This study is sponsored by Punjab Agriculture University (PAU), Ludhiana, Punjab, India. Authors would like to acknowledge all the supporting staff members of PAU for providing logistics. We thank former Directors of CSIR-NGRI and Dr. V.M. Tiwari, Director, CSIR-NGRI, Hyderabad for their encouragement and permission (Ref. No. Res.Publ./2017/PME) to publish this paper.

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Correspondence to Sahebrao Sonkamble.

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Sonkamble, S., Rangarajan, R., Rajkumar, R. et al. Appraising Hydro-dynamics of Alluvial Aquifers from Indo-Gangetic Plains. J Geol Soc India 94, 464–470 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-019-1342-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-019-1342-2

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