Current Science

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Groundwater evidences in confirmation of palaeo-course of Assi River in Uttar Pradesh, India


Affiliations
1 Department of Geography, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221 005, India; Shri Aadya Sharan Singh Adarsh Inter College, Koda-Jahanabad, Fatehpur 212 659, India
2 Department of Geography, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221 005, India
 

The palaeo-course of the Assi river in Uttar Pradesh, India was delineated through visual image impressions using remote sensing data. To corroborate on the existence of this palaeo-course 192 open wells and several ponds along and within the palaeo-course were observed showing very shallow groundwater table. Also, eight trenches dug within the channel and over the natural levees confirmed the existence of very shallow ground­water conditions. The observations of wells were made and trenches were dug during January–February 2020, by which time most of the ponds away from the channel dry out and the water column in the wells outside the course is reduced compared to the ponds and wells located over the banks and wells within the palaeo-course and outside it corroborates the existence of the Assi palaeo-course.

Keywords

Groundwater, open wells and ponds, palaeocourse, remote sensing.
User
Notifications
Font Size

  • Mishra, M., Raju, K. N. P. and Raju, P. V., Palaeo and present channel of Assi river, Uttar Pradesh, India. Curr. Sci., 2020, 118, 630–639.

  • Mishra, M., Spatial data generation of Assi river in Varanasi and delineation of its palaeocourse, Banaras Hindu University, 2020; http://hdl.handle.net/10603/346183

  • Ghose, B., Kar, A. and Hussain, Z., The Lost Courses of the Saraswati River in the Great Indian Desert: New Evidence from Landsat Imagery, The Geographical Journal, The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), 1979, vol. 145, pp. 446–451.

  • Kar, A. and Ghose, B., The Drishadvati river system of India: an assessment and new findings. Geogr. J., 1984, 150, 221.

  • Ramasamy, S. M., Bakliwal, P. C. and Verma, R., Remote sensing and river migration in western India. Int. J. Remote Sensing, 1991, 12, 2597–2609.

  • Gupta, A. K., Sharma, J. R., Sreenivasan, G. and Srivastava, K. S., New findings on the course of River Sarasvati. J. Indian Soc. Remote Sensing, 2004, 32, 1–24.

  • Nandini, C. V., Sanjeevi, S. and Bhaskar, A. S., An integrated approach to map certain palaeochannels of South India using remote sensing, geophysics, and sedimentological techniques. Int. J. Remote Sensing, 2013, 34, 6507–6528.

  • Saini, H. S., Tandon, S., Mujtaba, S. A. I. and Pant, N., Reconstruction of buried channel–floodplain systems of the northwestern Haryana Plains and their relation to the ‘Vedic’ Saraswati. Curr. Sci., 2009, 97, 1634–1643.

  • Mehdi, S. M., Pant, N. C., Saini, H. S., Mujtaba, S. A. I. and Pande, P., Identification of palaeochannel configuration in the Saraswati River basin in parts of Haryana and Rajasthan, India, through digital remote sensing and GIS. Episodes, 2016, 39, 29–38.

  • Singh, A., Paul, D., Sinha, R., Thomsen, K. J. and Gupta, S., Geochemistry of buried river sediments from Ghaggar Plains, NW India: Multi-proxy records of variations in provenance, paleoclimate, and paleovegetation patterns in the Late Quaternary. Palaeogeogr., Palaeoclimatol., Palaeoecol., 2016, 449, 85–100.

  • Khonde, N., Singh, S. K., Maurya, D. M., Rai, V. K. and Chamyal, L. S., Tracing the Vedic Saraswati River in the Great Rann of Kachchh. Sci. Rep., 2017, 7(1), 1–6; doi:10.1038/s41598-01705745-8.

  • Resmi, M. R., Achyuthan, H. and Jaiswal, M. K., Middle to late Holocene paleochannels and migration of the Palar River, Tamil Nadu: implications of neotectonic activity. Quaternary Int., 2017, 443, 211–222; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2016.05.002.

  • Khan, I. and Sinha, R., Discovering ‘buried’ channels of the palaeoYamuna river in NW India using geophysical evidence: implications for major drainage reorganization and linkage to the Harappan Civilization. J. Appl. Geophys., 2019, 167, 128–139.

  • Singh, K. P., Significance of palaeochannels for hydrogeomorphological studies – a case study from alluvial plains of Punjab and Harayana state, India. In Subsurface-Water Hydrology, Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 1996, pp. 245–249; doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0391-6.

  • Bhadra, B. K., Gupta, A. K. and Sharma, J. R., Saraswati Nadi in Haryana and its linkage with the vedic Saraswati River – integrated study based on satellite image and ground based information. J. Geol. Soc. India, 2009, 73, 273–288.

  • Rastogi, B. K. et al., Geophysical evidences for palaeochannels and possible sources of groundwater: a case study from Kuchh region, western Peninsular India. J. Earthq. Sci. Eng., 2016, 2, 41– 57.

  • Maillet, G. M., Rizzo, E., Revil, A. and Vella, C., High resolution electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) in a transition zone environment: application for detailed internal architecture and infilling processes study of a Rhône River paleo-channel. Mar. Geophys. Res., 2005, 26, 317–328.

  • Torrese, P., Rainone, M. L., Colantonio, F. and Signanini, P., Application of 1D–2D electrical resistivity surveys to the identification and investigation of shallow paleochannels in the Chamelecòn Valley (Honduras). Rend. Online Soc. Geol. Ital., 2013, 24, 316– 318.

  • Kshetrimayum, K. S. and Bajpai, V. N., Establishment of missing stream link between the Markanda river and the Vedic Saraswati river in Haryana, India – geoelectrical resistivity approach. Curr. Sci., 2011, 100, 1719–1724.

  • Guo, L. et al. Identification of palaeochannels of Mihe River – an approach based on the integrated geophysical methods. In Proceedings of the International Workshop on Environment and Geoscience (IWEG), 2018, pp. 353–359; doi:10.5220/0007430303530359.

  • Priju, C. P., Francis, J., Arun, P. R. and Narasimha Prasad, N. B., Delineation of paleochannels in Periyar River Basin of Kerala using remote sensing and electrical resistivity methods. In Hydrologic Modeling Select Proceedings of ICWEES-2016, 2018, pp. 391–400; doi:10.1007/978-981-10-5801-1_27.

  • Chandra, S. et al., Geological significance of delineating paleochannels with AEM. Explor. Geophys., 2020, 51, 74–83.

  • Nimnate, P., Thitimakorn, T., Choowong, M. and Hisada, K., Imaging and locating paleochannels using geophysical data from meandering system of the Mun River, Khorat Plateau, Northeastern Thailand. Open Geosci., 2020, 9, 675–688.

  • Qinghai, X., Chen, W., Xiaolan, Y. and Ningjia, Z., Palaeochannels on the North China Plain: relationships between their development and tectonics. Geomorphology, 1996, 18, 27–35.

  • Rao, L. A. K. et al., Hydrogeomorphological studies for ground water prospects using IRS-1D, LISS III image, in parts of Agra district along the Yamuna River, UP, India. J. Environ. Res. Dev., 2009, 3, 1204–1210.

  • Gautam, A. M., Application of IRS-1A data for delineating buried channels in southern part of Allahabad district of Uttar Pradesh. J. Indian Soc. Remote Sensing, 1990, 18, 52–57.

  • Suganthi, S., Elango, L. and Subramanian, S. K., Groundwater potential zonation by remote sensing and GIS techniques and its relation to the groundwater level in the coastal part of the Arani and Koratalai river basin, southern India. Earth Sci. Res. J., 2013, 17, 87–95.

  • Valdiya, K. S. et al., Palaeochannels of north west India: review and assessment. In Report of the Expert Committee to Review Available Information on Palaeochannels, 2016, pp. 1–127; http://cgwb.gov.in/GroundWater/Final%20print%20version_Palaeochannel%20Expert%20Committee_15thOct2016.pdf

  • Gupta, A. K., Sharma, J. R. and Sreenivasan, G., Using satellite imagery to reveal the course of an extinct river below the Thar Desert in the Indo-Pak region. Int. J. Remote Sensing, 2011, 32, 5197–5216; doi:10.1080/01431161.2010.495093.

  • Samadder, R. K., Kumar, S. and Gupta, R. P., Paleochannels and their potential for artificial groundwater recharge in the western Ganga plains. J. Hydrol., 2011, 400, 154–164.

  • Van Dijk, W. M. et al., Linking the morphology of fluvial fan systems to aquifer stratigraphy in the Sutlej–Yamuna plain of northwest India. J. Geophys. Res. Earth Surf., 2016, 121, 201–222.

  • Van Dijk, W. M. et al., Spatial variation of groundwater response to multiple drivers in a depleting alluvial aquifer system, northwestern India. Prog. Phys. Geogr., 2020, 44, 94–119.

  • Kumar Joshi, S. et al., Strongly heterogeneous patterns of groundwater depletion in northwestern India. J. Hydrol., 2021, 598, 126492.


Abstract Views: 359

PDF Views: 127




  • Groundwater evidences in confirmation of palaeo-course of Assi River in Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract Views: 359  |  PDF Views: 127

Authors

Mallikarjun Mishra
Department of Geography, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221 005, India; Shri Aadya Sharan Singh Adarsh Inter College, Koda-Jahanabad, Fatehpur 212 659, India
K. N. Prudhvi Raju
Department of Geography, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221 005, India

Abstract


The palaeo-course of the Assi river in Uttar Pradesh, India was delineated through visual image impressions using remote sensing data. To corroborate on the existence of this palaeo-course 192 open wells and several ponds along and within the palaeo-course were observed showing very shallow groundwater table. Also, eight trenches dug within the channel and over the natural levees confirmed the existence of very shallow ground­water conditions. The observations of wells were made and trenches were dug during January–February 2020, by which time most of the ponds away from the channel dry out and the water column in the wells outside the course is reduced compared to the ponds and wells located over the banks and wells within the palaeo-course and outside it corroborates the existence of the Assi palaeo-course.

Keywords


Groundwater, open wells and ponds, palaeocourse, remote sensing.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv122%2Fi3%2F333-337