Recharge and vulnerability assessment of groundwater resources in North west India: Insights from isotope-geospatial modelling approach
Recent studies indicate dwindling groundwater quantity and quality of the largest regional aquifer system in North West India, raising concern over freshwater availability to about 182 million population residing in this region. Widespread agricultural activities have resulted severe groundwater pol...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Geoscience Frontiers |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987123001883 |
| _version_ | 1797390553140166656 |
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| author | Annadasankar Roy Sitangshu Chatterjee Uday Kumar Sinha Anil Kumar Jain Hemant Mohokar Ajay Jaryal Tirumalesh Keesari Harish Jagat Pant |
| author_facet | Annadasankar Roy Sitangshu Chatterjee Uday Kumar Sinha Anil Kumar Jain Hemant Mohokar Ajay Jaryal Tirumalesh Keesari Harish Jagat Pant |
| author_sort | Annadasankar Roy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Recent studies indicate dwindling groundwater quantity and quality of the largest regional aquifer system in North West India, raising concern over freshwater availability to about 182 million population residing in this region. Widespread agricultural activities have resulted severe groundwater pollution in this area, demanding a systematic vulnerability assessment for proactive measures. Conventional vulnerability assessment models encounter drawbacks due to subjectivity, complexity, data-prerequisites, and spatial–temporal constraints. This study incorporates isotopic information into a weighted-overlay framework to overcome the above-mentioned limitations and proposes a novel vulnerability assessment model. The isotope methodology provides crucial insights on groundwater recharge mechanisms (18O and 2H) and dynamics (3H) - often ignored in vulnerability assessment. Isotopic characterisation of precipitation helped in establishing Local Meteoric Water Line (LMWL) as well as inferring contrasting recharge mechanisms operating in different aquifers. Shallow aquifer (depth < 60 m) showed significant evaporative signature with evaporation loss accounting up to 18.04% based on Rayleigh distillation equations. Inter-aquifer connections were apparent from Kernel Density Estimate (KDE) and isotope correlations. A weighted overlay isotope-geospatial model was developed combining 18O, 3H, aquifer permeability, and water level data. The central and northern parts of study area fall under least (0.29%) and extremely (1.79%) vulnerable zones respectively, while majority of the study area fall under moderate (42.71%) and highly vulnerable zones (55.20%). Model validation was performed using groundwater NO3– concentration, which showed an overall accuracy up to 82%. Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) was performed for sensitivity analysis and permeability was found to be the most sensitive input parameter, followed by 3H, 18O, and water level. Comparing the vulnerability map with Land Use Land Cover (LULC) and population density maps helped in precisely identifying the high-risk sites, warranting a prompt attention. The model developed in this study integrates isotopic information with vulnerability assessment and resulted in model output with good accuracy, scientific basis, and widespread relevance, which highlights its crucial role in formulating proactive water resource management plans, especially in less explored data-scarce locations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T23:12:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-71c13c200c2c4b4b92b874d520d6a983 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1674-9871 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T23:12:33Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | Geoscience Frontiers |
| spelling | doaj.art-71c13c200c2c4b4b92b874d520d6a9832023-12-15T07:23:11ZengElsevierGeoscience Frontiers1674-98712024-01-01151101721Recharge and vulnerability assessment of groundwater resources in North west India: Insights from isotope-geospatial modelling approachAnnadasankar Roy0Sitangshu Chatterjee1Uday Kumar Sinha2Anil Kumar Jain3Hemant Mohokar4Ajay Jaryal5Tirumalesh Keesari6Harish Jagat Pant7Isotope and Radiation Application Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai – 400 085, India; Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai 400 094, IndiaIsotope and Radiation Application Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai – 400 085, India; Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai 400 094, IndiaIsotope and Radiation Application Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai – 400 085, IndiaCentral Ground Water Board, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, IndiaIsotope and Radiation Application Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai – 400 085, IndiaIsotope and Radiation Application Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai – 400 085, IndiaIsotope and Radiation Application Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai – 400 085, India; Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai 400 094, India; Corresponding author.Isotope and Radiation Application Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai – 400 085, IndiaRecent studies indicate dwindling groundwater quantity and quality of the largest regional aquifer system in North West India, raising concern over freshwater availability to about 182 million population residing in this region. Widespread agricultural activities have resulted severe groundwater pollution in this area, demanding a systematic vulnerability assessment for proactive measures. Conventional vulnerability assessment models encounter drawbacks due to subjectivity, complexity, data-prerequisites, and spatial–temporal constraints. This study incorporates isotopic information into a weighted-overlay framework to overcome the above-mentioned limitations and proposes a novel vulnerability assessment model. The isotope methodology provides crucial insights on groundwater recharge mechanisms (18O and 2H) and dynamics (3H) - often ignored in vulnerability assessment. Isotopic characterisation of precipitation helped in establishing Local Meteoric Water Line (LMWL) as well as inferring contrasting recharge mechanisms operating in different aquifers. Shallow aquifer (depth < 60 m) showed significant evaporative signature with evaporation loss accounting up to 18.04% based on Rayleigh distillation equations. Inter-aquifer connections were apparent from Kernel Density Estimate (KDE) and isotope correlations. A weighted overlay isotope-geospatial model was developed combining 18O, 3H, aquifer permeability, and water level data. The central and northern parts of study area fall under least (0.29%) and extremely (1.79%) vulnerable zones respectively, while majority of the study area fall under moderate (42.71%) and highly vulnerable zones (55.20%). Model validation was performed using groundwater NO3– concentration, which showed an overall accuracy up to 82%. Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) was performed for sensitivity analysis and permeability was found to be the most sensitive input parameter, followed by 3H, 18O, and water level. Comparing the vulnerability map with Land Use Land Cover (LULC) and population density maps helped in precisely identifying the high-risk sites, warranting a prompt attention. The model developed in this study integrates isotopic information with vulnerability assessment and resulted in model output with good accuracy, scientific basis, and widespread relevance, which highlights its crucial role in formulating proactive water resource management plans, especially in less explored data-scarce locations.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987123001883Agricultural pollutionData scarcityRecharge mechanismRayleigh distillationIsotope-geospatial modelVulnerability assessment |
| spellingShingle | Annadasankar Roy Sitangshu Chatterjee Uday Kumar Sinha Anil Kumar Jain Hemant Mohokar Ajay Jaryal Tirumalesh Keesari Harish Jagat Pant Recharge and vulnerability assessment of groundwater resources in North west India: Insights from isotope-geospatial modelling approach Geoscience Frontiers Agricultural pollution Data scarcity Recharge mechanism Rayleigh distillation Isotope-geospatial model Vulnerability assessment |
| title | Recharge and vulnerability assessment of groundwater resources in North west India: Insights from isotope-geospatial modelling approach |
| title_full | Recharge and vulnerability assessment of groundwater resources in North west India: Insights from isotope-geospatial modelling approach |
| title_fullStr | Recharge and vulnerability assessment of groundwater resources in North west India: Insights from isotope-geospatial modelling approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | Recharge and vulnerability assessment of groundwater resources in North west India: Insights from isotope-geospatial modelling approach |
| title_short | Recharge and vulnerability assessment of groundwater resources in North west India: Insights from isotope-geospatial modelling approach |
| title_sort | recharge and vulnerability assessment of groundwater resources in north west india insights from isotope geospatial modelling approach |
| topic | Agricultural pollution Data scarcity Recharge mechanism Rayleigh distillation Isotope-geospatial model Vulnerability assessment |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987123001883 |
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