Integrated hydrogeological studies using remote sensing and GIS technology in Ariyalur taluk Tamil Nadu India

Abstract

Water is the primary constituent for the survival of all living beings. The living beings such as plants, animals and humankind are in need of fresh water for its day to day life. They avail enormous quantity of available fresh water on the surface of the earth. Particularly, due to the drastic increase in human population, the existing fresh water quantity decreases day by day. So, the humankind opts for the groundwater. In recent years, the groundwater exploitation also increases due to technological advancement. Hence, the quantity and quality of the groundwater get affected. So, a detailed hydrogeological study is mandatory to understand the existing groundwater condition. The main aim of the present hydrogeological study is to understand the groundwater resource potential and quality. The major objectives of the present investigation are to imbibe knowledge about the rainfall variation, groundwater level fluctuation, nature of groundwater prospective zones and groundwater quality. For this study, the groundwater potential zones of Ariyalur Taluk were demarcated through an integrated approach using Remote Sensing and GIS techniques. Rainfall and Groundwater level data were collected from the public newlineworks department for the year 2005 to 2014. The rainfall study shows that the average South-west monsoon rainfall is 401.77 mm and the average Northeast monsoon rainfall is 659.53 mm. In post-monsoon and pre-monsoon seasons, the recorded rainfall is very low. The annual average ground water level spatial study reveals that the observed area of 7.27 Km2 indicates shallow depth of groundwater level. newline newline