Geohydrological evaluation of upper agniar and vellar basins,tamil nadu: An integrated approach using remote sensing,geophysical and well inventory data

The present paper focuses mainly on the assessment of groundwater availability in the Upper Agniar and Vellar basins. The remote sensing data was used to map the geomorphological units and structural pattern. The integration of geomorphology and structural pattern with geophysical and well inventory data reveals that shallow groundwater occurrence is controlled by geomorphological characteristics whereas at intermediate depth faults/fractures control the yield of groundwater. The study has also indicated that the eastern part of the basins is more favourable for groundwater development than the western part.     

Impact Assessment of Pumping Parameters on Groundwater Bacterial Communities

Groundwater microbial community samples are traditionally collected using pumping techniques optimized for groundwater chemistry assessment, although the impact of groundwater pumping parameters on apparent bacterial community structures (BCSs) is not really known. We therefore studied the impact of pumping lift, flow regime, and tubing material on BCS, which were analyzed by terminal‐restriction fragment length polymorphism (T‐RFLP). Ruzicka dissimilarity coefficients were calculated between T‐RFLP profiles to assess disparities between BCS. Variations in pumping lift, flow regime, and tubing material did not affect the apparent BCS in experiments using a homogenous water system under laboratory conditions showing that the conditions within the tube had no detectable effect on BCS. However, pumping groundwater from aquifer monitoring wells at different flow rates in the field revealed a significant impact on the apparent BCS. Water samples collected from fine sediment were the most affected by the pumping flow rate.     

Effect of deforestation on landslides in Nilgiris district — A case study

Landslides in the Nilgiris are mainly due to rainfall, but human intervention in the form of deforestation and plantation has turned this into a calamity. Our study in the Nilgiris district of Tamilnadu help of the Global Land Cover Facility data reveals that there is a drastic reduction in forest cover and human interventions in the form of unplanned tea estates has resulted in the loss of natural ecosystem of Nilgiris which is causing massive and frequent landslides.