Research

Earth, Atmosphere & Environment Sciences

Title :

Impact of LU/LC and catchment characteristics on Runoff and Groundwater Dynamics of Western Ghats, Karnataka

Area of research :

Earth, Atmosphere & Environment Sciences

Focus area :

Hydrology

Principal Investigator :

Dr.B.Vekatesh, NIH Belgaum Karnataka

Timeline Start Year :

2018

Timeline End Year :

2022

Details

Executive Summary :

The project proposal aims to evaluate the controls exercised by Climate, physical characteristics and nature of land covers on hydrological processes and in characterizing the runoff process. One of the major focuses of the study is to bring out the groundwater dynamics with special reference to change soil and land use/land cover changes. The study involves a details field experiment which will be utilized for the development of regional ground water model for the purpose of prediction. The hypothesis will be examined through point and areal studies investigating the effectes of forest/land cover changes on groundwater recharge. The project will invlove selecetion of sites using remote sensing data and collection of extensive secondary data collected from different sources using GIS techniques which will be followed by a rigorous field visit and consultation with local community to finalize the sites. A details soil-hydrologic, groundwater, hydro-meteoroligical monitoring will be done to estimate the influence of the topographic and soil characteristics, as well the impact of forest cover/land cover types on water balance components with special reference to ground water recharge, Data collected during the project period will help in estimating the Evapo-transpiration and soil moisture characteristics which are the significant parameters required for hydrological. An estimate of the baseflow from differenct types of catchments under different climatiz zones will be higly useful in planning and management of agriculture crops in those areas. The study involves development of a Regional ground water balance model which will help in greater understanding of the runoff process and ground water response to changes in physical parameter.

Co-PI:

Dr. Yadupathy Putty, National Institute of Engineering, Manandivadi Road, Mysuru, Karnataka – 570008, Dr. Shivanna Honnurappa, College of Forestry, Banavasi Road, Sirsi, Karnataka –581401, Dr. Veerabasawant Reddy, The Energy Research Institute, Bangalore, Karnataka, Karnataka

Total Budget (INR):

90,42,450

Organizations involved