Delineation of submarine groundwater discharge and seawater intrusion zones using anomalies in the field water quality parameters, groundwater level fluctuation and sea surface temperature along the Gujarat coast of India

Abstract

Nature mediated processes like seawater intrusion (SWI) and its complementary processes like submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) often cause severe water stress on the coastal water resources worldwide. The present work attempts to delineate the SWI and SGD zones along the North-Western coast of India (constituting the entire coastline of Gujarat) which is currently facing severe water crises due to the freshwater salinization and water loss through the coastal aquifer system. In the present work site-specific water characteristics and groundwater level were used as a proxy for identifying the probable zones of SWI and SGD. For the delineation purpose, we have collected 540 water samples distanced at 5–10 km (seawater, porewater and groundwater; 180 each) from the entire coastline of Gujarat. Further, a three-tier validation system has been adopted for delineating the SWI and SGD zones followed by the physical verification of the locations through the integration of (i) Groundwater fluctuation dynamic, (ii) MODIS derived sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly, and (iii) Electrical conductivity (EC) based gradient mapping. The study has identified 9 out of 14 districts being vulnerable to SWI, whereas the remaining five districts from south Gujarat and the Saurashtra coast are suspectable for SGD. The present work will act as a preliminary basis for formulating a framework for the detailed investigation of the mixing process along the coast.