Paleohydrology of Quaternary River Systems of North Bihar Plains, India

Abstract

The surface impressions on the satellite images, combined with field investigations and subsurface data, have been used to infer the paleohydrologic conditions in parts of the world’s largest tract of Quaternary sedimentation. The present-day set-up in the north Bihar plains, eastern India consists of fan and interfan rivers and it appears likely that their relative positions have kept changing. The paleochannel traces seen on the satellite images as well as in the field bear testimony to the migration trends and paleohydrologic conditions of the region. From a sedimentologist’s point of view, the floodplain deposits provide information about the morphology and hydraulic regime of the rivers that transported them. Variations in the grain size of the sediments may therefore be indicative of fluctuations of speed, and/or strength in the transporting flows. The present study attempts to draw important inferences about the channel pattern changes, channel belt migration trends, paleoflow conditions and depositional history of the Quaternary sediments in the north Bihar plains.