Underground Water Table Research Articles

Gravity Change and Its Relation to Land Subsidence and Underground Water Table Variation at Kerman, Iran

Gravity Change and Its Relation to Land Subsidence and Underground Water Table Variation at Kerman, Iran

Discrimination of bottled mineral water from tap water using a Dip-Type colorimetric paper-based sensor array and chemometrics

Mineral water is a natural water that originated from an underground water table, a well, or a natural spring which is considered microbiologically intact. The revenue from the bottled mineral water industry will be USD 342.40 billion in 2023, and it is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.24 %. Consequently, the discrimination of original bottled mineral water from tap water is an important issue that requires designing sensors for simple and portable identification of these two types of water. In this work, we have developed a Dip-Type colorimetric paper-based sensor array with three organic dyes (Bromothymol Blue, Bromophenol Blue, and Methyl Red) followed by chemometrics’ pattern recognition methods (PCA and LDA) for discrimination of original bottled mineral waters from tap waters based on differences in ion variety and ion quantity. Forty brands of mineral water and twenty-six Tap water samples from different regions of Shiraz and other Iranian cities were analyzed by this sensor array. Moreover, these experiments were performed in two consecutive years to check the versatility of the sensor with seasonal changes in waters. This sensor array was able to discriminate these two water types from each other with an accuracy of > 95 % based on the analysis of 85 water samples.

Heat pump efficiency with energy geostructure: Numerical long term modelling

Heat pump efficiency with energy geostructure: Numerical long term modelling

Climate Change and Urban Poor: Water-related Behavior in Jakarta

Jakarta is a growing urban centre that is facing two problems: climate change and urban poverty. City authority of Jakarta has yet to prepare comprehensive public policies to address the two challenges of the city that has over 9 million population. As a coastal city, Jakarta has a coastline up to 25 km long. The average elevation of land surface is 7 meters above sea level. Around 40 percent of land surface are below the sea level. There are thirteen rivers flowing rainwater from high land of West Java through the city running into Jakarta Bay. Therefore the threat of climate change is not only due to rising sea levels but also flooding and drought. It is estimated that around 1 million of the urban poor experiencing the vulnerability since most of them are illegally occupying the low land surrounding riversides. The extreme weather is now happen frequently both in urban and rural area. Since poor farmers and farm workers have no saving, some of them have trying to get the job in cities such as Jakarta. Their daily income is around USD 6 to USD 11. This article discusses how the urban poor act toward the impact of climate change. Since the urban poor have only subsistence income, they choose to live at the riversides in the all part of the city. They utilize the water resources for many purposes, utilize the short underground water table and also dump the waste into the river. This study discusses what the poor urban know and do regarding the water resources and its relationship with any evidence of climate change impact and vice versa. As an attempt to explore the possibility of linkages with climate change as an anthropogenic behaviour, this study tries to develop how the current water governance effectively address the problem

Identifying coal mining subsidence impacts by soil moisture based on optical trapezoid model in Google Earth Engine

AbstractMany coal mining areas overlapped with agricultural land in the world. However, surface subsidence and waterlogging brought on by coal mining inexorably harm the agricultural land. Soil moisture can reflect the variation of mining impact significantly according to the geographic features of the high underground water table, which shows significant spatial gradient variation within the subsidence basin. Previous studies have used site survey and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which are not applicable to large‐scale assessments of the ecological impacts and defining the scale of impacts. Here, we used the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform and an optical trapezoid model (OPTRAM) to estimate the soil moisture distribution around 50 mining subsidence waterbody samples in eastern China. Based on the spatial variation in soil moisture, the impact boundary of coal mining was determined using buffer analysis and trend fitting. The results showed that: (1) The OPTRAM can well reflect the soil moisture distribution which shows a good correlation between estimated and measured values, with R = 0.83 and RMSE = 0.054. (2) The spatial trend fitting of soil moisture is suitable for evaluating mining impact, and the impact distances are in the range of 96–762 m, 80% of which are located at 128–436 m. We also find that 28% of subsidence waterbody buffer basins were heavily influenced by human activities, and the coal mining impact boundaries cannot be effectively identified. The study provides a new idea to quantify the ecological and agricultural impact boundary of coal mining, which could be applied to other similar regions across the globe.

Impact of deeper groundwater depth on vegetation and soil in semi-arid region of eastern China.

Understanding the impact of deep groundwater depth on vegetation communities and soil in sand dunes with different underground water tables is essential for ecological restoration and the conservation of groundwater. Furthermore, this understanding is critical for determining the threshold value of groundwater depth that ensures the survival of vegetation. This paper was conducted in a semi-arid region in eastern China, and the effects of deep groundwater depth (6.25m, 10.61m, and 15.26m) on vegetation communities and soil properties (0-200 cm) across three dune types (mobile, semi-fixed, and fixed dunes) were evaluated in a sand ecosystem in the Horqin Sandy Land. For vegetation community, variations in the same species are more significant at different groundwater depths. For soil properties, groundwater depth negatively influences soil moisture, total carbon, total nitrogen, available nitrogen, available phosphorus concentrations, and soil pH. Besides, groundwater depth also significantly affected organic carbon and available potassium concentrations. In addition, herb species were mainly distributed in areas with lower groundwater depth, yet arbor and shrub species were sparsely distributed in places with deeper groundwater depth. As arbor and shrub species are key drivers of ecosystem sustainability, the adaptation of these dominant species to increasing groundwater depth may alleviate the negative effects of increasing groundwater depth; however, restrictions on this adaptation were exceeded at deeper groundwater depth.

Smart construction material: Utilization of M−sand to mitigate environmental pollution and generalized mix design thereof

The insufficiency of conservative materials like cement, sand and aggregates becomes the main critical problem in civil engineering domain among the higher demand of best quality control infrastructure. This research paper is emphasized on fine aggregates (sand). Sand which is dredged from the river bank is unfavorable in favor of the environment due to the depletion of underground surface water table near the surface zone which included soil and rocks permanent saturation under the water. In this regard an experimental research has been conducted on M−Sand. The mix design procedure only with M−Sand has not been described in any design codes even for distinct value percentage of M−sand and grade of concrete. A generalized mix design procedure is developed here for 50% river sand and 50% M−sand to increase or decrease the quantity of M−sand in nearby future. A parametric study has been carried out for distinct value percentages of M−Sand. In this paper to show the impact of M−sand on river sand a mix design tests of M−25 grade concrete including river sand and replacement M−Sand as a fine aggregate in distinct values of i.e. 0.0%, 10%, 20%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 80% & 100% ratios have been conducted. It is observed that almost mechanical-chemical characteristics of river bank sand and crushed stone (manufactured) M−Sand are similar. Results are described here in graphical form to show the influence of M−sand and it is concluded that M−Sand can be utilized as a partial or completely replacement material in place of river sand with high compressive, tensile and flexural strengths of concrete cubes, cylindrical and beam specimens respectively. Results revels positive response to use M−sand to mitigate the environmental pollution.

Evaluation of water resources: A case study of Rohtak district, Haryana

Water is one of the most important natural resources for life. Because of the rapid increase in population, urbanization, and industrialization, the demand for water to meet various needs is constantly increasing. Water that is present below the Earth's surface and fills any gaps in the soil or geologic strata is known as groundwater. It is additionally known as subsurface water. Data related to underground water table were obtained from Central Ground Water Board of the Ministry of Water Resources. Maps of underground water table depth, quality and surface water resources were prepared in Arc GIS software. After the analysis of maps, the depth of the underground water table in the study area ranges from 0 to 20 meters. The maximum area of the study area is 3-10 meters, which covers 48.35% of the study area. The minimum area is 10-20 meters deep and covers 1.43% of the study area. In Rohtak block, the maximum depth is observed in the villages of Brahmanvas, Chamaria, Aryanagar, and Bohar. The quality of groundwater varies from fresh to saline. Fresh underground water quality occupies the largest area, accounting for 59.8% of the study area. Saline underground water quality accounts for 0.5% of the study area. In terms of surface water resources, this district lacks a perennial river. The main irrigation channels in this area are artificial drain no. 8 and sub drains, major canals, distributaries, and minor canals. This research paper will make a better understanding of water resources in Rohtak district. It will help to analyse and understand the current status of underground water depth, quality and surface water to build up any water resource management plan. A water resource management plan will ensure the sustainable use of water resources which is very important for our ecosystem.

Role of geo informatics in achieving sustainable agriculture and it’s scenario in Haryana: An overview

Agricultural sustainability is founded on the belief that we must meet the demands of the present without affecting future generations' ability to fulfill their demands. Sustainable agriculture attempts to maintain equilibrium between the requirement for food production and the conservation of the ecosystem. Geo informatics technologies are helping in many ways like find out the current scenario of anything like cropping pattern, rotation, the land use and land cover and underground water quality and water table depth; it helps to analyses the finding and makes decisions in the way of achieving sustainable agriculture. Secondary data is collected from state agriculture policy (2021), Statistical abstract of Haryana (2021-22) and state budget 2023-24. The main aim of this study is to understand the current scenario of sustainable agriculture and what’s the role of geo informatics in its development.In Haryana, the agricultural sector remains to be very important to the state's economy, generating 14.5 percent of the state's GDP and employing 51 of the total workforce. Many programs and policies are made by Haryana govt. to conserve the water and soil resources and to achieve sustainable agriculture which is essential for the sustainable growth of state. Some current programs are like at least 72,000 acres were planted with direct-seeded rice in Kharif 2022, and farmers received financial aid total of 29 crores (at 4,000 per acre) to encourage direct-seeded rice cultivation, which uses less water that will be beneficial for the underground water resources. A new initiative called

Biopolymeric superabsorbent hydrogels enhance crop and water productivity of soybean–wheat system in Indo-Gangetic plains of India

Environmental crises, declining factor productivity, and shrinking natural resource is a threat to global agricultural sustainability. The task is much more daunting in the Indo-Gangetic northern plains of India, where depletion of the underground water table and erratic rains due to the changing climate pose a major challenge to agriculture. To address these challenges a field investigation was carried out during 2016–2018 to test the efficacy of biopolymeric superabsorbent hydrogels namely Pusa Hydrogel (P-hydrogel: a semi-synthetic cellulose derivative-based product) and kaolin derivative of Pusa Hydrogel (K-hydrogel: semi-synthetic cellulose derivative) to assess their effect on crop and water productivity, soil moisture, root dynamics, and economics of soybean (Glycine max L.)–wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) system under three irrigation regimes namely full irrigation, limited irrigation and rainfed. The results revealed that the full irrigation along with P-hydrogel led to enhanced grain yield, biomass yield, and water productivity (WP) of soybean (1.61–10.5%, 2.2–9.5%, and 2.15–21.8%, respectively) and wheat (11.1–18.3%, 12–54% and 11.1–13.1%, respectively) over control plots. Likewise, under water stressed plots of rainfed conditions with P-hydrogel exhibited 52.7 and 20.6% higher system yields (in terms of wheat equivalent yield) over control and other combinations during the respective study years. Whereas the magnitude of increase in system yield under limited irrigation with P-hydrogel was ~ 15.1% and under full irrigation with P-hydrogel was 8.0–19.4%. Plots treated with P-hydrogel retained 3.0–5.0% higher soil moisture compared to no-hydrogel plots, while K-hydrogel treated plots held the lower moisture (4.0–6.0%) than the control. In terms of profitability, full irrigation along with P-hydrogel plots registered 12.97% higher economic returns over control. The results suggested that P-hydrogel (2.5 kg ha−1) reduces runoff water loss in full irrigation applied plots and retained more water, where loss of water is more thus reduces number of irrigations. Hence P-hydrogel with irrigation water is a viable option for sustainable production of soybean-wheat systems in the Indo-Gangetic plains of India and other similar eco-regions of the world.

Agronomic Biofortification of Zinc in Wheat

Intensive cropping system with imbalance use of fertilizers are responsible for declining soil health, underground water table, declining land and water productivity, emergence of new micronutrient deficiencies, new weed flora, and resistance to herbicides especially in emerging countries. This is further intensified when micronutrients particularly zinc (Zn), which is essential for human health, particularly in developing countries. Zn biofortification is a strategy for improving the intrinsic Zn content of the edible portion of plants via application of Zn-enriched fertilizers to soil or by foliar application at a predetermined stage and a proper dose. The most common cereal in the human diet is wheat, which make it most suitable targets for agronomic biofortification. The concentration of Zn in wheat grain is genotype-dependent and interacts with the environment, causing variation in micronutrient concentrations. Given Zn's importance in cereal-based nutrition, zinc biofortification seems to to be an innovative technology for alleviating zinc deficiency in human health, particularly on the Indian subcontinent, by applying Zn as a foliar or soil application.

Experimental Study on Early Age Characteristics of Lime-GGBS-Treated Gypseous Clays under Wet–Dry Cycles

Gypseous soils are capable of presenting ground construction challenges to civil and geotechnical engineers due to their unpredictable deformation characteristics. These undesirable responses are sometimes caused by environmental changes in moisture content due to temperature variations, fluctuation of underground water table, surface water, and gypsum content. Hence, the adoption of effective and economical means of stabilising gypseous soils is imperative. This study’s focus is on the early age strength and microstructural characteristics of gypseous soils treated with lime and GGBS. Treated and untreated gypseous soils with 5%, 15%, and 25% gypsum content were subjected to wet–dry cycles while investigating unconfined compressive strength (UCS), water absorption, pH, microstructural changes, and swell. The analysis of the results shows that at zero cycle, the UCS of the untreated gypseous soils increases from 0.62 to 0.79 MPa and swell decreases from 69 to 23%, respectively, as gypsum content increases. However, upon subjection to wet–dry cycles, the UCS reduced from 0.16 to 0.08 MPa at the end of the sixth cycle due to dissolution of gypsum within the soil pores which reduced the strength. The result also shows that gypsum content increases water absorption and reduces the pH of the untreated gypseous soils because of the neutral pH of gypsum. Furthermore, lime-GGBS-treated gypseous soils maintained a higher pH after six wet–dry cycles compared to untreated gypseous soils due to the high pH of lime and the increase in calcium content which improved bonding. In addition, microstructural analysis using SEM indicated early age precipitation of cementitious compounds (CSH) for increasing strength of lime-GGBS-treated gypseous soils compared to untreated gypseous soils.

Examining the relationship between coal mining subsidence and crop failure in plains with a high underground water table

Examining the relationship between coal mining subsidence and crop failure in plains with a high underground water table

Assessment of knowledge and perception of rain water harvesting among rural population of Kancheepuram District, Tamil Nadu

Background: Water is a fundamental need for human being, animals and plants to live in the world for drinking and sanitation purpose. The main source of water is rain, and surface water also originates from rain only rain water harvesting is the technique of collection and storage of rain water in surface (or above the ground natural or man-made structures) or in under-ground aquifers (the under-ground water table), before it is lost as surface run-off. Objective of the study was to assess the awareness and the perception about rain water harvesting in rural population of Tamil Nadu.Methods: A community based cross sectional Study conducted among population of residence, Sembakkam, Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu. The study duration from June 2019 to July 2019. Data collected through semi structured questionnaire from participants. Data collected was entered in Microsoft (MS) office excel and analyzed in statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 21.Results: In the education status of study population, 75.5% (151) are literate and followed by 24.5% (49) were illiterate. In socioeconomic status most of them from class IV, 36.5% (73) and class III, 33% (66). 90.5% (181) are not have rainwater harvesting their houses, most of them 50.5% are answered financial issues to construct the rainwater harvesting followed by 21.5% they don’t know where to approach.Conclusions: An increasing number of population will soon increase the demand for water consumption. Rainwater harvesting which offers a lot of benefits not just for the users, but also to the government and environment, is a suitable alternative that could minimize the anticipated water supply crisis.

Analysis and Design of a Complex Underground Structure with Economic Comparison of Top-Down and Diaphragm Wall Construction Methods

Analysis and design of an underground structure often brings with it, challenging technical issues. This study deals with the design of a subway station located in Tabriz city of Iran. Large dimensions of structure and relatively high level of underground water table and proximity of the project to the residential zone require the careful and precise analysis and design of soil–structure interaction. This study aims at comparing two top-down construction methods. In one case, the structure is comprised of steel frame with concrete diaphragm wall which is built from top to bottom story by story (top-down method). For the other one, the structure is comprised of reinforced concrete members and diaphragm walls are completely cast at the first stage of construction (diaphragm wall method) and then the structure is built from top to the bottom. To this aim, the soil–structure interaction is modeled by 3-D Abaqus and 2-D Plaxis models. A 3-D SAP model is also used to analyze and design the structure. The results indicate that the diaphragm wall method is superior to the top-down method in terms of economy and practical aspects.

Ecological Consequences of Climate Condition Changes (CCC) in Lake Kinneret Watershed

The Hula Valley which is part of the Lake Kinneret watershed (2730 km²) in northern Israel is part of the Syrian–African Great Rift Valley. During mid-1980`s-2017 changes in the climate condition (CCC) were recorded in the watershed: Dryness symptoms of rainfall and headwater river discharges have been declining and air temperature has been increasing. The most recent periodical dryness (drought) was recorded in 2014–2019. Although the Hula Valley comprises only about 10% of the entire drainage basin, it is a significant environmental regional component contributing pollutants which is utilized for agricultural cultivation and eco-tourism infrastructure. Until the late 1950s, this valley was covered by swampy wetlands and a shallow old Lake Hula of mean 1.5 m depth and 13 km² surface area. The valley was drained and converted for agricultural development. The objective of this paper is an evaluation of long-term record of the CCC consequences within the Hula Valley: Headwater discharges, precipitation, air temperature, underground water table (GWT), wind regime (velocity, direction), evaporation, relative humidity, and solar radiation. A partial of CCC within the Hula Valley was confirmed, mostly temperature increase, water deficiency, and ground water table (GWT) lowering. Results indicates that the impact of CCC threatened the optimal appropriate maintenance of the valley. Conclusive future perspectives of supplemental water supply from lake Kinneret to the Hula Valley combined with enhancement of desalinized sea water input into the lake that might improve Hula Valley management and the Kinneret water quality are discussed.

Integral approach of treatment of phenolic wastewater using nano-metal coated graphene oxide in combination with advanced oxidation

Wastewater treatment is one of the highlighted environmental concerns today due to depletion in the underground water table and its serious impact on aquatic life. High organic loading, antibacterial, and phytotoxicity of phenolic compounds in wastewater make them resistant to biological degradation.Therefore, the main aim of the research is to investigate the degradation of phenol by photocatalysis, through a series of Graphene Oxide (GO) coated nanocomposites such as GO-TiO2 (GOT) and Graphene-Iron (GOI). The performance of hybrid composite was investigated in a batch system under different loading conditions such as pH, adsorbent dose, and phenol concentration. Photocatalytic degradation results in complete declination of pollutants into harmless end products. The phenol adsorption by GOT was best and was pH dependant. The optimum condition for 97.78% removal by GOT was achieved at an adsorbent dose of (0.210 g /L), pH (5.5), phenol concentration (10 mg/L), and contact time 2 h. But the major drawback of GOT is recovery and separation, to overcome this GOI was synthesized. GOI represents lesser adsorption capability of (53.89%) because of the loading of iron on GO sheet. Langmuir and Freundlich both isotherm models represented well fit for the phenol adsorption batch data. However, the Langmuir isotherm (R2=0.999) shows a better fit over the Freundlich model (R2=0.964). Further in the study, the photocatalytic degradation by GOT were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) analysis.

Identification of Alternative Landfill Site Using QGIS in a Densely Populated Metropolitan Area

Abstract Appropriate landfill site selection for disposal of solid waste is a very complicated assignment, as it needs multicriteria analysis of various parameters. In this study, we have used QGIS for identification of alternative landfill site in Gurugram district, a satellite city of New Delhi. Various criteria are analysed for selecting the landfill sites. Weight and rank are assigned to the criterion such as road networks, presence of water bodies, residential locations, and depth of the underground water table by using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Five possible landfill sites have been identified for solid waste disposal based upon the AHP method analysis and overlay analysis in GIS tool in Gurugram district. The methodology used in this paper is very efficient for performing multicriteria analysis and can be generalised for selecting landfill sites in other areas with similar demographics.

Stability Analysis of Soil Slope Subjected to Perched Water Condition

Perched water zone occurs in the subsurface of the slope under heavy rainfall or above an impeding layer with relatively low permeability. It causes a decrease in the shear strength of the soil and the increase in the loading on the slope. As the most used method of estimate the slope stability, the limit equilibrium method considers the influence of rainfall infiltration on the slope stability by increasing the underground water table and decreasing the shear strength parameters on the slip surface. However, the contribution of perched pore water pressure is usually ignored. To incorporate the effect of perched water pressure into the stability analysis, the Bishop's simplified method and Janbu's simplified method are modified to perform stability analysis in the situation of circular and composite slip surfaces, respectively. The detailed methodology and numerical implement procedure are presented. Then, three examples are adopted to verify the proposed methods and to investigate the impact of the perched water zone on slope stability. The results show that the program developed in this study has considerable accuracy compared to commercial software. The pore water pressure in the perched water zone has important impacts on slope stability, especially when the depth of the perched water zone is greater than 4 m. Ignoring the perched pore water pressure in the slope stability analysis might overestimate the safety status of the slope.

Zinc biofortification as an innovative technology to alleviate the zinc deficiency in human health: a review

AbstractPaddy-wheat crop rotation is responsible for declining soil health, underground water table, arising new micronutrient deficiencies, new weed flora, and resistance to herbicides, declining both land and water productivity and is claimed to be capital and energy-intensive, more particularly in emerging countries. This is further aggravated when micronutrients are deficient, particularly zinc (Zn), which plays an important role in human health, especially in developing countries. Zn biofortification is a technique in which the inherent Zn status of the edible portion of plants is improved by simply spraying a Zn solution onto the crop or through a soil application at a predetermined stage and a proper dose. The concentration of Zn within a wheat grain is genotype-dependent and interacts with the environment, inducing variation in a grain’s concentration of micronutrients. Grain quality parameters are positively correlated with a higher dose of nitrogen in the late reproductive stage. Broadcasting of ZnSO4·7H2O at 62.5 kg ha−1and foliar application of Zn chelates such as Zn–HEDP (C) at 2 g L−1, Zn–HEDP (L) at 3 g L−1, or a 0.4–0.5% ZnSO4solution during grain development stage enhanced the growth, productivity, and micronutrients concentration in the edible portion of the plant which further improves the quality of wheat grains and ultimately improves human health in the region. Given the central importance to Zn in cereal-based nutrition, zinc biofortification appears as an innovative technology to alleviate the zinc deficiency in human health, especially on the Indian subcontinent, by applying Zn either as a foliar or soil application.