Undulating Terrain Research Articles

Exploration of Natural Playgrounds in Urban Parks: Promoting Children’s Health

Children’s health includes physiological, psychological, cognitive, behavioral and other aspects of health. Playing in nature has been demonstrated to have irreplaceable benefits for children’s health. However, the urban built-up environment devours the natural play space and aggravates children’s problems. Since the 1990s, people have gradually realized the importance of nature and play, thus began to explore the natural children’s playground. The COVID-19 pandemic also makes people pay greater attention to the natural and healthy living environment. The urban park is an important place for children to play freely. It is of great significance to explore the natural design of its playground. Starting from the connotation and function of nature, games and playgrounds, this paper analyzes children’s preference for playgrounds. In addition, combined with the previous researches, five thoughts on the planning and design of natural playgrounds in urban parks are summarized: (1) The natural environment should be accessible and approachable; (2) The original natural objects and the natural products are suitable to coexist; (3) The undulating terrain can be combined with the flat grassland; (4) The dynamic and diversity of natural elements is very important; (5) The balance between safety and adventure is also needed. Finally, it is proposed that children’s choice priority and use characteristics of various play elements can be further studied to guide planning and design more accurately.

Modelling of Terrain Effect from the Magnetotelluric (MT) Field Data

Magnetotelluric (MT) data were recorded over highly undulating terrain in Himalayan region from Roorkee to Gangotri section in period 0.001-1000 second. In the presence of topographic distortion the interpretation may become misleading. A simple scheme based on finite difference method for the simulation of the topographic distortion in magnetotelluric response is presented. The finite difference based, forward response computation algorithm, has been extended for undulating topography. The distortion coefficients, representing the topographic effect, are designed for correcting the observed distorted impedance tensor recorded in the vicinity of topographic features. The accuracy of the scheme is checked by comparing the computed responses with the finite element, Rayleigh scattering and transmission surface results for transverse electric (TE-mode) and transverse magnetic (TM-mode) responses. The modified algorithm is used to model the terrain effect on MT data recorded from Himalayan terrain.

GIS-based multi-criteria evaluation of groundwater potential of the Beshilo River basin, Ethiopia

Application of modern techniques is a pre-requisite for sustainable groundwater development. In this study, Digital Elevation Model (DEM; resolution of 30 × 30 m) was used to obtain the elevation, slope, and drainage density themes that are necessary for targeting groundwater potential. The lineament and geology map (at a scale of 1:250,000) were collected from the Geological Survey of Ethiopia. The land use image (30 × 30 m resolution) was downloaded from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) website for the necessary analysis. The Analytical Hierarchal Process (AHP) was employed to assign weights to various thematic maps, and they were overlaid using the “Weighted sum” overlay analysis in the geographic information system (GIS) domain. The resulting output highlights the groundwater prospectus of the Beshilo River basin in the Upper Blue Nile, Ethiopia, which is characterized by an undulating terrain with the elevations varying from 1117 to 4235 m. The slope of the study area ranges from 0 to 77.05°. The final result shows that 4551.93 km2 (34.78%) of the study area falls in the “High” groundwater potential zone. The “Moderate,” “Low,” and “Very low” groundwater potential areas cover an areal extent of 4041.21 km2 (30.88%), 3600.64 km2 (27.51%), and 892.49 km2 (6.82%) respectively. The effect of rainfall, elevation, and soil texture on the groundwater potential was also evaluated in this study. The main objective of this study is to decipher groundwater potential zones and to evaluate the influence of elevation and soil texture on groundwater potential zones.

The three-dimensional finite element forward modelling of complex excitation source NMR

Abstract Traditional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is mainly applied to horizontal ground and one-dimensional electrical structures. However, calculations of the excitation fields rarely consider the three-dimensional electrical changes of the subsurface medium and undulating terrain, or the deformations caused by emission sources. Therefore, to analyse the influences of terrain fluctuations, emission source deformations and three-dimensional electrical changes on NMR, three-dimensional finite element forward modelling of undulating terrain NMR was conducted in this study. First, based on a scalar finite element method, the direct calculations of the excited magnetic fields of a three-dimensional electrical medium were realised, which improved calculation accuracy by avoiding the finite element calculations of magnetic vector potential and vector on the magnetic field. During the source loading process, the equivalent thin wire source of the pseudo δ function was used to load the source function directly into the equation for the purpose of achieving total field calculations. This was completed to enable the calculations to be applied to any shape of the transmitting loop and undulating terrain. Then, the components of the excitation magnetic fields perpendicular to the geomagnetic fields were calculated using the rotation matrix. Finally, the NMR sensitivity function and 3D responses were calculated. The calculations of the excitation magnetic fields were verified using a uniform half-space model. The overall algorithm was tested by the nuclear magnetic responses of the layered medium. Also, a typical undulating terrain model was adopted and the complex excitation source NMR was simulated using the algorithm proposed in this study. The algorithm provided a three-dimensional forward basis for the NMR inversion in the cases of determining the electrical medium for the subsequent undulating terrain.

An Estimation of Hydrometeorological Drought Stress over the Central Part of India using Geo-information Technology

Drought is a creeping natural hazard commencing from lack of rainfall and generally associated with various climatic aspects. Drought-related water deficiency has severe consequences upon environmental processes and socioeconomic activities. In the past few decades, a number of drought indices have been developed for assessing the extent, onset, duration and intensity of drought. The Bundelkhand region located in the central part of India has been affected by recurrent drought events during the past few decades. This study seeks to examine hydrometeorological drought stress of that area using remote sensing and meteorological indicators, i.e., standardized precipitation index (SPI), hydrology-based rainfall anomaly index (RAI) and standardized water-level index (SWI). Daily rainfall data from Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Stations (CHIRPS) and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) were integrated with station-based groundwater datasets (1998–2015) to analyze the hydrometeorological drought condition of the area. In addition, groundwater datasets were used to evaluate the long-term hydrological drought situation and compared with meteorological drought indices. The study reveals a good agreement among all hydrometeorological drought indices distinctly in few years (2002 and 2013). However, the findings were not coherent in all years due to high rate of runoff and poor groundwater recharge. In spite of having normal rainfall, the undulating terrains of this rugged land confine the infiltration process and cause hydrological drought stress in several parts of the area.

Soil erosion in disturbed forests and agricultural plantations in tropical undulating terrain: in situ measurement using a laser erosion bridge method

Abstract The rapid growth of agricultural plantations and climatic extremes has raised concerns pertaining to enhanced soil erosion. Soil erosion studies are still relatively limited in Malaysia. In this study, soil erosion in four sites such as high conservation value forests (HCVFs), logged forest (LF), mature oil palm (MOP), and mature rubber (MR) within the Kelantan River Basin was measured. A total of 3,207 measurements were conducted via the Modified Laser Erosion Bridge in all sites over 1 year. Results of soil erosion are 87.63, 25.45, 8.44, and 5.90 t ha−1 yr−1 for the HCVF, LF, MOP and MR, respectively – classified as very severe (HCVF), very high (LF), moderate (MP) and slight (MR) according to the Indian condition classification. Steep slope gradient (significant positive correlation to erosion) and logging are the main factors attributed to the high erosion rates. This is to be further explored in the future and more detailed studies should be conducted on the HCVF and LF areas, respectively. Mitigation measures and sustainable agricultural practices should be planned to control and reduce soil erosion.

Chernozems of Lubelszczyzna (eastern Poland)

Abstract The purpose of the work was to characterize the variously used humus in the south-eastern part of the Lublin region. The basic research material were data taken from the literature on the subject. Standard soil science methods were used in the study. The humus level of humus varieties ranged from 30 to 80 cm. The researched molds were formed from loess deposits, which most often showed graining of clay dust. Organic carbon content in humus levels did not exceed 2.9%. The surface levels of the analyzed molds showed clear decalcification. The CaCO3 content in the loess mother rock was a maximum of 15.5%. These are soils with high saturation of the sorption complex with basic cations. The content of available phosphorus and potassium in humus levels was low and medium. According to Systematics of Poland’s soils (2019), the analyzed molds mainly represented leached molds and typical molds, while according to the international soil classification WRB (IUSS Working Group WRB 2015) they are primarily Phaeozems. All the analyzed humus plants belong to soils with the highest utility value. Phenomena lowering the quality of molds in the Lublin region related to human activity are the use of improper agrotechnics, and above all water surface erosion. The unfavorable processes are favored by the undulating terrain and the grain size of the soils studied, characteristic for this area.

Art History, Boundary Crossing, Making Worlds

Art History, Boundary Crossing, Making Worlds

Topographic effects on frequency-size distribution of landslides triggered by the Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake in 2018

This study examined the frequency-size distribution of 6117 landslides spread over 440 km2 in Iburi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan, induced by the Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake (Mw 6.6) on September 6, 2018. The study area is characterized by gently undulating terrain that is finely dissected by shallow streams and covered predominantly by layers of volcanic products with high water content. Most of the landslides were shallow landslides, and their slip surfaces often formed in a layer of volcanic soil called the “Ta-d,” deposited at 9000 ybp. Low ridges separating small catchments allowed individual landslides to coalesce in many locations. The average size of landslides was 7160 m2. Landslide size tended to increase with slope angle up to 20° to 25° and then decrease with further increase of slope angle. About half of the landslides occurred in a feature with both concave planform and profile curvature, and their average size was 8720 m2. In contrast, 17% of the total landslides occurred in the case of both curvatures being convex, and their average size was 5190 m2. The results indicated that the accumulation of saturated soil in concave features provided more opportunities for landslides of large sizes. The frequency-size distribution of the landslides presented high rollover, 5.0 × 10−3 km2, but the exponent of power law decay for medium to large landslides, − 2.46, was not largely different from those of studies in other locations. Compared with other seismically caused examples, the landslides triggered by the Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake can be characterized as more clustered, more numerous, and larger in size for the moment magnitude of the earthquake. Conversely, the magnitude scale for the landslide event estimated from the total landslide area was equivalent to that of a region struck by an earthquake of Mw = 7.0 to 7.4. This study demonstrated that gently undulating regions can produce unexpectedly large and frequent landslides when struck by an intense earthquake, and when soil layers vulnerable to ground shaking cover the ground.

Visualisation of impacts due to the proposed developmental projects in the ecologically fragile regions- Kodagu district, Karnataka

Assessing land use land cover changes in forested regions reflect the extent of anthropogenic pressure, ecosystem degradation and their impact on local wellbeing. The rapid expansion of linear developments such as roads, power lines will have an irreversible loss of habitat, as a result of forest fragmentation and consequent disruptions in the local ecological processes. The spatiotemporal land use analysis of Kodagu highlights the loss of forest cover due to an uncontrolled expansion of coffee plantations and other driving forces. The major cover of evergreen forest (40.47 to 27.14%) has lost due to interventions in terms of road, built-up areas and other changes. Around 66,892 ha of pristine forest cover was lost due to un-interrupted exploitation. Kushalnagara and Madikere taluks have lost the major chunk of forests due to construction (roads, homestays, villas, etc.) activities. Forest fragmentation analyses portray the status of forests in their condition across the temporal scale. The region had 32% of forest cover under interior or intact forests in 1973, whereas in 2018 it covers only 19% under various protected areas. Though Kodagu district is well connected with national and state high ways, the Government has now proposed to increase the road width of existing major highways (7) and a new railway line connecting Tellicherry and Mysore. The scenario based analysis has been done considering business as usual and with the expansion of linear alignments using Fuzzy-MCE-AHP-MCA. Forecasting future land use changes resulting from linear developments suggest the loss of core forest with the expansion of pre-existing roads. The loss of 8% forest cover with the expansion of linear alignments will have irreversible impacts on Kodagu landscape. The study reveals the causal factors for the disaster are the absence of prudent management of a landscape in the ecologically fragile region evident from the conversion of native forests to other land uses, disruption of stream network, construction of buildings along the water course disrupting the natural water flow, construction or expansion of existing roads, steep vertical cuts leading to structural instability, removal of native vegetation cover in highly undulating terrains with steep slopes leading to the weakening of terrain due to the lowered binding capability of soil, encroachment of local water bodies (such as ponds/tanks), etc. The study emphasizes the need for restoration of stream network, catchment treatment through planting of native species, arresting deforestation and restrictions of large-scale developmental projects with the detrimental land use changes. The outcome of the current research helps in evolving appropriate policies to review the proposed linear projects towards sustainable management of natural resources.

Integrated Management of Upper Errakalava and Gunderu Watersheds, Upland Area of West Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh — RS and GIS Approach

The upland of West Godavari district experiences a relatively high rainfall with increasing trends towards north. The northeastern part of the study area is hilly terrain that mostly covered by forest. This area acts as a good recharge and run-off zone for the low-lying upland area. The central and southern parts of the area occupied by highly porous and permeable sandstone and alluvium forms good repositories of groundwater. Groundwater remains the principal source of irrigation and drinking. Major portion of this area is a flat to gently undulating terrain with clayey and fine loamy soils, facilitating intensive agricultural activities. Thus, the area under study forms an excellent natural geo-environment for human habitat. The present integrated watershed analysis, remote sensing coupled with GIS, is aimed at generating sustainable developmental measures of land and water resources on watershed basis in the area. For that, various thematic layers viz. settlements and transportation, slope and digital elevation model, lithology and structure, drainage and surface water resources, land use land cover, geomorphology and ground water prospects etc. were generated. Overlay of these resource maps further helped in the development of mitigation / treatment strategies in suggesting water harvesting structures. This approach enables the watershed users to take necessary actions to implement such measures for the sustainability of both land and water resources in the entire district. The integrated watershed analysis is aimed at generating sustainable developmental measures of land and water resources on watershed basis in the area. However, the underlying concept of present study is the sustenance of geo-environment.

Fast and Reliable Motion Model for Articulated Wheeled Mobile Robots on Extremely Rough and Rocky Terrains

Articulated wheeled mobile robots (AWMRs) have reconfigurable body structures that permit them to traverse rough terrains. Predicting trajectories of these robots on a rough surface is vital to carry out path planning. Several model-based approaches have been proposed in the past to predict these trajectories, but the existing work has been mostly focused on soft soil, or hard terrains with a smoothly changing surface. In the future, AWMRs would likely be sent to challenging scenarios that are rocky. Hence, a novel model for AWMRs has been proposed that extends existing Kineto-static motion models to consider multiple points of contacts for each of the wheels of the robot, which is vital for rocky terrains. Simulations are carried out based upon the COLE VII robot to compare the proposed method with state-of-the-art Kineto-static and differential algebraic equation based constraint dynamics models. The accuracy of these techniques and the proposed method is benchmarked against the popular open dynamics engine. Two-way analysis of variance is performed and it is shown that accounting for wheel width and multiple points of contact does not have a significant impact on the simulation results on smoothly undulating terrain, whereas, it does on a rocky terrain. Moreover, accounting for wheel width and multiple points of contact does not significantly impact the run time of the underlying dynamics algorithm for fast collision checking.

COMPARISON OF UAV IMAGERY-DERIVED POINT CLOUD TO TERRESTRIAL LASER SCANNER POINT CLOUD

Abstract. A small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with survey-grade GNSS positioning is used to produce a point cloud for topographic mapping and 3D reconstruction. The objective of this study is to assess the accuracy of a UAV imagery-derived point cloud by comparing a point cloud generated by terrestrial laser scanning (TLS). Imagery was collected over a 320 m by 320 m area with undulating terrain, containing 80 ground control points. A SenseFly eBee Plus fixed-wing platform with PPK positioning with a 10.6 mm focal length and a 20 MP digital camera was used to fly the area. Pix4Dmapper, a computer vision based commercial software, was used to process a photogrammetric block, constrained by 5 GCPs while obtaining cm-level RMSE based on the remaining 75 checkpoints. Based on results of automatic aerial triangulation, a point cloud and digital surface model (DSM) (2.5 cm/pixel) are generated and their accuracy assessed. A bias less than 1 pixel was observed in elevations from the UAV DSM at the checkpoints. 31 registered TLS scans made up a point cloud of the same area with an observed horizontal root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.006m, and negligible vertical RMSE. Comparisons were made between fitted planes of extracted roof features of 2 buildings and centreline profile comparison of a road in both UAV and TLS point clouds. Comparisons showed an average +8 cm bias with UAV point cloud computing too high in two features. No bias was observed in the roof features of the southernmost building.

A fast forward algorithm for three-dimensional magnetic anomaly on undulating terrain

This paper presents a fast and high-precision three-dimensional magnetic anomaly forward algorithm on undulating terrain. Firslty, The forward algorithm for three-dimensional magnetic anomalies on a horizontal observation surface is developed with the Block-Toeplitz-Toeplitz-Block (BTTB) matrix. In the proposed algorithm, the cuboid elements are used to divide the underground space. And the position of the observation point is set as the projection of the central point of the cuboid element onto the observation surface. With the symmetry of the BTTB matrix, the coefficient matrix is compressed and stored to reduces the memory requirements during the computation process. In order to deal with the coefficient matrix and parameter vector computations, the matrix cross-multiplication computation is transformed into a point-multiplication computation with the fast Fourier transform (FFT) method. Then, to solve the problem of undulating terrain, a hierarchical interpolation method is proposed in forward algorithm, in which the undulating terrain is divided into several horizontal observation surfaces. Subsequently, the magnetic field on the undulating terrain is interpolated. Some 3D models with horizontal observation surface and undulating terrain are tested to verify the proposed algorithm. The results show that the forward algorithm has the advantages of fast computation speed, high precision, and low memory requirement. It is suitable for large-scale (ten millions of nodes) three-dimensional magnetic forward modeling.

REVISED PROGRESSIVE MORPHOLOGICAL METHOD FOR GROUND POINT CLASSIFICATION OF AIRBORNE LIDAR DATA

Airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) has been very effectively used in collecting terrain information over different scales of area. Inevitably, filtering the non-ground returns is the major step of digital terrain model (DTM) generation and this step poses the greatest challenge especially for tropical forest environment which consists of steep undulating terrain and mostly covered by a relatively thick canopy density. The aim of this research is to assess the performance of the Progressive Morphological (PM) algorithm after the implementation of local slope value in the ground filtering process. The improvement on the PM filtering method was done by employing local slope values obtained either using initial filtering of airborne LiDAR data or ground survey data. The filtering process has been performed with recursive mode and it stops after the results of the filtering does not show any improvement and the DTM error larger than the previous iteration. The revised PM filtering method has decreasing pattern of DTM error with increasing filtering iterations with minimum ±0.520 m of RMSE value. The results also suggest that spatially distributed slope value applied in PM filtering algorithm either from LiDAR ground points or ground survey data is capable in preserving discontinuities of terrain and correctly remove non-terrain points especially in steep area.

Estimation of Above Ground Biomass Using Support Vector Machines and ALOS/PALSAR data

L-band Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data has been extensively used for forest aboveground biomass (AGB) estimation due to its higher saturation level. However, SAR backscatter is highly influenced by the topography characteristics along with the bio-geophysical properties of vegetation and underneath soil characteristics. This has limited the accuracy of directly relating the SAR backscatter with above ground biomass in highly undulated terrain. In this study, it has been observed that terrain degree of slope and aspect plays a vital role in influencing the SAR backscatter in addition with AGB. Because of this, the degree of slope and aspect along with SAR backscatter in HH (transmit and receive polarizations are horizontal) and HV (transmit horizontal and receive vertical) polarizations have been considered as inputs for Support Vector Machine (SVM) to improve the biomass retrieval accuracy. Our results demonstrate that the accuracy of AGB estimation over hilly terrain can be significantly improved by considering topographical characteristics in addition to L-band backscatter.

Finger Millet in Tribal Farming Systems Contributes to Increased Availability of Nutritious Food at Household Level: Insights from India

The challenge to food production posed by climate aberrations has been seeing increased attention to reviving millet-based farming systems. Millets are climate-resilient and nutritionally equivalent or superior to most other cereals, making them a favourable crop to address the prevalence of malnutrition. Finger millet (Eleusine coracana) is among the major crops cultivated in the undulating terrains of Koraput district of Odisha, India. It is consumed as a staple food and drink by the local tribal communities. However, over the years there has been rapid decline both in area and in production of the crop leading to reduced grain availability for household consumption. With a view to increase the productivity, the study assessed the effects of possible combinations of crop varieties and agronomic practices that can be customized for finger millet production system in Koraput over 2 years (2015–2017). The study focused on crop productivity, profitability and labour requirement along with nutrition awareness initiatives. On-farm trial with improved variety ‘GPU-67’ with line transplanting and recommended fertilizer management in 2015–2016 showed 31 and 50% higher grain yield and profit than that of farmers’ practice (1579 kg ha− 1 and ₹13,730 ha− 1, respectively) and was counted as a recommended cultivation package. In 2016–2017, the recommended practice showed 60% higher grain yield and 1.16 times more profit than farmers’ practice (1575 kg ha− 1 and ₹14,000 ha− 1, respectively) (P < 0.000). Both total and women’s labour requirement per ha was lower under recommended practice. An endline survey in 2017 revealed improved household consumption over baseline.

A generalized ordered probit model for analyzing driver injury severity of head-on crashes on two-lane rural highways in Malaysia

The number of fatal crashes in Malaysia has steadily been increasing, exceeding 7,000 deaths every year since 2016. Compared to other collision types, head-on crashes account for about 12% of total crashes in Malaysia yet are responsible for 17% of total fatal crashes. This indicates that head-on crashes are among the most fatal collision types. However, very few studies have been focused on the injury severity of head-on crashes. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the factors that are hypothesized to be associated with driver injury severity in head-on crashes. To do this, a generalized ordered probit (GOP) model was applied using 4-year (2009–2012) crash data collected on two-lane rural highways in Malaysia. The results show that the factors of dark not-lighted condition, horizontal curvature, heavy vehicle percentage, light vehicle traffic, posted speed limit, undulating terrain, improper overtaking maneuvers, not wearing seatbelt, and vehicle age contributed to more severe injuries, whereas rainy weather condition was found to be the only factor that was associated with less severe outcome. The findings of this study can help safety authorities understand the relationship between various risk factors and head-on crash severity.

Evaluation of TanDEM-X 90 m Digital Elevation Model

ABSTRACTGerman Aerospace Center (DLR), EADS Astrium GmbH and Infoterra GmbH alliance came up with the idea of taking DTED-2 (Digital terrain elevation data, level-2) specifications to even higher standard of HRTE-3 (High resolution terrain elevation, level-3) in 2006, as a result TDX (TerraSAR-X, TanDEM-X) constellation was born. The mission was geared to create a rather sensitive, high precision 3 dimensional map of the entire Earth in seamless and very high quality. After Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) in 2000 and its derivatives, along with numerous prior and subsequent other similar data, have practically set the standard for defining the topographical surfaces in global scale, the twin satellites acquired all of Earth’s land surfaces numerous times to produce varying resolution digital elevation models (DEM) between 2011 and late 2015. DEMs are widely used in many planning, decision making and engineering related projects. They provide sound backing for mankind’s endeavors. Ground resolution is the most sought after feature of any DEM. Finer resolution is usually associated with a better surface definition. Recently, an entirely new global DEM has been released DLR. The 90 m DEM is the latest variant derived from such an undertaking. This study aimed to examine the overall effectiveness of this alleged new data in four previously surveyed locations and against the performances of finer SRTM 1- and comparable SRTM 3 arc second data. The results showed that TanDEM-X 90 m data overestimated. They seemed to be rather accurate in flat to slightly undulating terrain, but overestimated in broken to treacherous terrain than both SRTMs. Root Mean Square Error was greater in site one and site four, and lower in site two and site three compared to both SRTM 1 and SRTM 3 arc second data.

Demarcation of Groundwater Possible Zones in a Hard Rock Terrain, Nagavathi Watershed of Dharmapuri District, Tamil Nadu, India—Geophysical and Geoinformatics Approach

The electrical resistivity survey has been very successful for decades in delineating prospective groundwater zones around the world. In general, the method is used to decipher the horizontal and vertical electrical resistivity distribution of the subsurface earth’s layers. In the perspective of hydrogeology, understanding the subsurface conditions and lithological variations is quite necessary to target groundwater potential zones. One-dimensional (1D) geoelectrical resistivity survey, vertical electrical sounding (VES), was carried out in selected locations across the Nagavathi watershed, Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu in India. The Nagavathi watershed is positioned in an undulated terrain and is dominantly underlain by charnockite and gneissic rocks. Forty-six VES using Schlumberger’s electrode arrangement were conducted over the entire Nagavathi watershed, using an equal grid method. The field data were processed by IPI2 Windows software and different types of sounding curves were identified. The lineaments such as faults, joints, and fractures act as pathways to groundwater movement, major lineaments were identified from satellite data using ArcGIS 9.3. In the study area consisting of hard rocks, groundwater prospecting is a difficult task without proper understanding of subsurface lithology. From the VES results, geoelectric layers such as topsoil, weathered, fractured, and infinitely hard rock layers were identified and eight thematic maps involving spatial distribution of resistivities and thickness were prepared, in addition to geology, hydrogeomorphology, and lineament thematic layers. The combination of the eleven thematic layers in ArcGIS resulted in a groundwater potential map, providing the information about very good (75.799 km2), good (85.595 km2), medium (134.240 km2), poor (115.124 km2), and very poor (69.336 km2) groundwater possible zones.