• SETBANDHU MONDAL

Articles written in Journal of Earth System Science

• Deep insight to the complex aquifer and its characteristics from high resolution electrical resistivity tomography and borehole studies for groundwater exploration and development

Discovering and locating the source and availability of groundwater in a plateau region of Chhotanagpur gneissic complex, where there is a varied hydrogeological characteristics, is a crucial task for earth scientists. One such region located at Garh Khatanga near Ranchi, Jharkhand, India was closely studied for groundwater assessment and exploration. High resolution electrical resistivity tomography 2D data were acquired to probe deep inside the earth up to a maximum depth of 220 m using state-of-the-art electrical resistivity tomography technique and mapped geoelectrical subsurface images at 16 sites in three different blocks along a 7.2 km line for prospecting and exploration of groundwater resources. The geophysical inversion of the 2D resistivity data revealed prospect groundwater scenario at six sites based on the hydrogeological interpretation and the significant resistivity contrast between the highly weathered/fractured and the massive rocks. The modelled resistivity sections revealed different degree of weathered, fractured and saturated weathered/fractured strata as well as clearly indicated the presence of a totally hard massive rock within the subsurface lying between $\sim$30 and 220 m depths. The geophysical anomalies were confirmed and validated by borehole drilling at four sites up to a maximum depth of 215 m with yields ranging from 2.0 to 4.25 inch, which is equivalent to 5632–63769 l/hr of groundwaterexploitation. These yields of groundwater resources are rated as good aquifer(s) in the plateau region of Chhotanagpur gneissic complex. The characteristics resistivity for fracture zone varies from 140 to 1300 $\Omega$m, while for saturated weathered/fractured it ranges from 10 to 1000 $\Omega$m. On joint interpretation of the 2D resistivity models and the borehole lithology data, it clearly shows the average resistivity of the aquifer zone lies in the range 50–500 $\Omega$m. The present study along with the conceptual geological models provided a sound knowledge of hard rock hydrogeology in the plateau region with complex geological settings and these helped to achieve significant results for groundwater exploration and development of the resources of the studied area as well as take up such challenging work in exploring the prospect groundwater resources in other similar geological setting of the country.

• Groundwater exploration in limestone–shale–quartzite terrain through 2D electrical resistivity tomography in Tadipatri, Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh

Two-Dimensional (2D) Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) survey was carried out at 11 sites within an area of $10 \rm{km}^{2}$ to delineate deeper potential groundwater zones in a complex geological terrain underlain by quartzite, shale and limestone formations with varied resistivity characteristics. The area is in medium rainfall zone in Tadipatri mandal of Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh state, India. The investigation was carried out to meet the growing demands of water supply. Interpretation of the highdensity 2D resistivity dataset results revealed potential zones at only three sites in Tummalapenta, Ayyavaripalle and Guruvanipalle villages within the depth zone of 24–124 m. A major fault zone orientedin EW direction is mapped at Tummalapenta site. Based on high resolution geophysical data interpretation and significant anomalies, four boreholes were drilled in complex, viz., limestone, shale and quartzite formations up to a maximum depth of 192 m in the area with the yield ranging from $300$ to $\sim 5000$ liter per hour (lph). These four anomalous drilled borehole sites corroborates with the aquifer zone delineated through ERT technique. The aquifer parameters estimated from pumping tests show that the transmissivity varies between $\sim 0.3$ and $\rm{179.5 m^{2}/day}$ while the storage coefficient ranges from 0.137 to 0.5 indicating large variation in aquifer characteristics of the system in a smaller area. Suitable water conservation measures were suggested for improving the groundwater condition and yield of the pumping wells.

• # Journal of Earth System Science

Volume 130, 2021
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