An Investigation on Sudden Change in Water Quality of Brahmaputra River Using Remote Sensing and GIS
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An Investigation on Sudden Change in Water Quality of Brahmaputra River Using Remote Sensing and GIS Thota Sivasankar1
•
Suranjana B. Borah2 • Ranjit Das3 • P. L. N. Raju3
Received: 9 January 2018 / Revised: 3 February 2020 / Accepted: 7 February 2020 The National Academy of Sciences, India 2020
Abstract A sudden rise in turbidity levels of the Siang River, which is a major contributor of water to the Brahmaputra, has increased interest and much debate and speculations on causes during November 2017. Since the Brahmaputra is a major trans-boundary river, and increased turbidity of the river during winter has affected huge aquatic life and wildlife population downstream, the issue has turned into a serious concern for different countries with different reasons about the genesis of the high turbidity observations. This study is an investigation for identifying the possible sources of changes in water quality using remote sensing and geographic information system. The analysis indicates that the change in water quality is due to the occurrence of extensive landslides upstream of the Siang River also resulting in other physical changes on the river channel. Keywords Brahmaputra Turbidity Remote sensing GIS
The Brahmaputra is one of the major trans-boundary rivers in the Eastern Himalayan region, which originates in China and flows through India and Bangladesh before eventually draining into the Bay of Bengal. The river is a source of water and livelihood for the heavily populated floodplain regions. The Brahmaputra River known as Yarlung & Thota Sivasankar [email protected] 1
NIIT University, Neemrana, Rajasthan, India
2
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Guwahati, Assam, India
3
North Eastern Space Applications Centre, Department of Space, Govt. of India, Umiam, Meghalaya, India
Tsangpo in Tibet, Siang in Arunachal Pradesh and Brahmaputra from Sadiya in Assam, originates in a glacier named Angsi in Tibet and flows through the seismically active Eastern Himalayan belt. It is a braided river in the floodplains whereas narrow and deep with gorges in the upstream and a major carrier of sediments eroded from the Himalayas. The waters of the Brahmaputra are shared by China, India and Bangladesh, and any changes in the quality or quantity of the river at any point are likely to affect downstream population drastically as millions of people rely on this river for their survival. Toward the end of November 2017, people residing besides the Brahmaputra started observing the river water becoming dark with high quantity of sediments. This is an unusual phenomenon, as the sediments usually subside after the monsoons. Death of fishes and other aquatic lives at various locations near Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh was also reported. Abnormally high suspended and particulate matter concentration of 425 Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) was observed by the East Siang Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department on the turbidity levels of water samples taken from the Siang River at Pas
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