Study of hydrogeochemical processes of the groundwater in Ghatprabha river sub-basin, Bagalkot District, Karnataka, Indi
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Study of hydrogeochemical processes of the groundwater in Ghatprabha river sub-basin, Bagalkot District, Karnataka, India G. Tamma Rao & V. V. S. Gurunadha Rao & Y. Srinivasa Rao & G. Ramesh
Received: 22 September 2011 / Accepted: 8 February 2012 / Published online: 25 February 2012 # Saudi Society for Geosciences 2012
Abstract The alluvial aquifer of the Ghatprabha River comprises shallow tertiary sediment deposits underlain by peninsular gneissic complex of Archean age, located in the central–eastern part of the Karnataka in southern India. In order to establish the baseline hydrochemical conditions and processes determining the groundwater quality, groundwater samples were collected as part of an integrated investigation that coupled multivariate statistical analysis with hydrochemical methods to identify and interpret the groundwater chemistry of the aquifer system. Three main hydrochemical types (Ca–Mg–Cl, Ca–Mg–HCO3, and Na–SO4) were identified. Gibbs plots indicate that the evolution of water chemistry is influenced by water–rock interaction followed by evapotranspiration process. The results of factor analysis indicated the total variance explained by the extracted factor 79.9% and 87.1% for both pre- and post-monsoon, respectively. And other processes such as silicate weathering, ion exchange, and local anthropogenic activities affect the groundwater chemistry. Keywords Hydrochemistry . Pre-monsoon and postmonsoon . Water–rock interaction . Factor analysis
G. Tamma Rao : V. V. S. Gurunadha Rao : G. Ramesh National Geophysical Research Institute (CSIR), Hyderabad 500 606 Uppal Road, India G. Tamma Rao (*) International Water Management Institute, Hyderabad 502 324, India e-mail: [email protected] Y. Srinivasa Rao Adikavi Nannaya University, Rajahmundry 533105, India
Introduction Groundwater resources are dynamic in nature and affected by such factors as the expansion of irrigation activities, industrialization, and urbanization. There is growing concern on the deterioration of groundwater quality due to agriculture and anthropogenic activities (Rao et al. 2008). Hence, the protection of groundwater is of concern for the long-term sustainability of this valuable resource, informed by research into baseline conditions of the available yield and water quality. The conventional way of interpretation of groundwater quality data is to plot concentration of different ions or pairs of ions to understand the similarity between the samples or variables. Undesirable and soluble constituents in the water cannot be controlled after entering the ground (Sastry 1994). Sami (1992) has explained that leaching of surficial salts, ionexchange processes, and residential time of groundwater in the aquifer causes the hydrogeochemical variations in the groundwater. In India and various parts of the world, numerous studies have been carried out to assess the geochemical characteristics of groundwater (Graniel et al. 1999; Umar and Sami Ahmad 2000). Several comprehensive studies are also carried out in south Indi
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