Assessing the influence of watershed characteristics on the flood vulnerability of Jhelum basin in Kashmir Himalaya

Meraj, Gowhar; Romshoo, Shakil Ahmad; Yousuf, A. R.; Altaf, Sadaff; Altaf, Farrukh

doi:10.1007/s11069-015-1605-1

Cited by 155 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Higher intensity and frequency of floods and more frequent extreme precipitation events will give increased surface runoff and erosion, increasing the nutrient load to the surface water (Jeppesen et al 2009). During the recent past, drastic alterations have been observed in the hydrological processes and quality of water of the Jhelum basin (Meraj et al 2015;Jeelani and Shah 2006;Sheikh et al 2014). The changes in the hydrological processes brought about by climate change have broad implications for the human population, land surface, geochemical and ecological processes, hydropower generation, and tourism development (Mir et al 2015b, c).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatio-temporal patterns and factors controlling the hydrogeochemistry of the river Jhelum basin, Kashmir Himalaya

Mir

Jeelani

Dar

2016

Environ Monit Assess

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River Jhelum is a major source of water for growing population and irrigation in the Kashmir Himalaya. The region is trending towards water scarcity as well as quality deterioration stage due to its highly unregulated development. The existence of few literature on various aspects of the basin prompts us to study the spatio-temporal variability of its physicochemical parameters and thereby to understand the regulating hydrogeochemical mechanisms based on 50 samples collected during high flow (June 2008) and low flow (January 2009) periods. The water chemistry exhibited significant spatial variability reflecting the mixing processes in the basin. The seasonal effect does change the concentration of ions significantly with modest variability in the order of ionic abundance. The Ca(2+) ion among cations and HCO3 (-) ion among anions dominate the ionic budget and correlates significantly with the diverse lithology of the basin. Three major water types, i.e., Ca-Mg-HCO3 (72 %), Ca-HCO3 (12 %), and Mg-Ca-HCO3 (16 %), suggest that the chemical composition of water is dominantly controlled by carbonate lithology, besides a significant contribution from silicates. However, at certain sites, the biological processes and anthropogenic activities play a major role. Relatively, the lower ionic concentration during high flow period (summer season) suggested the significant influence of higher discharge via dilution effect. The higher discharge due to higher rainfall and snow melting in response to rising temperature in this period leads to strong flushing of human and agricultural wastes into the river. The factor analysis also reflected the dominant control of varied lithology and anthropogenic sources on the water quality based on the four significant factors explaining collectively about 70-81 % of the total data variance. A two-member chloride mixing model used to estimate the discharge contribution of tributaries to the main river channel showed reliable results. It may be mentioned that the regular and continuous contamination through anthropogenic sources is likely to jeopardize and degrade the water quality in the near future. Thus, critical management approaches and strategies are very imperative for its future sustainability.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatio-temporal patterns and factors controlling the hydrogeochemistry of the river Jhelum basin, Kashmir Himalaya

Mir

Jeelani

Dar

2016

Environ Monit Assess

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“…We would like to reiterate here that the work carried out by Meraj et al (2015) assesses the flood vulnerability of the downstream areas of the two watersheds of the KB: one on the Pir Panjal and the other on the Greater Himalaya range. The study is based on the analyses of the influence of various morphometric and land cover parameters on the hydrological response at the watershed scale.…”

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confidence: 96%

“…This is a response to the comment made by Shah (2015) to the study carried out by Meraj et al (2015), published in the Natural Hazards (doi:10.1007Hazards (doi:10. /s11069-015-1775.…”

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confidence: 98%

“…The situation was exacerbated due to the loss of wetlands, unplanned urbanization, the siltation of water courses in KB and the inadequate flood control infrastructure (Romshoo 2015). The commentator has made most of the comments about the genesis of 2014 floods, which was not specifically the focus of the research published by Meraj et al (2015), and hence the genesis of the 2014 floods was not addressed therein. It is therefore appropriate that the comments made in Shah (2015) are properly responded to point by point, in order to provide a balanced perspective to the readership of the journal, and are as follows:…”

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confidence: 99%

“…We thank the commentator for his comments on our manuscript. The original manuscript published by Meraj et al (2015) focused on the influence of the geomorphology and land cover on flood vulnerability in two Himalaya watersheds: one each from the Pir Panjal and Greater Himalaya ranges. The 2014 floods were mentioned in the manuscript just to indicate the validity and correctness of the approach adopted to assess the vulnerability of these two watersheds in Kashmir basin (KB).…”

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Assessing the influence of watershed characteristics on the flood vulnerability of Jhelum basin in Kashmir Himalaya: reply to comment by Shah 2015

et al. 2015

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We thank the commentator for his comments on our manuscript. The original manuscript published by Meraj et al. (2015) focused on the influence of the geomorphology and land cover on flood vulnerability in two Himalaya watersheds: one each from the Pir Panjal and Greater Himalaya ranges. The 2014 floods were mentioned in the manuscript just to indicate the validity and correctness of the approach adopted to assess the vulnerability of these two watersheds in Kashmir basin (KB). KB is also synonymously used for Karewa basin or Jhelum basin as well. The downstream areas of both these watersheds were inundated during the 2014 floods up to varying depths and duration. The September 2014 floods in the KB were a consequence of the extreme rainfall event that was quite widespread in extent. The situation was exacerbated due to the loss of wetlands, unplanned urbanization, the siltation of water courses in KB and the inadequate flood control infrastructure (Romshoo 2015). The commentator has made most of the comments about the genesis of 2014 floods, which was not specifically the focus of the research published by Meraj et al. (2015), and hence the genesis of the 2014 floods was not addressed therein. It is therefore appropriate that the comments made in Shah (2015) are properly responded to point by point, in order to provide a balanced perspective to the readership of the journal, and are as follows:This reply refers to the comment available at

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Water Quality Zoning Using GIS & Remote Sensing: A Case Study of Tehsil Matta District Swat Pakistan

Sarwar

Ahmed

Khalil

et al. 2021

Geographic Information Science for Land Resource Management

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Assessing the influence of watershed characteristics on the flood vulnerability of Jhelum basin in Kashmir Himalaya

Cited by 155 publications

References 55 publications

Spatio-temporal patterns and factors controlling the hydrogeochemistry of the river Jhelum basin, Kashmir Himalaya

Spatio-temporal patterns and factors controlling the hydrogeochemistry of the river Jhelum basin, Kashmir Himalaya

Assessing the influence of watershed characteristics on the flood vulnerability of Jhelum basin in Kashmir Himalaya: reply to comment by Shah 2015

Water Quality Zoning Using GIS & Remote Sensing: A Case Study of Tehsil Matta District Swat Pakistan

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