Temporal and spatial variations in water discharge and sediment load in the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi Rivers in Himalaya, India

Chakrapani, G. J.; Saini, R.P.

doi:10.1016/j.jseaes.2009.04.002

Cited by 83 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…The Alaknanda River also originates in higher Himalayas and drains through carbonates, massive quartzites, slates, phyllites and greywakes. The Alaknanda catchment contributes nearly twice as much as the Bhagirathi catchment to the average discharge of Ganga River (Chakrapani and Saini, 2009).…”

Section: Hydrogeological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrograph separation and precipitation source identification using stable water isotopes and conductivity: River Ganga at Himalayan foothills

Maurya

Shah

Deshpande

et al. 2010

Hydrological Processes

156

118

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Abstract:The observed retreat of several Himalayan glaciers and snow packs is a cause of concern for the huge population in southern Asia that is dependent on the glacial-fed rivers emanating from Himalayas. There is considerable uncertainty about how cryospheric recession in the Himalayan region will respond to climate change, and how the water resource availability will be affected. As a first step towards quantifying the contribution of glacier-melt water, hydrograph separation of River Ganga at Rishikesh into its constituent components, namely (i) surface runoff, (ii) glacial ice-melt and (iii) groundwater discharge has been done in this paper. A three-component mixing model has been employed using the values of υ 18 O and electrical conductivity (EC) of the river water, and its constituents, to estimate the time-varying relative fraction of each component. The relative fraction of the surface runoff peaks (70-90%) during winter, due to the near-zero contribution of glacial ice-melt, essentially represents the melting of surface snow from the catchment. The contribution of glacial ice-melt to the stream discharge peaks during summer and monsoon reaches a maximum value of ¾40% with an average of 32%. The fraction of groundwater discharge varies within a narrow range (15 š 5%) throughout the year. On the basis of the variation in the d-excess values of river water, it is also suggested that the snow-melt and ice-melt component has a significant fraction derived from winter precipitation with moisture source from mid-latitude westerlies (also known as western disturbances).

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Section: Hydrogeological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrograph separation and precipitation source identification using stable water isotopes and conductivity: River Ganga at Himalayan foothills

Maurya

Shah

Deshpande

et al. 2010

Hydrological Processes

156

118

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“…In this study, we present time series major ions and Sr concentration data for the Brahmaputra River (at Guwahati, India) on a weekly to biweekly basis to constrain its solute sources and their relative contributions during different flow stages. Prior to this, few earlier studies have also reported seasonal variations of the water chemistry for the Himalayan rivers, such as the Ganga (Bickle et al, , 2018Chakrapani & Saini, 2009;Tipper et al, 2006;, Brahmaputra (Rai & Singh, 2007;Singh et al, 2005), and Irrawaddy and Salween (Chapman et al, 2015). This large river system predominantly flows through Himalaya and Tibet region and supplies~1.8% of the global water flux from only 0.4% of the global continental area (Das et al, 2016;Singh, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal Variations in Water Chemistry of the (Lower) Brahmaputra River: Implications to Seasonality in Mineral Weathering

Samanta

Tripathy

Das

2019

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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Dissolved major ions and Sr concentrations of the Brahmaputra River at Guwahati, India, have been investigated on weekly basis for one year to understand the seasonality in weathering pattern and relative contributions from possible solute sources. Comparison of major ion data sets from present and earlier studies for this location shows no appreciable change during last ~50 years. Elemental concentrations and Ca/Na* (Na* = Na − Cl) ratio of the Brahmaputra covary (inversely) with the water discharge; the degree of seasonality, however, is less pronounced compared to other Himalayan (e.g., Ganga and Salween) rivers. The monthly averaged Ca/Si ratios of the Brahmaputra (3.7 ± 0.2), which is lower by ~2 times than those reported earlier for the Ganga outflow (6 ± 1), show minimal (~6%) seasonal changes. Seasonal variability in Na*/K with higher ratios during non‐monsoon period has been attributed to proportionally higher Na supply from hot springs and/or alkaline salts. The silicate‐derived cations (Cats) and Sr (Srs) have been estimated using an inversion method. Although these estimated values broadly show seasonal changes, the average Cats and Srs values for the monsoon (26 ± 4% [Cats]; 26 ± 6% [Srs]) and non‐monsoon (27 ± 3% (Cats); 24 ± 4% (Srs)) seasons are statistically same. These estimates indicate a weak runoff‐weathering linkage for the Brahmaputra river. Outcomes from this study suggest that the chemical weathering intensity of this basin is more dominated by regional rapid weathering around the eastern syntaxis than the climatic (runoff) parameters.

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“…The suspended sediment concentration (SSC) was obtained by filtering the water sample using cellulose nitrate membrane filter paper of 0.45 µm and the material retained was weighed after dried. The collected water samples were placed in freezer at 4 • C and the process of filtering was done within 2 days from the collection of samples to avoid microbial growth (Chakrapani and Saini, 2009). The estimation of TDC, DOC and DIC in the river water was done by liquid module of Analytik Jena TC Analyser Multi N/C 3100 instrument.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the potential sources and environmental impacts of dissolved and suspended organic carbon in the diversified Ramganga River, Ganges Basin, India

Khan

2018

Proc. IAHS

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Innovative water resources management -understanding and balancing interactions between humankind and nature Understanding the potential sources and environmental impacts of dissolved and suspended organic carbon in the diversified Ramganga River, Ganges Basin, India Abstract. The river network is one of the important transporters of nutrients from the environment and land masses to the oceans and regularly provides storage for several compounds. The variations in suspended and dissolved discharge of the river are more substantial than the changes in water discharge. (Suspended and dissolved) organic carbons (SOC and DOC) are imperative segments in the carbon cycle and fill in as essential food sources for amphibian sustenance networks. In the present study, 26 samples of water were collected from different locations over the 642 km stretch of the Ramganga River and its adjoining tributaries to observe the spatial variation of DOC, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), SOC and suspended inorganic carbon ( with an average convergence of 9.25 and 5.14 g kg −1 , separately. The results also show the higher values of DOC as compared with SOC and these values shows an increasing pattern with a decrease in elevation.

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Temporal and spatial variations in water discharge and sediment load in the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi Rivers in Himalaya, India

Cited by 83 publications

References 30 publications

Hydrograph separation and precipitation source identification using stable water isotopes and conductivity: River Ganga at Himalayan foothills

Hydrograph separation and precipitation source identification using stable water isotopes and conductivity: River Ganga at Himalayan foothills

Temporal Variations in Water Chemistry of the (Lower) Brahmaputra River: Implications to Seasonality in Mineral Weathering

Understanding the potential sources and environmental impacts of dissolved and suspended organic carbon in the diversified Ramganga River, Ganges Basin, India

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