A linear regression model (LRM) for groundwater chemistry in and around the Vaniyambadi industrial area, Tamil Nadu, India

A linear regression model in conjunction with cluster analysis was applied to the groundwater quality parameters for the Vaniyambadi industrial area, Tamil Nadu, India. These physico-chemical parameters were collected from 25 wells by intensive groundwater sampling conducted during January 2010. All the major ions, pH and electrical conductivity were analyzed. The abundances of cations were in the order of Na <Ca <Mg <K and those of anions were in the order of Cl <HCO3 <SO4 <CO3, respectively. This was in agreement with the water types, Na-Cl and Na-Ca-HCO3, determined by the Piper plot. High concentrations of the ions Na, Cl and SO4 were recorded near the tanneries that operate within the study area. While the elevated concentrations of HCO3 and F were observed away from the tanneries. This peculiar hydrochemical behaviour suggests that the chemistry of water is predominantly influenced by tannery effluents and weathering of silicate minerals. Results of the linear regression model yielded 11 regression equations for the 5 most correlated parameters. A dendrogram from the cluster analysis showed 2 major clusters representing the influence of tanneries and geological formations in the study area, which confirmed the results of major ion chemistry.

Seasonal Dynamics of Turbidity Maximum in the Muthupet Estuary, India

Results are presented of the longitudinal and vertical profiling of salinity and suspended particulate matter(SPM) at the Muthupet estuary, India, during a one year period under widely varying freshwater flow conditions. Freshwater flow was available during post-monsoon and monsoon. An up-estuary shift in the location of estuarine turbidity maxima(ETM) was observed during the transition from post-monsoon to pre-monsoon and further it shifted downstream during the transition from pre-monsoon to monsoon, thereby exhibiting a pronounced seasonal cycle. The salinity intrusion was dependent on the freshwater discharge and was expressed as a power function of freshwater flow, explaining 97% of the variance. The formation of a salt plug in Muthupet estuary and its seasonal dynamics were observed, which is not an identified feature of any of the Indian estuaries studied so far. The geographical positions of salt plug and ETM core were more or less the same during their formation. The occurrence of two ETM during the LW of post-monsoon and the absence of ETM during monsoon explains the strong seasonal variation in the formation of ETM. The primary factor affecting the formation of ETM was identified as the freshwater flow over an annual cycle; the resuspension of sediments by tidal current affecting the formation on a flood/ebb cycle was secondary. The extent of shift of ETM was found to be an inverse logarithmic function of the freshwater discharge. The separation between ETM intrusion and salinity intrusion increased two fold with the increase in ETM intrusion.