Textural Characteristics and Depositional Environment of a Late Quaternary Alluvial Plain of Haryana

The present study deals with the textural characteristics of the sediments from the exposed palaeochannel situated at Dhyangla village near Ladwa, district of Kurukshetra in north-western Haryana. It is a part of vast alluvial plains of India. Samples were taken from a 3 m thick exposed section. Grain size distribution and Palynofacies analyses of these sediments were carried out to study their textural parameters and the organic matter content respectively. Sediments are mostly fine to medium grained sand with silt percentage increasing upwards in the section. These sediments are mostly unimodal showing the grain size population controlled by a single type of grain size, mostly sand. Further the sand samples are moderately well sorted and mesokurtic in nature. Samples with silt are poorly sorted and leptokurtic with positive skewness, denoting those sediments have already sorted elsewhere in the high energy environment and are now transported and modified by the low energy environment. Palynofacies analysis also shows the presence of amorphous particles in the silt samples which indicate low energy environment of the sequence while presence of black debris in the sand samples indicates high energy depositions environment.

Impacts of Human Activities on the Occurrence of Groundwater Nitrate in an Alluvial Plain: A Multiple Isotopic Tracers Approach

Nitrate pollution is a severe problem in areas with intensive agricultural activities. This study focuses on nitrate occurrence and its constraints in a selected alluvial fan using chemical data combined with environmental isotopic tracers （180, 3H, and lSN）. Results show that groundwater nitrate in the study area is as high as 258.0 mg/L （hereafter NO3） with an average of 86.8 mg/L against national drinking water limit of 45 mg/L and a regional baseline value of 14.4 mg/L. Outside of the riparian zone, nitrate occurrence is closely related to groundwater circulation and application of chemical fertilizer.High groundwater nitrate is found in the re- charge area, where nitrate enters into ground- water through vertical infiltration, correspond- ing to high 3H and enriched 1SO in the water. In the riparian zone, on the contrary, the fate of groundwater nitrate is strongly affected by groundwater level. Based on two sampling tran- sects perpendicular to the riverbank, we found that the high level of nitrate corresponds to the deeper water table （25 m） near the urban center, where groundwater is heavily extracted.Groundwater nitrate is much lower （〈12.4 mg/L） at localities with a shallow water table （5 m）, which is likely caused by denitrification in the aquifer.

Analysis on hydrochemical characteristics of groundwater in strongly exploited area in Hutuo River Plain

The Hutuo River alluvial-proluvial fan is located in North China Plain, and groundwater is the main source of water supply for agriculture and domestic water. Shijiazhuang depression funnels due to the long-term excessive exploitation are the bottleneck of the regional economic development. Analyzing the chemical characteristics of groundwater under the condition of strong human activities, can provide a scientific basis for further study of strong groundwater mining area environmental change. 143 groups of shallow groundwater samples are collected during the period of 2007-2008. In this paper, the hydrochemical characteristics of groundwater in the Hutuo River Plain area are analyzed systematically, using hydrogeochemical theory, combined with statistical methods and hydrochemical methods. Results are shown as follows: HCO_3^- and Ca^(2+) are major anion and cation. The variation coefficients of K^+, Ca^(2+), Mg^(2+) and HCO_3^- between 0.25 and 0.52, which means small and stable relatively. The variation coefficient of are Na^+, NO_3^-, Cl-, SO2-4 were large(0.89-1.01). They are sensitive and vulnerable to environmental change affect. Due to the impact of human activities, from the top to the edge of the alluvial-proluvial fan, the hydrochemical types of groundwater change from single to multiple, followed by HCO_3^-Ca·Mg, HCO_3·SO_4-Ca·Mg, HCO_3·SO_4·Cl-Ca·Mg, HCO_3·Cl-Ca·Mg and other types.

Downstream Decreasing Channel Capacity of a Monsoon-dominated Bengal Basin River: A Case Study of Dwarkeswar River, Eastern India

Downstream changes in channel morphology and flow over the ephemeral Dwarkeswar River in the western part of the Bengal Basin, eastren India were investigated. The river stretches from the Proterozoic Granite Gneiss Complex to the recent Holocene alluvium, forming three distinctive geomorphological regions across the river basin: the pediplane and upper and lower alluvial areas. Sixty cross-sections from throughout the main trunk stream were surveyed and the bankfull width, depth, cross-sectional area, and maximum depth were measured. Sediment samples from each location were studied and the flow velocity, stream power, Manning’s roughness coefficient, and shear stress were estimated. The results show that the bankfull channel cross-section area, width, width-to-depth ratio, and channel capacity increased between the beginning and middle of the river. Thereafter, the size of the river started to decrease in the lower alluvial area. This was characterized by gentle gradients, cohesive bank materials with grass cover, and channel switching. Within the lower part of the river, the channel capacity was observed to diminish as the drainage area increased. This increased the bankfull flow frequency and accelerated large floodwater losses in the floodplain via overbank flows and floodways.

Springs Emerging along the Elevation Gradient Indicate Intensive Groundwater-Surface Water Exchange in an Alpine Headwater Catchment, Northwestern China

Groundwater plays an important role in sustaining the streamflow in cold alpine area, but is poorly understood due to a lack of direct access. About 98 groups of springs are observed at the upper reaches of Heihe River Basin, which provide an opportunity to explore the main aquifers. Springs are clustered in three groups according to locations:(1) springs on the moraine and talus deposits;(2) springs at the end of alluvial plain in lower topography;(3) springs along the river bank. The hydrometric, geochemical and isotopic data of springs in a representative catchment were integrated and used to elucidate the groundwater flow paths. Results indicate the Quaternary porous aquifers in the alpine catchment have a profound influence on the regional groundwater flow paths and the groundwater and surface water(GW-SW) interactions. The aquifer consisting of alluvial-pluvial deposits has a great capacity of groundwater storage and plays a vital role in regulating discharge by attenuating the seasonal variation and maintaining the main stream in cold seasons. This is different from the fast recharge and discharge mode of the moraine and talus deposits. Our work highlights the importance of loose deposits in controlling the GW-SW interactions in the cold alpine area.

Spatiotemporal variation of agricultural patterns in different geomorphologic and climatic environments in the eastern Loess Plateau,north-central China during the late Neolithic and Bronze Ages

Human settlement and agricultural development are closely linked to local geomorphological and climatic environments.However,the variation in agricultural systems in different environmental and prehistoric contexts remains unknown.We report new archaeobotanical and radiocarbon dates from 34 Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in the Hutuo River Valley(HTRV)in north-central China and compare them with updated archaeobotanical studies in the Sushui River Valley(SSRV)and Henan Province(HNP),to explore the similarities and differences of agricultural patterns under different geomorphologic and climatic environments in north-central China.Our results reveal that humans consistently cultivated foxtail and broomcorn millet in the HTRV from the Miaodigou(6000–5700 cal.a BP)to the Shang-Zhou(3600–2256 cal.a BP)period,despite the introduction of wheat and barley into the area around 4000 a BP.Climate conditions and hilly landforms in the HTRV,SSRV and some parts of the HNP led people to develop foxtail and broomcorn millet dry land farming practices between 7000 and 3000 a BP.Alternatively,in other areas of the HNP,the climate conditions and alluvial plains enabled people to develop a mixed agriculture of millets,soybeans,and rice from 7000 to 4000 a BP,with the addition of wheat between 4000 and 3000 a BP.Farmers’different agricultural technologies and interactions with foreign cultures may have also influenced the formation of different agricultural patterns in the three regions between 7000 and 3000 a BP.Population growth during 7000–3000 a BP can explain the overall propensity of the higher-yield foxtail millet rather than broomcorn millet as the main cultivated crop.In the HTRV,however,higher proportions of broomcorn millet(as compared to the SSRV and HNP),may reflect the greater drought and heat tolerance of broomcorn millet,representing an adaptive agricultural strategy in the river valley.