Opportunities for harnessing the increased contribution of glacier and snowmelt flows in the Ganges basin

Water Policy ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (S1) ◽  
pp. 9-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bharat R. Sharma ◽  
Devaraj de Condappa
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Aquifer Recharge ◽  
Eastern India ◽  
Ganges Basin ◽  
Additional Water ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Tehri Dam ◽  
The Ganges ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Himalaya

The topography of the Ganges basin is highly variable, with the steep mountainous region of the Himalaya upstream and the large fertile plains in eastern India and Bangladesh downstream. The contribution from the glaciers to streamflows is supposed to be significant but there is uncertainty surrounding the impact of climate change on glaciers. An application of the Water Evaluation and Planning model was set up which contained an experimental glaciers module. The model also examined the possible impacts of an increase in temperature. The contribution from glaciated areas is significant (60–75%) in the Upper Ganges but reduces downstream, falling to about 19% at Farakka. Climate change-induced rise in temperature logically increases the quantity of snow and ice that melts in glaciated areas. However, this impact decreases from upstream (+8% to +26% at Tehri dam) to downstream (+1% to +4% at Farakka). Such increases in streamflows may create flood events more frequently, or of higher magnitude, in the upper reaches. Potential strategies to exploit this additional water may include the construction of new dams/reservoir storage and the development of groundwater in the basin through managed aquifer recharge. The riparian states of India, Nepal and Bangladesh could harness this opportunity to alleviate physical water scarcity and improve productivity.

Note on the Calcutta Earthquake (June 12, 1897), as recorded by the Bifilar Pendulum at the Edinburgh Royal Observatory

1897 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 481-488
Author(s):  
Thomas Heath
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Eastern India ◽  
Isle Of Wight ◽  
Royal Observatory ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Seismological Observatory ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Ganges ◽  
The Himalaya

On the 12th of June a disastrous earthquake occurred in North-Eastern India. The violence of the shock was first felt in Calcutta (at least, the first report of it reached us from that quarter), and spread with destructive violence, north-easterly through Assam along the valley of the Brahmapootra, and north-westerly along the course of the Ganges and the base of the Himalaya Mountains. We may form some idea of the violence of the shock from the disastrous effects produced by it. From Calcutta it is reported that few houses have escaped without damage of some description, that part of the Cathedral spire has fallen, and that many public buildings have been injured. At Darjeeling many houses were destroyed, and the district left without railway communication. In Bengal the destruction of property was apparently not so great; but in Assam the shock is reported to have spread ruin far and wide, and to have been attended with serious loss of human life.The destructive energy of the earthquake appears to have been exhausted within the area thus briefly indicated. The undulatory movements set up by it in the earth's crust have, however, been detected at great distances from the centre of the disturbance, and already from three stations in Western Europe reports are to hand showing that seismographic apparatus have recorded the phenomenon beyond any possibility of doubt. These stations are Grenoble in South-Eastern France, Prof. Milne's Seismological Observatory in the Isle of Wight, and the Royal Observatory on Blackford Hill. Doubtless in time we shall hear of similar records obtained at many other places.

Groundwater quality concern for wider adaptability of novel modes of managed aquifer recharge (MAR) in the Ganges Basin, India

2021 ◽  
Vol 246 ◽  
pp. 106659
Author(s):  
Sunil Kumar Jha ◽  
Vinay Kumar Mishra ◽  
Chhedi Lal Verma ◽  
Navneet Sharma ◽  
Alok Kumar Sikka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Quality ◽  
Managed Aquifer Recharge ◽  
Aquifer Recharge ◽  
Ganges Basin ◽  
The Ganges

scholarly journals Integrated assessment of impact of water resources of important river basins in Eastern India under projected climate conditions

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 594-606 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Catchment Area ◽  
River Basins ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Distributed Hydrological Model ◽  
Eastern India ◽  
Impact Of Climate Change ◽  
Daily Weather Data ◽  
The Impact

<div> <p>The impact of climate change on water resources through increased evaporation combined with regional changes in precipitation characteristics has the potential to affect mean runoff, frequency and intensity of floods and droughts, soil moisture and water supply for irrigation and hydroelectric power generation. The Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) system is the largest in India with a catchment area of about 110Mha, which is more than 43% of the cumulative catchment area of all the major rivers in the country. The river Damodar is an important sub catchment of GBM basin and its three tributaries- the Bokaro, the Konar and the Barakar form one important tributary of the Bhagirathi-Hughli (a tributary of Ganga) in its lower reaches. The present study is an attempt to assess the impacts of climate change on water resources of the four important Eastern River Basins namely Damodar, Subarnarekha, Mahanadi and Ajoy, which have immense importance in industrial and agricultural scenarios in eastern India. A distributed hydrological model (HEC-HMS) has been used on the four river basins using HadRM2 daily weather data for the period from 2041 to 2060 to predict the impact of climate change on water resources of these river systems.&nbsp;</p> </div> <p>&nbsp;</p>

Evaluating the impact of climate change in threshold values of thermodynamic indices during pre-monsoon thunderstorm season over Eastern India

2020 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 1541-1569 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajesh Kumar Sahu ◽  
Jiteshwar Dadich ◽  
Bhishma Tyagi ◽  
Naresh Krishna Vissa ◽  
Jyotsna Singh
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Threshold Values ◽  
Eastern India ◽  
Impact Of Climate Change ◽  
The Impact

Assessment interaction of climate change and aquifer recharge in different periods: an article review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo Cárdenas-Castillero ◽  
Michal Kuráž
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
The United States ◽  
Aquifer Recharge ◽  
Average Growth ◽  
Impact Of Climate Change ◽  
Groundwater Assessment ◽  
Freshwater Resource ◽  
Northern Regions ◽  
The Impact

&lt;p&gt;Groundwater represents 98% of the world's freshwater resource. This resource is strongly impacted by the increase in temperature and variation in precipitation. Therefore, the relationship between climate change and the dynamics of aquifer recharge is still poorly understood. It was not until the 1980s when investigations in this field were improved. This research aims to evaluate the studies carried out on the impact of climate change-related to the recharge of aquifers. The applied methodology is strictly based on the bibliographic review. Bibliographic references were selected from citation database Scopus. This database was studied from a quantitative analysis using the Bibliometric package in RStudio. This investigation evaluates growth performance research on aquifer recharge on climate change from the 1980s to 2020.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The results show an average growth of 14.38% and a significant increase in research from 2009. This study identifies 52 countries, just over 26% of total countries; the highest contribution has been made by Australia, the United States and Spain. The journals with the most increased contributions are Water Journal, Journal of Hydrology, Water Resources Research, Science of the Total Environment, and Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. According to the impact of climate change, the worst projections related to the decrease in recharge were identified in arid and desert areas. While the highest recharges were placed in the northern regions and at high altitudes where the recharge capacity is maintained or increases due to rapid thaw and increasing rain. More studies should be extended to analyse groundwater assessment in other latitudes to achieve a complete and comprehensive understanding. This understanding should be one of the priorities of water and governments' scientific society to safeguard this precious resource.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Key words: &lt;/strong&gt;Climate change, aquifer recharge, climate models, precipitation, and temperature.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Ten fundamental questions for water resources development in the Ganges: myths and realities

Water Policy ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (S1) ◽  
pp. 147-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Sadoff ◽  
Nagaraja Rao Harshadeep ◽  
Donald Blackmore ◽  
Xun Wu ◽  
Anna O'Donnell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Ganges Basin ◽  
Systems Perspective ◽  
Low Flows ◽  
Basin Scale ◽  
Modelling Techniques ◽  
The Ganges ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Resources Planning

This paper summarizes the results of the Ganges Strategic Basin Assessment (SBA), a 3-year, multi-disciplinary effort undertaken by a World Bank team in cooperation with several leading regional research institutions in South Asia. It begins to fill a crucial knowledge gap, providing an initial integrated systems perspective on the major water resources planning issues facing the Ganges basin today, including some of the most important infrastructure options that have been proposed for future development. The SBA developed a set of hydrological and economic models for the Ganges system, using modern data sources and modelling techniques to assess the impact of existing and potential new hydraulic structures on flooding, hydropower, low flows, water quality and irrigation supplies at the basin scale. It also involved repeated exchanges with policy makers and opinion makers in the basin, during which perceptions of the basin could be discussed and examined. The study's findings highlight the scale and complexity of the Ganges basin. In particular, they refute the broadly held view that upstream water storage, such as reservoirs in Nepal, can fully control basin-wide flooding. In addition, the findings suggest that such dams could potentially double low flows in the dry months. The value of doing so, however, is surprisingly unclear and similar storage volumes could likely be attained through better groundwater management. Hydropower development and trade are confirmed to hold real promise (subject to rigorous project level assessment with particular attention to sediment and seismic risks) and, in the near to medium term, create few significant tradeoffs among competing water uses. Significant uncertainties – including climate change – persist, and better data would allow the models and their results to be further refined.

Freshwater, climate change and adaptation in the Ganges River Basin

Water Policy ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather R. Hosterman ◽  
Peter G. McCornick ◽  
Elizabeth J. Kistin ◽  
Bharat Sharma ◽  
Luna Bharati
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Ganges River ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
The Ganges ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Ganges River Basin ◽  
Growth Economic

Climate change is one of the drivers of change in the Ganges River Basin, together with population growth, economic development and water management practices. These changing circumstances have a significant impact on key social and economic sectors of the basin, largely through changes in water quantity, quality and timing of availability. This paper evaluates the impact of water on changing circumstances in three sectors of the Ganges Basin – agriculture, ecosystems and energy. Given the inherent interconnectedness of these core sectors and the cross-cutting impact of changing circumstances on water resources, we argue that adaptation should not be viewed as a separate initiative, but rather as a goal and perspective incorporated into every level of planning and decision making. Adaptation to changing circumstances will need to be closely linked to water resource management and will require significant collaboration across the sectors.

scholarly journals The role of glaciers in stream flow from the Nepal Himalaya

2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 469-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Alford ◽  
R. Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
Stream Flow ◽  
Energy Exchange ◽  
Process Models ◽  
Hydrologic Regime ◽  
Nepal Himalaya ◽  
Ganges Basin ◽  
Himalayan Glaciers ◽  
The Ganges ◽  
The Himalaya

Abstract. Recent concerns related to the potential impacts of the retreat of Himalayan glaciers on the hydrology of rivers originating in the catchment basins of the Himalaya have been accompanied by few analyses describing the role of glaciers in the hydrologic regime of these mountains. This is, at least in part, a result of the relative inaccessibility of the glaciers of the Himalaya, at altitudes generally between 4000–7000 m, and the extreme logistical difficulties of: 1) reaching the glaciers, and 2) conducting meaningful research once they have been reached. It is apparent that an alternative to traditional "Alpine" glaciology is required in the mountains of the Hindu Kush-Himalaya region. The objectives of the study discussed here have been to develop methodologies that will begin to quantify the role of complete glacier systems in the hydrologic regime of the Nepal Himalaya, and to develop estimates of the potential impact of a continued retreat of these glacier, based on the use of disaggregated low-altitude data bases, topography derived from satellite imagery, and simple process models of water and energy exchange in mountain regions. While the extent of mesoscale variability has not been established by studies to date, it is clear that the dominant control on the hydrologic regime of the tributaries to the Ganges Basin from the eastern Himalaya is the interaction between the summer monsoon and the 8000 m of topographic relief represented by the Himalayan wall. All the available evidence indicates that the gradient of specific runoff with altitude resulting from this interaction is moderately to strongly curvilinear, with maximum runoff occurring at mid-altitudes, and minima at the altitudinal extremes. At the upper minimum of this gradient, Himalayan glaciers exist in what has been characterized as an "arctic desert". The methodologies developed for this study involve the relationship between area-altitude distributions of catchment basins and glaciers, based on Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM3) data and water and energy exchange gradients. Based on these methodologies, it is estimated that the contribution of glacier annual melt water to annual stream flow into the Ganges Basin from the glacierized catchments of the Nepal Himalaya represents approximately 4% of the total annual stream flow volume of the rivers of Nepal, and thus, is a minor component of the annual flow of the Ganges River. The models developed for this study indicate that neither stream flow timing nor volume of the rivers flowing into the Ganges Basin from Nepal will be affected materially by a continued retreat of the glaciers of the Nepal Himalaya.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document