Identification of Submarine Groundwater Discharge (SGD) and Saline Water Intrusion (SWI) in the Coastal Andhra Pradesh, India
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Groundwater resources in coastal aquifers are threatened by seawater intrusion due to natural and anthropogenic processes. As seawater intrusion is complicated, dynamic natural process and man-made activities necessitate multi-dimensional approaches along coastal regions. Hydraulic and hydrogeochemical investigations in the shoreline aquifers are required to understand the sources of submarine groundwater discharge and salinization zones. No previous systematic studies have addressed submarine groundwater discharge and salinization zones along the coastal Andhra Pradesh. A site explicit evaluation is required to identify fresh and saline water interaction. A preliminary study was conducted to investigate submarine groundwater discharge and salinization zones using groundwater dynamics, sea surface temperature, and field water quality anomalies. Inverse distance weighted interpolation technique were used for the preparation of groundwater level maps (2018-2019) above mean sea level with the help of monitoring well data. LANDSAT 8 thermal infrared sensors were used to estimate sea surface temperature (SST) to corroborate submarine groundwater discharge zones with the sea surface temperature anomalies. The annual ranges of SST were 21-39 °C (2017), 15-34 °C (2018) and 20-39 °C (2019). A detailed hydrogeochemical studies was carried out by collecting 234 water samples (139 porewater, 31 groundwater and 64 seawater samples) along ~450 km coastline to evaluate the submarine groundwater discharge and saline water intrusion zones. Hydrogeochemical parameters (i.e. EC, TDS, pH, DO, temperature and salinity) were estimated in the field for porewater sample, groundwater and seawater sample along the coastal plains. Out of four coastal district (i.e. Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and Nellore) of Andhra Pradesh studied, three districts (i.e. Krishna, Guntur and Nellore) were prone to saline water intrusion whereas Prakasam district was susceptible for submarine groundwater discharge zones.
