- Fremont, California, United States
Suresh Kannaujiya
IIRS, Dehradun, GSGHD, Faculty Member
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Groundwater Recharge (GR) is a crucial part of sustainability studies since it is one of the key factors responsible for making the groundwater resource renewable. An optimum strategy for responding to water level decline is artificial... more
Groundwater Recharge (GR) is a crucial part of sustainability studies since it is one of the key factors responsible for making the groundwater resource renewable. An optimum strategy for responding to water level decline is artificial groundwater recharge. Artificial groundwater recharge projects are limited by cost, and the effective area is less. The role of natural factors for groundwater recharge is well defined and recognized in arid regions, whereas it’s challenging for humid areas. The current study’s main aim is to understand the contribution of the bio-geophysical aspect to groundwater recharge in the subtropical monsoon state of Uttar Pradesh in the Gangetic Plain. However, recharging is also one of the least understood processes because it changes over time and space and is challenging to quantify directly for a larger area. This research applied the ‘water and energy transfer among bare soil, vegetation, and atmosphere (WetSpass)’ model to estimate direct natural GR for...
The Raniganj coalfield of West Bengal, India, has been producing non-coking coal of exceptional quality for 246 years, making it the oldest coal mine in India. In this coal mining region, the "room and pillar" mining method is... more
The Raniganj coalfield of West Bengal, India, has been producing non-coking coal of exceptional quality for 246 years, making it the oldest coal mine in India. In this coal mining region, the "room and pillar" mining method is employed to dig coal, resulting in local subsidence that comprises a number of huge subsidence ponds and minor area collapses. Subsidence significantly impacts the environment, resulting in a cataclysmic disaster that destroys public infrastructure and even causes death. The majority of land subsidence is produced by forces that apply pressure on the surface, such as groundwater extraction, mining, excessive development, and similar reasons. A very precise Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS), which is an enhanced GNSS, is used to monitor the movement of the ground. There are nine rover stations and three base stations, which are reoccupied at an interval of months and installed for hours. Since 2019, the DGPS has been used for this purpose....
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Earthquake precursors are the indicators that appear before an earthquake. The release of radon gas, ionospheric disturbances, anomalous animal behavior, and so on are examples of seismic and aseismic events. Ionospheric perturbations can... more
Earthquake precursors are the indicators that appear before an earthquake. The release of radon gas, ionospheric disturbances, anomalous animal behavior, and so on are examples of seismic and aseismic events. Ionospheric perturbations can be proved to be a reliable method in earthquake prediction. The GNSS data detect changes in the ionosphere through the time lag of the transmitted GPS signals recorded at the Earth-based receivers. A negative TEC anomaly is caused by the stress released from the rocks before the earthquake, which elevates positive ions or p-holes in the atmosphere and decreases the ions in the ionosphere. A positive TEC anomaly follows this because of the increase in ions in the ionosphere. The ionospheric disruption in the Himalayan region is examined before five random earthquakes. For this, data from 15 separate GNSS stations are investigated using IONOLAB-TEC. A promising total electron content (TEC) data estimate with a temporal resolution of 30 s was analyzed...
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Landslides, one of the major geological hazards, contribute to natural disasters in mountainous region around the globe owing to a wide variety of causative as well as triggering factors like heavy rainstorms, cloudbursts, glacial lake... more
Landslides, one of the major geological hazards, contribute to natural disasters in mountainous region around the globe owing to a wide variety of causative as well as triggering factors like heavy rainstorms, cloudbursts, glacial lake outburst (GLOF), earthquakes, geo-engineering setting, unplanned human activities, etc. In different parts of the Himalaya, landslide has evolved as a frequent problem which severely affects life, property, and livelihood of this mountainous area thriving mainly on pilgrimage, tourism, and agriculture (Anbalagan et al. 2015; Anbalagan 1992; Champati Ray and Chattoraj 2014; Gupta et al. 1993; Kumar et al. 2012; Onagh et al. 2012; Sarkar et al. 1995, 2006; Sundriyal et al. 2007). With the background of higher elevation, rough hilly landscape, scanty cultivated land, strong monsoonal effect, and less industrial growth restricting economic progress, repeated landslide events keep human life and property at stake (Champati Ray et al. 2013a, b, 2015; Ketholia et al. 2015; Paul and Bisht 1993). Landslides in the Himalayan region are on an average smaller in dimension and have shallow depth, but these are more recurring in nature and thereby do not get noticed by authorities but cause higher cumulative losses over a period of time. Landslides, in the Himalaya, are observed particularly in highly fractured and sheared rock mass close to faults and also in weathered hard rocks. The climatic factors play an important role in weathering and disintegration of rock mass that are finally brought down by gravity (Kumar et al. 2007, 2012). Most of these landslides wreak havocked not only on life and property but manifest changes in landform due to large-scale mass wasting, landslide-dammed lake formation, and breaching leading to large-scale landform modification (Champati Ray 2013; Champati Ray et al. 2015).
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The objective is to understand incessant seismic activities in Northwest and Central Himalayan regions. GPS data acquired (2017–2020, Nepal; 2015–2019, Uttarakhand) from 65 GNSS stations are used to generate velocity solutions with... more
The objective is to understand incessant seismic activities in Northwest and Central Himalayan regions. GPS data acquired (2017–2020, Nepal; 2015–2019, Uttarakhand) from 65 GNSS stations are used to generate velocity solutions with respect to International Terrestrial Reference Frame 2014 & Indian fixed reference frame to determine the site’s precise position. These velocities are further used to calculate the strain rate and prevailing convergence rate by the respective Triangulation method and Okada’s formulation. The estimated mean maximum and minimum principal strain rate are 12.19 nano strain/yr. and − 102.94 nano strain/yr. respectively. And the respective mean shear strain and dilatation are 115.13 nano strain/yr. −90.75 nano strain, which implies that Higher Himalaya observes high compression rate compared to Outer and Lesser Himalayan region. Estimations have also elucidated presence of extensional deformation in the Northwestern part of the Himalayan arc. Accordingly, in C...
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The Gaurikund town falls on the way of the famous trekking route to Kedarnath that faced the wrath of the 2013 flood disaster. This fateful event severed more than 5000 casualties, demolished several infrastructures, and shifted the... more
The Gaurikund town falls on the way of the famous trekking route to Kedarnath that faced the wrath of the 2013 flood disaster. This fateful event severed more than 5000 casualties, demolished several infrastructures, and shifted the course of Gaurikund spring from its original position. Nevertheless, the Gaurikund geothermal spring system located in the Himalayan Geothermal Belt of the Garhwal region is preeminent for religious beliefs, balneotherapeutic values and a gateway to delve within the geothermal and hydrological characteristics of the area. In this perspective, restoration of Gaurikund geothermal spring system becomes a necessity. A multiparametric approach comprising geospatial, geology, hydrochemistry and geophysics has been used to study and justify these aspects at Gaurikund. The geological studies infer that the geothermal spring gets recharged by the steep, southerly dipping joints in granite gneiss. Subsequently, the deep percolated water heats up due to the high ge...
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This paper reports a rare interaction between two fronts of nighttime medium scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs) and associated phenomena observed over geomagnetic low‐mid latitude transition region on a geomagnetically... more
This paper reports a rare interaction between two fronts of nighttime medium scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs) and associated phenomena observed over geomagnetic low‐mid latitude transition region on a geomagnetically quiet night (Ap = 5) of 21 May 2020. The event was observed for nearly 8 hours in O(1D) 630.0 nm airglow images captured by an all‐sky imager installed at Hanle (32.7°N, 78.9°E; Mlat. ∼24.1°N), Leh Ladakh, India and supplemented by a digisonde and a global positioning system receiver located within the imager's field of view (FOV). The images revealed a slow‐moving MSTID front being followed by a fast‐moving MSTID front, both traveling southwestward. The third front of the MSTID caught up with the second one, initiating the interaction. As a consequence, a plasma channel was created during the interaction and the MSTIDs' fronts began decaying. Subsequently, they became thin strips and later dissipated within the FOV of the imager. The polarization electric field of the merged region of the two interacting MSTIDs' fronts played a key role in creating the plasma channel. In the later hours of the night, another MSTID with a rotating front was observed, which is a rarely reported phenomenon. The horizontal gradient in the westward wind is a plausible reason for the observed rotation. This study elucidates the complex nature of geomagnetic low‐mid latitude transition region.
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Stubble burning (SB) has been a major source of seasonal aerosol loading and pollution over northern India. The aftereffects of groundwater preservation act i.e., post 2010 era (2011–2020) has seen delay in crop harvesting thereby... more
Stubble burning (SB) has been a major source of seasonal aerosol loading and pollution over northern India. The aftereffects of groundwater preservation act i.e., post 2010 era (2011–2020) has seen delay in crop harvesting thereby shifting the peak SB to May (Wheat SB) and to November (Paddy SB) by 8–10 and 10–12 days compared to pre-2010. Groundwater storage depletion rate of 29.2 mm yr−1 was observed over the region. Post 2010 era shows an increase of 1.4% in wheat SB and 21% in Paddy SB fires over Punjab and Haryana with 70% of PM2.5 air mass clusters (high probability > 0.8) advecting to the downwind regions leading to 23–26% increase in PM2.5 and 4–6% in aerosol loading over National Capital Region (NCR). Although the objective of water conservation policy was supposed to preserve the groundwater by delaying the paddy transplantation and sowing, on the contrary the implementation of this policy has seen groundwater storage after 2013 depleting at a rate of 29.2 mmyr−1 over t...
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The rates of urban dynamics affecting by industrialization, urban agglomeration, and large-scale migration turn its behaviour from monocentric to polycentric metropolitan resulting in unprecedented urban growth. Therefore, the present... more
The rates of urban dynamics affecting by industrialization, urban agglomeration, and large-scale migration turn its behaviour from monocentric to polycentric metropolitan resulting in unprecedented urban growth. Therefore, the present study incorporated an entropy-based approach to measure the degree of compactness and dispersiveness of urban development in Chiang Mai City. The Object-based machine learning was deployed for the image classifications with an overall accuracy above the minimum requirements (i.e., 90%) and kappa statistic of agreement above 0.85. The study reveals that Chiang Mai city has undergone urban development outskirts from the urban centre (CBD) and north and south-west direction from the CBD. A considerable increase in urban demographic and physical urban patches was observed in last 1998 to 2018. The research emphasized the significant role of Shannon Entropy to analyze the built-up growth supplemented by Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS)...
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Understanding earthquake precursory phenomena based on ionosphere perturbation is a fairly new field in geoscience today and has achieved promising success. Scientists across the globe are now trying to learn insight about the physical... more
Understanding earthquake precursory phenomena based on ionosphere perturbation is a fairly new field in geoscience today and has achieved promising success. Scientists across the globe are now trying to learn insight about the physical and chemical processes involved in the upper atmosphere and beyond during the earthquake preparatory period. One of such studies is based on global navigation satellite system (GNSS) observations. Global Positioning System (GPS) is currently one of the most popular global navigation satellite positioning systems widely available for such society application. GPS has led to technical revolutions in the field of applications like navigation as well as in upper atmospheric/ionospheric studies. GPS signals from the satellites encountered the ionosphere before it is captured by the receiver on the ground. In this process, the free electrons in the ionosphere affect the propagation of the signals by changing their velocity and direction of travel. A number of recent investigations have suggested that satellites and ground-based facilities like that of GNSS may detect earthquake precursors a few hours or days prior to the main event due to ionospheric perturbations induced by initiation of earthquake process. The typical phenomenological features of ionospheric precursors of strong earthquakes are summarised by Pulinets et al. (2003). The parameter of ionosphere that produces most of the effects on radio signals is the total electron content (TEC). The TEC is defined by the integral of electron density in a 1 metre square column along the signal transmission path. The ionosphere causes GPS signal delays to be proportional to the TEC along the path from the GNSS satellite to a receiver. The TEC measurements obtained from dual frequency GNSS receivers are one of the most important parameters to characterise Earth’s ionosphere. The changes in the Earth’s ionosphere can be used to derive the information about an impending earthquake. Therefore, it is very important to monitor the TEC variation due to tectonic deformation prior to an earthquake and its validation in real-world situation.
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Landslides, one of the major geological hazards, contribute to natural disasters in mountainous region around the globe owing to a wide variety of causative as well as triggering factors like heavy rainstorms, cloudbursts, glacial lake... more
Landslides, one of the major geological hazards, contribute to natural disasters in mountainous region around the globe owing to a wide variety of causative as well as triggering factors like heavy rainstorms, cloudbursts, glacial lake outburst (GLOF), earthquakes, geo-engineering setting, unplanned human activities, etc. In different parts of the Himalaya, landslide has evolved as a frequent problem which severely affects life, property, and livelihood of this mountainous area thriving mainly on pilgrimage, tourism, and agriculture (Anbalagan et al. 2015; Anbalagan 1992; Champati Ray and Chattoraj 2014; Gupta et al. 1993; Kumar et al. 2012; Onagh et al. 2012; Sarkar et al. 1995, 2006; Sundriyal et al. 2007). With the background of higher elevation, rough hilly landscape, scanty cultivated land, strong monsoonal effect, and less industrial growth restricting economic progress, repeated landslide events keep human life and property at stake (Champati Ray et al. 2013a, b, 2015; Kethol...
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Groundwater is a significant resource that supports almost one-fifth population globally, but has been is diminishing at an alarming rate in recent years. To delve into this objective more thoroughly, we calculated interannual (2002–2020)... more
Groundwater is a significant resource that supports almost one-fifth population globally, but has been is diminishing at an alarming rate in recent years. To delve into this objective more thoroughly, we calculated interannual (2002–2020) GWS (per grid) distribution using GRACE & GRACE-FO (CSR-M, JPL-M and SH) Level 3 RL06 datasets in seven Indian river basins and found comparatively higher negative trends (−20.10 ± 1.81 to −8.60 ± 1.52 mm/yr) in Basin 1–4 than in Basin 5–7 (−7.11 ± 0.64 to −0.76 ± 0.47 mm/yr). After comparing the Groundwater Storage (GWS) results with the CHIRPS (Climate Hazards Group Infrared Precipitation with Stations) derived SPI (Standardized Precipitation Index) drought index, we found that GWS exhausts analogously in the same period (2005–2020) when SPI values show improvement (∼1.89–2), indicating towards wet condition. Subsequently, the GWSA time series is decomposed using the STL (Seasonal Trend Decomposition) (LOESS Regression) approach to monitor long-t...
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Water utilities form the core part of any urban infrastructure. A spatial database of water distribution system (WDS) for Dehradun city has been created in a geographic information system (GIS) environment, while drawing data inputs from... more
Water utilities form the core part of any urban infrastructure. A spatial database of water distribution system (WDS) for Dehradun city has been created in a geographic information system (GIS) environment, while drawing data inputs from diverse sources and water supply-demand gap analysis has been performed. Environmental Protection Agency Network (EPANET, 2.0) has been used to analyze the WDS to explore its reliability in current and future scenarios. Mapping of the existing 564 km long distribution network revealed that more than three-quarters of the system has outdated water pipelines. An accuracy of 93% for pipe diameter estimation has been obtained upon validation by ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey. Water supply-demand gap analysis confirmed that although Dehradun city has surplus supply, it suffers from scarcity, mainly due to the unsatisfactory condition of the existing WDS. Twenty-seven percent of the existing pipes are smaller than the prescribed standards; there is...
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Broadband magnetotelluric (MT) soundings have been applied to determine the deep electrical conductivity structure across Garhwal Himalaya corridor along the Deoband-Gangotri profile passing through major Himalayan thrusts: Himalayan... more
Broadband magnetotelluric (MT) soundings have been applied to determine the deep electrical conductivity structure across Garhwal Himalaya corridor along the Deoband-Gangotri profile passing through major Himalayan thrusts: Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFT), Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) and Main Central Thrust (MCT). The average Geoelectric Strike estimated for the 15 station MT data of Deoband-Gangotri profile along NE-SW was N75°W, and after that 2D smooth inversion was carried out for 15 station MT data. Where the near surface conductive feature in foothills and Siwalik Himalaya is relating to the molassic sediments transported from Higher Himalayan region. The strong lateral discontinuities along the profile are associated with the various thrust zones. The conducting zone near MCT is a typical example of presence of mid crustal conductor. Along this profile the mid crustal conducting zone near MCT coincides with the intense microseismic activity zone (Khattri, 1992). Then we have co...
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GPS measurements have proved extremely useful in quantifying strain accumulation rate and assessing seismic hazard in a region. Continuous GPS measurements provide estimates of secular motion used to understand the earthquake and other... more
GPS measurements have proved extremely useful in quantifying strain accumulation rate and assessing seismic hazard in a region. Continuous GPS measurements provide estimates of secular motion used to understand the earthquake and other geodynamic processes. GNSS stations extending from the South of India to the Higher Himalayan region have been used to quantify the strain build-up rate in Central India and the Himalayan region to assess the seismic hazard potential in this realm. Velocity solution has been determined after the application of Markov noise estimated from GPS time series data. The recorded GPS data are processed along with the closest International GNSS stations data for estimation of daily basis precise positioning. The baseline method has been used for the estimation of the linear strain rate between the two stations. Whereas the principal strain axes, maximum shear strain, rotation rate, and crustal shortening rate has been calculated through the site velocity using...
In present study, we measured the Total Electron Content (TEC) variation in the ionosphere from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data which might have been induced by earthquakes in the Himalayan region. The results were analysed... more
In present study, we measured the Total Electron Content (TEC) variation in the ionosphere from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data which might have been induced by earthquakes in the Himalayan region. The results were analysed with other inducing factors (geomagnetic storm and solar flare) affecting TEC in order to constraint the causative factor. The study has been performed to understand a relationship between ionospheric electron content and earthquakes occurrences with special emphasis on Himalayan region and provides information on spatio-temporal variation of TEC from GNSS observation stations vis-a vis prominent earthquakes of the region. The results indicate that the ground based GNSS (GPS) observations show the deviation in vertical total electron content (vTEC) in ionosphere few days prior to the seismic event as evident from our two continuously operating reference stations (CORS) as well as from CORS of UNAVCO data centre. Ionospheric perturbation has also b...
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Electron content in the ionosphere is very sensitive to temporary disturbances of the Earth’s magnetosphere (geomagnetic storm), solar flares, and seismic activities. The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-based total electron... more
Electron content in the ionosphere is very sensitive to temporary disturbances of the Earth’s magnetosphere (geomagnetic storm), solar flares, and seismic activities. The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-based total electron content (TEC) measurement has emerged as an important technique for computations of earthquake precursor signals. We examined the pre-earthquake signatures for eight strong magnitude (Mw > 6: 6.1 to 7.8) earthquakes with the aid of GNSS-based TEC measurement in the tectonically active Himalayan region using International GNSS Service (IGS) stations as well as local GNSS-based continuously operating reference stations (CORS). The results indicate very significant ionospheric anomalies in the vertical total electron content (vTEC) a few days before the main shock for all of the events. Geomagnetic activities were also studied during the TEC observation window to ascertain their role in ionospheric perturbations. It was also inferred that TEC variation due to low magnitude events could also be monitored if the epicenter lies closer to the GNSS or IGS station. Therefore, the study has confirmed TEC anomalies before major Himalayan earthquakes, thereby making it imperative to set up a much denser network of IGS/CORS for real-time data analysis and forewarning.
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In present study, we measured the Total Electron Content (TEC) variation in the ionosphere from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data which might have been induced by earthquakes in the Himalayan region. The results were analysed... more
In present study, we measured the Total Electron Content (TEC) variation in the ionosphere from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data which might have been induced by earthquakes in the Himalayan region. The results were analysed with other inducing factors (geomagnetic storm and solar flare) affecting TEC in order to constraint the causative factor. The study has been performed to understand a relationship between ionospheric electron content and earthquakes occurrences with special emphasis on Himalayan region and provides information on spatio-temporal variation of TEC from GNSS observation stations vis-a vis prominent earthquakes of the region. The results indicate that the ground based GNSS (GPS) observations show the deviation in vertical total electron content (vTEC) in ionosphere few days prior to the seismic event as evident from our two continuously operating reference stations (CORS) as well as from CORS of UNAVCO data centre. Ionospheric perturbation has also been observed in case of low magnitude earthquakes (Mw 4.9 in present study) whenever recording station lies very close to the epicentre. TEC variation is found to increase as the epicentre distances decreases. In case of Mw 7.8, 2015 Nepal earthquake the TEC variation is found to increase by 15e20 TEC unit recorded at station separated by 60 km apart. This may provide us the avenue for epicentre detection as TEC concentration was found to increase as we move closer to the epicentre. TEC variations (mostly high TEC) have been observed during a period of 0 to 8 days prior to 4 earthquakes: 1st April 2015 Pipalkoti earthquake (4.9Mw), 25th April 2015 Nepal earthquake (7.8Mw), 26 April 2015 (6.7Mw) and 12th May 2015 (7.3Mw) Nepal earthquakes. Significant low TEC values were also observed before 13e14 days prior to first two earthquake events. Overall the study has revealed that low TEC followed by couple of high TEC values correlate well with the seismic events in Himalayan region.