Hydrochemical appraisal of groundwater quality for drinking and irrigation: a case study in parts of southwest coast of Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

The quality of groundwater standards in Muttom–Mandaikkadu coastal stretch is the focus of the present study, whose coastal aquifers are particularly at risk due to intrusion of marine water. Thirty groundwater samples were scrutinized for the assessment of physical and chemical parameters during January and June. Hydrochemical characteristics were spatially depicted to understand the spatial variations such as (pH, EC, TDS, Na+, K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+, SO42−, HCO3−, and Cl−). Drinking water quality index based on those 11 parameters and irrigation water quality index based on EC, Na%, sodium adsorption ratio and permeability index was used to assess the water quality for drinking and irrigation, respectively. These results demonstrate that dominant hydrochemical facies for groundwater in both months are Na-K-Cl-SO4 type and Ca-Mg-Cl-SO4 type. The USSL diagram endorses that most of the water samples belong to low-medium salinity with low sodium hazards. Cl−/HCO3− ratio indicates that the majority of the samples show low to moderate seawater intrusion in the study area. Additionally, six vertical electrical sounding measuring points (Schlumberger array) were carried out in order to determine the number of the underlying layers, aquifer depths and their thicknesses as well as its influence by the marine water. The geophysical self-potential measurements suggest that the groundwater in the Manavalakurichi area is prone to contamination by seawater intrusion, confirmed by the use of Schlumberger vertical electrical sounding. For better understanding, the subsurface layers were shown in a 2D model using the constructed geoelectrical cross section.

Landfill Pollution Plume Survey in the Moroccan Tadla Using Spontaneous Potential

“…Among all the relevant geophysical techniques, spontaneous potential (or self-potential, SP) measurements have been used for some thirty years in contamination studies of household waste landfills. More specifically, contamination studies have recently multiplied due to the high sensitivity of SP to redox conditions in shallow aquifers [10][11][12]. Indeed, spontaneous potential detectable at the soil surface, is sensitive to spatial variations in charge flow within the matrix, oxidation-reduction gradients, temperature variations, microorganism signals or other activities accompanied by contaminant migration [13][14][15][16][17][18][19].…”

Mapping the Pollution Plume Using the Self-Potential Geophysical Method: Case of Oum Azza Landfill, Rabat, Morocco

“…The self-potential also depends on redox conditions, an electro-redox contribution generated by the gradient of redox potential in a natural geobattery process [15,[19][20][21] that may prevail near garbage dumps. Several recent studies were based on the sensitivity of spontaneous potential measurements to redox variations [22][23][24][25]. Measurements of spontaneous potential can therefore be a passive source of information on the spatial distribution of groundwater parameters and are, a priori, particularly suitable for the detection and delineation of pollution plumes.…”

Installation and calibration of sensors for analysis of soil humidity and temperature in eastern amazon areas

“…Another factor that should be considered is the groundwater level, which may influence the subjacent layers (Stanly et al, 2021). This factor is especially important for the Sergipana Farm station, which is less than 20 m away from the Água Azul River.…”