Modelling the Effect of Land use Land cover chamnges on groundwater recharge

Abstract

Groundwater is the world's largest available freshwater resource. More than half of the world’s population depends on this resource for domestic supply. A global assessment on groundwater resources indicates a constant decline in water storage among principal aquifers. Aquifer recharge is complex, influenced by climate conditions; land use and land cover (LULC) dynamics; aquifer lithology, and topography. Climate and LULC have significant effect on the recharge process due to their direct impact on soil infiltration. Urbanisation-induced LULC changes lead to the rise in impervious surface coverage, causing a decrease in infiltration and a significant decline in groundwater recharge rates. However, due to the complex nature of groundwater recharge and lack of databases, studies on the effects of LULC and climate on the groundwater recharge is minimal. Therefore, this study is aimed at the effects of LULC and climate on the groundwater recharge process for a coastal urban shallow aquifer of Cochin, Kerala, India. The study was accomplished in two parts, with the first part based on direct observations from the study area aided by satellite datasets and secondary datasets. The second part is on forecasting future scenarios, based on modelling.