Impact of global-scale hydroclimatic patterns on surface water-groundwater interactions in the climatically vulnerable Ganges river delta of the Sundarbans

摘要

The global climate patterns like El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) have impacts on surface water quality and groundwater recharge patterns. But the ENSO and IOD impacts on surface water-groundwater (SW-GW) interaction in terms of quality have not been studied. Therefore, the present study was conducted to delineate the impacts of ENSO and IOD on the SW-GW interaction process-induced groundwater quality of coastal aquifers of Sundarbans, by the application of isotopic signature, salinity content of ground-water and seawater in relation to rainfall variability. Study results revealed that the declining trend of rainfall potentially increases the seawater salinity. The rainfall pattern also positively correlates with the groundwater level (GWL) at a 5% level of significance observed from the wavelet analysis. The deficit in rainfall due to the El Nino is the possible reason for the declining GWL, which is giving rise to groundwater salinity. El Nino also affected the nearshore seawater salinity which was increased from 19 to 24 ppT. The study provides a surrogate understanding of the potential impact of El Nino in one of the most climatically vulnerable parts of the planet, while IOD impacts are not conclusive. In the scenario of depleted rainfall amount, groundwater abstraction practices need to be managed, otherwise, it could create a potential threat to the available drinking water resources in the present and future climate change scenarios.