J. I nd. Geophys.

Uni on ( Apri l 2012 )

Vol.16, No.2, pp. 55-63
Study and Mapping of Ground Water Prospect using
Remote Sensing, GIS and Geoelectrical resistivity
techniques a case study of Dhanbad district,
Jharkhand, India
V.K.Srivastava, Devendra Nath Giri and Pawan Bharadwaj
Dept. of Appl i ed Geophysi cs, I ndi an School of Mi nes, Dhanbad - 826004, I ndi a
E-mai l : i smkvi nay@ gmai l .com
ABSTRACT
Water i s an i mportant natural resource, whi ch i s avai l abl e both on surface as wel l as i n recharge
zone of weathered l ayer and i n vari ous other sui tabl e water reservoi r formati ons/structures bel ow
the surface. As the avai l abi l i ty of surface water i s errati c and i rregul ar one needs to study and
map the underground water reservoi rs. Dhanbad di stri ct of Jharkhand state i s i n general part of
hard rock terrai n, whi ch i s mai nl y covered by Chottanagpur Grani te Gnei ssi c Compl ex and has
no perenni al ri ver sources for water suppl y. Therefore, i n vi ew of the upcomi ng i ndustri al i zati on
i n the regi on there i s need to expl oi t groundwater resource, whi ch i s l i mi ted and confi ned
to fractured and weathered zones. Even though the regi on recei ves copi ous rai n, the terrai n and
soi l condi ti on al l ows l i ttl e storage of water. Hence, the regi on faces shortage of water i n dry
seasons. Therefore, i t i s necessary to expl ore and study the ground water resources effecti vel y
usi ng sui tabl e techni ques. Vari ous workers have successful l y appl i ed Remote Sensi ng techni que
i n expl orati on, eval uati on and management of ground water resources i n an area as a whol e
and the resul ts have been publ i shed. I n thi s paper al so mappi ng and management strategi es for
ground water resources have been studi ed, by anal yzi ng I RS LI SS I I mul ti band remote sensi ng
data al ong wi th geol ogi cal as wel l as geophysi cal resi sti vi ty soundi ng data carri ed out at pl aces i n
GI S envi ronment. Fi nal l y, based on the i ntegrated themati c maps, wei ghted anal ysi s i n Arc GI S
ground water resource prospect map of the area has been prepared and di scussed.
The study has brought out that the hi gh groundwater potenti al zones are confi ned al ong
l i neaments and i n pedi ment areas. Al so al l uvi al fi l l s, val l ey fi l l s form potenti al zones. The other
geomorphic units like buried pediplain, peniplains and denundational hills form zones of moderate
to good groundwater prospects. Di ssected pedi ments, i nsel berg compl ex, undul ati ng upl and and
buri ed pedi ment wi th i ntermontane val l ey are zones of poor prospects. Very poor regi ons occupy
a smal l part of total study area and are mai nl y confi ned to undul ati ng upl and and resi dual hi l l s.
INTRODUCTION
Groundwater i s a dynami c and repleni sh-able natural
resource. But, i n hard rock terrai n avai l abi l i ty of
groundwater is limited. In such terrains ground water is
essentially confined to fractured and weathered zones.
Therefore, expl orati on and expl oi tati on of ground
water resources requi re thorough understandi ng of
geology, hydrogeology and geomorphology of the area.
I ntegrati on of vari ous data and themati c maps,
such as ter rai n features deri ved from remote
sensi ng i mages, hydrogeomorphi cal detai l s, depth
to groundwater tabl e and geophysi cal resi sti vi ty
soundi ng data hel p i n generati on of groundwater
potenti al zone maps whi ch when supplemented wi th
geophysi cal data i .e. VES data i n GI S envi ronment,
faci l i tates effecti ve eval uati on of groundwater
potenti al zones (Yadav et al ., 2007 and Si ngh et al .,
1997). Depth of occurrence of ground water zone
and the locati on of well si tes can be determi ned more
effecti vel y by el ectri cal resi sti vi ty method. I ntegrated
anal ysi s and study, besi des mappi ng and del i neati on
of potenti al areas on smal l and regi onal scal e hel p i n
determi nati on of aqui fer characteri sti cs, flow pattern,
and correl ati on of l i thol ogy (Sabal e et al ., 2009).
Such an approach has been appl i ed successful l y i n
del i neati on of groundwater potenti al si tes /zones by
vari ous workers (Ahmad et al ., 2010; Chatterjee et
V.K.Sri vastava, Devendra Nath Gi ri and Pawan Bhardwaj
56
al ., 2010; Lokesh et al ., 2005; Mondal et al ., 2007;
Rao et al ., 2009; Banerji , 2000; Sri vastava, 2000 and
Dasgupta, 1994).
The present study area, whi ch i s a hard rock
terrai n, havi ng undul ati ng topography though get
suffi ci ent rai nfal l , suffers from water scarci ty for
domesti c, agri cultural, and i ndustri al purposes due to
l i mi ted nature of aqui fers (i nadequate weathered and
fi ssured zones). Al so, someti mes presence of basi c
and meta-basi c dykes and the quartz reefs i n the area
have acted as barri ers for the fl ow of water (Si ngh
et al ., 1997). Taki ng i nto consi derati on the above
scenari o an attempt has been made for mappi ng of
ground water potenti al zones, by i ntegrati ng vari ous
themati c maps, as generated from processed and
enhanced remote sensi ng mul ti band data, di gi tal
el evati on model (DEM) created from SRTM data
al ong wi th verti cal el ectri cal survey (VES) data and
other geo hydrol ogi cal data i n GI S envi ronment.
LOCATI ON, GENERAL GEOLOGY AND
HYDROLOGICAL SET UP OF THE AREA
Our study area, Dhanbad di stri ct i s si tuated i n
between 23
0
3730 N - 24
0
56N l at and 86
0
823 E
- 86
0
5018 E l ong, i n Jharkhand state of Eastern
I ndi a ( Fi gure 1). The northern boundary of whi ch i s
marked by Barakar ri ver and the southern boundary
by Damodar ri ver, on whi ch two i mportant reservoi rs
vi z Mai thon and Panchet are l ocated respecti vel y.
The regi on l i es on the eastern part of Chhotanagpur
plateau and has an undulati ng topography wi th three
Figure 1. Locati on map of Dhanbad Di stri ct, Jharkhand.
Study and Mappi ng of Ground Water Prospect usi ng Remote Sensi ng, GI S and
Geoel ectri cal resi sti vi ty techni ques a case study of Dhanbad di stri ct, Jharkhand, I ndi a
57
di sti nct geomorphi c features from north to south, (a)
the hi ll ranges i n north western part, (b) the coal fi eld
i n southern and eastern part, and (c) the undul ati ng
upl and and i nterveni ng al l uvi al fi l l l ow val l eys wi th
i sol ated bare ri dges between them i n north. The
metamorphi c terrai n of the regi on i s underl ai n by
a wi de range of geol ogi cal formati ons rangi ng i n
age from Archaean to Recent. The Archeans and
Gondwanas constitute the major parts.Thin veneer of
Quaternary alluvial deposits occurs in the topographic
depressi ons al ong the Damodar and Barakar Ri vers
(Fi gure 2). Our study i s restri cted to thi s Achaean
terrai n onl y.
I n thi s ter rai n groun d water occurs un der
unconfi ned condi ti on i n the weathered zone of
consol i dated or unconsol i dated rocks and i n the
fractured zone i mmedi atel y bel ow the weathered
zone. It also occurs under semi confined and confined
states i n deep fracture zones i n the metamorphi c
and sedi mentary rocks. Groundwater i n such rocks
circulates through the secondary openings represented
by joi nts, cracks, fi ssures and such other pl anes of
di sconti nui ty. The weathered resi duum of the hard
rocks as wel l as the fractures, joi nts, fi ssures, faul ts
and other zones of di sconti nui ty are the pri nci pl e
reposi tori es of groundwater i n the area (Banerji ,
2000).
DATA AND METHODOLOGY USED
Details pertaining to the data, processing methodology
and anal ysi s fol l owed i n the present study (mappi ng
of Ground Water Resources prospect map of Dhanbad
di stri ct usi ng remote sensi ng, Di gi tal El evati on
Model (DEM) and conventi onal El ectri cal Resi sti vi ty
Soundi ng (VES) data i n GI S envi ronment) are
descri bed bri efl y.
Mul ti band remote sensi ng di gi tal data sets of
I RS LI SS I I have been radi o metri cal l y processed,
enhanced and geo corrected usi ng SOI toposheet
no. 73/I . Fi nal l y standard fal se col or composi te
(FCC) was generated i n ENVI software for deli neati ng
general rock types, l andforms, geol ogi cal structures
etc. based on characteri sti c photo si gnatures (Fi gure
3).Thi s was then i ntegrated wi th publi shed geologi cal
map (Fi gure 2) and Ground Water Tabl e depth
map from CGWB report (Fi gure 4) i n Arc GI S
envi ronment.
Further the resul ti ng maps were agai n i ntegrated
wi th Di gi tal El evati on Model (DEM) of the regi on
Figure 2. Map showi ng General Geol ogy of study area (after Kri shnan, 1982).
V.K.Sri vastava, Devendra Nath Gi ri and Pawan Bhardwaj
58
Figure 4. Ground Water Tabl e depth map (after CGWB Report, 2000).
Figure 3. I RS LI SS I I standard FCC (Geo corrected) i mage of Dhanbad Di stri ct.
Study and Mappi ng of Ground Water Prospect usi ng Remote Sensi ng, GI S and
Geoel ectri cal resi sti vi ty techni ques a case study of Dhanbad di stri ct, Jharkhand, I ndi a
59
as generated from US- Shuttl e Radar Topographi c
Mi ssi on (SRTM) data (Fi gure 5) wi th spati al
resol uti on of 90 m down l oaded from si te www.
srtm.csi .cgi ar.org and checked wi th the aqui fer
depths as i nterpreted from typi cal verti cal electri cal
soundi ng (VES) curve carri ed out at sel ected poi nts
(Fi gure 6). I n Fi gure 6 the fi rst l ayer corresponds to
soi l cover and weathered zone wi th depth around 5
m and of 50 ohm meter resi sti vi ty value. Thi s shows
the possi bi l i ty of groundwater occurrence, i n good
quanti ty, i n thi s l ayer compared to the underl yi ng
layers. The fi rst layer i s underlai n by semi weathered
Figure 5. SRTM -Di gi tal El evati on Model (DEM) of Dhanbad Di stri ct.
Figure 6. Verti cal El ectri cal Soundi ng Resi sti vi ty curve and model ed secti on.
V.K.Sri vastava, Devendra Nath Gi ri and Pawan Bhardwaj
60
2
nd
layer of thi ckness 9-10 m wi th resi sti vi ty value of
about 214 ohm mt. Underneath, weathered rocks are
found. There i s a probabi l i ty that thi s second l ayer
may have some non-i nterconnected fractured zones
wi th ground water, wi th no ci rculati on. Whereas, the
thi rd l ayer wi th resi sti vi ty val ue of 144 ohm mt may
be i nferred as the zone that outl i nes the channel s
along whi ch groundwater appears to flow. Thi s could
be a good potenti al zone. Fi nal l y , al l the themati c
maps were overl ai d and anal yzed usi ng wei ghted
overl ay techni que of spati al anal ysi s tool i n Arc
GI S 9. Thi s techni que provi des a method for
combi ni ng mul ti pl e themati c maps by appl yi ng a
common measurement scal e of val ues to each raster,
wei ghti ng each accordi ng to i ts i mportance, and
addi ng them together to create an i ntegrated map.
I n the present study the wei ghted overl ay anal ysi s
has been carri ed out by gi vi ng wei ght to i ndi vi dual
parameters as cl ass wei ghts and themati c maps as
wei ghted theme, accordi ng to thei r degree of prospect
(Table 1) for generati ng Hydro-geomorphologi cal map
(Fi gure 7) and Ground Water Prospect map (Fi gure 8).
Figure 7. Hydro Geomorphol ogi cal Map of Dhanbad Di stri ct (after Banerjee,2000).
Study and Mappi ng of Ground Water Prospect usi ng Remote Sensi ng, GI S and
Geoel ectri cal resi sti vi ty techni ques a case study of Dhanbad di stri ct, Jharkhand, I ndi a
61
Geomorphology
(Theme Wei ght 40)
Geology
(Theme Wei ght 20)
Underground Water
Table map m b.g.l.
( below ground level )
(Theme Wei ght- 20)
Digital Elevation
Model (Contour) Map
(Theme wei ght- 20)
Categories Class
Weight
Categories Class
Weight
Categories Class
Weight
Categories Class
Weight
Denundati onal Hi l l s 6 Grani te Gnei ss
Resi dual Hi l l
2 upto 3 m
b.g.l .
8 500 - 1200
m
2
Pedi ment 8 Archean 4 3-6 m b.g.l . 6 301 - 500 m 6
Hi l l ocks and Mounds 2 Tal chi r 4 6-9 m b.g.l . 6 151 - 300 m 4
Pedi ment I nsel berg
Compl ex
2 Rani ganj 6 9-12 m b.g.l . 2 0 - 150 m 6
Penepl ai ne /pedi pl ai n 4 Barren
Measure
6
Barakar 4
Tabl e 1. Di fferent themes and themati c parameters consi dered for groundwater prospects eval uati on and thei r cl ass
wei ghts
Figure 8. Fi nal Ground water prospect map of Dhanbad Di stri ct
V.K.Sri vastava, Devendra Nath Gi ri and Pawan Bhardwaj
62
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
On the basi s of i ntegrated and wei ghted anal ysi s
of vari ous themati c maps such as geol ogi cal , geo
morphol ogi cal , di gi tal el evati on model , verti cal
electrical resistivity sounding data, ground water table
depth map and geo morphol ogi cal map i n Arc GI S,
we have generated two very i mportant maps vi z.; A)
Hydro-geomorphological map (Fi gure 7) showi ng
groundwater potenti al i ty i n terms of geomorphol ogy
and B) Ground Water Prospect Map (Fi gure 8) of
Dhanbad di stri ct.
A) Hydro-geomorphological Map
This map shows five distinct hydro geo morphological
features from the poi nt of vi ew of water resource
pr ospect as wel l as for appl i cati on of water
management practi ces, i n order to enhance the status
of water resources i n the regi on.
Unit 1) - Denudational Hills: The area i s covered
wi th mi xed forest and has moderate to l ow sl ope
resul ti ng i n moderate run off. I t i s shal l ow and wel l
drai ned. I t i s gravel l y l oamy soi l and non-sti cki ng.
I t is friable when moist. The region is covered with few
lineaments/fractures with subradial drainage pattern and
hence the groundwater prospect is moderate to good.
Unit 2) - Pediment: The area i s covered wi th
bushes wi th cul ti vated l and i n l ow val l ey and has
moderate to steep sl opes (5-10%). The regi on has
dense l i neaments. Drai nage pattern i s dendri ti c
to sub paral l el wi th l i near paral l el radi al drai nage
pattern. The groundwater prospect i s good to very
good.
Unit 3) - Undulating Upland: These features
represent the buri ed pedi ments wi th i ntermontane
val l ey. These areas are characteri zed by moderate
to hi gh steep sl ope resul ti ng i n very hi gh run off.
Groundwater prospect i s poor.
Unit 4) - Pediment I nselberg Complex:
These are i sol ated rock hi l l s, knobs, ri dges, or
smal l mountai ns that ri se abruptl y from a gentl y
sl opi ng or vi rtual l y l evel surroundi ng pl ai n. The uni t
represents barren l and wi th shal l ow wel l drai ned
gravel l y sandy soi l on sl opi ng l andscape wi th severe
erosi on. Drai nage densi ty i s poor wi th sub parallel to
sub radi al pattern and groundwater prospect i s poor.
Unit 5) Pedeplain / Peneplain: Pedepl ai ns are
rel ati vel y fl at rock surfaces formed by the joi ni ng of
several pedi ments and Penepl ai ns. They are gentl y
undul ati ng, al most featurel ess and pl ai n. The regi on
i s covered wi th moderate number of l i neaments
wi th sub paral l el to sub dendri ti c drai nage pattern.
Groundwater prospect i s l ow to moderate.
B) Ground Water Prospect Map
The fi nal i ntegrated map as generated by appl yi ng
the wei ghted overl ay anal ysi s i n Arc GI S shows
fi ve prospect grades i n terms of water resources
potenti al i ty vi z.; very good, good, moderate, poor
and very poor (Fi gure 8). Good Water prospect
zone Geomorphol ogi cal l y coveri ng al l uvi al fi l l s and
val l ey fi l l s covers nearl y 45% area (yel l owi sh green
col or tone) . Very good zones cover onl y 12% of the
study area (green col or tone). They are l ocated
al ong l i neaments and i n pedi ment areas. Moderate
prospect zone covers 15% of the area (yellowi sh color
tone). Features l i ke buri ed pedi pl ai ns, peni pl ai ns
and denundati onal hi l l s come under thi s category.
Whereas poor regi ons cover up to 22% (orange
col or tone). These features are mai nl y confi ned
to undul ati ng upl and and buri ed pedi ments wi th
i ntermontane val l ey. Lastl y, very poor groundwater
prospect zones are approxi matel y 10% (red col or
tone). These features i ncl ude di ssected pedi ments,
i nsel berg compl ex and resi dual hi l l s.
CONCLUSIONS
The present i ntegrated study has brought out the
fol l owi ng concl usi ons.
Geologi cally i t i s observed that the groundwater i s
mai nl y confi ned to secondary porosi ty i .e. fractured
zone, faul t, j oi nt and weathered col umn. I t i s
observed from fi el d survey and al so from vari ous
wel l s l ocated i n the regi on the hard grani te gnei sses
and meta basi c dykes someti mes act as barri ers for
the groundwater fl ow i n the regi on.
Based on resi sti vi ty vari ati on wi th depth, i t i s
possi bl e to esti mate the depth and di stri buti on of
groundwater. The l ow resi sti vi ty val ue of l ess than
51ohm-m i ndi cates the presence of weathered zone,
whi ch i s favorabl e for groundwater accumul ati on.
The subsequent underl yi ng l ayers (hard and massi ve
rocks) are more resi sti ve than the fi rst l ayer.
From the generated ground water resource
prospect map, i t i s observed that hi gh potenti al zones
are mai nly located along li neaments and i n pedi ment
areas. Al l uvi al fi l l s, val l ey fi l l s are good potenti al
zones. The geomorphi c uni ts l i ke buri ed pedi pl ai ns,
peni pl ai ns and denundati onal hi l l s are moderate to
good groundwater prospecti ve zones. Undul ati ng
upl and and buri ed pedi ments wi th i ntermontane
val l ey, mai nl y confi ned i n undul ati ng upl and, are
the regi ons of poor groundwater prospecti ng zones.
Very poor potenti al regi ons cover a small part of total
study area (confi ned to di ssected pedi ments, i nselberg
compl ex and resi dual hi l l s).
Study and Mappi ng of Ground Water Prospect usi ng Remote Sensi ng, GI S and
Geoel ectri cal resi sti vi ty techni ques a case study of Dhanbad di stri ct, Jharkhand, I ndi a
63
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Authors express thei r thanks to the Di rector, I ndi an
School of Mi nes (I SM) Dhanbad, I ndi a for extendi ng
al l the faci l i ti es to carry out the present work. The
present work i s the part of the Di ssertati on work
submi tted at the Dept. of Appl i ed Geophysi cs, I SM,
Dhanbad by juni or author, Mr Devendra Kumar Gi ri .
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P.V.V. & Rao, B.V.D., 2009. Selecti on of Groundwater
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Si ngh, J. & Jha, B.P., 1997. Resi sti vi ty Profi l es over Quartz
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Prof V K Srivastava, a seni or Professor of I ndi an School of Mi nes, Dhanbad has teachi ng
and research experi ence i n di fferent branches of Geophysi cs. He has publ i shed about
60 research papers i n vari ous nati onal and i nternati onal journal s i n addi ti on to some i n
proceedi ngs of vari ous Conferences and Semi nars. He has been awarded several Forei gn
Govt Fel l owshi ps to vi si t abroad as Exchange Sci enti st/Schol ar i n parti cul ar as Ful bri ght
Fel l ow i n US, DAAD Fel l ow i n Germany, I ndo Netherl and Schol ar i n the Netherl and
and Vi si ti ng Sci enti st i n Russi a. Duri ng hi s stay i n US, he had an opportuni ty to work
at Jet Propul si on Lab of NASA where he di d work on Ai rborne I magi ng Spectrometri c
Data. He has compl eted several sponsored R& D and consul tancy projects. Currentl y hi s
fi el ds of i nterest are Remote Sensi ng and GI S, Envi ronmental Geophysi cs, Sei smol ogy,
Pal eosei smol ogy and Di gi tal Terrai n Model l i ng.

Pawan Bharadwaj, a fi nal year student of M Sc Tech Fi ve year I ntegrated course of Appli ed
Geophysi cs Dept has started hi s career through JEE i n 2007 at I ndi an School of Mi nes,
Dhanbad. He has been acti vel y worki ng on projects i nvol vi ng Remote Sensi ng, GI S and
Sei smi c I nterferometery. Hi s work has recentl y been publ i shed i n I nternati onal Journal s
(The Leadi ng Edge and Geophysi cal Journal I nternati onal ).