Abstract
A sudden rise in turbidity levels of the Siang River, which is a major contributor of water to the Brahmaputra, has increased interest and much debate and speculations on causes during November 2017. Since the Brahmaputra is a major trans-boundary river, and increased turbidity of the river during winter has affected huge aquatic life and wildlife population downstream, the issue has turned into a serious concern for different countries with different reasons about the genesis of the high turbidity observations. This study is an investigation for identifying the possible sources of changes in water quality using remote sensing and geographic information system. The analysis indicates that the change in water quality is due to the occurrence of extensive landslides upstream of the Siang River also resulting in other physical changes on the river channel.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Singh B (2017) High turbidity of Siang water in Arunachal may pollute River Brahmaputra: Congress. The Economic Times. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/high-turbidity-of-siang-water-in-arunachal-may-pollute-river-brahmaputra-congress/arti%E2%80%A6. Accessed 10 Dec 2017
Kumar M, Puri A (2012) A review of permissible limits of drinking water. Indian J Occup Environ Med 16(1):40
Das BK, Boruah P, Kar D (2014) Study of seasonal variation of water quality of River Siang in Arunachal Pradesh, India. IOSR J Environ Sci Toxicol Food Technol 8(2):11–20
Kalita P (2017) High turbidity turning river Siang black: lab reports. The Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/high-turbidity-turning-river-siang-black-lab-reports/articleshow/61889583.cms. Accessed 10 Dec 2017
Choudhury R (2017) High turbidity of Siang water in Arunachal may pollute River Brahmaputra: Congress.”Black Brahmaputra’’: as river turns muddy, Assam Leader Blames China. NDTV. https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/brahmaputra-river-now-muddy-and-black-could-be-poisonous-says-iit-guwahati-study-1789898. Accessed 25 Dec 2017
Karmakar R (2017) Brahmaputra blackened by China? Assam sends water samples to Hyderabad lab. Hindustan Times. http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/brahmaputra-blackened-by-china-assam-sends-water-samples-to-hyderabad-lab/story-3Gd0ryK4KOGjEi52ASbCFL.html. Accessed 12 Dec 2017
Patowary A (2017) State water resources dept directive to district offices. The Assam Tribune. http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=dec0917/state060. Accessed 10 Dec 2017
IANS (2018) China says earthquake behind turbidity of Brahmaputra waters. The New Indian Express. http://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2018/jan/02/china-says-earthquake-behind-turbidity-of-brahmaputra-waters-1742583.html. Accessed 03 Jan 2018
Cui P, Zhu Y, Han Y, Chen X, Zhuang J (2009) The 12 May Wenchuan earthquake-induced landslide lakes: distribution and preliminary risk evaluation. Landslides 6:209–223. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-009-0160-9
Korup O (2004) Landslide-induced river channel avulsions in mountain catchments of southwest New Zealand. Geomorphology 63:57–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2004.03.005
Fuentes I, Padarian J, van Ogtrop F, Vervoort RW (2019) Comparison of surface water volume estimation methodologies that couple surface reflectance data and digital terrain models. Water 11(4):780
Cohen S, Brakenridge GR, Kettner A, Bates B, Nelson J, McDonald R, Huang YF, Munasinghe D, Zhang J (2018) Estimating floodwater depths from flood inundation maps and topography. JAWRA J Am Water Resour Assoc 54(4):847–858
Acknowledgements
The authors are highly indebted to European Space Agency (ESA) for providing Sentinel-2 images. The support provided by Mr. Gadade Vijay Vitthal, Research Scholar, NESAC, is also acknowledged.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sivasankar, T., Borah, S.B., Das, R. et al. An Investigation on Sudden Change in Water Quality of Brahmaputra River Using Remote Sensing and GIS. Natl. Acad. Sci. Lett. 43, 619–623 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40009-020-00938-8
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40009-020-00938-8