Ghulam Jeelani

Influence of southwest monsoons in the Kashmir Valley, western Himalayas

ABSTRACT The regional climate of the Himalayas is predominated by the southwest monsoons and the western disturbances. The uplift of the Pir Panjal to its present height is believed to restrict the southwest monsoons from entering into the Kashmir Valley in the western Himalayas. In the present study, monthly precipitation samples were collected across the Kashmir Valley from June 2013 to May 2014 for δ18O and δ2H analyses to constrain the influence of southwest monsoons in the valley. Except in August, the precipitation is enriched in 18O and 2H from June to September and depleted from October to May. The sharp depletion of 18O in precipitation along with the decrease in d-excess in August confirm the maximum intrusion of southwest monsoons into the valley. A significant temperature – δ18O relationship was found during October and May (westerlies period) decreasing during June and September (southwest monsoon period). The local meteoric water line for the whole Kashmir Valley based on the precipitation-weighted monthly samples is . Higher intercept of the regression equation suggested dominant contribution of precipitation from western disturbances. The study suggested that the southwest monsoons enter the Kashmir Valley from southwest through the mountainous passes.

Hydrogeochemical assessment of groundwater in Kashmir Valley, India

Groundwater samples (n = 163) were collected across Kashmir Valley in 2010 to assess the hydrogeochemistry of the groundwater in shallow and deep aquifers and its suitability for domestic, agriculture, horticulture, and livestock purposes. The groundwater is generally alkaline in nature. The electrical conductivity (EC) which is an index to represent the total concentration of soluble salts in water was used to measure the salinity hazard to crops as it reflects the TDS in groundwater ranging from 97 to 1385 μS/cm, except one well in Sopore. The average concentration of major ions was higher in shallow aquifers than in deeper aquifers. In general, Ca2+ is the dominant cation and HCO3−

Isotope fingerprinting of precipitation associated with western disturbances and Indian summer monsoons across the Himalayas

_{3}^{-}

Estimating mean residence time of karst groundwater in mountainous catchments of Western Himalaya, India

the dominant anion. Ca–HCO3, Mg–HCO3, Ca–Mg–HCO3, Na–HCO3 were the dominant hydrogeochemical facies. High concentration of HCO3 and pH less than 8.8 clearly indicated that intense chemical weathering processes have taken place in the study area. The groundwater flow pattern in the area follows the local surface topography which not only modifies the hydrogeochemical facies but also controls their distribution. The groundwater in valley flows into four directions, i.e., SW–NE, NE–W, SE-NW and SE–NE directions. The results suggest that carbonate dissolution is the dominant source of major ions followed by silicate weathering and ion-exchange processes. The concentrations of all the major ions determined in the present study are within the permissible limits of WHO and BIS standards. The results of Total Hardness, SAR, Na%, Kelly Index, USDA classification, Magnesium absorption ratio, residual sodium carbonate, and PI suggested that groundwater is good for drinking, livestock, and irrigation purposes.

Hydrological processes in glacierized high-altitude basins of the western Himalayas

Precipitation samples were collected across the Himalayas from Kashmir (western Himalaya) to Assam (eastern Himalaya) to understand the variation of the stable isotopic content (

Assessment of Groundwater in Karst System of Kashmir Himalayas, India

\updelta ^{18}

Assessing variability of water quality in a groundwater-fed perennial lake of Kashmir Himalayas using linear geostatistics

δ18O and