Hydrogeology of Coastal Aquifers of Northern Mahanadi Delta

Mahanadi Delta lying along the eastern coast of India, is one of the thickest Quaternary alluvial deposits of the country. Characteristically this geologic formation is very intricate with regard to its origin and lithic composition. Similar to many coastal aquifers of the world, the coastal aquifers of this delta also portray a significant saline influence which is thought to be from both sea water as well as formational water interference. The geologic nature of these aquifers is very unique with regard to its southern and northern parts. The northern part of the delta is conspicuously extremely underdeveloped in comparison to southern part and this is primarily attributed to the lack of available immediate fresh potable groundwater. The book draws inference from the researches carried out on these aquifers to give a comprehensive overview of the dynamics of this complex aquifer system. Based on the hydrodynamic evaluation of various geophysical and pumping data and hydrogeochemical analysis of groundwater samples, the text represents a synopsis of the hydrogeological evolution and origin of salinity of this complex coastal aquifer system.