Transport of solutes under transient flow conditions – A case study – Yamuna river sub basin (Kosi Kalan to Agra)

The imbalance between incoming and outgoing salt causes salinization of soils and sub-soils that result in increasing the salinity of stream-flows and agriculture land. This salinization is a serious environmental hazard particularly in semi-arid and arid lands. In order to estimate the magnitude of the hazard posed by salinity, it is important to understand and identify the processes that control salt movement from the soil surface through the root zone to the ground water and stream flows. In the present study, Yamuna sub-basin (both sides of Gokul dam site) has been selected which has two distinct climatic zones, sub-humid (upstream of Mathura) and semi-arid region (downstream of Mathura). In the upstream, both surface and ground waters are used for irrigation, whereas in the downstream mostly groundwater is used. Both soils and ground waters are more saline in downstream parts of the study area. In this study we characterized the soil salinity and groundwater quality in both areas. An attempt is also made to model the distribution of potassium concentration in the soil profile in response to varying irrigation conditions using the Soil-Water Infiltration and Movement (SWIM) model. Fair agreement was obtained between predicted and measured results indicating the applicability of the model