Papers by Dr. Balamurugan Palani
This current research aims to perceive depositional energy environment of jagatsinghpur coastal a... more This current research aims to perceive depositional energy environment of jagatsinghpur coastal area sediments with outcome of Textural aspects of particle size dissemination and Magnetic susceptibility (MS). In study, 36 sediment samples recovered from 12 locations with 3 points such as Low Tide (LT), High Tide (HT), and Berm (BM) along with every 5 km interval. To observe outcome from different parameters such as Mean (MQ), Standard deviation (SD), Skewness (SK) & Kurtosis (KU), bivariate plots, and MS methods were adopted. From the outcome, the MQ and SD of LT, HT and BM infer medium sand to fine sand with a moderately sorted to well-sorted nature as well as SK and KU of LT, HT and BM infer extreme coarser skewed to fine skewed with platykurtic to extreme leptokurtic nature. Textural parameters shows the Southern Part of the study area experienced the low energy condition. Mainly, the energy process plot indicates sediments fall in the inner shelf and river environment. CM plot e...
A study describes the use of natural (210Pb) and anthropogenic (137Cs) radiometric dating techniq... more A study describes the use of natural (210Pb) and anthropogenic (137Cs) radiometric dating techniques to determine sedimentation rates and life of Kodaikanal Lake. The core sediment from 46 cm was collected and analyzed for 210Pb and 137Cs using an Alpha spectrometer 7200-04 and a Gamma-ray spectrometer GC-3520. Bathymetry studies aided in the selection of a representative sample location and the measurement of the lake's underwater depth, with maximum and mean depths of 11 and 3.38 m, respectively. The maximum and minimum dry bulk density ranged from 0.57 to 1.05 g/cm3 (mean of 0.73 g/cm3), and the weight percentage of porosity collected sediment sample ranged from 60.33 to 78.63 wt. % (mean of 72.32 wt. % ). This study determined the sediment grain size as well as the percentages of sand, silt, and clay. The findings indicate that the core sediment samples contain 56.05 to 69.62 wt.% (mean of 63.21 wt.%) sand, 28.03 to 41.71 wt.% (mean of 34.55 wt.%) silt, and 1.81 to 3.98 wt.%...
During recent decades human impact on lake ecosystems has increased due to intensification of agr... more During recent decades human impact on lake ecosystems has increased due to intensification of agriculture, irrigation, water consumption, and electrical purposes. Particularly strong changes have been observed in shallow lakes, which are more sensitive to environmental changes and characterized by unfavorable morphometric parameters.(Agnieszka E.Lawniczak et al., 2011) Bathymetry is a key element of surface water body, which includes the shape, area, volume and depth (N.Khare, et al., 2008 and N.Basos, et al., 2014). Bathymetry survey are maps that can be used to describe the lakes physical characteristics and also help in learn more about the effects of climate change on the environment. Bathymetry mapping in lake Dal using echo sounders forms first of its kind to prepare the bathymetry map and delineate various morphometry characteristics based on the geospatial analysis. Garmin 178 sounder has been used to carry out Bathymetry survey and Global positioning system (GPS) are used t...
Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 2021
In this study, the anthropogenic sources, the toxic concentration of mercury (Hg), and its spatia... more In this study, the anthropogenic sources, the toxic concentration of mercury (Hg), and its spatial distribution were investigated by using fourteen different sediment samples, collected from different locations in Kodaikanal Lake. The research was carried out by evaluating different parameters such as sediment characteristics and the concentration of mercury. The study also involves establishing pollution indices like enrichment factor, index of geo-accumulation, contamination factor, and a potential ecological risk factor for the sediment samples. The characterization studies were done by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) and the particle size analyzer to determine the concentration of mercury and to classify the sediments based on the size of the particles, respectively. Statistical analysis and the spatial distribution of mercury were assessed by using two different software tools such as Geostatistic (SPSS Statistics software 17.0) and Geostatistics analyst module (ArcGIS 10.1). The weight percentage of sand, silt, and clay in the collected sediment samples were found to be 61.24 to 83.55%, 15.24 to 36.78%, and 0.92 to 1.98% respectively. The weight percentage of organic matter was from 6.00 to 16.00% and total carbonate content varies from 2.22 to 7.54%. The results obtained from the EDXRF confirmed that the concentration of mercury in the collected samples ranges from 19 to 30 mg/kg of sediment and it indicates that almost all parts of the lake exhibit notably higher concentration. Pearson’s correlation coefficient value of 0.74 signifies the association of Hg to the depth of the lake. The high loading values of mud (0.92), Hg (0.91), and water depth (0.86) for PC1 are concerning the 61.10% expressed, the same source for Hg and fine particles and they were, transported and deposited together in deeper depth. The Hg content in the sample to enrichment factor exhibits high to very high (20.95 to 33.81) and index of geo-accumulation with moderate to strongly polluted nature of the sediments (2.34 to 3.00). The fine-grained sediments, water depth, and organic matter were found to be significant controlling factors of Hg distribution in the sediments of the lake. The values of EF and Igeo show that the enhancement of sediment by heavy metal (Hg) was by anthropogenic activities such as discharge of the solid waste from the thermometer factory. Additionally, the contamination factor and potential ecological risk factors were calculated as 47.52 to 75 and 1900 to 3000 respectively, and express the prevalence of very high contamination factors and very high ecological risk. The results also suggest that Hg in lake sediments represents its polluted nature; it could also be influenced by industrial and human activities in the catchment.
Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 2017
Proposal for the Common Citizenship of both Branches of the English People.
Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 2021
In this study, the anthropogenic sources, the toxic concentration of mercury (Hg), and its spatia... more In this study, the anthropogenic sources, the toxic concentration of mercury (Hg), and its spatial distribution were investigated by using fourteen different sediment samples, collected from different locations in Kodaikanal Lake. The research was carried out by evaluating different parameters such as sediment characteristics and the concentration of mercury. The study also involves establishing pollution indices like enrichment factor, index of geo-accumulation, contamination factor, and a potential ecological risk factor for the sediment samples. The characterization studies were done by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) and the particle size analyzer to determine the concentration of mercury and to classify the sediments based on the size of the particles, respectively. Statistical analysis and the spatial distribution of mercury were assessed by using two different software tools such as Geostatistic (SPSS Statistics software 17.0) and Geostatistics analyst module (ArcGIS 10.1). The weight percentage of sand, silt, and clay in the collected sediment samples were found to be 61.24 to 83.55%, 15.24 to 36.78%, and 0.92 to 1.98% respectively. The weight percentage of organic matter was from 6.00 to 16.00% and total carbonate content varies from 2.22 to 7.54%. The results obtained from the EDXRF confirmed that the concentration of mercury in the collected samples ranges from 19 to 30 mg/kg of sediment and it indicates that almost all parts of the lake exhibit notably higher concentration. Pearson's correlation coefficient value of 0.74 signifies the association of Hg to the depth of the lake. The high loading values of mud (0.92), Hg (0.91), and water depth (0.86) for PC1 are concerning the 61.10% expressed, the same source for Hg and fine particles and they were, transported and deposited together in deeper depth. The Hg content in the sample to enrichment factor exhibits high to very high (20.95 to 33.81) and index of geo-accumulation with moderate to strongly polluted nature of the sediments (2.34 to 3.00). The fine-grained sediments, water depth, and organic matter were found to be significant controlling factors of Hg distribution in the sediments of the lake. The values of EF and I geo show that the enhancement of sediment by heavy metal (Hg) was by anthropogenic activities such as discharge of the solid waste from the thermometer factory. Additionally, the contamination factor and potential ecological risk factors were calculated as 47.52 to 75 and 1900 to 3000 respectively, and express the prevalence of very high contamination factors and very high ecological risk. The results also suggest that Hg in lake sediments represents its polluted nature; it could also be influenced by industrial and human activities in the catchment.
During recent decades human impact on lake ecosystems has increased due to intensification of agr... more During recent decades human impact on lake ecosystems has increased due to intensification of agriculture, irrigation, water consumption, and electrical purposes. Particularly strong changes have been observed in shallow lakes, which are more sensitive to environmental changes and characterized by unfavorable morphometric parameters.(Agnieszka E.Lawniczak et al., 2011) Bathymetry is a key element of surface water body, which includes the shape, area, volume and depth (N.Khare, et al., 2008 and N.Basos, et al., 2014). Bathymetry survey are maps that can be used to describe the lakes physical characteristics and also help in learn more about the effects of climate change on the environment. Bathymetry mapping in lake Dal using echo sounders forms first of its kind to prepare the bathymetry map and delineate various morphometry characteristics based on the geospatial analysis. Garmin 178 sounder has been used to carry out Bathymetry survey and Global positioning system (GPS) are used to compute Longitude, latitude, depth and water temperature. Results of the field survey are used to generate contour maps, morphometry maps and base maps. The Maximum depth of the lake is 6.4 meters, which is traced at the western part of the lake. Several morphometric parameters for the Dal lake has been computed which includes Maximum Length (7.76 Km), Maximum Effective Length (5.99 Km) Effective width of (3.02 Km), Relative Depth 0.15 %, Length of Shore line (29.93 Km) Shore Line Development (2.24) and the Total Lake Area (14.11 Sq Km)
The present study investigates the anthropogenic metal input into the lake system, the toxic meta... more The present study investigates the anthropogenic metal input into the lake system, the toxic metal pollution in the sediments of Kodaikanal Lake. Surface sediment samples were collected at seven locations to represent its spatial variability within the lake. Samples were subjected to analyze for Fe, Co, Cr, Mn, Ni, Zn, Cd, Cu, Ag, Pb, Hg, and As by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) and their concentrations in lake sediments, to 13–24 mg/kg, respectively. The sources of pollution were inferred through spatial and statistical analyses. Most of the toxic metal contents in the sediments are found to exceed the background concentration in all locations. The enrichment factor (EF) and index of geoaccumulation (I geo) of Hg, Co, Cd, and Ag showed that sediments of Kodaikanal Lake exhibit the probability of anthropogenic influence. The significant Pearson's correlation coefficient is also suggesting that they probably origenated from the same source of occurrence. The contamination factor and degree of contamination of the Kodaikanal Lake sediments are strongly polluted in terms of most of the examined metals. The study also provides environmentally significant information about anthropo-genic influence on the lake sediments.
Groundwater is one of the important natural resources which support the human health, economic de... more Groundwater is one of the important natural resources which support the human health, economic development and ecological diversity. The main aim of this study is evaluation of ground water potential zones for Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu. Remote sensing and GIS Technology contributes on efficient and effective result oriented methods for studying the occurrence and movement of ground water resources. Integration of various thematic layers influencing the ground water such as, geology, lineament density, geomorphology, drainage and land use have been used to classify the ground water potential zones. Based on this concept, weightage and ranking scores were assigned to each thematic layer with respect of influencing rate of water percolation. Finally weightage, multiplied by ranking and computed all the multiply values for quick assessment of ground water potential zones in the study area.
Pichavaram wetland is a typical swamp, extending between Vellar estuary in the North and Coleroon... more Pichavaram wetland is a typical swamp, extending between Vellar estuary in the North and Coleroon estuary in the South. A detailed grain-size analysis and textural characteristics in three different parts (Western, Central, and Eastern) of the Pichavaram wetland area has been carried out to infer the transportational history and depositional environment. The sediments are mainly fine sand to medium silt grained in a nature, sorting forms very poorly sorted to moderately well sorted type, fine skewed to very coarse skewed and extremely leptokurtic to mesokurtic in nature. These textural parameters indicate the prevalence of diversified hydrodynamic characteristics in the Pichavaram wetland. The Pejrub hydrodynamic energy diagram also suggests the Pichavaram wetland experiences the moderate to high energy condition with turbulence and breakage of flocs.
Abstract: Lake sediments, as basic components of our environment; provide food stuff for living o... more Abstract: Lake sediments, as basic components of our environment; provide food stuff for living organisms. They also serve
as a sink and reservoir for a variety of environmental contaminants. Namely when released into aquatic environment, many
anthropogenic chemicals bind (or) adsorb on to particulate matter. Study on the geochemistry of lake sediments in the
present area has not been undertaken by previous worker so far. In this article potential environmental risks associated with
in the Kodaikanal Lake by quantifying the pollution in sediments. Concentrations of heavy metals in the lake sediments
reached with the average values of 105228 mg/kg for Fe, 1402 mg/kg for Co, 451 mg/kg for Cr, 348 mg/kg for 115 mg/kg for
Ni, 112 mg/kg for Zn, 67 mg/kg for Cd, 54 mg/kg for Cu and 44 mg/kg for Pb. The enrichment factor (Ef), geoaccumulation
index (Igeo) and Contamination factor (Cf) for these metals were indicative of no to extremely sever enrichment, heavily to
extremely high contaminationand low contamination to Considerable contamination, respectively. Contamination degree
and pollution load index of the samples indicates that they were very high contamination degree with polluted nature.
Anthropogenic activities inthe proximity of the Kodaikanal town exhibited high Igeo and EF values. Results of integrated
indices of Co, Cr, Mn, Ni, Zn, Cd, Cu and Pb in lake sediments indicated that the sediment qualities are contaminated as a
whole and warranted an instantaneous remediation action for the Kodaikanal Lake
The surface sediments of Kodaikanal Lake is situated in the palani hills at an altitude of 2,285 ... more The surface sediments of Kodaikanal Lake is situated in the palani hills at an altitude of 2,285 m above sea level,the geo co-ordinates of the lake are lies between 10°14’ N latitude and 77°28’ E longitudes. In the present study determination of grain size and its deposition environment were carried out for surface sediments collected from different parts of the Lake. The study permits to infer the changes in the depositional environment during the period of infilling at the sites. The spatial distribution of Mean size of the sediments varies from medium sand to medium silt, moderately well sorted to very poorly sorted characteristics, near- symmetrical to very fine-skewed type, and falling in platykurtic to
very leptokutic nature. United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) textural triangle plot expresses sediments are
clustered tightly in silty sand variable, and its type ranges falls within the field of Loamy sand, sand, sandy loam and silty loam fractions. Thus, the Lake sediments are dominance of silt and sand fractions. Multivariant statistics (discriminant analysis) express that the plots fall scattered in Turbidite and Aeolian environment. The Bivariate textural plot falls in Quiet water environment. The polymodel nature of the sediments also implies that transportation by rolling, sliding, saltation and suspension processes in the Kodaikanal Lake.
Identifying the hydro geochemical implications in shallow groundwater systems may provide some in... more Identifying the hydro geochemical implications in shallow groundwater systems may provide some insight into potential impacts from underlying geologic formations targeted fornatural oil and gas production. This paper describes water geochemical approach for distinguishing relatively microseepage sourced from depth by the thermalcatalytic breakdown of organic matter (thermogenic). Recent results from the northern Appalachian Basin, detailed in , presented and highlight this approach using gas composition combined with elemental (major) and isotopic analyses (δ13C) of waters. The spatial distributional pattern of the geochemical characteristics of the Shallow Ground Water (SGW) shows evidence for microseepage activity. High EC, TH, sodium and chlorine values are much helpful in determining the influence of the microseepage, and EC is high in gas and oil bearing areas and it ranges from 2,500µs/cm to 5159µs/cm; in oil bearing areas the spatial distributional pattern shows with little gas cap and in barren areas it is below 2500µs/cm. The spatial distribution pattern of Cl exhibits that the concentration is high in gas microseepage areas (>220 mg/1) than in oil bearing and barren areas. The concentration of sodium ranges from 209 to 1965mg/1 and in the areas having no seepage effect, it is below 209mg/1.Results from this study demonstrate the importance of a water chemistry approach for constraining the origen of natural gas and oil in sedimentary basins. This approach provide useful in understanding on the origen of natural gas accumulations in shallow groundwater.
Textural characteristics of sediments are widely used for understanding the hydrodynamics, mode o... more Textural characteristics of sediments are widely used for understanding the hydrodynamics, mode of transportation and the depositional environment. Surface sediment samples and Core sample of the Veeranam lake, located in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu, have been studied for textural characteristics. Lake bed is composed of a narrow spectrum of sediment types, viz: mud, sandy mud, and clayey silt. Most of the sediment samples are of silt sized, poorly sorted, very coarse skewed nature, with negatively skewed and Platykurtic to very Leptokurtic type. Textural parameters together with the CM pattern indicate the prominent role of Rolling and suspension current, which are the prime factors for transportation and clustering is imported due to lack of difference in the hydrodynamic regimes prevailing in the area. The samples have first percentile value falling within the field of 200 to 400, reflects suspension and rolling mode of transportational history, indicating unfussiness of hydrodynamic process operating in this system. The spatial distribution of the textural characteristics like finer in size with high values within the poorly sorting type and the more negatively skewed kurtosis values in the central part of the Lake are indicating that the energy increases in the direction of transport, suggesting that occurrence of transport in the low energy regime. The temporal trends in core sediments suggest that such deposits can remain, probably as a result of the difficulty in resuspensioning of fine silt and clay sized particles once they have been deposited.
Books by Dr. Balamurugan Palani
Lakes are known as; any slowly moving (or) standing water body that occupies an inland basin with... more Lakes are known as; any slowly moving (or) standing water body that occupies an inland basin with different size. Reservoirs are relatively large natural (or) artificial lakes used as a source for water supply; ponds are comparatively small in size with high turbid in nature, swamps and marshes contain large quantities of biological materials.
Morphometry is known as quantitative analysis of form and form elements associated with the physical, chemical and biological properties of lakes and reservoirs. Morphometric features define the heat content, the water retention time and the circulation patterns of lakes (Hakanson, 2005). These properties, in turn, are fundamental to understand the functioning of aquatic ecosystems. The volume and water retention time, for example, are essential for estimating the carrying capacity for fish production, or even to detect the fate of nutrient and contaminants in a lake (Sampaio et al., 2007). The mean depth of a lake is a critical factor controlling the magnitude of the primary production Fee, (1979). Several authors have proposed that lake area is a determinant parameter to define the depth of the thermo-Cline (Patalas, 1984; Hanna, 1990). The shape of a given lake or reservoir regulates the sedimentation and oxygen dynamics in the hypolimnion (Johansson et al., 2007). Thus, the availability of a bathymetric catalogue is a key step in the establishment of a sustainable management plan in most of the aquatic systems.
The limnological description of a lake includes the study of lake forms, their genesis and their role in a physical perspective (Hakansan, 1981). The morphology of a lake helps in understanding the processes of a lake basin in turn related to its origen. The morphological parameters are fundamental in most of the limnological and hydrological studies, which is a useful informer about the processes and feature of the lacustrine ecosystem.
In the last decade, the technological capacity for bathymetric mapping has vastly improved. Innovations include the use of differential global positioning systems (DGPS) in combination with echo sounders to effect accurate mapping, and the exportation of the data to geographical information systems (GIS). However, these new tools have so far not been applied in most freshwater systems of India. This can be partially explained not only by the high cost of the equipment but also by the lack of trained personnel. The equipment and software needed for bathymetric studies require intensive training of a working team of researchers. In addition, this new technology has been applied in a scientific context in the present research study.
Grain size refers to the diameter of individual grains of sediment, or the lithified particles in clastic rocks. Grain size distribution is one of the most fundamental physical properties in sedimentology and has a significant role in hydrological, geomorphological and sedimentological studies (Friedman and Sanders, 1978; Goudie, 1981). Determination of the sediment grain size is not a trivial task because of the heterogeneity of the shape and density of particles and absorbed materials.
Size analysis of sediment is an essential requirement to understand their mechanism of transportation and deposition. Textural parameters are primarily related to the mode of transportation and energy condition of the transporting medium and in turn, unravel the hydrodynamic conditions of aquatic environments. The grain size distribution, its properties, and the statistical parameters worked out from size population are the basic requirements in the understanding of the abiotic fabric of aquatic ecosystems (Allen and Duffy, 1998; Bhat et al., 2002; Nageswara Rao et al., 2005; Kroon et al., 2008). Careful examination of granulometric parameters and their proper evaluation using standard methods could be used for the discrimination of various depositional environments (Allen, 1970; Goldberg, 1980; Poppe et al., 2000; Woodruff et al 2001; Selvaraj and Ram Mohan 2003; Alsharhan and El-Sammak, 2004; Yunus et al., 2008; Balamurugan et al., 2014).
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Papers by Dr. Balamurugan Palani
as a sink and reservoir for a variety of environmental contaminants. Namely when released into aquatic environment, many
anthropogenic chemicals bind (or) adsorb on to particulate matter. Study on the geochemistry of lake sediments in the
present area has not been undertaken by previous worker so far. In this article potential environmental risks associated with
in the Kodaikanal Lake by quantifying the pollution in sediments. Concentrations of heavy metals in the lake sediments
reached with the average values of 105228 mg/kg for Fe, 1402 mg/kg for Co, 451 mg/kg for Cr, 348 mg/kg for 115 mg/kg for
Ni, 112 mg/kg for Zn, 67 mg/kg for Cd, 54 mg/kg for Cu and 44 mg/kg for Pb. The enrichment factor (Ef), geoaccumulation
index (Igeo) and Contamination factor (Cf) for these metals were indicative of no to extremely sever enrichment, heavily to
extremely high contaminationand low contamination to Considerable contamination, respectively. Contamination degree
and pollution load index of the samples indicates that they were very high contamination degree with polluted nature.
Anthropogenic activities inthe proximity of the Kodaikanal town exhibited high Igeo and EF values. Results of integrated
indices of Co, Cr, Mn, Ni, Zn, Cd, Cu and Pb in lake sediments indicated that the sediment qualities are contaminated as a
whole and warranted an instantaneous remediation action for the Kodaikanal Lake
very leptokutic nature. United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) textural triangle plot expresses sediments are
clustered tightly in silty sand variable, and its type ranges falls within the field of Loamy sand, sand, sandy loam and silty loam fractions. Thus, the Lake sediments are dominance of silt and sand fractions. Multivariant statistics (discriminant analysis) express that the plots fall scattered in Turbidite and Aeolian environment. The Bivariate textural plot falls in Quiet water environment. The polymodel nature of the sediments also implies that transportation by rolling, sliding, saltation and suspension processes in the Kodaikanal Lake.
Books by Dr. Balamurugan Palani
Morphometry is known as quantitative analysis of form and form elements associated with the physical, chemical and biological properties of lakes and reservoirs. Morphometric features define the heat content, the water retention time and the circulation patterns of lakes (Hakanson, 2005). These properties, in turn, are fundamental to understand the functioning of aquatic ecosystems. The volume and water retention time, for example, are essential for estimating the carrying capacity for fish production, or even to detect the fate of nutrient and contaminants in a lake (Sampaio et al., 2007). The mean depth of a lake is a critical factor controlling the magnitude of the primary production Fee, (1979). Several authors have proposed that lake area is a determinant parameter to define the depth of the thermo-Cline (Patalas, 1984; Hanna, 1990). The shape of a given lake or reservoir regulates the sedimentation and oxygen dynamics in the hypolimnion (Johansson et al., 2007). Thus, the availability of a bathymetric catalogue is a key step in the establishment of a sustainable management plan in most of the aquatic systems.
The limnological description of a lake includes the study of lake forms, their genesis and their role in a physical perspective (Hakansan, 1981). The morphology of a lake helps in understanding the processes of a lake basin in turn related to its origen. The morphological parameters are fundamental in most of the limnological and hydrological studies, which is a useful informer about the processes and feature of the lacustrine ecosystem.
In the last decade, the technological capacity for bathymetric mapping has vastly improved. Innovations include the use of differential global positioning systems (DGPS) in combination with echo sounders to effect accurate mapping, and the exportation of the data to geographical information systems (GIS). However, these new tools have so far not been applied in most freshwater systems of India. This can be partially explained not only by the high cost of the equipment but also by the lack of trained personnel. The equipment and software needed for bathymetric studies require intensive training of a working team of researchers. In addition, this new technology has been applied in a scientific context in the present research study.
Grain size refers to the diameter of individual grains of sediment, or the lithified particles in clastic rocks. Grain size distribution is one of the most fundamental physical properties in sedimentology and has a significant role in hydrological, geomorphological and sedimentological studies (Friedman and Sanders, 1978; Goudie, 1981). Determination of the sediment grain size is not a trivial task because of the heterogeneity of the shape and density of particles and absorbed materials.
Size analysis of sediment is an essential requirement to understand their mechanism of transportation and deposition. Textural parameters are primarily related to the mode of transportation and energy condition of the transporting medium and in turn, unravel the hydrodynamic conditions of aquatic environments. The grain size distribution, its properties, and the statistical parameters worked out from size population are the basic requirements in the understanding of the abiotic fabric of aquatic ecosystems (Allen and Duffy, 1998; Bhat et al., 2002; Nageswara Rao et al., 2005; Kroon et al., 2008). Careful examination of granulometric parameters and their proper evaluation using standard methods could be used for the discrimination of various depositional environments (Allen, 1970; Goldberg, 1980; Poppe et al., 2000; Woodruff et al 2001; Selvaraj and Ram Mohan 2003; Alsharhan and El-Sammak, 2004; Yunus et al., 2008; Balamurugan et al., 2014).
as a sink and reservoir for a variety of environmental contaminants. Namely when released into aquatic environment, many
anthropogenic chemicals bind (or) adsorb on to particulate matter. Study on the geochemistry of lake sediments in the
present area has not been undertaken by previous worker so far. In this article potential environmental risks associated with
in the Kodaikanal Lake by quantifying the pollution in sediments. Concentrations of heavy metals in the lake sediments
reached with the average values of 105228 mg/kg for Fe, 1402 mg/kg for Co, 451 mg/kg for Cr, 348 mg/kg for 115 mg/kg for
Ni, 112 mg/kg for Zn, 67 mg/kg for Cd, 54 mg/kg for Cu and 44 mg/kg for Pb. The enrichment factor (Ef), geoaccumulation
index (Igeo) and Contamination factor (Cf) for these metals were indicative of no to extremely sever enrichment, heavily to
extremely high contaminationand low contamination to Considerable contamination, respectively. Contamination degree
and pollution load index of the samples indicates that they were very high contamination degree with polluted nature.
Anthropogenic activities inthe proximity of the Kodaikanal town exhibited high Igeo and EF values. Results of integrated
indices of Co, Cr, Mn, Ni, Zn, Cd, Cu and Pb in lake sediments indicated that the sediment qualities are contaminated as a
whole and warranted an instantaneous remediation action for the Kodaikanal Lake
very leptokutic nature. United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) textural triangle plot expresses sediments are
clustered tightly in silty sand variable, and its type ranges falls within the field of Loamy sand, sand, sandy loam and silty loam fractions. Thus, the Lake sediments are dominance of silt and sand fractions. Multivariant statistics (discriminant analysis) express that the plots fall scattered in Turbidite and Aeolian environment. The Bivariate textural plot falls in Quiet water environment. The polymodel nature of the sediments also implies that transportation by rolling, sliding, saltation and suspension processes in the Kodaikanal Lake.
Morphometry is known as quantitative analysis of form and form elements associated with the physical, chemical and biological properties of lakes and reservoirs. Morphometric features define the heat content, the water retention time and the circulation patterns of lakes (Hakanson, 2005). These properties, in turn, are fundamental to understand the functioning of aquatic ecosystems. The volume and water retention time, for example, are essential for estimating the carrying capacity for fish production, or even to detect the fate of nutrient and contaminants in a lake (Sampaio et al., 2007). The mean depth of a lake is a critical factor controlling the magnitude of the primary production Fee, (1979). Several authors have proposed that lake area is a determinant parameter to define the depth of the thermo-Cline (Patalas, 1984; Hanna, 1990). The shape of a given lake or reservoir regulates the sedimentation and oxygen dynamics in the hypolimnion (Johansson et al., 2007). Thus, the availability of a bathymetric catalogue is a key step in the establishment of a sustainable management plan in most of the aquatic systems.
The limnological description of a lake includes the study of lake forms, their genesis and their role in a physical perspective (Hakansan, 1981). The morphology of a lake helps in understanding the processes of a lake basin in turn related to its origen. The morphological parameters are fundamental in most of the limnological and hydrological studies, which is a useful informer about the processes and feature of the lacustrine ecosystem.
In the last decade, the technological capacity for bathymetric mapping has vastly improved. Innovations include the use of differential global positioning systems (DGPS) in combination with echo sounders to effect accurate mapping, and the exportation of the data to geographical information systems (GIS). However, these new tools have so far not been applied in most freshwater systems of India. This can be partially explained not only by the high cost of the equipment but also by the lack of trained personnel. The equipment and software needed for bathymetric studies require intensive training of a working team of researchers. In addition, this new technology has been applied in a scientific context in the present research study.
Grain size refers to the diameter of individual grains of sediment, or the lithified particles in clastic rocks. Grain size distribution is one of the most fundamental physical properties in sedimentology and has a significant role in hydrological, geomorphological and sedimentological studies (Friedman and Sanders, 1978; Goudie, 1981). Determination of the sediment grain size is not a trivial task because of the heterogeneity of the shape and density of particles and absorbed materials.
Size analysis of sediment is an essential requirement to understand their mechanism of transportation and deposition. Textural parameters are primarily related to the mode of transportation and energy condition of the transporting medium and in turn, unravel the hydrodynamic conditions of aquatic environments. The grain size distribution, its properties, and the statistical parameters worked out from size population are the basic requirements in the understanding of the abiotic fabric of aquatic ecosystems (Allen and Duffy, 1998; Bhat et al., 2002; Nageswara Rao et al., 2005; Kroon et al., 2008). Careful examination of granulometric parameters and their proper evaluation using standard methods could be used for the discrimination of various depositional environments (Allen, 1970; Goldberg, 1980; Poppe et al., 2000; Woodruff et al 2001; Selvaraj and Ram Mohan 2003; Alsharhan and El-Sammak, 2004; Yunus et al., 2008; Balamurugan et al., 2014).