Geoenivronmental Resource Appraisal Using Remote Sensing and GIS: A Model ‘Study from Attur Valley Region SokthiveLR*, ManivelM**, PremnathM®*, Anbarasan.S*, Matheswaran.S*, Biju.C*, Karthikeyan.C* and Alaguraja.P** *Centre for Remote Sensing, Bharathidasan University, City Campus(Khajamalai),Tiruchirappalli — 620023. **Department of Geology, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirapalli 620024. Abstract Geo-Envitonment analysis deals with the interrelation between various geological agen Pro- cesses and their reatures/landforms, According to Lein (2003), the evaluation of geo-environmental re- sources is a systematic analysis of earth stience information and land use/iand development details of an aevrronment The resource availability in @ particular place is mainly related tothe earth system dynamics and the independent and inter dependent properties of various components of an ecosystem. Hence an attempt thas been made to asses the natural resources in general and water resources in particular through remote sensing and GIS technique. Various thematic maps were prepared by the way of Visual Interpretation and Digital Image Processing such as Base map, Drainage map, Geology map from Survey of India toposheets and G1 map and Lineament map, Geomorphology map and Land use/cover map from satellite imagery. Then all the thematic maps were analyzed under GIS environment. Then Ground water potential Zones were demar- cated using arithmetic weightage overlay analysis. Introduction Geo-environment analysis deals with the interrelation between various geological agen's rocesic® and their ereatures/Iandforms. According to Lein(2003), the evaluation of ‘geo-environmental resources is a systematic analysis of earth science information and land use/land developme®! details of an environment. “The resource availability in a particular place is mainly related to the earth system dynamics and the independent and inter-dependent properties of various components of an ecosystem, Hence an attempt has been made to aves the natural resources in general and water resources in particular through remote sensing and GIS techniques. Study area ‘The study area lies between latitude 11° 45°00” to 11° 30°00"N and longitude 78° 45°00” to 79°00"00" E and covers a part of Salem district of Tamilnadu an area about 920 sq, km (Fig.1). The area is covered under the Survey of India toposheets number 58 1/14. National high- way of Salem to Chennai is passing from the study area, "The study area is 40 km from the Salem headquarters. Well connected with Railway and Road networks, hsysiographically the area is covered by Kalrayan hills, in ‘orthwest. The major Vellar river which is flowing FIGURE-1 1 West to East in the study area. a+ Morphologically the upper most north-western part of the study area is composed of Kalrayan hills and rest of the area is almost plain area. In southern part of the study area, Kolli & Pachamalai hills are situated, The famous Attur valley is prominently located in the southern most portion of the study area. The average rainfall is 825 mm and temperature lies in between 12 to 34 degree. Methodology Materials and Methods: Various thematic maps such as were prepared for the study area by using Survey of India of ‘Toposheet no. 58 V/14 and IRS-IC Geocoded satellite imagery. Related to Drainage fabrication, Geological’ Lithological, setup, lineament orientation, geomorphological assemblages and landuse/landcover, ‘MEHODOLOOY Base Map (Fig.2) and Drainage Map (Fig.3) Steps & 651 cchaiaay 7] Was repared by SOI toposheets Geology map (Fig) 1 was prepared by the existing geological map of GSI. ~ ‘The map was available on 1:2,50,000 scale, so by using Pentagraph I enlarged the map up to 1:50,000 scale and on the bases of tone, texture, colour and shape in the satellite imageries marked all the lithologies. Byrefer- ‘rage map Gaopaqyan | Ting existing literature related to the study area and geological survey of India maps. The quantity of wa- ter reaching the ground in any area depends on the ‘Geno map Taniwscewernap | surface morphology and hydrometeorological elements involving total precipitated lossed due to the evapo- transpiration and absorption by soils and vegetation. Digi Dass ‘A detailed hydrological study needs a through under- standing of the drainage and topography which throws light in the lighological and structural controls of the “nas oh GIS area, relative run off and recharge, erosion aspects and stages of development of the landforms. Lineament map,Geomorphological map and Landuse/cover map ara (Fig.5,6,7) was prepared by visual interpretation tech- oe nique from satelite imagery. i. Tineaent map ‘The quantity of water reaching the ground in any area depends on the surface morphology and hydrometeorological cements involving total precipitated lossed due to the evapotranspiration and absorption by soils and vegetation. A detailed hydrological study needs a through understanding of the drainage and topography which throws light in the lighological and structural controls of the area, relative run off and recharge, erosion aspects and stages of development ofthe landforms. Lineament map,Geomorphotogical map and Landuse/cover map (Fig.5,6,7) was prepared by visual interpretation technique from satelite imagery Pediplain: ‘These are the coalescence product of pediments and represent the end product of the erosion cycle. Ped re the gently sloping, undulating landscape broken by isolated residual uplands and wered b thickness of overburden materials, Generally this unit is characterized by high porosity 48and permeability suggest high infiltration rate, In the satellité imagery this is identified by its red to greenish tone with coarse texture. Groundwater prospects in this unit are good to the moderate. Pediplain are also + found in the central part of the study area. Buried pediment(deep): These are formed by the depositional activity of the fluvial agents. ‘These are ‘méstly found in the mature stage of the river. Their thickness is high and act as good groundwater aquifers. This is identified by its reddish tone, linear pattern and smooth texture inthe satellite imagery. In the study area buried pediment deep exist along vellar river bank. FigS Buried pediment (medium): These unit are moderately weathered, The thickness very from 5 to 20 meter. The ground water in this region are moderately good. Itis identified in the imagery by light greenish tone, In the buried pediment medium were found in South of the study area as well as near Chinna Salem seti in the Northeast part and away from the river banks. 4”TANDUSELANDCOVER MAP Fig.6 Fig7 Buried pediment (shallow): This unit is characterized by a very high run-off and poor ground water recharge region. It consists of very low weathered zone with thickness of the materials varying up to Sm. In the imagery Buried Pediment Shallow is identified by pale yellowish tone, with lack of vegetation. In the eastern part of the study area and near Sitteri and Pillangulam settlements buried pediment shallow were identified. Valley fill: These valleys, filled with some weathered material which is carried out by the stream channels form the higher elevation. In the study area valley fills were found in hilly region and in imagery this was identified with red tint because of vegetation and showing coarse to smooth texture. Filled fracture valley: These are fracture valleys with vegetation due to high fertility. In the study area filled fracture valleys were found in the hilly region and were identified in the imagery with its dark red tint as well as linear pattern, From the ground water point of view these contain moderate to good water. Barren fracture valley: Valley which falls with lineaments and absence of vegetation marked as barren fracture valley. In the study area barren fracture valleys were found in the hilly region in the imagery barren fracture valley were identified with brownish tint and linear patter, From the groundwater point of view these area contain moderate to poor water. “Alluvial fan: Coalescence of bazada zones are responsible to form alluvial fan. As its in fan shape hence the name, In the study area alluvial fan are present at foot hills. In the imagery, alluvial fans were identified with its fan shaped features, Land useland cover map: The land use/land cover map is prepared for the study area adopting the classific 1 by NRSA Integrated Mission for Sustainable Development (IMSD) guidelines.‘The forest boundary has been taken from Survey of India toposheets of the study area and incorpo- rated with the base map. The land use/land cover map has been prepared adopting visual interpretation techniques. Land cover refers to natural vegetation, water bodies. The study area falls under the category of agriculture land and build up land. Built up land means area of human habitation developed due to non agricultural use and that which has a cover of buildings, transport, communication, utilities in association with water, vegetation and vacant lands. The land useand cover features interpreted in the present study includes:- Built up land: The major built up land in the study area include China salem, in the North West, Puttur in the North, Chitteri in the east, Arasankkudi in the center and Palangulam in the West. It is easily identifiable on FCC image by its bluish to bluish green tone, defined shape, size and texture, The roads are distinguished by their characteristic linear feature and intersection. Agricultural land: The land primary used for farming and for production of food, fiber, other commercial and horticultural crops. In the imagery crop land was identified with parceling pattern. Waste land: (a) Land with or without scrub: In the imagery these lands were identified with pale yellowish tint as well as coarse to smooth texture. In the study area these types of land is available near by central portion of the study area. (b) Sandy area: Sandy area is identified in the imagery by its bright tone and smooth texture, smaller aerial extent and association along the river courses. Sand shows the maximum reflection and the bright tone indicates lack of moisture content. In the study area lower most portion of eastern part shows sandy area, Water bodies: Inthe study area number of tanks were present which were getting water from the major Vellar river in this area which was flowing from West to East direction. Inthe imagery tanks were identified with blue tint (shallow water) and black tint(deep water). River/Stream: A natural course of flowing water on the land along definite channels, It includes a small stream to a big river. In the study area Vellar river is flowing from West to East direction and in upper most easter part Gomukhi nadi is flowing. In the imagery the river was identified by its flowing pattern as well as, bluish tint. Integration of thematic maps and groundwater potential zone demarcation: Manual integration technique was adopted for identifying ground water potential zone demarca- tion. In this technique, various thematic layers were superimposed in 4 levels of integration and they were, Lineanment Map+Geomorphology Map = Level I Level I + Geology Map =Level II Level II + Land Use / Land Cover map = Level III Level III + Drainage Map =Level IV. An mentioned integration, the final output (Fig.8) that is LEVEL IV was digitized in ARC GIS ~ 91 2g outputs were found. 31Weighiage ‘Ouipat T Teo Good Z Sio7 Moderately good 3 Ties Moderate 4 Tes Poor Result and Discussion From the study, itis inferred that in the study area, the pattern ofthe drainage is formed to be parallel to sub parallel. The drainage observed in the study area is dendritic pattern, parallel and subparallel patterns, ‘The lower order drainage which are coming from both the hills are joining to form as major river called vashista, ‘The study area is mainly drained by the river Vellar. The subdendritic drainage pattern is classically present in the center portion, paralle! to sub-parallel drainage patterns are present in the outer slope region of the Kalrayan hills, which is present in the northwestern part of the area. It is understood that where the drainage density is less that may be good zone for infiltration. In the present study area, all lineaments were unscrupulously interpreted and lineament map was prepared. Various photo recognition/control elements like tone, texture, pattern, shape, drainage and association to be used for detecting the lineaments, Taking length and orientation direction of lineaments are classified major and minor lineaments. The general trend of like NE-SW, NW-SW, N-S, E-W shown on map(Fig. 4). In hydrogeological point of view, the lineaments are of great importance since they act as a secondary porosity and permeability plans, which act as conduit for surface water to underground reservoirs. Lithologically, the area is composed of Charnockite and horn- blende Biotite Gneisses, out crops, stony wastes of rocks have been reported(Fig. 5). The mineral potential of the area is limited. Fissile homblende biotite gneiss, Homnblende biotite gneiss, Charnockite. From the ‘geology, itis clear thatthe area wherever the gneisses are present, may be the good area for groundwater. The study area has a dominant rocky terrain which is manifested by hills upland and undulating surface. The significant geomorphic units identified on the bases of their characteristic, includes denudational hills pediment on the basis of weathered condition and colour, tone, size, shape. Burried pediment, pediplain, valley fil filled fracture valley and alluvial fan were identified. Finally by using arithmetic weightage overlay analysis, the precise potential zones (North eastern, eastern, Southwestem portions) for groundwater target- ing were demarcated. Conclusion Environmental appraisal through manual survey is tedious and timing consuming process in general a = Granaraier] S| ceomorple Ui 7 — 1 [Das petet aed |W ay ee oveaden_of| Good ested mateal of waning 2 — [hein pier ae | Wid male oa Maia [Stow ptinest bases | Wit vay tin ovetuden of] oo nested” miteal of vai Hit aay Costs aa ote, ples | Goal Pe fcr vay] Vay fored. slong freer & [ond ed wit vgenion | Banas fae valley —| Vay formed along Tacs &] Por ect of wegen 7 Rar Farmed ln he fot i he | Coad saped frmtard rock domain in particular. 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