Anthropocene Lithology and Hydropower search through North Eastern Ghats Hills, Odisha

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Centurion University of Technology & Management, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Bhubaneswar Engineering College, Pitapally, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

3 Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Patia, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, india

Abstract

Introduction: The Proterozoic Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt (EGMB) fabric is an 1800km chain of broken and discontinuous hills that start from Jamankira in Odisha, taking a turn at Dhauli and runs up to the Cauvery River in Tamil Nadu. The northern EGMB is of length ≈400 km and emerges from Bhubaneswar. Northern EGB is dissimilar from the central and Southern EGB. The hills and the riverine system differ in their stratification lithology, minerals, rivers, forests, hot springs, and gigantic waterfalls. The NEGMB hills are remote, with hillocks, Jungles, poor communication, interstate conflicts, tribal population, and improper planning. The government has developed four hydropower units and irrigation infrastructures only and many are yet to be explored under limitations.
Materials and Methods: The evolvement, topography, drainage system, geologic structures, rock characteristics, and granite gneisses metamorphism, charnockite, Khondalite series, and granites occurring in the EGB Hills in Odisha, from Bhubaneswar to the end of South Odisha. The setting of mountainous hills does not allow long rivers to penetrate making large and small lagoons, and having almost zero deltas for a stretch of 382km along the coastal front up to Vishakhapatnam. All are serpentine rivers emerging from the hills and joining Lagoon, and BoB lack of coastal prioritization of Hydropower.
Results: The shear zones beyond NEGB hills are having several east-west running faults and their fragments. The shear zones, cartoons, faults, and grabens are part of them. They regulated the climate, rainfall, fluvial, mineral, igneous, and tectonic activities of the NEGB area. The findings are the NEGB hills have been utilized to exploit four major Hydel power projects due to their positioning in upper reaches in the southern fringes of Malkanagiri lithology. However many Hydro-power units can grow at various falls in the mountainous reaches of the Koraput, Kalahandi, and Malkanagiri districts of Odisha. There is a large gap between the Rushikulya River and the Vansadhara River i.e. from Khordha to Vishakhapatnam. There are also small streams within the Nagavali and the Sarada joining BoB. The Sarada, the Varaha; the Tandava, the Eluru; are a few rivulets between the Eluru and the Godavari decanting to the Bay of Bengal. It is the naked truth that the use of Photo Voltaic to power generation is renewable energy. After 20-25 years, a huge quantity of panels shall be generated non-destructible as e-waste. The Paris agreement in SDG-7, as an affordable and clean energy expansion, cannot find a place for disposal. Geothermal and Hydrogen as the source of renewable energy shall be expensive and difficult to afford economically by underdeveloped countries. The only renewable source is hydroelectric power, which not only solve the energy crisis during the Anthropocene epoch but also save agriculture through irrigation. The statistics for the utilization of water resources in Odisha, employing the topography of NEGMB is an enlightening source.
Conclusions: The major rivers originating from Baster, and Dharwar cartoon cannot join north of the Chilika coast to the left fringe of the Godavari Graben for a length of about 382km. These small rivers have no or little delta at their coastal reach with small serpentine rivers causing fast floods and depleting some brackish water lagoons like Chilika, Tampara, and Bendi lagoons. Further large numbers of waterfalls are yet to be exploited like Tirathgada, Chitrkota in Chhattisgarh, Hatipathar, Khasada, and Gandahati needs to be exploited either as tourist hotspots or large reservoir for multipurpose uses.

Keywords

References

Abhilash, P.C. et al. (2022). Introducing ‘Anthropocene Science’: A New International Journal for Addressing Human Impact on the Resilience of Planet Earth. Anthr. Sci. 1-4 (2022): DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s44177-021-00001-1
Banerji, P.K. (1990). On the Geology of the Eastern Ghats of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, India. Developments in Precambrian Geology. 8: 391-407.           
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0166-2635(08)70176-2
Basantaray, A.K. & Mandal, A. (2022). Interpretation of gravity–magnetic anomalies to delineate subsurface configuration beneath east geothermal province along the Mahanadi rift basin: a case study of non-volcanic hot springs. Geotherm Energy, 10(6). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40517-022-00216-4
Biswal, T.K., de Waele, B. & Ahuja, H. (2007). Timing and dynamics of the juxtaposition of the Eastern Ghats mobile belt against the Bhandara craton, India: a structural and zircon U–Pb SHRIMP study of the fold-thrust belt and associated nepheline syenite plutons. Tectonics, No.26.
Chatterjee, N., James, L., Mukherjee, A.B. & Das, S. (2008). Geochronology of 983-Ma Chilika Lake Anorthosite, Eastern Ghats Belt, India: Implications for Pre-Gondwana Tectonics. The Journal of Geology, 116(2): 105-118.
Chetty, T.R. (2001). The Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt, India: A collage of juxtaposed terranes. Gondwana Research, 4(3): 319-328.           
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1342-937X(05)70332-4
Choudhuri, K., Boraha, K. & Gupta, S. (2016). Seismic evidence of crustal low velocity beneath Eastern Ghat Mobile Belt, India. Phy. of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, 261(Part B): 207-216
Dasgupta, S. (2020). Petrological evolution of the Eastern Ghats Belt- Current status and future directions. Episodes, 43(1): 124-131.         
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18814/epiiugs/2020/020007
Dobmeier, C.J. & Raith, M.M. (2003). Crustal architecture and evolution of the Eastern Ghats Belt and adjacent regions of India. In: Proterozoic East Gondwana: Supercontinent Assembly and Breakup (Eds. Yoshida, M., Windley, B.F. & Dasgupta, S.), Geol. Soc. Lond. Spl. Pub.: 206, 145-168.
Ghosh, G., Ganguly, P., Karmakar, S., Bose, S., Mukhopadhyay, J. & Ghosh, J. (2021). Development of Crustal-Scale Shear Zones at the Singhbhum Craton–Eastern Ghats Belt Boundary Region: A Critical Review of the Mesoarchean–Neoproterozoic Odyssey. Lithosphere, Special (6): 9455812.          
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2113/2021/9455812
Guhey, R. & Kotha, M. (2017). Geochemical Characteristics of Proterozoic Carbonate Litho-facies of Indravati Basin, Chhatisgarh, Central India: Implication of Depositional and Diagenetic History, Jour. Indian Association of Sedimentologists, 34(1-2): 39-57.
Gupta, S., Dobe, R., Sawant, A.D., Misra, S. & Mohanty, W.K. (2020). The northern margin of the EGMB: evidence for strike-slip tectonics along a craton-mobile belt boundary. In: Biswal, T., Ray, S. & Grasemann, B. (ed.s). Structural Geometry of Mobile Belts of the Indian Subcontinent. Society of Earth Scientists Series. Springer, Cham. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40593-9_7
Kar, R., Basei, M., Bhattacharya, S., Ghosh, A. & Chatterjee, S. (2022). Geochronological Constraints for Boundary Shear Zones between Eastern Ghats Province and Bastar Craton: Implication for the Formation of Granulites and Their Exhumation History. Int. Journal of Geosciences, No.13: 593-608.        
DOI: 10.4236/ijg.2022.138032.
Lakes of India (2022). The Eastern Ghats of India-In Depth.    
URL= https://lakesofindia.com/2022 /08/27/the-eastern-ghats-of-indiain-depth/
Lewis, S.L. & Maslin, M.A. (2015). Defining the Anthropocene. Nature, 519 (7542): 171-80. DOI: 10.1038/nature14258.
Mahapatro, S.N. et al. (2013). Petrology of the Udayagiri anorthosite complex, Eastern Ghats Belt, India. J Geol Soc India, 82: 319-329. 
DOI: https://doi.org /10.1007/s12594-013-0159-7
Mani, M.S. (1974). The Vegetation and Phytogeography of the Eastern Ghats. In: Mani, M.S. (ed.s), Ecology and Biogeography in India. Monographiae Biologicae, Vol.23. Springer, Dordrecht, the Netherland.   
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-2331-3_8
Mishra, M. (2021). Eastern Ghats Are Older And Richer Than Western Ghats But Less Studied. The dialog,        
URL= https://thedialogue.co.in/article/OIEBZjzj7KFv4EPst3cG/eastern-ghats
Mishra, S.P. & Jena, J.G. (2015). Morphological Reconstruction of Southern Mahanadi Delta and Chilika Lagoon, India – a critical study. Int. J. of Advanced Research, 3(5): 691-702.
Mishra, S.P. (2016). Estuaries and lateral channel development along the east coast of India. International Journal of Advance Research, 4(12): 2360-2371.
Mishra, S.P. (2017). Stochastic Modelling of Flow and Sediment of the Rivers at Delta head, East Coast of India. American Journal of operation Research, Scientific Research, 7(6): 331-347. DOI: 10.4236/ajor.2017.76025
Mishra, S.P. (2017). The apocalyptic Anthropocene epoch and its management in India. Int. Jour. Adv. Research, 5(3): 645-663. DOI: 10.21474/IJAR01/3555
Mishra, S.P. (a2017). Stochastic Modelling of Flow and Sediment of the Rivers at Delta head, East Coast of India. American J. of Operation Research, Scientific Research, 7(6): 331-347. DOI: 10.4236/ajor.2017.76025
Mishra, S.P., Mishra, A., Chandan, K.U. & Mishra, S. (2022). Sedimentation in East Coast Hilly Terrain Reservoirs; Balimela, Odisha. Int. J.l of Environment and Climate Change, 12(5): 15-30, 2022. DOI: 10.9734/IJECC/2022/v12i530670
Mishra, S.P., Nanda, R.N., Mishra, S. & Sethi, K.C. (2021). Anthropocene Physiography and Morphology of Chilika; India. Annual Research & Review in Biology, 36(2): 71-95.
Mohanty, S. (2015). Precambrian continent assembly and dispersal events of South Indian and East Antarctic Shields. Int. Geol. Rev., 57(16): 1992-2027.         
DOI: 10.1080/00206814.2015.1048751
Mukherjee, A., Jana, P. & Das, S. (1999). The Banpur-Balugaon and Bolangir Anorthosite Diapirs of the Eastern Ghats, India: Implications for the Massif Anorthosite Problem. International Geology Review, 41(3): 206-242.           
DOI: 10.1080/00206819909465140
Nanda, J., Mohapatra, S.N., Ghosh, S.P. & Tripathy, A.K. (2009). Patchy Charnockites from the Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt - Examples from Titilagarh
and Khandpara areas of Orissa. VIstas IN Geological Research, U. Spl. Publ. in Geology, No. 8: 190-209.
Nasipuri, P.F. & Corfu, A. (2018). Bhattacharya; Eastern Ghats Province (India)–Rayner Complex (Antarctica) accretion: Timing the event. Lithosphere, 10(4): 523-529. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1130/L703.1
Pachauri, P., Nanda, J.K., Tripath, A.K. & Kispotta, F.R. (2022). Field relations and petrology of the Sambalpur alkaline complex: A new locality of Proterozoic alkaline magmatism in the Neoarchaean Rengali province. J. Earth Syst. Sci.
131: 87.
Prakash, D. et al. (2019). New occurrence of sapphirine-spinel-bearing granulite from NW of Chilika Lake, Eastern Ghats Belt, Odisha. J Geol Soc India, 93: 153-156. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-019-1143-7
Sarkar, S.K., Bhattacharya, A., Bhattacharya, A.K., Satpathy, K.K., Mohanty, A.K. & Panigrahi, S. (2012). Chilika Lake. In: Bengtsson, L., Herschy, R.W. & Fairbridge, R.W. (ed.s), Encyclopedia of Lakes and Reservoirs. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht, the Netherland.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4410-6_57
Schismenos, S., Emmanouloudis, D., Stevens, G.J., Vasileiou, A. & Eslamian, S. (2022). Torrential and Flash Flood Warning, General Overview and Uses of Localized Hydropower. Ch. 15, in: Flood Handbook, Vol. 3: Flood Impact and Management, Ed. by Eslamian, S. & Eslamian, F. Taylor and Francis, CRC Group, USA.
Sengupta, P. & Dasgupta, S. (2009). Modeling of Metamorphic Textures with
C-Space: Evidence of Pan-African High-grade Reworking in the Eastern Ghats Belt, India. In: Gupta, A.K., Dasgupta, S. (ed.s), Physics and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior. Springer, USA.              
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0346-4_2
Seybold, H., Berghuijs, W.R., Prancevic, J.P. & Kirchner, J.W. (2022). Climate versus tectonics as controls on river profiles. Nature, 612(7941): E13-E14.     
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05418-1.
Sharma, R.S. (2009). Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt. In: Cratons and Fold Belts of India. Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences. Berlin, Heidelberg. Vol.127.         
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-01459-8_7
Verma, R.K. (1985). Gravity Studies in the Eastern Ghats Belt. In: Gravity Field, Seismicity and Tectonics of the Indian Peninsula and the Himalayas. Solid Earth Sci. Library, Vol.3. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-5259-1_6
Water Productivity Journal
Volume 3, Issue 1
January 2023
Pages 75-104

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics