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6 - Ephemeral flow and sediment delivery modelling in the Indian arid zone

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 December 2009

By
K. D. Sharma
Edited by
Howard Wheater ,
Soroosh Sorooshian  and
K. D. Sharma
K. D. Sharma
Affiliation:
National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee, India
Howard Wheater
Affiliation:
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London
Soroosh Sorooshian
Affiliation:
University of California, Irvine
K. D. Sharma
Affiliation:
National Institute of Hydrology, India
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Summary

STUDY AREA: THE LUNI BASIN

The Luni and its tributaries form the only integrated drainage system in north-west arid India. The Luni originates in the Aravalli hill ranges near Ajmer (20.5°N, 74.7°E) and after an initial west-south-westerly course, flows south-west until it discharges into the Rann of Kachchh (Fig. 6.1). The area of the Luni drainage basin is 34866km2 and elevations range from 886m at the source to 10m at the outlet. In the upland region the mean depth, width, and gradient of the flow channels are 1.2m, 158m, and 0.00245, respectively, whereas in the channel phase these are 3.6m, 1958m and 0.0012, respectively. The drainage basin areas vary from 104 to 950km2 in the upland region and 1449 to 5492km2 in the downstream valley. The eastern part of the drainage basin is a hilly and rocky piedmont, underlaid by igneous and metamorphic rocks of Precambrian and Paleozoic age. Of the drainage basin, 52% is rugged mountainous terrain with shallow soils and minor amounts of unconsolidated alluvium. The western part of the drainage basin consists of Pleistocene alluvium and Holocene sand ranging from 1 to 40m in depth.

Annual precipitation in the Luni drainage basin ranges between 600mm in the south-east and 300mm in the north-west. The rainfall season is relatively short, starting in June and ending in September with 80% of rainfall occurring during July and August. The number of rainy days is low (about 14).

Type
Chapter
Information
Hydrological Modelling in Arid and Semi-Arid Areas , pp. 69 - 86
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

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