• MEERA HAREESH

The saltiness or the amount of salt dissolved in a body of water is called salinity .Salinity is a measure of the amount of diffused salts in water which is usually indicated in parts per thousand (ppt) or percentage (%). Electrical Conductivity (EC) is often used to derive salinity. The Karamana river having reservoirs at Peppara and Aruvikkara is the chief source of water supply for Thiruvananthapuram district , The Karamana river after flowing westwards from its origin in the Western Ghats bifurcates into two branches at Thiruvallam. The Arabian Sea situated on the west coast of India receives the Northern branch near Poonthura and the branch to the south empties into the estuary at Pozhikkara.There are reports of sand mining taking place in the river beds. Excessive mining leads to erosion and collapse of river banks, increase in murkiness, increased salt water entry in the lower reaches, and fall in water table. Sea water intrusion takes place especially during high tides. Due to sea level rise, seawater intrusion into freshwater ecosystems increases. The use of surface water for irrigation or drinking purposes can greatly be affected due to sea water intrusion.In this paper, the extent of salinity due to sea water intrusion from Panathura to Kundamankadavu (which belongs to the lower course) of Karamana river is taken up for study. The satellite data (Landsat data from USGS) is utilized for the parameter calculations.It is proposed to develop a salinity reflectance model using linear regression. Data from Kerala State Pollution Control Board is used for calibration and validation of the model. It is found that the combination of distance, band ratios gives best results during calibration. So also the same parameters give R2 (coefficient of determination) value of 0.7, and RMSE value of 0.1142 during validation. Mapping of salinity is done along the lower course from Panathura to Kundamankadavu using ArcMap 10.8.

Saltwater Intrusion, Electrical Conductivity, Geographic Information System,United States Geological Survey

"Detection And Mapping Of Salinity Intrusion Along Lower Course Of Karamana River Using Remote Sensing And GIS", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.11, Issue 6, page no.j541-j554, June-2024, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2406956.pdf

"Detection And Mapping Of Salinity Intrusion Along Lower Course Of Karamana River Using Remote Sensing And GIS", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.11, Issue 6, page no. ppj541-j554, June-2024, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2406956.pdf