Hydrocarbon Exploration

Rivers and especially large rivers are one of the most important geomorphic systems, on which the sustainability of modern society is dependent. In spite of the pivotal role rivers play in sustaining human civilizations, the understanding of large river systems and appreciation of their multidimensional nature is still fragmentary. Our research in river science encompasses a wide gamut of topics ranging from river morphodynamics, flood risk and sediment flux measurements.One of our important activities is to probe the anthropogenic transformations of large river systems in terms of river form and processes. Also assessing how climate change affects the linkages between the Himalayan cryosphere and large-river systems are of interest.

Using time-series observations of water discharge, physical (temperature, turbidity, and conductivity) and chemical (major ion and trace element concentrations, pH, dissolved oxygen, hydrogen and oxygen as well as Sr isotopes) parameters of water samples near glaciated river headwater to develop hydro-geochemical model for snow/ice melt-waters, and assess the impact of melting glaciers on hydrological regime of river systems.
Being a part of "Global Rivers Observatory" program, which investigates river chemistry of 15 large river systems at downstream locations close to the coasts, such as the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Amazon, Congo, Danube, Kolyma, Lena, Ob, Yenisei, Frazer, Mackenzie, Mississippi, and Yangtze rivers, the main objective of the observatory is to understand how global climate change and anthropogenic activities are impacting river water chemistry and land-to-sea transport of dissolved and particulate matter.