About Me
I am Shubham Goswami, a research scholar working with Prof. M. Sekhar, Department of Civil Engineering at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (IISc Bangalore). I joined IISc Bangalore in July 2018 with MHRD fellowship. My fellowship has been upgraded to Prime Minister's Research Fellowship (PMRF) since Jan 2020.
My current research work is titled "Modelling feedback processes between groundwater and land surface through a coupled model: Applications in Indian tropical region" which focuses on understanding surface water and groundwater dynamics and their interactions in an agriculture intensive catchment in Upper Cauvery Basin.
Significance of Work
In 2019, an international consortium of hydrologists enlisted twenty-three unsolved problems in hydrology aiming to more coherence in scientific pursuits in the future and assist in the long-term quest to develop comprehensive new theories of hydrology. One of those problems focused on understanding the impact of anthropogenic activities on water and energy fluxes at the land surface and on the resulting groundwater recharge (Blöschl et al., 2019). This question is of practical interest for water and land management, and of theoretical interest related to the question of how water, vegetation and soils interact across multiple time scales. The question is very much relevant to India, being an agriculture-based economy where almost 30% of agricultural land rely on groundwater for irrigation (Suhag, On and Resources, 2016). Declining groundwater level trends over the last few decades are alarming and indicate mismanagement of groundwater resources.
Work Progress
Kabini river basin, which is a sub-basin of Upper Cauvery basin with an area of 7046 sq.km has been selected for study as it is located in semi-arid zone and large portion of the area is used for agricultural activities. The selection of land-surface and groundwater model has been carried out based on their applicability and performance in India. Coupled Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC)-AMBHAS model is chosen to simulate the river basin. The models have been studied to understand the representation and coupling of surface and sub-surface processes. Input data requirements regarding meteorological forcing and parameters required for the models have been identified. The coupled model has been set up and compiled successfully. A multivariate-multisite calibration-validation approach based on extensive sensitivity analysis using VARS tool has been developed for the coupled VIC-AMBHAS model. The calibrated and validated model is being used to estimate water budget components and fluxes for various scenarios.
Academic Background
B.Tech in Civil Engineering (2016), Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur (MNIT Jaipur)
M.Tech in Hydraulic Engineering (2018), Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee (IIT Roorkee)
