Spatiotemporal & Geostatistical Modelling of Groundwater Level Depth Over Haryana-Punjab, India

The present study focuses on the Haryana and Punjab regions of the Indus basin, India. The study aims to analyze the long-term spatial-temporal changes in the groundwater level from 1996 to 2019. The modelling study involves a twofold objective. First, the ordinary kriging method estimates and evaluates spatial and temporal variations in groundwater level depth (surface-to-water level). Second, the study applies a pixel-based Mann-Kendall trend analysis. The point kriging cross-validation (PKCV) results are optimum, acceptable, and supports the unbiasedness hypothesis of kriging. The trend, significant or not, is determined by the Mann-Kendall test, while Sen's slope estimator determines the slope magnitude of the trend. Results revealed a significantly (at 99% and 95% confidence interval) high-rate depletion zone of groundwater level from 1996–2019 in the southwestern-central region to the western-northern area for all four seasons. The average rate of groundwater level in these zones declined from 40.36 cm/yr. to 37.42 cm/yr. It was observed from trend modelling in the monsoon season for 2014-2019 (Six-year window) that the net per cent area of groundwater level for the study area in the high- and low-rate depletion zone was hiked by 0.90% and 2.17%, respectively.