Ancient Underground River Channel
Discovered Beneath Prayagraj–Kanpur Region॥
¨ Scientists of
CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute discovered an ancient underground
river channel beneath the Prayagraj–Kanpur region of Uttar Pradesh.
¨
The buried river course
is known as a “Palaeo-channel.”
¨
A palaeo-channel refers
to an ancient river path preserved beneath the present land surface.
¨ Ancient channels are
abandoned or buried river courses that may contain sand, silt, or groundwater.
¨
The discovered
underground river channel lies about 10–15 metres below the surface.
¨
The river system extends
nearly 200 kilometres from Prayagraj to Kanpur.
¨ Helicopter-based airborne
geophysical surveys were used for the identification of the channel.
¨ Drilling was later
conducted at Sarai Akil, Sirathu, Manjhanpur, Fatehpur, and Balwant Tola.
¨
Drilling revealed sandy
deposits matching ancient riverbed material.
¨
The underground river
system forms part of an aquifer and still contains water.
¨ Its estimated water storage capacity is around 3,500–4,000 million cubic metres.
¨ The underground channel is estimated to be about 4–5 kilometres wide.
