Groundwater in the Indo-Gangetic Basin with Alan M MacDonald

What makes the Indo-Gangetic Basin one of the most important aquifers in the world? How do stable isotopes, CFCs, and even traces of pharmaceuticals help us understand where groundwater comes from and how old it is? Can satellites like GRACE and InSAR give us new insights into groundwater depletion and recharge in South Asia?

Alan M MacDonald, Head of Groundwater at the British Geological Survey, joins host Veena Srinivasan on Season 2, Episode 6 of the Water Data Podcast.

Alan is a hydrogeologist with over 30 years of research experience in Africa and South Asia, and has published widely on groundwater, climate change, and aquifer systems.

In this episode, Alan and Veena dive deep into the Indo-Gangetic Basin, exploring how its young sediments and complex geology shape groundwater availability, why salinity and depletion can exist side by side, and how historical canal records still influence water levels today.

Alan explains how tracer studies and isotope hydrology reveal the origins of groundwater, and how modern tools like satellites are transforming our understanding of recharge, depletion, and salinity.

Suggested Readings:

1. Foster, S., Pulido-Bosch, A., Vallejos, A., Molina, L., Llop, A., & MacDonald, A. M. (2018). Impact of irrigated agriculture on groundwater-recharge salinity: a major sustainability concern in semi-arid regions. Hydrogeology Journal, 26(8), 2781–2791. DOI: 10.1007/s10040-018-1830-2
2. Bonsor, H. C., MacDonald, A. M., Ahmed, K. M., Burgess, W. G., Basharat, M., Calow, R. C., Dixit, S. D., Foster, S. D., Gopal, K., Lapworth, D. J., Moench, M., Mukherjee, A., Rao, M. S., Shamsudduha, M., Smith, L., Taylor, R. G., Tucker, J., Van Steenbergen, F., Yadav, S. K., & Zahid, A. (2017). Hydrogeological typologies of the Indo-Gangetic basin alluvial aquifer, South Asia. Hydrogeology Journal, 25(5), 1377–1406. DOI: 10.1007/s10040-017-1550-z
3. Brauns, B., Chattopadhyay, S., Lapworth, D. J., Loveless, S. E., MacDonald, A. M., McKenzie, A. A., Sekhar, M., Nara, S. N. V., & Srinivasan, V. (2022). Assessing the role of groundwater recharge from tanks in crystalline bedrock aquifers in Karnataka, India, using hydrochemical tracers. Journal of Hydrology X, 15, 100121. DOI: 10.1016/j.hydrojx.2022.100121
4. Brauns, B., Chandra, S., Civil, W., Lapworth, D. J., MacDonald, A. M., McKenzie, A. A., Read, D. S., Sekhar, M., Singer, A. C., Thankachan, A., & Tipper, H. J. (2024). Presence of emerging organic contaminants and microbial indicators in surface water and groundwater in urban India. Environmental Pollution, 362, 124983. DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.124983.
5. Mukherjee, A., Bhanja, S. N., Rodell, M., Wada, Y., Malakar, P., Saha, D., & MacDonald, A. M. (2023). Contesting with the Ganges Water Machine in South Asia: Theory versus Reality. ACS ES&T Water, 3(3), 626–628. DOI: 10.1021/acsestwater.3c00052.
6. MacAllister, D. J., Krishan, G., Basharat, M., Cuba, D., & MacDonald, A. M. (2022). A century of groundwater accumulation in Pakistan and northwest India. Nature Geoscience.
7. MacDonald, A., MacAllister, D. J., Krishan, G., Basharat, M., Lapworth, D., & Arran, M. (c. 2023). Long term evolution of groundwater / surface water interactions in the Indus and Upper Ganges.
8. Ó Dochartaigh, B., MacDonald, A., Jackson, C., Krishnaswamy, J., Chaudhary, S., Nair, T., O’Keeffe, J., Varma, G., Khan, M., & Krishan, G. (2019). Groundwater recharge sources in the Gandak alluvial aquifer, NE India: how important is leakage from irrigation canals?
9. MacDonald, A. M., H. C. Bonsor, K. M. Ahmed, W. G. Burgess, M. Basharat, R. C. Calow, A. Dixit et al. Groundwater, climate change and sustainable development in the Indo-Gangetic Basin. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 21 (2016): 377-399.
10. Rodell, Matthew, Isabella Velicogna, and James S. Famiglietti. Satellite-based estimates of groundwater depletion in India. Nature 460, no. 7258 (2009): 999-1002.
11. Taylor, R.G., Scanlon, B., Döll, P. et al. Ground water and climate change. Nature Clim Change 3, 322–329 (2013).

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