Identification of sea-water ingress using strontium and boron in Krishna Delta, India

The distribution trends of trace elements over North and South Krishna delta were examined in relation to fresh-, brackish- and saline-water zonations. Strontium and boron have shown significant variations in fresh-, brackish- and saline-water environment. Strontium has shown a variation from 23 to 1500 mug/l in freshwater, 1650 to 2760 mug/l in brackish water and 1679 to 3180 mug/l in saline water. Similarly, boron has shown a variation from 71 to 199 mug/l in freshwater, 211 to 422 mug/l in brackish water and 695 to 2929 mug/l in saline water. The groundwater of these delineated zones when compared with the zonations of total dissolved solids are in good agreement. Therefore, strontium and boron could be used as sensitive chemical parameters responding to changes in fresh- to saline-water environment.