We would like to notify you about the Ph.D. defence viva of Ms. Meeta Gupta, scheduled to be held at the below date:

Date: 6 May 2026
Time: 9.30 am IST, 2.00 pm AEST

Venue: C-TARA Conference Room 1

Zoom Link:

https://monash.zoom.us/j/82522781967?pwd=zsRh1NTwwfowibI5fh3XHueeaEYZjE.1 

Or, go to https://monash.zoom.us/join and enter meeting ID: 825 2278 1967 and passcode: 861665

List of the examiners for the viva are:

External Examiner: Prof. Parthasarathy Ramachandran, IISc Bangalore

Chair: Prof. RAAJ Ramsankaran

Internal Examiner: Prof. Bellie Sivakumar

Supervisors: Prof. Pennan Chinnasamy, A/Prof. Tim Peterson 

Thesis Title:

Assessing the impacts of climate variability and anthropogenic factors on groundwater resources in a semi-arid region of India

Thesis Abstract:

Groundwater response to multiple drivers, both natural and anthropogenic, is central to sustainable water management in semi-arid regions. However, the relative impacts of climate variability (natural) and groundwater pumping (anthropogenic) are rarely separated or quantified, with data limitations further constraining reliable attribution. This thesis provides an integrated framework to separate and quantify these contributions in the semi-arid North Gujarat region of India. The approach combines statistical analysis of groundwater–rainfall interactions, time-series modelling to classify climate- and pumping-influenced wells, field-based monitoring, and physically based modelling of surface–subsurface processes under varying scenarios. Results indicate that groundwater variability reflects both climatic and anthropogenic influences, with pumping emerging as the dominant driver of decline. The framework advances understanding of groundwater dynamics in data-scarce, and semi-arid regions and provides a transferable approach for groundwater assessment and management.