Professor
B.Sc.: Kumaun University, 1992
M. Tech.: IIT Roorkee, 1995
Ph.D: IIT Kanpur, 2001
Email: vjain@iitgn.ac.in
Research Interests: River Science, Earth Surface Processes, Climate Change Impacts and rivers future, Sustainable stream management, Flood hazards
Prof Jain is a river scientist with main interest in river morphology, river health, e-flow, channel shifting, flood hazards, sediment dynamics in a landscape and Anthropocene. He also works on the river processes and landform at millennial (103-104 years) time scale to understand river response to past tectonic and climate change events. One of the major research challenges is to define the future trajectory of river systems in the scenario of climate change and anthropogenic impacts. Trajectory of the river system, similar to other geomorphic systems, is characterised by nonlinearity and complexity. He understands the nonlinear and complex behaviour of river systems by quantification of connectivity and threshold conditions. Application of these basic geomorphic concepts leads towards development of sustainable management plans for river systems.
https://iitgn.ac.in/faculty/earths/fac-vikrant
Publications
Book/ book chapters:
Jain, V., Sahoo, R., Singh, R. (2021) Earth Surface Processes. Earth Sciences Series. Encyclopedia of Mathematical Geosciences. (Eds) B. S. Daya Sagar, Qiuming Cheng, Jennifer McKinley and Frits Agterberg. Springer Publications.
Journal papers:
Sonam; Jain, Vikrant; Fryirs, Kirstie and Brierley, Gary, “Geomorphic characterization of a seasonal river network in semi-arid western India using the river styles framework”, Journal of Asian Earth Sciences: X, DOI: 10.1016/j.jaesx.2021.100077, vol. 7, June 2022.
Jain, Vikrant; Wasson, Robert; McCulloch, Malcolm; Kaushal, Rahul K. and Singhvi, Ashok K., “Controls on sediment provenance in the Baghmati river catchment, Central Himalaya, India”, Journal of Earth System Science, DOI: 10.1007/s12040-021-01759-z, vol. 131, no. 1, Mar. 2022.
Dey, Saptarshi; Chauhan, Naveen; Nath, Debashis; Schaaf, Niklas W.; Thiede, Rasmus C. and Jain, Vikrant, “Pleistocene-holocene out-of-sequence faulting along the medlicott-wadia thrust in the NW Himalaya”, Terra Nova, DOI: 10.1111/ter.12587, Feb. 2022.
Singh, Ajit; Ray, Jyotiranjan S.; Jain, Vikrant and Mahala, Milan Kumar, “Evaluating the connectivity of the Yamuna and the Sarasvati during the Holocene: evidence from geochemical provenance of sediment in the Markanda river valley, India”, Geomorphology, DOI: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2022.108124, Jan. 2022.
Dey, Saptarshi; Bookhagen, Bodo; Thiede, Rasmus C.; Wittmann, Hella; Chauhan, Naveen; Jain, Vikrant and Strecker, Manfred R., “Impact of late pleistocene climate variability on paleo-erosion rates in the western Himalaya”, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2021.117326, vol. 578, Jan. 2022.
Dey, Saptarshi; Thiede, Rasmus C.; Biswas, Arindam; Chauhan, Naveen; Chakravarti, Pritha and Jain, Vikrant, “Implications of the ongoing rock uplift in NW Himalayan interiors”, Earth Surface Dynamics, DOI: 10.5194/esurf-9-463-2021, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 463-485, June 2021.
Singh, A., Jain, V., Danino, M., Chauhan, N., Kaushal, R.K., Guha, S., Prabhakar, V.N., “Stronger hydrology of Himalayan foothill rivers sustained flows in the Ghaggar–Hakra channel during Harappan age,” Journal of Quaternary Science, 36/4, 611-627, https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3320, May 2021.
Kumar, Vaibhav; Kaushal, Rahul Kumar; Taloor, Ajay Kumar and Jain, Vikrant, “Incorporation of slope and rainfall variability in channel network extraction from DEM data at basin scale”, Geocarto International, DOI: 10.1080/10106049.2021.1886340, Feb. 2021.
Babu, D.S. Suresh; Khandekar, Ashwini; Bhagat, Chandrashekhar; Singh, Ashwin; Jain, Vikrant; Verma, Mithila; Bansal, Brijesh K. and Kumar, Manish, “Evaluation, effect and utilization of submarine groundwater discharge for coastal population and ecosystem: a special emphasis on Indian coastline”, Journal of Environmental Management, DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111362, vol. 277, Jan. 2021.
Sonam; Sahoo, Ramendra; Singh, Rishi Narain and Jain, Vikrant, “Temporal profiling of uplift rate along an active fault using river long profile in the Kuchchh region, Western India”, Quaternary International, DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2020.11.022, Nov. 2020.
Borgohain, Biraj; Mathew, George; Chauhan, Naveen; Jain, Vikrant and Singhvi, Ashok K., “Evidence of episodically accelerated denudation on the Namche Barwa massif by megafloods”, Quaternary Science Reviews, DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106410, vol. 245, Oct. 2020.
Sahoo, R., Singh, R.N., Jain, V., “Process inference from topographic fractal characteristics in the tectonically active Northwest Himalaya, India,” Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, DOI:10.1002/esp.4984, Aug. 2020.
Misra, A.; Singh, A.; Suresh Babu, D. S.; Jain, V.; Verma, M.; Bansal, B. K. and Kumar, M., “Sediment and submarine groundwater discharge mediated arsenic flux into the Bay of Bengal, India: an appraisal”, Current Pollution Reports, DOI: 10.1007/s40726-020-00154-4, July 2020.
Pandey, Abhishek Kumar; Mohapatra, Pranab K.; Jain, Vikrant and Bhatia, Udit, “Studying subcritical opposing channel flows”, Journal of Applied Water Engineering and Research, DOI: 10.1080/23249676.2020.1787247, July 2020.
Pujari, P.R., Jain, V., Singh, V., Sreelash, K., Dhyani, S., Nema, M., Verma, P., Kumar, R., Jain, S., Sekhar, M., “Critical zone: an emerging research area for sustainability.” Current Science, 118(10), 1487-1488, May 2020.
Jain, V.; S., Sonam; Singh, A.; Sinha, R. and Tandon, S., “Evolution of modern river systems: an assessment of ‘landscape memory’ in Indian river systems”, Episodes, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 535-551, DOI: 10.18814/epiiugs/2020/020035, Mar. 2020.
Guha, S. and Jain, V., “Role of inherent geological and climatic characteristics on landscape variability in tectonically passive Western Ghat, India.” Geomorphology, 350, 1-16, doi: org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2019.106840, Feb. 2020.
Kaushal, R.K., Sarkar, A., Mishra, K., Sinha, R., Nepal, S. and Jain, V., “Spatio-temporal variability in stream power distribution in the Upper Kosi River basin, Central Himalaya: controls and geomorphic implications”, Geomorphology, 350, DOI: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2019.106888, Feb. 2020.
Projects
Development of a predictive geomorphic model as a tool for a sustainable river management; Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES)
Impact of sea level fluctuations, climate change or tectonic activity on the decline of the Harappan settlement of Dholavira, Kutch, India; Department of Science and Technology (DST) – Science and Heritage Research
Establishing Gujarat State Climate Change Centre; Department of Science and Technology (DST) – National Mission for Climate Change Programme (NMCCP)
Flood Risk assessment in tropical rivers in the Anthropocene under climate change scenario using hydro geomorphic modelling; Scheme for Transformational and Advanced Research in Sciences (MHRD – STARS)
Development and application of geomorphic tools for sustainable management of a Himalayan river system, India, Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (MHRD – SPARC)
Study of Earth Surface Processes at three different Critical Zones with Different Climatic and Geologic Settings in Western India, MoES
Fluvial geomorphology study in stretches of Kosi, Nihal, Suheli and Geruwa rivers and impact of changing river-dynamics induced by mining activities onto wildlife; WWF for Nature – India
