Estuarine oceanography of the Vembanad lake Part I: The region between Pallipuram (Vaikom) and Thevara (Cochin)

Abstract

The paper gives the results pertaining to the region between Pallipuram (Vaikom) and Thevara (Cochin) of a detailed estuarine-oceanographic study attempted on the Vembanad lake from Pallipuram in the south to Azhikode in the north. The study was aimed primarily at classifying to what type of estuary the lake belongs. As the two factors almost equally influencing the lake, namely the incursion of salt water from the Arabian sea and fresh water from the rivers, both being by far governed by the monsoon, the major classification was attempted on a seasonal basis.