Tail End Aberrations
of the Rivers of the East Coast of Central and Southern Tamil Nadu, India
Vijay A., Saravanavel J., Vasudevan S., Ramasamy S.M. and Kumanan C.J.
Disaster Advances; Vol. 18(11); 22-28;
doi: https://doi.org/10.25303/1811da022028; (2025)
Abstract
The drainages have well defined life histories with youthful, mature and old stages.
Such well carved out life histories and the related courses of the drainages are
interfered and aberrated by the lithologies, tectonics, geomorphology and their
processes. Along the coastal zones, the courses of the drainages are often disturbed
and modified by the physical oceanographic processes. In this context, the tail
end aberrations and the modified courses in the form of preferential migration,
deflected drainages, eyed drainages, compressed meanders and other similar drainage
anomalies were studied along the Tamil Nadu coast in some rivers using IRS LISS
III FCC data. The studies revealed that the preferential northerly migration of
Vaigai, Manimuttar and Pudukkottai Vellar rivers are due to E-W cymatogenic arching
and the course of Tamirabharani is due to complementary E-W cymatogenic deep/graben.
The preferential northerly migration of Cauvery river and Eruvadi rivers is due
to active N-S northerly hinging faults. The S shaped drainages observed in some
rivers are due to NE-SW sinistral faults, the Z shaped drainages do signify dextral
faults. Thus, even such minor drainage aberrations confirm the post collision tectonics
of the South India inferred by the earlier workers.
