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Dr. Ajit Singh
Principal Researcher (Earth Sciences)
Education
• Ph.D. Earth Sciences - IIT Kanpur, India, 2014;
• M.Sc., Geology - MDS University, Ajmer, India, (2001-2003);
• B.Sc., Geology - MDS University, Ajmer, India, (1998-2001)
Research Interests
• River and Lake rejuvenation
• Rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge
• Flooding risk assessment and hazard management
• Understanding climate change
• Paleoclimate reconstruction
• Water quality assessment and its impact
• Application of RS& GIS in Geohazard
• Application of geophysical methods in sustainability
Professional Experience
• Research Associate: MRIIRS, Faridabad, India. (2021-2023)
• Postdoctoral Fellow: IIT Gandhinagar, India. (2017-2020)
• Postdoctoral Fellow: Imperial College London, UK. (2014-2016)
• Junior Research Fellow, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, India. (2006-2008)
Biography
Dr. Ajit Singh specializes in river and lake hydrology, surface and groundwater resources sustainability, paleohydrology for flood risk and hazard assessment, and artificial and rainfall recharge. He earned his Ph.D. in Earth Sciences from IIT Kanpur in 2014. His research provided evidence of the legendary Saraswati River's past existence and its connection to the Harappan civilization, utilizing techniques like geophysical surveys, sediment coring, and isotopic analysis. Dr. Singh's postdoctoral work at Imperial College London examined groundwater structure and dynamics in NW India, publishing significant findings in peer-reviewed journals. His second postdoctoral stint at IIT Gandhinagar, in collaboration with the Archaeological Sciences Center, focused on the tectonic-geomorphic study of Himalayan foothill rivers, revealing their role in supporting ancient civilizations.
Ongoing Research Projects
1. Strategic Lake Excavation as a Twofold Approach for Non-metallic Mineral Resource and Lake Rejuvenation. (Earth Sciences)
2. Analyzing Surface Water-Groundwater Interactions for Managed Aquifer Recharge in the Suvarnamukhi River Basin. (Earth Sciences)
Representative Publication
Counter-intuitive influence of Himalayan river morphodynamics on Indus Civilisation urban settlements, Singh, A., Thomsen, K.J., Sinha, R., Buylaert, J.P., Carter, A., Mark, D.F., Mason, P.J., Densmore, A.L., Murray, A.S., Jain, M. and Paul, D. Nature Communications, 2017, 8, 1617-1630. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-01643-9
Evaluating the connectivity of the Yamuna and the Sarasvati during the Holocene: Evidence from geochemical provenance of sediment in the Markanda River valley, India, Singh, A., Ray, J.S., Jain, V. and Mahala, M.K. Geomorphology, 2022, 402, 108124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2022.108124
Larger floods of Himalayan foothill rivers sustained flows in the Ghaggar–Hakra channel during the Harappan age. Singh, A., Jain, V., Danino, M., Chauhan, N., Kaushal, R.K., Guha, S. and Prabhakar, V.N. Journal of Quaternary Science, 2021, 36(4), 611-627. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3320
Fluvial response to climate change inferred from sediment cores from the Ghaggar–Hakra paleochannel in NW Indo–Gangetic plains, Singh, A. and Sinha, R. Palaeogeography, paleoclimatology, palaeoecology, 2019, 532, 109247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.109247
Geochemistry of buried river sediments from Ghaggar Plains, NW India: Multi-proxy records of variations in provenance, paleoclimate, and paleovegetation patterns in the Late Quaternary. Singh, A., Paul, D., Sinha, R., Thomsen, K.J. and Gupta, S. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 2016, 449, 85-100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.02.012
Awards/Honours/Affiliation/Membership
1. Arthur Holmes Research Grant, Imperial College London, UK
2. American Geophysical Union Berkner Travel Grant, USA
3. UK-Indian Education Research Initiative (UKIERI) Research Grant (Scholar visit), UK