Changes in the conceptual model of the Pampa del Tamarugal Aquifer: Implications for Central Depression water resources

Water table variations in Atacama Desert alluvial fans: discussion of “Evidence of short-term groundwater recharge signal propagation from the Andes to the central Atacama Desert: a singular spectrum analysis approach”*

“…Environmental tracer analyses suggest that ephemeral recharge events in alluvial fans lead to a mixing between a low proportion of modern water (recharge) and the rest of the aquifer composed of older groundwater. Viguier et al (2019a) point out the need to quantify modern and renewable groundwater proportions in the PTA for the development of sustainable exploitation policies. Therefore, based on several multidisciplinary findings from the literature, we consider the probability to be null that ephemeral recharge processes (posterior to a major flood) do not take place in the drainage and apex areas of the Quebrada de Chacarilla alluvial fan.…”

“…2, and Fig. 3(b)) (Castillo Urrutia 1960, Fritz et al 1981, Magaritz et al 1990, JICA 1995, Rojas and Dassargues 2007, Rojas et al 2010, Viguier et al 2018, 2019a. PTA is one of major groundwater resources of Atacama Desert.…”

“…The PTA is limited to the west in the basin floor by the impervious Coastal Cordillera and to the east in the Andean Piedmont by faults. In the Andean Piedmont, most recharge occurs by perennial stream losses (Viguier et al 2018(Viguier et al , 2019a) and a small amount by localized rainstorm infiltrations (Fritz et al 1981, Scheihing et al 2017. Groundwater flows up to salt flats located in the basin floor near the Costal Cordillera (Fig.…”

An Unsaturated/Saturated Coupled Hydrogeological Model for the Llamara Salt Flat, Chile, to Investigate Prosopis tamarugo Survival

“…The Prosopis tamarugo Phil, also known as Tamarugo tree, is found in groundwater-dependent ecosystems, and are adapted to extreme arid environments [3]. It is one of the few species that lives in the Atacama Desert, Chile, in a zone comprised by many salt flats that is known as Pampa del Tamarugal [6][7][8].…”

“…This aquifer overexploitation constitutes a real threat to the survival of the Tamarugo and the local flora. Hydrogeological models that simulate the groundwater flow in the Pampa del Tamarugal have been developed primarily for environmental assessment studies [11,14,15], and recent studies have updated the conceptual hydrogeological model of the Pampa del Tamarugal aquifer [6,7]. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that anthropogenic pressures are the dominant factor of the affecting water table fluctuations, which has resulted in an overuse of the aquifer [8].…”