Climate Change, Land Use/Land Cover Change, and Population Growth as Drivers of Groundwater Depletion in the Central Valleys, Oaxaca, Mexico

Abstract

Groundwater depletion is an important problem driven by population growth, land use and land cover (LULC) change, climate change, and other factors. Groundwater depletion generates water stress and encourages unstainable resource use. The aim of this study is to determine how population growth, LULC change, and climate change relate to groundwater depletion in the Alto Atoyac sub-basin, Oaxaca, Mexico. Twenty-five years of dry season water table data from 1984 to 2009 are analyzed to examine annual groundwater depletion. Kriging is used to interpolate the region’s groundwater levels in a geographic information system (GIS) from mapped point measurements. An analysis of remotely sensed data revealed patterns of LULC change during a 34-year (1986–2018) period, using a supervised, machine-learning classification algorithm to calculate the changes in LULC. This analysis is shown to have an 85% accuracy. A global circulation model (GFDL-CM3) and the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios were used to estimate the effects of climate change on the region’s groundwater. Estimates of evapotranspiration (using HELP3.5 code) and runoff (USDA-SCS-CN), were calculated. Since 1984, the region’s mean annual temperature has increased 1.79 °C and urban areas have increased at a rate of 2.3 km2/year. Population growth has increased water consumption by 97.93 × 106 m3/year. The volume of groundwater is shrinking at a rate of 284.34 × 106 m3/year, reflecting the extreme pressure on groundwater supply in the region. This research reveals the nature of the direct impacts that climate change, changing LULCs, and population growth have in the process of groundwater depletion.

DNA Barcodes Applied to a Rapid Baseline Construction in Biodiversity Monitoring for the Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems in the Sian Ka’an Reserve (Mexico) and Adjacent Areas

“…As a result, all the animal communities dwelling in these freshwater ecosystems are highly vulnerable, especially to the invasions of alien species. Mexico is not an exception [1] to this situation. Hence, we chose to study an important system and its surroundings, located on the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula: the Sian Ka'an biosphere reserve (Figure 1).…”

Land Use/Land Cover Changes Impact on Groundwater Level and Quality in the Northern Part of the United Arab Emirates

“…Figure 12 shows a continuous increase in TDS concentration in groundwater across the study area ranging from 2000 in mountainous areas to 70,000 mg/l in the coastal areas, which is double the seawater salinity [50][51][52][53][54]. From 1990 to 2018, the total area influenced by TDS pollutants increased from 2571 km² (21.91%) in 1990 to 3931 km 2 (33.25%) in 2018 (Figure 12).…”

La magnetometría como alternativa en la búsqueda de aguas subterráneas. El caso de la cuenca baja del río Grijalva.

“…De hecho, Peñuela-Arévalo & Carrillo-Rivera (2013) consideran que el agua subterránea no solo es uno de los elementos que mayor impacto negativo ha sufrido desde la última mitad del siglo XIX, sino también que hasta ahora existe poco interés estatal en el estudio y análisis de su dinámica y funcionamiento. En este contexto, México enfrenta una serie de desafíos hídricos como la contaminación, el impacto del cambio climático en el ciclo hidrológico (Ojeda-Olivares et al, 2019), la escasez de agua, el fortalecimiento de la gestión del agua con la participación de los usuarios, promover una buena planificación ambiental, así como impulsar la investigación y la tecnología (Cortés et al, 2012). En particular, en esto último, el uso de técnicas geofísicas puede contribuir al conocimiento y comprensión de las aguas subterráneas del país (CONAGUA, 2007).…”