Groundwater in catchments headed by temperate glaciers: A review

Abstract

Catchments headed by temperate glaciers are severely impacted by climate change, and extensively studied from glaciological and surface hydrology perspectives. However groundwater in the same catchments is much more seldom mentioned, and even less studied.The few available studies found in the scientific literature tend to show a particularly high recharge of aquifers by glacial meltwater, a strong connection between surface and ground waters, and quite high hydraulic permeability in moraines and tills aquifers. New and more systematic studies could confirm and details these results. Such characteristics suggest that groundwater in coastal catchments headed by temperate glaciers could feed offshore fresh groundwater stocks. The role of potential deeper aquifers in fractured bedrock remains completely unknown.The numerous examples of natural hazards and of the sensitivity of water resources to the water cycle in catchments headed by temperate glaciers underline the importance of the study of hydrogeology, and of socioeconomic aspects, in these catchments where population is glacier-dependant.The study of groundwater in catchments headed by temperate glaciers is just at the start and there is much to be studied.

Nonmonsoon Precipitation Dominates Groundwater Recharge Beneath a Monsoon‐Affected Glacier in Tibetan Plateau

“…It has been recognized that the seasonal distribution or intra‐annual variability in groundwater recharge is important because human‐induced climate change impacts the hydrology of each season differently (e.g., Hayhoe et al, ; Vera et al, ). Furthermore, the seasonal difference of groundwater recharge fluxes/rates may modify groundwater and surface water quality by influencing overland flow, erosion, and solute transport through subglacial soil/rocks (Jasechko et al, ; Vincent et al, ). A great amount of studies on climate change from 1960 to 2010 in the SETP has been carried out with the conclusions that (1) the annual average temperature and all the seasonal temperature increases with the maximum increasing in winter (Fan & He, ; Su et al, ) and (2) the annual precipitation changes little with significant increase in spring (Liu et al, ; Lutz et al, ).…”

“…Because the subglacier groundwater is always located in the no‐man's land, its research lags behind the understanding on the groundwater hydrology in the urban regions (Li et al, ; Jordan et al, 2018). Nevertheless, it is for this reason which makes the subglacier groundwater very useful for studying the impact of climate change on water resources by excluding the interference of human activities and connecting itself to the acute glacier (Kong & Pang, ; Vincent et al, ).…”

Groundwater–glacier meltwater interaction in proglacial aquifers

“…1a). Three methods were used to establish the physical aquifer properties of the sandur: (1) infiltration tests to 0.15 m depth at 20 locations, using a Guelph permeameter, and saturated hydraulic conductivity calculated by the Laplace method (Reynolds et al, 1983) (Table S2); (2) particle size analysis on 42 sandur sediment samples to 0.5 m depth, at 22 locations, and hydraulic conductivity estimated using a modified Hazen formula suitable for heterogeneous glacial deposits (Mac-Donald et al, 2012;Williams et al, 2019) (Table S3); and (3) constant rate pumping tests of between 3.5 and 6 h in each sandur piezometer, at rates of 0.5-1.8 L s −1 , and transmissivity estimated by the Jacob time-drawdown and Theis recovery methods corrected for unconfined conditions (Kruseman and de Ridder, 1994).…”

The Global Social and Economic Consequences of Mountain Cryospheric Change

“…In Ladakh, India, agricultural production is entirely based on irrigation. Channels divert meltwater from glaciers and snowfields or, where topography allows, from the main rivers to settlements (Dame and Nusser, 2011;Vincent et al, 2019). In Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan, glacier and snowmelt water irrigates 66% of the total irrigated land, and in Melamchi Valley in Nepal this number is 100% (Khadka and Khanal, 2008;McDowell et al, 2013).…”

“…However, the effects of cryospheric change extend significantly beyond the mountain regions (Milner et al, 2017). The cryosphere is a major source of water for hydropower, surface and groundwater irrigation for agriculture, livestock production, forestry, fisheries, and drinking water supplies (Hovelsrud and Smit, 2010;Huggel et al, 2015;Vincent et al, 2019).…”