Groundwater recharge through internally drained basins in a semiarid climate, Western Australia

Skrzypek, Grzegorz; Siller, Adrian; McCallum, James L.; Dogramaci, Shawan

doi:10.1016/j.ejrh.2023.101388

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 61 publications

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“…Describing the episodic nature of recharge as illustrated by [76], occurring when precipitation by far exceeds PET, the rainfall in previous months should first satisfy the moisture deficit in the catchment before contributing to recharge. The study in the semi-arid climate in Western Australia by Skrzypek and Siller [77] also confirms the same result, showing that recharge is episodical and occurs only after a considerable amount of precipitation, while all other precipitation events are quickly lost to evaporation [76].…”

Section: Recharge and Runoff Estimatessupporting

confidence: 74%

Recharge Estimation Approach in a Data-Scarce Semi-Arid Region, Northern Ethiopian Rift Valley

Mekonen,

Boyce,

Mohammed

et al. 2023

Sustainability

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Sustainable management of groundwater resources highly relies on the accurate estimation of recharge. However, accurate recharge estimation is a challenge, especially in data-scarce regions, as the existing models are data-intensive and require extensive parameterization. This study developed a process-based hydrologic model combining local and remotely sensed data for characterizing recharge in data-limited regions using a Basin Characterization Model (BCM). This study was conducted in Raya and Kobo Valleys, a semi-arid region in Northern Ethiopia, considering both the structural basin and the surrounding mountainous recharge areas. Climatic Research Unit monthly datasets for 1991 to 2020 and WaPOR actual evapotranspiration data were used. The model results show that the average annual recharge and surface runoff from 1991 to 2020 were 73 mm and 167 mm, respectively, with a substantial portion contributed along the front of the mountainous parts of the study area. The mountainous recharge occurred along and above the valleys as mountain-block and mountain-front recharge. The long-term estimates of the monthly recharge time series indicated that the water balance components follow the temporal pattern of rainfall amount. However, the relation of recharge to precipitation was nonlinearly related, showing the episodic nature of recharge in semi-arid regions. This study informed the spatial and temporal distribution of recharge and runoff hydrologic variables at fine spatial scales for each grid cell, allowing results to be summarized for various planning units, including farmlands. One third of the precipitation in the drainage basin becomes recharge and runoff, while the remaining is lost through evapotranspiration. The current study’s findings are vital for developing plans for sustainable management of water resources in semi-arid regions. Also, monthly groundwater withdrawals for agriculture should be regulated in relation to spatial and temporal recharge patterns. We conclude that combining scarce local data with global datasets and tools is a useful approach for estimating recharge to manage groundwater resources in data-scarce regions.

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Section: Recharge and Runoff Estimatessupporting

confidence: 74%

Recharge Estimation Approach in a Data-Scarce Semi-Arid Region, Northern Ethiopian Rift Valley

Mekonen,

Boyce,

Mohammed

et al. 2023

Sustainability

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Study of groundwater recharge using combined unsaturated‐and saturated‐zone chloride mass balance methods

Jiang

Rao

Han

et al. 2023

Hydrological Processes

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Understanding groundwater recharge mechanisms is essential for reliable groundwater recharge estimation for sustainable groundwater resource assessment and management, especially in arid and semiarid areas. In this study, chloride, together with stable isotopes ( 18 O and 2 H), in 1-year rainfall, soil water from representative profiles, and groundwater samples, collected in the Ordos Plateau, northern China were analysed. Groundwater recharge was estimated using unsaturated-and saturated-zone chloride mass balance (CMB). An equation that describes the relationship between chloride concentrations in saturated zone water (C sz ) and soil water residence time (τ) was derived. With the help of the relationship, chloride concentrations in unsaturated zone water (C uz ) and in groundwater (C sz ) can be used to uncover water flow and chloride transport in the unsaturated zone. The relationship between C sz and C uz indicates that, the groundwater was recharged mainly by intense rainfall events. Small rainfall events did not lead to groundwater recharge but contributed to the flux of chloride to soil surface. Stable isotopic compositions of 18 O and 2 H provided corroborative evidence of the recharge processes. The relationship between C sz and τ indicates further that there is no source of chloride in the groundwater other than that from precipitation. Thus, C sz can give more reliable recharge estimates. C uz was influenced by heavy rainfall-induced runoff, run-on and bypass flow events and cannot give reliable recharge estimates. However, if used jointly with C sz , C uz can help to gain insights into recharge processes and yield groundwater recharge estimates with higher certainty. The outcomes of this study can assist for groundwater recharge investigation and assessment in regions where the assumptions and boundary conditions necessary for the correct application of the CMB method may not be met. K E Y W O R D S chloride mass balance, groundwater recharge, saturated zone, semiarid and arid areas, unsaturated zone 1 | INTRODUCTION Groundwater is an important water resource for both domestic and agricultural purposes. Due to climate changes (Berdugo et al., 2020; Huang et al., 2017) and anthropogenic pressures (Chen et al., 2019; Rulli et al., 2013), especially arid and semiarid areas are likely to experience increased water stress in the coming decades (Gleeson

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Temperature and water content estimation in soils of the semi‐arid region of Brazil using finite difference and CFD

Pérez,

Gámez Rodríguez,

Ge Proenza

et al. 2024

European J Soil Science

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Determining the temperature and water content of soil, at a given instant or along time, is fundamental to understand several soil‐related phenomena and processes. Evaporation, aeration, chemical‐reaction rates and types, biological processes such as germination and growth of seeds, root development, nutrient and water uptake by roots, and decomposition of organic matter by microbes, are all strongly influenced by soil temperature. On the other hand, infiltration of water through the soil surface allows soil to temporarily store water, making it available for uptake by plants and organisms living in soil. Furthermore, soil water content is closely related to physical and chemical properties of soil, such as oxygen content and demand, which impacts root breathing, microbial activity and soil chemical balance. The accurate evaluation of these two parameters and their interconnection is even relevant in semi‐arid regions, where climate conditions are particularly difficult, such as the north‐eastern zone of Brazil. Thus, the use of computational models and coupled approaches are imperative for rigorous descriptions. This work presents a contribution to estimate soil temperature and water content, by solving the heat transfer equation and the Richards equation, respectively, through finite differences. As input, the model uses the experimental material composition of the soil, the time‐dependent temperature profile at the surface and information about the regional rain regime. Three different numerical approaches were implemented: explicit, simple implicit and the Crank–Nicolson method. The calculations for temperature and water content of the soil obtained with these computational models were compared with the results from Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The relative differences between the numerical methods were less than 0.006% by solving the heat transfer equation and less than 2.75% using the Richards equation. The maximum relative differences within the model, including both a constant and a variable water‐content profile, were 3.28%. The results from the computational model using the CFX tool have maximum relative differences of 0.6%, which contributes to verifying the accuracy of the implemented methods.

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Groundwater recharge through internally drained basins in a semiarid climate, Western Australia

Cited by 3 publications

References 61 publications

Recharge Estimation Approach in a Data-Scarce Semi-Arid Region, Northern Ethiopian Rift Valley

Recharge Estimation Approach in a Data-Scarce Semi-Arid Region, Northern Ethiopian Rift Valley

Study of groundwater recharge using combined unsaturated‐and saturated‐zone chloride mass balance methods

Temperature and water content estimation in soils of the semi‐arid region of Brazil using finite difference and CFD

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