DOCSLIB.ORG

Global Aquifers Dominated by Fossil Groundwaters but Wells Vulnerable to Modern Contamination

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Global Aquifers Dominated by Fossil Groundwaters but Wells Vulnerable to Modern Contamination ARTICLES PUBLISHED ONLINE: 25 APRIL 2017 | DOI: 10.1038/NGEO2943 Global aquifers dominated by fossil groundwaters but wells vulnerable to modern contamination Scott Jasechko1*, Debra Perrone2,3, Kevin M. Befus4, M. Bayani Cardenas5, Grant Ferguson6, Tom Gleeson7, Elco Luijendijk8, Jerey J. McDonnell9,10,11, Richard G. Taylor12, Yoshihide Wada13,14 and James W. Kirchner15,16,17 The vulnerability of groundwater to contamination is closely related to its age. Groundwaters that infiltrated prior to the Holocene have been documented in many aquifers and are widely assumed to be unaected by modern contamination. However, the global prevalence of these ‘fossil’ groundwaters and their vulnerability to modern-era pollutants remain unclear. Here we analyse groundwater carbon isotope data (12C, 13C, 14C) from 6,455 wells around the globe. We show that fossil groundwaters comprise a large share (42–85%) of total aquifer storage in the upper 1 km of the crust, and the majority of waters pumped from wells deeper than 250 m. However, half of the wells in our study that are dominated by fossil groundwater also contain detectable levels of tritium, indicating the presence of much younger, decadal-age waters and suggesting that contemporary contaminants may be able to reach deep wells that tap fossil aquifers. We conclude that water quality risk should be considered along with sustainable use when managing fossil groundwater resources. lobal groundwater is an immense resource, storing ∼100 (12C, 13C) data were used to correct for the dissolution of carbonate times more water than all the world's lakes1,2, supplying rocks, which are devoid of radiocarbon19 and thus would otherwise G∼40% of the water for global irrigated agriculture3, and distort 14C-based fossil groundwater calculations. We estimated providing drinking water to billions of people around the world. fossil groundwater fractions in wells around the world using a Recent research has evaluated the global depths of both the recently developed radiocarbon endmember mixing model, which groundwater table4 and modern groundwater recharged within accounts for both radioactive decay and carbonate dissolution for the past ∼50 years1, but the global prevalence and distribution pre- and post-Holocene recharge20. Our approach, which estimates of `fossil groundwater' remain unclear. Here we define fossil the fraction of fossil groundwater in a water sample rather than groundwater as groundwater recharged by precipitation more than the sample's average age, is designed to be less vulnerable to the ∼12,000 years ago, prior to the beginning of the Holocene epoch; aggregation errors that are known to bias mean groundwater age we define prevalence as the frequency with which regional well calculations21–23. We plotted depth profiles of fossil groundwater waters contain fossil groundwater. Understanding the global extent for aquifers around the world and calculated the depth below and depth of fossil groundwater resources is important because which fossil groundwater becomes common (>50% of wells pump of their distinctive susceptibility to overdraft5, presumed isolation some fossil groundwater) or dominant (>50% of wells pump from surface-borne pollutants6,7, potential vulnerability to geogenic >50% fossil groundwater; Methods). Where tritium (3H) data contaminants8, and isolation from modern climate variability9. were available (n D 5,661 well water samples), we determined the To calculate the prevalence of fossil groundwater in well waters, fraction of the groundwater sample that recharged more recently we compiled a groundwater carbon isotope (12C, 13C, 14C) database than around 1953 by relating groundwater 3H concentrations to of 6,455 well water samples from around the globe. The continental historical precipitation 3H time series24 (Methods). The threshold USA and Europe are over-represented in our compilation, which year 1953 was selected because widespread thermonuclear testing is also inevitably biased towards sedimentary basins where in subsequent years increased precipitation tritium levels by ∼5 groundwater use is common (Supplementary Figs 1,2 and Methods). to ∼500 times above local natural background concentrations24, Radiocarbon (14C) has a half-life of 5,730 years and has been widely providing a tracer of recently recharged groundwater (for example, used to identify fossil groundwaters10–18. Stable carbon isotope ref. 15). For samples with both radiocarbon and tritium data, we 1Department of Geography, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4H7, Canada. 2Water in the West, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA. 3Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA. 4Civil and Architectural Engineering, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming 82071, USA. 5Department of Geological Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA. 6Department of Civil and Geological Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A9, Canada. 7Department of Civil Engineering and School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia V8P 5C2, Canada. 8Geoscience Centre, University of Göttingen, Göttingen 37077, Germany. 9Global Institute for Water Security, and School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 3H5, Canada. 10School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3FX, UK. 11Department for Forest Engineering, Resources and Management, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97330, USA. 12Department of Geography, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK. 13International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Schlossplatz 1, Laxenburg A-2361, Austria. 14Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Utrecht 80115, The Netherlands. 15Department of Environmental System Sciences, ETH Zürich, Universitätstrasse 16, CH-8092, Switzerland. 16Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf CH-8903, Switzerland. 17Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. *e-mail: [email protected] NATURE GEOSCIENCE | VOL 10 | JUNE 2017 | www.nature.com/naturegeoscience 425 © 2017 Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature. All rights reserved. ARTICLES NATURE GEOSCIENCE DOI: 10.1038/NGEO2943 a TR−Kazan Trona TN−Djerid Basin TH−Bangkok Basin EE−Cambrian−Vendian FR−Bathonian−Bajocian AU−Ngalia−Amadeus AU−Western Port DE−Benkerstein ID−Jakarta Basin CN−Laizhou Bay FR−Aquitaine Basin DZ−Grand Erg Oriental BW−Kalahari Desert CN−Songnen Plain IL−Arava Valley HU−Great Hungarian Plain BD−Bengal Basin IN−Tiruvadanai Aquifer DK−Ribe Formation HU−Pannonian Basin CN−North China Plain FR−Lorraine Sandstone LY−Sirte Basin PL−Malm Limestones PL−Mazovian Basin PL−Southern Carbonates N G−Chad Basin SN−Diass Aquifer IT−Emilia−Romagna Plain JP−Kimitsu−Yoro Aquifer LY−Kufra Basin US−Tampa Bay (FL) US−Tertiary Aquifer (MT) US−Jacksonville Aquifer (FL) US−Aquia−Patapsco (MD) US−Atlantic Coast (VA) US−Castle-Hayne (NC) US−Palouse Basin (WA) US−Surficial Aquifers (FL) US−West Embayment (LA) US−Eureka Coast (CA) US−Mississippi Alluvial (AR) US−Houston Coast (TX) US−Wharton Tract (NJ) US−Floridan Aquifer (GA) US−Central High Plains (KS) US−Bay Area, East (CA) US−Denver Basin (CO) US−Livermore Valley (CA) US−North High Plains (NE) C N−Hexi Corridor US−San Diego Basin (CA) US−Bay Area, Monterey (CA) US−South High Plains (TX) US−South Central Valley (CA) US−Temecula−Murrieta (CA) US−Columbia Basin (WA) US−Cambrian−Ordovician (WI) US−Silurian−Devonian (IL) US−Mahomet Aquifer (IL) US−East Embayment (MS) US−Los Angeles Basin (CA) 0 123 4 5 678 91011 12 13 100 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 200 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 300 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 400 56 57 Depth below land surface (m) 58 59 60 500 61 62 600 bc2 55 48 17 13 53 26 Aquifer 3 14 35 4 56 Fossil groundwater: 28 39 40 50 30 51 58 20 31 7 43 52 27 57 Present (>0%) in most wells below here 18 37 5 38 36 59 33 60 24 32 47 9 29 22 Dominant (>50%) in most wells below here 49 4419 42 11 46 16 62 45 61 12 21 41 54 23 25 8 34 6 1 15 10 Figure 1 | Prevalence of fossil groundwater in global aquifers. a, Depth to the fossil groundwater transition in 62 aquifers. The shallow depth (top of peach bar) represents a depth below which most wells (>50%) contain detectable fossil groundwater (minimum fossil groundwater fraction >0%). The deeper depth (top of red bar) represents a depth below which most wells (>50%) are dominated by fossil groundwater (minimum fossil groundwater fraction is >50%). Fossil groundwater becomes dominant at a median depth of 200 m (lower–upper quartiles are 115–290 m). The lower limit of our graph (600 m) does not necessarily represent the lower boundary for our study aquifers, nor do the depths covered by red and orange bars imply that groundwater is of high quality. b,c, Locations of the 62 aquifers. calculated the three fractions of groundwater that recharged more North China Plain (at depths >200 m), the southern Central Valley than ∼12 thousand years ago (fossil groundwater); recharged of California (at depths >260 m), the north, central and south High more recently than the year 1953 (post-1953 groundwater); and Plains aquifers of the central USA (at depths >120–280 m), Italy's is of an intermediate age, having recharged more recently than Emilia–Romagna Plain (at depths >100–300 m) and Hungary's ∼12 thousand years ago, but before the year 1953. Pannonian Basin (at depths >160–300 m). Among our 62 study aquifers (Fig.1), we find the range of depths below which fossil Fossil groundwater in global aquifers groundwaters dominate well waters (that is, fossil groundwaters Our global compilation of radiocarbon data shows that fossil comprise >50% of the water pumped from more than half of all groundwater is not an anomaly in the upper 1 km of the crust, deeper samples) has a median of 200 m, a lower–upper quartile but instead is common in wells drilled to depths of more than range of 115–290 m, and a 10th–90th percentile range of 70–430 m.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System Isotopes and Modelling to Support the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System Project
    Transboundary aquifers and river basins Mediterranean Sea Benghazi ! Port Said Alexandria ! ! 30°N Cairo! ! Suez Nile ! Asyût R e d S e a Egypt Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Lake Nasser Administrative Chad Boundaries 20°N NSAS boundary ! Major city National boundary Khartoum/ ! Omdurman Blue Nile Kilometres 0 100 200 300 400 500 White Nile Sudan 20°E 30°E Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System Isotopes and modelling to support the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System Project he Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System (NSAS) underlies Tthe countries of Chad, Egypt, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and Sudan, the total population of which is over 136 million. It is the world’s largest ‘fossil’ water aquifer system. This gigantic reservoir faces heavy demands from agriculture and for drinking water, and the amount drawn out could double in the next 50–100 years. Climate change is expected to add significant stress due to rising temperatures as well as changes in precipitation patterns, inland evaporation and salinization. Groundwater has been identified as the biggest and in some cases the only future source of water to meet growing demands and the development goals of each NSAS country, and evidence shows that massive volumes of groundwater are still potentially available. Since the 1960s, groundwater has been actively pumped out of the aquifer to support irrigation and water supply needs. Over-abstraction has already begun in some areas, which leads to significant drawdowns and can induce salinization. In the approximately 20 000 years since the last glacial period, the aquifer has been slowly draining; the system faces low recharge rates in some areas, while others have no recharge at all.
    [Show full text]
  • 'Great Man-Made River' Courses Through Desert in Libya
    Click here for Full Issue of EIR Volume 18, Number 3, January 18, 1991 'Great Man-Made River' courses through desert in Libya by Marcia Merry Over the past year, a major link has been completed in Libya's the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, to deter "Great Man-Made River" (GMR)-a project designed to pro­ GMR-style development. Typical of this anti-development vide an integrated national grid of piped water from aquifers approach is the "Arab World Survey" of May 1990 by the deep beneath the deserts of the Sahara. Concrete pipes are London Economist, which stated, "Libya is another offend­ carrying water from well fields in southern and east-central er" planning water projects. "It is building a spectacular sys­ Libya, northward for various uses in the coastal areas where tem of pipelines, known as the 'Great Man-Made River,' to the population of 4.3 million is concentrated. move water pumped from under the Sahara Desert north­ The water is especially welcome because the coastal aqui� wards to the coastal region for use in agriculture." The Econ­ fers that have supplied the population centers in the Tripoli omist said it is wrongheaded to plan water for farming, and and Benghazi regions, have been depleted by heavy pumping that it costs too much-an estimated $25 billion for the entire over the years, and there has been significant infiltration of plan. salt water from the Mediterranean Sea. This is a prime loca­ tion for desalination plants, but without financial credit and Water project moves ahead high technology, Libya can only afford to desalinate water Despite London's scorn, planning and work has proceed­ to supplement water supplies for urban and industrial use, ed, and the accomplishments of the GMR project to date give and cannot yet hope to meet the expense of desalinating the a preview of how water projects of all types could make the large volumes of water needed for agricultural expansion.
    [Show full text]
  • Survey of Sustainable Development to Make Great Man-Made River Producing Energy and Food
    Current World Environment Vol. 10(3), 758-763 (2015) Survey of Sustainable Development to Make Great Man-Made River Producing Energy and Food MOHAMED NASAR NASAR Department Of Applied Ecology, Futura, Singidunum, Belgrade, Serbia. http://dx.doi.org/10.12944/CWE.10.3.05 (Received: July 24, 2015; Accepted: October 21, 2015) ABSTRACT The Great Man-Made River (GMR) is the world largest irrigation project, consisting of a network of pipes that supplies water from Libyan desert in the south to the coastal areas in the north. This paper studies the possibility of taking advantage of GMR to generate energy and produce food through agriculture. Hydro-kinetic power generation, would be carried out by generating energy from water movements across Great Man-Made River pipelines using appropriate sizes of turbines. It’s known that the length of the GMR pipeline is about 4000 km with a diameter of 4 m. Pipeline of such magnitude with great water flow rate would make a turbine to produce hundreds of Kilowatts of clean energy. The most significant reasons that force us to take advantage of GMR to generate energy are: a) The needs to sustainable environmental energy source; b) Power System uses energy of flowing water to provide a consistent, controllable, non-weather-dependent source of electricity, such as other types of renewable energy, which are depend on the weather. The conversion of GMR, from supplying freshwater to coastal cities, to huge agricultural project after the establishment of many seawater desalination plants (solar powered) would cover the needs of cities for fresh water.
    [Show full text]
  • Water Mining for a Pot of Gold Matthew Lindon, PE Utah Assistant State Engineer
    Water Mining for a Pot of Gold Matthew Lindon, PE Utah Assistant State Engineer “In this arid state, a drop of water is like a drop of gold.” San Pete River Water User - 1967 There has long been hopeful speculation, particularly in arid Utah, of the existence of deep, untapped underground rivers, flowing with limitless, ancient water which will solve all of our water resource needs and fulfill someone’s get-rich-quick dreams. It is well established that there are isolated caches of ‘fossil water’, or paleo- groundwater around the world, that originated as precipitation and recharge many millennia ago when the climate and even the local geology were different. Changes in climate and geology can trap water in underground storage basins, sometimes without any further recharge or discharge. Prominent examples of these aquifers are; the Nubian Sandstone aquifer, the world’s largest fossil aquifer, underlying the Sahara desert and the Kalahari of northern Africa, with more than 120 billion acre-feet* of water, and the Ogallala aquifer located beneath the Great Plains of North America with 3 billion acre- feet of water in storage. The deposition of the Ogallala aquifer material dates back 2 to 6 million years, from late Miocene to the early Pliocene age when the southern Rocky Mountains were still tectonically active. Rivers and streams, from the uplands to the west, cut channels in a generally west to east or southeast direction. Erosion of the Rockies provided alluvial and Eolian sediment that filled the ancient channels and eventually covered the entire area of the present-day aquifer, forming the water-bearing Ogallala Formation.
    [Show full text]
  • Toward a Better Understanding of Palaeoclimatic Regimes That Recharged the Fossil Aquifers in North Africa: Inferences from Stable Isotope and Remote Sensing Data
    Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 329-330 (2012) 137–149 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/palaeo Toward a better understanding of palaeoclimatic regimes that recharged the fossil aquifers in North Africa: Inferences from stable isotope and remote sensing data Abdou Abouelmagd a,c, Mohamed Sultan a,⁎, Adam Milewski a, Alan E. Kehew a, Neil C. Sturchio b, Farouk Soliman c, R.V. Krishnamurthy a, Elen Cutrim d a Department of Geosciences, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49008-5200, USA b Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607-7059, USA c Department of Geology, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, 41522, Egypt d Department of Geography, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49008-5424, USA article info abstract Article history: The isotopic composition of modern precipitation collected monthly from the International Atomic Energy Agency Received 9 June 2011 (IAEA) stations over North Africa is enriched (average δD: Morocco: -25.8‰; Algeria: -21.3‰; Tunisia: -20.6‰; Received in revised form 2 February 2012 Libya: -17.7‰; Egypt: -11.7‰) compared to fossil groundwater across North Africa, which shows progressive Accepted 11 February 2012 west-to-east depletion; this indicates that precipitation from paleowind regimes was different from those prevail- Available online 22 February 2012 ing in the present day (late Holocene). However, a few monthly records (March 1982, December 1987, December 1991, March 2002, and April 2002) collected from IAEA stations (Sidi Barrani, Cairo, Rafah, and El-Arish) showed Keywords: δ – ‰ – ‰ Sahara Desert isotopic depletions ( D= 56 to 43.7 ) approaching those of the fossil groundwater in Egypt.
    [Show full text]
  • NOMINATION of Ministry of Water & Electricity Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
    NOMINATION OF Ministry of Water & Electricity Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Supporting Documents For King Hassan II Great World Water Prize 2012 Table of Contents PART 1: BACKGROUND INFORMATION ....................................................... 4 1.1 Location and Geography .................................................................................................................... 4 1.2 Climate ................................................................................................................................................. 5 1.3 Population ............................................................................................................................................ 6 1.4 Urbanization ........................................................................................................................................ 7 PART 2: WATER RESOURCES IN THE KINGDOM ........................................ 9 2.1 Surface water ....................................................................................................................................... 9 2.2 Groundwater ......................................................................................................................................10 2.2.1 Shallow Alluvial Aquifers ..........................................................................................................11 2.2.2 Fossil Groundwater Aquifers .....................................................................................................11 2.3 Treated Wastewater ...........................................................................................................................14
    [Show full text]
  • Modern Recharge to Fossil Aquifers: Geochemical, Geophysical, and Modeling Constraints ⇑ M
    Journal of Hydrology 403 (2011) 14–24 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Hydrology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jhydrol Modern recharge to fossil aquifers: Geochemical, geophysical, and modeling constraints ⇑ M. Sultan a, , S. Metwally b, A. Milewski a, D. Becker a, M. Ahmed a, W. Sauck a, F. Soliman c, N. Sturchio d, E. Yan e , M. Rashed c, A. Wagdy f, R. Becker g, B. Welton a a Department of Geosciences, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, USA b Desert Research Center, El Matariya, Cairo, Egypt c Suez Canal University, Department of Geology, Ismalia, Egypt d Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA e Environmental Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, USA f Irrigations & Hydraulics Engineering Department, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt g University of Toledo, Department of Environmental Sciences, Toledo, OH, USA article info abstract Article history: The Nubian Sandstone (NSS) aquifer of northeast Africa is believed to have been recharged in previous Received 21 June 2010 wet climatic periods in the Quaternary Period. While this is largely true, we show using the Sinai Penin- Received in revised form 4 February 2011 sula as our test site that the aquifer is locally receiving modern recharge under the current dry climatic Accepted 22 March 2011 conditions. The validity of the advocated model was tested using geophysical (conventional electrical Available online 3 April 2011 resistivity [ER]) and isotopic (O, H) data, and estimates for modern recharge were obtained using contin- This manuscript was handled by L. Charlet, Editor-in-Chief, with the assistance of uous rainfall-runoff modeling over the period 1998–2007.
    [Show full text]
  • Water Megaprojects in Deserts and Drylands
    International Journal of Water Resources Development ISSN: 0790-0627 (Print) 1360-0648 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cijw20 Water megaprojects in deserts and drylands Troy Sternberg To cite this article: Troy Sternberg (2016) Water megaprojects in deserts and drylands, International Journal of Water Resources Development, 32:2, 301-320, DOI: 10.1080/07900627.2015.1012660 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2015.1012660 Published online: 13 Mar 2015. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 320 View related articles View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=cijw20 Download by: [El Colegio de México, A.C.] Date: 27 June 2017, At: 07:48 International Journal of Water Resources Development, 2016 Vol. 32, No. 2, 301–320, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2015.1012660 Water megaprojects in deserts and drylands Troy Sternberg* School of Geography, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK (Received 16 April 2014; accepted 24 January 2015) Water megaprojects reconfigure the conception and use of desert landscapes. Driven by limited water resources, increasing demand and growing populations, projects are framed by statements of water delivered, end-users served and local benefits. Decision- making processes, socio-economic costs and environmental implications receive less attention. Research examines the motivations involved and evaluates the challenges of water megaprojects in deserts, including the Great Manmade River (Libya), the South- to-North Water Transfer Scheme (China), the Central Arizona Project (United States) and the Greater Anatolia Project (Turkey), and assesses related projects exemplifying the diversity of water projects in drylands.
    [Show full text]
  • Groundwater Role in World Water Resources: Basics and Facts
    GROUNDWATER ROLE IN WORLD WATER RESOURCES: BASICS AND FACTS Emilio CUSTODIO, Dr. Ind. Eng. , Acad. Sciences, Pres Intern. Assoc. Hydrogeologists Geological Survey of Spain and Technical University of Catalonia Rios Rosas 23, 28003 Madrid, [email protected] Key words Groundwater; management; intensive development; water cycle Abstract Groundwater is the slow part of the back-flow of the continental cycle in the continents and islands, it is associated with a large water volume storage that in many cases makes quantity and quality fluctuations of secondary importance with respect surface water. Groundwater play an important role in the Earth and is essential for many habitats, and at the same time is an important freshwater resource to supply human personal and economical needs. Groundwater is currently well known scientifically and its development is technologically easy and cheap since half century ago. This has been mostly a bottom up ‘silent revolution’ in hydrology and in water supply that has brought profound changes in many areas of the world, with clear benefits to mankind but also with some serious side effects, mostly due to lack of knowledge and of institutions to adequately and specifically deal with the newly created situations. Groundwater management, and also integrated water resources management, need new and appropriate approaches, which means looking for balance among market forces, institutions and stakeholders’ effective participation, in order to deal with problems that are deeply interlinked with land use and that often have to be considered in a 3-D framework. Palabras clave: Agua subterránea; gestión; uso intensivo; ciclo del agua Resumen: El agua subterránea constituye la parte lenta del ciclo del agua de retorno en continentes e islas.
    [Show full text]
  • Groundwater and Surface Water
    Understanding Groundwater December 9, 2015 Speakers Gabriele Ludwig, Almond Board (Moderator) Graham Fogg, University of California, Davis Gabriele Ludwig, Almond Board Graham Fogg, University of California, Davis Understanding Groundwater: The Hidden Resource Outline • Groundwater fundamentals – California groundwater occurrence & general background – Climate change and a new epoch of scarcity – Overdraft & negative consequences • Non-sustainable storage depletion • Subsidence • Surface water & ecosystem effects • Increased energy costs • Bad water intrusion from aquitards and from depth • Basin salt imbalance • Seawater intrusion – Sustainable yield • Groundwater myths – Pumping of “fossil water” is non-sustainable – Groundwater storage depletion always takes a long time to recover – Groundwater levels tell us how much groundwater storage is changing – Quality of most groundwater is degraded – Good quality groundwater today is likely to stay that way – Potential myth: climate change will decrease groundwater recharge California Water System http://www.water.ca.gov/maps/allprojects.html 11 12 Slides: Bryan Weare, Snow Water Storage 2012. Definition: Snow-Water Equivalent (SWE) is a common snowpack measurement. It measure the volume of water contained within the snowpack (as a measure of depth). Figure: Mote (2006) Fig 5a: Observed changes in 1 April Snow-Water Equivalent over the 1960 to 2002 period of record from snow course observations. Paul Ullrich CCWAS: Lecture 03 October 7, 2013 Graham E. Fogg, 2009 http://www.oehha.ca.gov/multimedia/epic/pdf/ClimateChangeIndicatorsApril2009.pd f 15 The CA Water Quantity Problem • 8th largest economy in the world. • Produces 50% of nation’s fruits & vegetables w/ irrigation. • Depends on snow-storage and historically well-timed snow-melt to satisfy demand. • This system cannot function properly as the snow pack diminishes due to warming.
    [Show full text]
  • Ground Water Governance in Mongolia
    International Regional Consultation on Groundwater Governance in Asia and the Pacific region Shijiazhuang, China, 3–5 December 2012 Ground water governance in Mongolia Dr. Janchivdorj. L Water Resources and its U7liza7on Department, Ins7tute of Geoecology Mongolian academy of Sciences janchivdorj_mn@yahoo,com Topics • Basic Natural conditions • Water resources • Water governance • Case study: water resources in SGR 2 Mongolia • a vast territory bordering 2 big countries, shares water resources with some of them such as Russia and China. These resources are of two types: • in the north, they are superficial and are formed by the waters of the high mountain ranges, and • in the south; there is groundwater, made up of fossil water layers in Gobi. The waters in the north can only be considered interesting during rainy periods as water is carried to downstream to the Baikal Lake. • At the Khentii mountain range in 3 the East, the water flows from head water to China. Mongolia has an extreme continental climate with long, cold winter and short summers. Basic Natural Condition Precipitation pattern for Mongolia The annual precipitation is so low, 3-6 times lower than global annual. In M, generally precipitation decreasing from North to South Gobi Desert. Rainfall is highest in North and lowest in SGR. Some regions of Gobi, desert some times receive no precipitation at all. 5 Basic Natural Condition: Precipitation and soil temperature Average by mounts 1988-2009, ìì 100.0 90.0 80.0 70.0 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 0.0 I II III IY Y YI YII YIII IX X XI XII Rainfall in Mongolia concentrated/85-90%/ in the summer months an most rainfalls during summer, so deviation from the season –defendant flux can cause floods or droughts.
    [Show full text]
  • Troubled Waters
    Troubled Waters Climate Change, Hydropolitics, and Transboundary Resources David Michel Amit Pandya Editors Copyright © 2009 The Henry L. Stimson Center ISBN: 978-0-9821935-2-5 Cover photos: Les Penuries D’eau Pourraient Tripler Avec le Rechauffement, India © 2006 STRDEL/AFP/Getty Images; 2007-BG-Noorani-0505, Bangladesh, River Bleeds Black Series © 2007 Shehzad Noorani Cover design by Free Range Studios Book design/layout by Nita Congress All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written consent from The Henry L. Stimson Center. The Henry L. Stimson Center 1111 19th Street, NW, 12th Floor Washington, DC 20036 Telephone: 202.223.5956 Fax: 202.238.9604 www.stimson.org A Case for Integrating Groundwater and Surface Water Management Kendra Patterson lobal water resources are increasingly threatened by overuse, pollution, and climate Gchange. Concern is growing over how to ensure that the planet’s endangered fresh- water supplies are managed wisely and distributed equitably through space and time. One obstacle is that groundwater and surface water systems are typically viewed as disparate types of resources, and their study and management are often separated into tracks that rarely meet. Policy follows along these lines, with different ministries or departments charged with governance of one or the other. In countries that possess ground and surface water, this cre- ates inefficiencies and makes sustainable use difficult. Groundwater is particularly vulner- able to overpumping, because it is an “invisible” resource and poorly understood. Groundwater can be renewable or nonrenewable. Renewable aquifers are often connected to surface water systems, such as rivers or lakes, and water is transferred between them.
    [Show full text]