Geological and hydrogeological assessment of the Brito Formation: Municipio de Tola, Nicaragua

AbstractThere are sparse hydrogeological data and insufficient hydrogeological knowledge in many areas of the world reliant on groundwater. Nicaragua’s Pacific coast is one such region that is also experiencing water scarcity resulting from increasing demand on groundwater resources and climate change. The primary source of water in the region is the aquifer system associated with the Brito Formation, which is a marine sedimentary stratum of mostly sandstone that blankets 75 km of coastline in southwest Nicaragua. This study focused on the Tola municipality with the objective to advance a conceptual understanding of the hydrogeology and to support sustainable water development. Results demonstrate a heterogeneous aquifer system with regional flow characteristics and other factors that influence groundwater availability and water quality. Primary porosity is low, and secondary porosity is the primary mechanism of aquifer storage and is influenced by geological structure and diagenesis processes. Groundwater recharge is spatially and temporally heterogeneous and direct recharge is low. Infiltration of streamflow and runoff, especially early in the rainy season, is thought to be a large component of groundwater recharge. Climate, flow and recharge dynamics, and low storage capacity make the Brito Formation a sensitive resource and vulnerable to drought, increased abstraction, and climate change. This assessment provides data and insights useful for informing future studies and investments within the region and may be applicable in other Central American and Caribbean nations with coastal sandstone aquifers.

Download Full-text

Evaluation of Climate Change Impact on Groundwater Recharge in Groundwater Regions in Taiwan

Water ◽

10.3390/w13091153 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (9) ◽

pp. 1153

Author(s):

Shih-Jung Wang ◽

Cheng-Haw Lee ◽

Chen-Feng Yeh ◽

Yong Fern Choo ◽

Hung-Wei Tseng

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Groundwater Recharge ◽

Climate Change Impact ◽

Groundwater Resources ◽

Regression Equations ◽

Impact Of Climate Change ◽

Groundwater Systems ◽

Change Impact ◽

The Impact ◽

Assessment Results

Climate change can directly or indirectly influence groundwater resources. The mechanisms of this influence are complex and not easily quantified. Understanding the effect of climate change on groundwater systems can help governments adopt suitable strategies for water resources. The baseflow concept can be used to relate climate conditions to groundwater systems for assessing the climate change impact on groundwater resources. This study applies the stable baseflow concept to the estimation of the groundwater recharge in ten groundwater regions in Taiwan, under historical and climate scenario conditions. The recharge rates at the main river gauge stations in the groundwater regions were assessed using historical data. Regression equations between rainfall and groundwater recharge quantities were developed for the ten groundwater regions. The assessment results can be used for recharge evaluation in Taiwan. The climate change estimation results show that climate change would increase groundwater recharge by 32.6% or decrease it by 28.9% on average under the climate scenarios, with respect to the baseline quantity in Taiwan. The impact of climate change on groundwater systems may be positive. This study proposes a method for assessing the impact of climate change on groundwater systems. The assessment results provide important information for strategy development in groundwater resources management.

Download Full-text

Groundwater Recharge for Drought and Endangered Species Protection

Case Studies in the Environment ◽

10.1525/cse.2020.1118198 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Kathleen Miller ◽

Anita Milman ◽

Madison Burson ◽

John Tracy ◽

Michael Kiparsky

Keyword(s):

Water Management ◽

Endangered Species ◽

Groundwater Recharge ◽

San Antonio ◽

Primary Source ◽

Edwards Aquifer ◽

Aquifer Storage ◽

Water Users ◽

Current Implementation ◽

Endangered Species Protection

San Antonio Water Systems (SAWS) developed its H2Oaks aquifer storage and recovery project in response to pumping restrictions set on its primary source of water supply, the Edwards Aquifer. The H2Oaks project pumps water from the Edwards Aquifer during wet years and transports it to the H2Oaks project site, where it is injected into the Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer for storage. Stored water is withdrawn to meet municipal demand when restrictions on Edwards Aquifer pumping are in place. Although created for the purpose of securing supplies for SAWS, the H2Oaks project became a centerpiece for regional water management. Storage is used during drought to mitigate impacts on pumping while ensuring minimum springflows needed to protect endangered species in the Edwards aquifer. Currently, the project stores over 176,000 acre-feet of water. This case study traces the development of the H2Oaks project from the passage of the Edwards Aquifer Act to the project’s current implementation. The H2Oaks project demonstrates the potential for groundwater recharge projects to store water as protection against drought conditions. It also demonstrates how storage by one entity can support water management needs across the broader community of water users.

Download Full-text

Climate Changes Impacts on Groundwater Recharge in the UAE

10.29007/kdpc ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mohamed Mostafa Mohamed

Keyword(s):

Groundwater Recharge ◽

Groundwater Resources ◽

Climate Change Impacts ◽

Water Source ◽

Eastern Region ◽

Continuous Increase ◽

Groundwater Availability ◽

Groundwater Aquifer ◽

Abu Dhabi Emirate ◽

Desalination Plants

Despite the continuous increase in water supply from desalination plants in the UAE, groundwater remains the major source of fresh water satisfying domestic and agricultural demands. Additionally, groundwater has always been considered as a strategic water source towards groundwater security in the country. Quantification of groundwater recharge is a prerequisite for efficient and sustainable groundwater resources management in arid regions. Therefore, groundwater recharge from the ephemeral Wadi beds and subsurface flow from mountainous valley beds play an important role in water management. Although, both surface and groundwater resources in UAE are scarce; the anticipated climate change impacts could make these resources even scarcer. As such, the main aim of this paper is to assess the potential impacts of future climate variability and change on groundwater recharge in the eastern region of UAE. This paper will explore rainfall characteristics in the region, their projections and their impacts on Wadi hydrology and groundwater recharge processes. Another objective of the study is to identify groundwater recharge regions to the shallow unconfined groundwater aquifer in the northeastern part of Abu-Dhabi Emirate. Outcomes of this study will help to accurately estimate current and future sustainable extraction rates, assess groundwater availability, and identify pathways and velocity of groundwater flow as crucial information for determining the best locations for artificial recharge.

Download Full-text

3D modelling of a hydrological structure combining spatial data science and geophysics: Application to a coastal aquifer system in the island of Crete, Greece

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-2601 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Emmanouil Varouchakis ◽

Leonardo Azevedo ◽

João L. Pereira ◽

Ioannis Trichakis ◽

George P. Karatzas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Groundwater Flow ◽

Spatial Data ◽

Coastal Aquifer ◽

Data Science ◽

Flow Model ◽

Groundwater Resources ◽

Geostatistical Simulation ◽

Groundwater Flow Model ◽

Aquifer System

Groundwater resources in Mediterranean coastal aquifers are under threat due to overexploitation and climate change impacts, resulting in saltwater intrusion. This situation is deteriorated by the absence of sustainable groundwater resources management plans. Efficient management and monitoring of groundwater systems requires interpreting all sources of available data. This work aims at the development of a set of plausible 3D geological models combining 2D geophysical profiles, spatial data analytics and geostatistical simulation techniques. The resulting set of models represents possible scenarios of the structure of the coastal aquifer system under investigation. Inverted resistivity profiles, along with borehole data, are explored using spatial data science techniques to identify regions associated with higher uncertainty. Relevant parts of the profiles will be used to generate 3D models after detailed Anisotropy and variogram analysis. Multidimensional statistical techniques are then used to select representative models of the true subsurface while exploring the uncertainty space. The resulting models will help to identify primary gaps in existing knowledge about the groundwater system and to optimize the groundwater monitoring network. A comparison with a numerical groundwater flow model will identify similarities and differences and it will be used to develop a typical hydrogeological model, which will aid the management and monitoring of the area's groundwater resources. This work will help the development of a reliable groundwater flow model to investigate future groundwater level fluctuations at the study area under climate change scenarios.&#160;This work was developed under the scope of the InTheMED project. InTheMED is part of the PRIMA programme supported by the European Union&#8217;s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 1923.

Download Full-text

Spatial variability and changes in storage-discharge relationships of crystalline catchments: implications for resilience and water resources management

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-9056 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ronan Abhervé ◽

Clément Roques ◽

Laurent Longuevergne ◽

Stéphane Louaisil ◽

Jean-Raynald de Dreuzy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Water Resources ◽

Water Cycle ◽

Groundwater Resources ◽

Time Lag ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Reservoir Storage ◽

Aquifer Storage ◽

Water Resources Availability ◽

Societal Needs

While it is well understood and accepted that climate change and growing water needs affect the availability of water resources, the identification of the main physical processes involved remains challenging. It notably requires to filter interannual to interdecadal fluctuations and extreme events to isolate the underlying trends. Metropolitan areas are specifically subject to growing pressures because of the significant and increasing demand, combined with the strong anthropization of land uses.The Meu-Ch&#232;ze-Canut catchment supplies the city of Rennes with drinking water (680 km&#178; - 500&#160;000 users, Brittany, France). In this field laboratory, we explore the dynamics of the water cycle and water resources availability. In this context, water supply is mostly coming from reservoir storage for which levels shows a medium-term vulnerability in response to frequent relatively dry years. Based on retrospective data analysis, we describe the relationship between climatic forcing (precipitation, temperature) and water availability (aquifer storage, river discharge and reservoir storage) in different parts of the catchment that are characterized by distinct lithological and topographical settings. We then evaluate the resilience of both surface and groundwater resources, their past evolution and their resilience to climate change and increasing societal needs.Water resources availability in these catchments relies on two geological formations with distinct hydrodynamics properties: the Armorican sandstone and Brioverian schist. To assess the resilience of the system, we specifically analyzed the relationships between monthly effective precipitation and stream discharge within nine sub-catchments over the past 30 years. We observe annual hysteresis relationships - that is, a time lag between precipitation and discharge highlighting the capacity of the landscape to temporarily store water - with significant variability in shapes across the catchments. We argue that topographic and lithological factors play key roles in controlling this variability through their impacts on subsurface storage capacity and characteristic drainage timescales. We propose perspectives based on the complementary use of calibrated groundwater models to leverage these results and provide adaptive water management strategies.

Download Full-text

Modeling impacts of climate change and human activities on groundwater resources using MODFLOW

Journal of Water and Climate Change ◽

10.2166/wcc.2017.147 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 156-177 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Hossein Malekinezhad ◽

Fatemeh Barzegai Banadkooki

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Irrigation System ◽

Groundwater Resources ◽

Circulation Model ◽

Hydraulic Head ◽

Water Levels ◽

Climate Change Scenarios ◽

Cropping Patterns ◽

Aquifer Storage ◽

Impacts Of Climate Change

Abstract This paper analyzes the impacts of climate change and human pressures on Yazd-Ardakan aquifer using the Hadley Centre Coupled Model, version 3 (HADCM3) circulation Model and A2 emission scenario. Water levels in the study aquifer were simulated using three-dimensional finite-difference groundwater model (MODFLOW 2000) with GMS 8.3 as pre- and postprocessing software. Input for groundwater recharge time series under the climate change scenarios were derived using a regression equation based on the cumulative deviation from mean rainfall using MATLAB. Human pressures on the aquifer were modeled through climate change impacts on water requirements of cultivated areas. Three scenarios were simulated to represent the effects of climate change and human pressures on aquifer storage and hydraulic head. Climate change and human pressures (scenario 1) will reduce aquifer storage and result in decreasing hydraulic head by −0.56 m year−1. Reduction in pumping water under scenario 2 (irrigation system modification) and scenario 3 (irrigation system modification and cropping patterns) will result in groundwater level fluctuation of about −0.32 and 0.08 m year−1, respectively. Scenario 3 is capable of restoring and protecting the groundwater resources in Yazd-Ardakan aquifer. The results of this study are useful to obtain sustainable groundwater management in Yazd-Ardakan aquifer.

Download Full-text

Projections of groundwater recharge changes in the Mediterranean: Uncertainties of simulating groundwater recharge in global hydrological models

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-6064 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Daniel Kretschmer ◽

Robert Reinecke ◽

Alexander Gerner ◽

Markus Disse

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Groundwater Recharge ◽

Seasonal Patterns ◽

Climate Change Scenarios ◽

Hydrological Models ◽

Water Balance Components ◽

Groundwater Availability ◽

Global Circulation Models ◽

Daily Precipitation Data ◽

The Mediterranean

In the Mediterranean, climate change effects are projected to be particularly strong, and with them, the already prominent use of groundwater as a source for drinking water and irrigation is likely to increase. The sustainable amount of water that can be extracted from an aquifer is determined by groundwater recharge. Although important as an indicator for groundwater availability, quantification of this process is not sufficiently accurate at large scales due to feedbacks of processes and mechanisms. It is difficult to measure, and its rainfall based simulation is challenging because the absolute uncertainties of other water balance components accumulate, especially in dry areas.Global hydrological models (GHMs) have proven to be a valuable tool to assess the impacts of climate change on the global water cycle; however, their simulation of groundwater recharge remains uncertain. In this presentation, we show results of an investigation of groundwater recharge by using an ensemble of eight GHMs and four global circulation models (GCMs). The assessment focuses on the Mediterranean for two evaluation periods 1861-2006 and 2006-2100. Of particular interest are the seasonal patterns of groundwater recharge and whether the models show similar seasonal patterns in the past and under different climate change scenarios. The Mediterranean is versatile in terms of topography and climatic conditions. Thus, the variation of groundwater recharge in both spatial and temporal terms is examined thoroughly.Further, precipitation characteristics can have significant impacts on recharge amounts. Therefore, the correlation of the GCMs daily precipitation data with the modelled recharge is analyzed. Results show a significant variation within the ensemble. Overall, a declining trend in groundwater recharge is dominant.

Download Full-text

Assessment of groundwater quantitative vulnerability to climate change in Slovenia

Geologija ◽

10.5474/geologija.2021.005 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 64 (1) ◽

pp. 81-94

Author(s):

Jože UHAN ◽

Mišo ANDJELOV

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Groundwater Recharge ◽

Adaptive Capacity ◽

Groundwater Resources ◽

Groundwater Vulnerability ◽

Adaptive Planning ◽

Groundwater Exploitation ◽

Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽

Potential Impact ◽

Negative Impacts

Assessment ofthe potential impact of climate change on groundwater recharge and availability of groundwater resources is as essential in Slovenia as it is elsewhere. Adaptive planning is of immense importance when aiming for reduction of negative impacts, even more so in areas with the highest groundwater exploitation levels and the lowest adaptive capacity. We have assessed quantitative groundwater vulnerability to climate change through potential impact and adaptive capacity indicators for all groundwater bodies in Slovenia. High and moderatly high quantitative groundwater vulnerability can be observed in merely 9 % of Slovenian territory. The highest quantitative vulnerability was accounted to shallow alluvial groundwater bodies in the northeastern part of the country, where the annual change in groundwater recharge due to climate change until the middle of this century is expected to represent more than a quarter of the current average annual groundwater extraction.

Download Full-text

Modeling of groundwater flow velocity and aquifer recharge in a Cenozoic multi-aquifer system – a case study from Eastern Brandenburg (Germany)

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-21667 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Silvio Janetz ◽

Christoph Jahnke ◽

Frank Wendland ◽

Hans-Jürgen Voigt

Keyword(s):

Groundwater Flow ◽

Groundwater Resources ◽

Turnover Time ◽

Aquifer Recharge ◽

Deep Groundwater ◽

Near Surface ◽

Aquifer System ◽

Deep Aquifers ◽

Regional Flow ◽

Flow Processes

In recent years, deep aquifers (> 50 m below ground level) have become increasingly interesting for the supply of drinking and irrigation water or geothermal use. Understanding the regional flow processes between near-surface and deep aquifer systems is an important criterion for the sustainable management of deep groundwater resources. However, hydrogeological conditions, regional flow rates and aquifer recharge in deep aquifers are largely unknown in many cases. The aims of the present study are therefore to determine (i) groundwater flow velocities in a Cenozoic multi-aquifer system, and (ii) proportion of aquifer recharge into the individual Cenozoic aquifers and timescales to completely replace water in the Cenozoic aquifers (turnover time). &#160;The numerical study was carried out in three adjacent groundwater catchment areas in the region of Eastern Brandenburg. In a first step, a hydrogeological 3D model of the entire Cenozoic aquifer system (85 km &#215; 73 km and down to a depth of 0.5 km) was developed, which comprises up to 12 unconsolidated sandy aquifers and 10 confining units (glacial tills, silts and clays). In a second step, a steady-state flow modelling was performed including calibration using natural hydraulic head data from both regional main and deep aquifers.The modeling results show that the average groundwater flow velocities decrease from 20-50 m/a in the near-surface Pleistocene main aquifers to 1-2 m/a in the deep Oligocene aquifers. At the same time, the aquifer recharge in the aquifer system decreases substantially with increasing depth. Depending on the catchment geology, the Pleistocene main aquifers are recharged by 65-70 % of infiltration water, while the aquifer recharge of the deep Oligocene aquifers is only 4.5-9.5 %. The calculations of turnover time indicate that the time periods to completely flush the deep aquifers are very long (approx. between 90 and 4600 years). The results thus allow a first quantification of the flow processes between near-surface and deep aquifers as well as the identification of flow paths to develop a utilization concept for deep groundwater resources in the region of Eastern Brandenburg.

Download Full-text