scholarly journals Impact of Climate Factors and Human Activities on Water Resources in the Aral Sea Basin

Hydrology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timur T Berdimbetov ◽  
Zhu-Guo Ma ◽  
Chen Liang ◽  
Sana Ilyas
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
Potential Evapotranspiration ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Aral Sea ◽  
Water Level Fluctuations ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Aral Sea Basin ◽  
Evapotranspiration Rate ◽  
The Mean

The Aral Sea in Central Asia plays an essential role in the socio-economic development of the region. During the last six decades, there has been remarkable changes observed in the water level and areal extent of the Aral Sea Basin; however, the causes behind these changes are unclear. This study quantifies the impacts of climatic and anthropogenic drivers on Aral Sea and the contributions made by these drivers to the variations observed in the Aral Sea Basin. The spatial and temporal seasonal variations in groundwater budget have been analyzed using the total water storage (TWS) of the basin from 2002 to 2015. The results from this study revealed significant increases in the the mean air temperature, precipitation, and potential evapotranspiration rate from 1960 to 2015 in the Aral Sea Basin. The TWS time-series shows a statistically significant declining trend of about 2 to 4 cm per year presented by the surface water storage. Based on the average monthly values of TWS, March 2005 presented the highest anomaly ~7.85 cm, while October 2008 showed the lowest anomaly ~8.22 cm between 2002 to 2015. The groundwater level indicates a small increasing trend of approximately 0.05 cm/year during the study period. Furthermore, the negative relationship between water level, climatic, and anthropogenic factors showed that these factors projected critical impact on the water level fluctuations within the Aral Sea Basin.

scholarly journals Wahania poziomów wody jezior w Polsce w latach 1956–2015 = Water-level fluctuations in Polish lakes in the 1956–2015 period

2020 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-54
Author(s):  
Adam Choiński ◽  
Jerzy Jańczak ◽  
Ptak Mariusz
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Kendall Test ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Water Level Fluctuations ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Study Results

Water-level fluctuations are among the primary factors determining the functioning of lakes. The volume to which lake basins are filled with water is of major importance to the courses of many processes and phenomena. A particular amount of water in a lake, and water-table stability, are also important from the point of view of human activity, as these elements help determine the quantity and accessibility of the water resources lakes have to offer, and therefore the possibilities for them to be used by different branches of the economy, e.g. industry, agriculture or tourism. The work detailed here is thus a presentation of trends as regards water-level fluctuations in 16 lakes in Poland, over the period 1956–2015. The study results, obtained for the first time in relation to such a long time scale and extending to around a dozen lakes, aim to point to the scale and direction of water-level fluctuations in times of the intensive transformation of the natural environment. They were obtained by reference to water-level observations made by the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management – National Research Institute (IMiGW-PIB). Specifically, data referring to the (November-October) hydrological year were analysed for trends as regards mean annual water levels using the Mann-Kendall test. Results point to major variability in the courses noted for these levels over the analysed multiannual period. Nevertheless, three overall situations could be designated from within the group of cases analysed, i.e. increase, decrease or lack of a trend. The first group includes Lakes Sławskie, Jamno, Łebsko, Nidzkie, and Studzieniczne (where increases were statistically significant at p=0.05); the second, Lakes Ostrzyckie and Ełckie (decreases significant at p=0.05); and the last group all remaining lakes, i.e. Charzykowskie, Jeziorak and Rajgrodzkie, Biskupińskie, Drwęckie and Białe, Gopło, Roś, and Wigry. It was, however, noted that in many cases analysed periods of alternating increase and decrease in water level were to be observed. The causes of such fluctuations were complex, but inter alia reflected droughts of several years’ duration, periods featuring higher-than-average precipitation, and local conditions. In general, water-level fluctuations in lakes result from natural and anthropogenic factors determining the hydrological conditions in catchments. And in the context of the lakes considered here, the courses of water-level fluctuations were mostly a reflection of local, rather than wider climatic conditions – a fact i.a. illustrated by the lack of cohesive regional designations. The situation is different from that of, for example, the thermal or ice regimes of Polish lakes, in relation to which observed similarities in properties are seen to be determined mainly by climatic factors. Information of this kind may be of key importance to the (quantitative and qualitative) management of water resources in the context of the climate change being observed currently.

scholarly journals Multi-Sensor InSAR Assessment of Ground Deformations around Lake Mead and Its Relation to Water Level Changes

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 406
Author(s):  
Mehdi Darvishi ◽  
Georgia Destouni ◽  
Saeid Aminjafari ◽  
Fernando Jaramillo
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
Surface Deformation ◽  
Ground Deformation ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Ground Surface ◽  
Subsurface Water ◽  
Lake Mead ◽  
Ground Deformations ◽  
Water Level Changes

Changes in subsurface water resources might alter the surrounding ground by generating subsidence or uplift, depending on geological and hydrogeological site characteristics. Improved understanding of the relationships between surface water storage and ground deformation is important for design and maintenance of hydraulic facilities and ground stability. Here, we construct one of the longest series of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) to date, over twenty-five years, to study the relationships between water level changes and ground surface deformation in the surroundings of Lake Mead, United States, and at the site of the Hoover Dam. We use the Small Baseline Subset (SBAS) and Permanent scatterer interferometry (PSI) techniques over 177 SAR data, encompassing different SAR sensors including ERS1/2, Envisat, ALOS (PALSAR), and Sentinel-1(S1). We perform a cross-sensor examination of the relationship between water level changes and ground displacement. We found a negative relationship between water level change and ground deformation around the reservoir that was consistent across all sensors. The negative relationship was evident from the long-term changes in water level and deformation occurring from 1995 to 2014, and also from the intra-annual oscillations of the later period, 2014 to 2019, both around the reservoir and at the dam. These results suggest an elastic response of the ground surface to changes in water storage in the reservoir, both at the dam site and around the reservoir. Our study illustrates how InSAR-derived ground deformations can be consistent in time across sensors, showing the potential of detecting longer time-series of ground deformation.

scholarly journals Natural and anthropogenic conditions of water level fluctuations in lakes – Lake Powidzkie case study (Central-Western Poland)

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bogumił M. Nowak ◽  
Mariusz Ptak
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Water Level Fluctuations ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Water Shortages ◽  
Natural Factors ◽  
Precipitation Increase ◽  
Water Outflow

Abstract The article presents the analysis of water level fluctuations in Lake Powidzkie in the years 1961–2015. The study shows a considerable decrease in mean water levels in the aforementioned multiannual period, averaging 9 cmꞏdecade−1. Such a situation is caused by natural as well as anthropogenic factors, co-determining water relations in the study area. The natural factors include the amount and distribution of precipitation, increase in air temperature and evaporation size, unfavourable relations between the lake and catchment or hydrogeological conditions. Anthropogenic factors particularly include long-term transformations of the natural environment in the region, currently associated with meliorations accompanying the nearby opencast brown coal mines and exploitation of groundwaters for municipal purposes. Water shortages occurring during dry periods were shown not to be compensated in the study area in humid years. This is particularly related to the regional lowering of the aquifer remaining in close relations with Lake Powidzkie. Counteracting the unfavourable hydrological situation is done through hydrotechnical infrastructure which partially limits water outflow from the lake through damming.

Soil cover development in the coastal zones of disappearing lakes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michał Słowiński ◽  
Bogusława Kruczkowska ◽  
Jerzy Jonczak ◽  
Sandra Słowińska ◽  
Arkadiusz Bartczak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
Soil Cover ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Transition Period ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Water Level Fluctuations ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Elemental Content ◽  
Organic Soils ◽  
Coastal Zones

<p>An increased rate of shallow lakes overgrowth is a commonly observed process in the European lowlands. The transition period from the lake to the peatland state is the most productive phase in the whole evolutionary history of a lake. In this study, we analyze the influence of environmental changes in the Lake Rakutowskie wetlands complex (central Poland) and water level fluctuations on soil cover modifications in the immediate vicinity of the lake.  Multidisciplinary research was conducted in a transect consisting of eight soil profiles. The transformation of soil cover was reconstructed on the basis of detailed studies of soil characteristics, water level fluctuations, radiocarbon dating, etc. Significant acceleration of the lake decline rate is associated not only with natural processes but predominantly with anthropic pressure. The obtained C<sup>14</sup>dates indicate a very rapid disappearance of the lake. Taking into account the causative factors, the lake will most likely disappear in the next hundreds of years. The contemporary surface of Lake Rakutowskie is several times smaller than in the past, and this is an effect of the influence of natural and anthropogenic factors. Former fibric materials have been transformed into sapric and hemic ones as an effect of soil exsiccation. The next (and last) step in the degradation of organic soils is muck formation. Along with the progressive dehydration and mineralization of organic soils, its physical and chemical properties have deteriorated, which is visible e.g. in soil structure and elemental content, especially TOC and TN. With the disappearance of the lake, larger adjacent areas are subjected to gradual degradation, leading directly to plant cover changes and irreparable landscape modifications.</p><p> </p>

scholarly journals Impacts of Human Activities on the Variations in Terrestrial Water Storage of the Aral Sea Basin

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 2923
Author(s):  
Xuewen Yang ◽  
Ninglian Wang ◽  
Qian Liang ◽  
An’an Chen ◽  
Yuwei Wu
Keyword(s):  
Human Activities ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Aral Sea ◽  
Groundwater Depletion ◽  
Terrestrial Water Storage ◽  
Aral Sea Basin ◽  
Grace Data ◽  
Terrestrial Water

Assessing the impacts of human activities on the variations in terrestrial water storage (TWS) is essential for water resource management, particularly in regions like the Aral Sea Basin which suffers from severe water scarcity. In this study, the variations in TWS anomalies (TWSA) of the Aral Sea Basin during the period of April 2002 to June 2017 were analyzed using Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data and the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) Noah model outputs. The impacts of human activities on TWS variations were further quantified through the variations in TWS components and the comparison of TWS obtained from GRACE and GLDAS. The results indicate that TWSA of the entire Aral Sea Basin derived from GRACE experienced a significant decreasing trend of 4.12 ± 1.79 mm/year (7.07 ± 3.07 km3/year) from 2002 to 2017. Trends in individual TWS components indicate that the reduction in TWS of the Aral Sea Basin was primarily attributed to surface water loss, followed by groundwater depletion, which account for ~53.16% and 11.65 ± 45.39 to 42.48 ± 54.61% of the total loss of TWS, respectively. Precipitation (P) and evapotranspiration (ET) both exhibited increasing trends, indicating that ET played a dominant role in TWS depletion from the perspective of water balance. The variations in ET and TWS induced by human activities contributed ~45.54% and ~75.24% to those in total ET and TWS of the Aral Sea Basin, respectively.

scholarly journals The main causes of changes in actual evapotranspiration and terrestrial water storage over the Eurasia inland basin

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
zhaofei liu
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Potential Evapotranspiration ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Aral Sea ◽  
Actual Evapotranspiration ◽  
Tarim River ◽  
Lake Basin ◽  
Terrestrial Water Storage ◽  
Basin Scale ◽  
Terrestrial Water

The climate of the Eurasia inland basin (EIB) is characterized by limited precipitation and high potential evapotranspiration; as such, water storage in the EIB is vulnerable to global warming and human activities. There is increasing evidence pointing to varying trends in water storage across different regions; however, a consistent conclusion on the main attributes of these trends is lacking. Based on the hydrological budget in a closed inland basin, the main attributes of changes in actual evapotranspiration (AET) and terrestrial water storage (TWS) were identified for the EIB and each closed basin. In the EIB and most of its closed basins, the TWS and AET showed significantly decreasing and non-significantly increasing trends, respectively. The primary cause underpinning the significantly decreasing TWS in the EIB was increasing AET. Approximately 70% of the increase in AET has been supplied by increased irrigation diversions and glacial melt runoff. At the basin scale, similar to the EIB, changes in AET were the predominant factor driving changes in TWS in most basins; the exception to this was the Balkhash Lake basin (BLB), Iran inland river basin (IIRB), Qaidam basin (QB), and Turgay River basin (TuRB). In these basins, changes in precipitation largely contributed to the TWS changes. The AET consumption of other water resources was the main factor contributing to AET changes in seven of 16 basins, including the Aral Sea, Caspian Sea, Junggar, Monglia Plateau, Qiangtang Plateau, and Tarim River basins. The increase in precipitation contributed more than 60% of increasing AET in four of 16 basins, particularly in the Helmand River basin and QB (>90%). Changes in precipitation and consumption by other water supply sources contributed to approximately half of the AET changes in the other five basins, including the Inner Mongolia Plateau, Issyk-Kul Sarysu, BLB, IIRB, and TuRB basins.

Water entry, water use and seasonal-moisture regimes in flood-irrigated Riverina soils

1966 ◽  
Vol 6 (22) ◽  
pp. 296 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Loveday ◽  
DR Scotter
Keyword(s):  
Water Stress ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Potential Evapotranspiration ◽  
Irrigation Schedule ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Moisture Regimes ◽  
Evapotranspiration Rate ◽  
Maximum Water ◽  
Field Plots

Soil water regimes were followed on a range of Riverina soils in field plots of subterranean clover, using a flood irrigation schedule typical for the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Areas. During winter, matric potentials remained high. During autumn and spring, potentials dropped rapidly on most soils after irrigation and the plants experienced considerable water stress and yields suffered. The rapidity of the drop in potential and the intensity of the subsequent water stress and depression of yield varied widely between soils. The variations in matric potential between soils may be explained in terms of the large differences in water-storage increment at irrigation. Mean increments ranged from 3.8 cm of water for a loam over clay profile to 12.5 cm for sandy-textured profiles. The range in water-storage increments was reflected in the water use of the plots, some of which lost water at barely half the potential evapotranspiration rate. For the period May 5 to October 23, the maximum water use was 44 cm compared with a Penman estimate of 38 cm for potential evapotranspiration. Water use and plant growth fell below the potential to the extent that water was not available because of low intake.

scholarly journals Intercomparison of Model-Estimated Potential Evapotranspiration on the Tibetan Plateau during 1981–2010

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lulu Song ◽  
Qianlai Zhuang ◽  
Yunhe Yin ◽  
Shaohong Wu ◽  
Xudong Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Primary Production ◽  
Spatial Pattern ◽  
Potential Evapotranspiration ◽  
Spatially Explicit ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Evapotranspiration Rate ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Model Structures

Abstract Potential evapotranspiration (PET), the maximum evapotranspiration rate under unlimited water supply, reflects the capacity for transpiration flow and plant primary production. Numerous models have been developed to quantify PET, but there are still large uncertainties in PET estimations. In this study, the authors conducted spatially explicit estimations of daily PET from 1981 to 2010 for eight different land-cover types on the Tibetan Plateau by applying three types of PET models including a combination model (Penman–Monteith), a radiation-based model (Priestley–Taylor), and a temperature-based model (Thornthwaite). This study found that the PET estimated by Thornthwaite model (PETT) was lower than those estimated by Priestley–Taylor (PETPT) and Penman–Monteith models (PETPM). Penman–Monteith model gave the highest estimates of PET on annual and daily scales. The mean annual PET for the whole plateau estimated by these three models varied from 675.1 to 700.5 mm yr−1, and daily PET varied from 1.33 to 1.92 mm day−1. The spatial pattern of PETT did not agree with the PETPT and PETPM, while the latter two agreed well with each other. Because of different model structures and dominant meteorological drivers, the interannual variability of PET varied significantly among the models. PETPT and PETPM showed a transition around 1993 since the dominant meteorological drivers were different before and after 1993. These disagreements among different models suggested that PET models with different algorithms should be used with caution. This study provided a validation to assist those undertaking PET estimations on the Tibetan Plateau.

scholarly journals The influence of water level fluctuations in the Ust-Ilimsk water reservoir in Russia on the action of some geological processes

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-21
Author(s):  
Tatiana A. Tashlykova
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
Water Reservoir ◽  
Water Level Fluctuations ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Hydroelectric Power Station ◽  
Taiga Zone ◽  
Shore Zone ◽  
Geological Processes ◽  
Intensive Exploitation ◽  
Loose Deposits

Abstract The Ust-Ilimsk water reservoir is located in the taiga zone in the Central-Siberian Upland. It was created between 1975-1977 as a result of storage of flood waters and water from the higher located Bratsk Reservoir. With an area of 1873 km2 and a water capacity amounting to 59.4 km3 it belongs to the group of largest water reservoirs in the world. It is the third level of the Angara cascade, projected as a multifunctional object - for the efficient functioning of the Ust-Ilimsk Hydroelectric Power Station, to streamline navigation on the lower Angara, to fulfil municipal and industrial water needs and also for floating timber. On the basis of the author’s own investigations and source materials obtained from the Irkutskgidromet and the Institute of the Earth’s Crust in Irkutsk, the fluctuations of the water level and the volumes of water outflow in the period 1975-2007 and the volume of processed material at the selected water shores in the period 1977-1990 were analysed. In addition, the data of seismic events in the region of the Ust-Ilimsk water reservoir were compiled. During this period the functioning changes of the reservoir in terms of the capacity of the water mass occurred under the influence of both natural and anthropogenic factors. It was determined that the creation of this natural-technical water object activated two geological processes in its shore zone - abrasion and induced seismicity. It was stated that the especially large transformations of the reservoir shore zone by these dangerous processes occurred in the first years of its intensive exploitation, in the period of small water resources in the drainage basin of Yenisei - Angara, which forced specific conditions of reservoir functioning. At rocky shores the predominating process is abrasion of their waterside parts, whereas at shores built of loose deposits the complete transformation of underwater parts of shallows takes place.

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