Feasibility of estimating groundwater storage changes in western Kansas using Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data

2013 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 806-813
Author(s):  
Qiuge Wang ◽  
Chao Chen ◽  
Bo Chen ◽  
Jianghai Xia ◽  
Jinsong Du
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Storage ◽  
Grace Data ◽  
Gravity Recovery

scholarly journals Comparing Groundwater Storage Changes in Two Main Grain Producing Areas in China: Implications for Sustainable Agricultural Water Resources Management

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (13) ◽  
pp. 2151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Longqun Zheng ◽  
Yun Pan ◽  
Huili Gong ◽  
Zhiyong Huang ◽  
Chong Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Groundwater Abstraction ◽  
Groundwater Storage ◽  
The North ◽  
Grace Data ◽  
Groundwater Supply ◽  
Agricultural Water Resources ◽  
Gravity Recovery ◽  
Sown Area ◽  
Additional Area

Balancing groundwater supply and food production is challenging, especially in large regions where there is often insufficient information on the groundwater budget, such as in the North China Plain (NCP) and the Northeast China Plain (NECP), which are major food producing areas in China. This study aimed to understand this process in a simple but efficient way by using Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data, and it focused on historical and projected groundwater storage (GWS) changes in response to changes in grain-sown areas. The results showed that during 2003–2016, the GWS was depleted in the NCP at a rate of −17.2 ± 0.8 mm/yr despite a decrease in groundwater abstraction along with an increase in food production and a stable sown area, while in the NECP, the GWS increased by 2.3 ± 0.7 mm/yr and the groundwater abstraction, food production and the sown area also increased. The scenario simulation using GRACE-derived GWS anomalies during 2003–2016 as the baseline showed that the GWS changes in the NCP can be balanced (i.e., no decreasing trend in storage) by reducing the area of winter wheat and maize by 1.31 × 106 ha and 3.21 × 106 ha, respectively, or by reducing both by 0.93 × 106 ha. In the NECP, the groundwater can sustain an additional area of 0.62 × 106 ha of maize without a decrease in storage. The results also revealed that the current groundwater management policies cannot facilitate the recovery of the GWS in the NCP unless the sown ratio of drought-resistance wheat is increased from 90% to 95%. This study highlights the effectiveness of using GRACE to understanding the nexus between groundwater supply and food production at large scales.

scholarly journals Depleting groundwater – an opportunity for flood storage? A case study from part of the Ganges River basin, India

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 431-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pennan Chinnasamy
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Ganges River ◽  
Groundwater Storage ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Grace Data ◽  
Ramganga River ◽  
Recharge Rates ◽  
Water Surplus ◽  
Gravity Recovery ◽  
The Ganges

Storing excess rainwater underground can become key in mitigating the frequency and magnitude of flood events. In this context, assessment of depleted groundwater storage that can be refilled in water surplus periods is imperative. The study uses Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data to identify variations in groundwater storage in the monsoonal Ramganga River basin (tributary of the Ganges, with an area of 32,753 km2) in India, over the 9-year period of 2002–2010. Results indicate that basin groundwater storage is depleting at the rate of 1.6 bill. m3 yr−1. This depleted aquifer volume can be used to store floodwater effectively – up to 76% of the rainfall on average across the Ramganga with a maximum of 94% in parts of the basin. However, the major management challenge is to find and introduce technical and policy interventions to augment recharge rates to capture excess water, at required scales.

scholarly journals Spatio-Temporal Patterns of Mass Changes in Himalayan Glaciated Region from EOF Analyses of GRACE Data

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 265
Author(s):  
Harika Munagapati ◽  
Virendra M. Tiwari
Keyword(s):  
Temperature Anomaly ◽  
Mass Gain ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Empirical Orthogonal Functions ◽  
Total Water ◽  
Orthogonal Functions ◽  
Grace Data ◽  
Grace Satellite ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Gravity Recovery

The nature of hydrological seasonality over the Himalayan Glaciated Region (HGR) is complex due to varied precipitation patterns. The present study attempts to exemplify the spatio-temporal variation of hydrological mass over the HGR using time-variable gravity from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite for the period of 2002–2016 on seasonal and interannual timescales. The mass signal derived from GRACE data is decomposed using empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs), allowing us to identify the three broad divisions of HGR, i.e., western, central, and eastern, based on the seasonal mass gain or loss that corresponds to prevailing climatic changes. Further, causative relationships between climatic variables and the EOF decomposed signals are explored using the Granger causality algorithm. It appears that a causal relationship exists between total precipitation and total water storage from GRACE. EOF modes also indicate certain regional anomalies such as the Karakoram mass gain, which represents ongoing snow accumulation. Our causality result suggests that the excessive snowfall in 2005–2008 has initiated this mass gain. However, as our results indicate, despite the dampening of snowfall rates after 2008, mass has been steadily increasing in the Karakorum, which is attributed to the flattening of the temperature anomaly curve and subsequent lower melting after 2008.

scholarly journals Estimating long-term groundwater storage and its controlling factors in Alberta, Canada

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 6241-6255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soumendra N. Bhanja ◽  
Xiaokun Zhang ◽  
Junye Wang
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Recharge ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Water Withdrawal ◽  
Groundwater Storage ◽  
Budget Analysis ◽  
Terrestrial Water ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Gravity Recovery

Abstract. Groundwater is one of the most important natural resources for economic development and environmental sustainability. In this study, we estimated groundwater storage in 11 major river basins across Alberta, Canada, using a combination of remote sensing (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment, GRACE), in situ surface water data, and land surface modeling estimates (GWSAsat). We applied separate calculations for unconfined and confined aquifers, for the first time, to represent their hydrogeological differences. Storage coefficients for the individual wells were incorporated to compute the monthly in situ groundwater storage (GWSAobs). The GWSAsat values from the two satellite-based products were compared with GWSAobs estimates. The estimates of GWSAsat were in good agreement with the GWSAobs in terms of pattern and magnitude (e.g., RMSE ranged from 2 to 14 cm). While comparing GWSAsat with GWSAobs, most of the statistical analyses provide mixed responses; however the Hodrick–Prescott trend analysis clearly showed a better performance of the GRACE-mascon estimate. The results showed trends of GWSAobs depletion in 5 of the 11 basins. Our results indicate that precipitation played an important role in influencing the GWSAobs variation in 4 of the 11 basins studied. A combination of rainfall and snowmelt positively influences the GWSAobs in six basins. Water budget analysis showed an availability of comparatively lower terrestrial water in 9 of the 11 basins in the study period. Historical groundwater recharge estimates indicate a reduction of groundwater recharge in eight basins during 1960–2009. The output of this study could be used to develop sustainable water withdrawal strategies in Alberta, Canada.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Groundwater Storage Variations in Northern China Using GRACE Data

Geofluids ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenjie Yin ◽  
Litang Hu ◽  
Jiu Jimmy Jiao
Keyword(s):  
Land Surface ◽  
Snow Water Equivalent ◽  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Dynamic Change ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Groundwater Storage ◽  
Grace Data ◽  
Depletion Rate ◽  
Terrestrial Water ◽  
Storage Change

Dynamic change of groundwater storage is one of the most important topics in the sustainable management of groundwater resources. Groundwater storage variations are firstly isolated from the terrestrial water storage change using the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS). Two datasets are used: (1) annual groundwater resources and (2) groundwater storage changes estimated from point-based groundwater level data in observation wells. Results show that the match between the GRACE-derived groundwater storage variations and annual water resources variation is not good in six river basins of Northern China. However, it is relatively good between yearly GRACE-derived groundwater storage data and groundwater storage change dataset in Huang-Huai-Hai Plain and the Song-Liao Plain. The mean annual depletion rate of groundwater storage in the Northern China was approximately 1.70 billion m3 yr−1 from 2003 to 2012. In terms of provinces, the yearly depletion rate is higher in Jing-Jin-Ji (Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei province) and lowest in Henan province from 2003 to 2012, with the rate of 0.70 and 0.21 cm yr−1 Equivalent Water Height (EWH), respectively. Different land surface models suggest that the patterns from different models almost remain the same, and soil moisture variations are generally bigger than snow water equivalent variations.

scholarly journals A framework for deriving drought indicators from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 227-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Gerdener ◽  
Olga Engels ◽  
Jürgen Kusche
Keyword(s):  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Synthetic Data ◽  
Satellite Gravity ◽  
Spatially Correlated ◽  
Grace Data ◽  
Spatial Noise ◽  
Drought Indicators ◽  
Gravity Recovery ◽  
Linear Trends

Abstract. Identifying and quantifying drought in retrospective is a necessity for better understanding drought conditions and the propagation of drought through the hydrological cycle and eventually for developing forecast systems. Hydrological droughts refer to water deficits in surface and subsurface storage, and since these are difficult to monitor at larger scales, several studies have suggested exploiting total water storage data from the GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellite gravity mission to analyze them. This has led to the development of GRACE-based drought indicators. However, it is unclear how the ubiquitous presence of climate-related or anthropogenic water storage trends found within GRACE analyses masks drought signals. Thus, this study aims to better understand how drought signals propagate through GRACE drought indicators in the presence of linear trends, constant accelerations, and GRACE-specific spatial noise. Synthetic data are constructed and existing indicators are modified to possibly improve drought detection. Our results indicate that while the choice of the indicator should be application-dependent, large differences in robustness can be observed. We found a modified, temporally accumulated version of the Zhao et al. (2017) indicator particularly robust under realistic simulations. We show that linear trends and constant accelerations seen in GRACE data tend to mask drought signals in indicators and that different spatial averaging methods required to suppress the spatially correlated GRACE noise affect the outcome. Finally, we identify and analyze two droughts in South Africa using real GRACE data and the modified indicators.

scholarly journals Groundwater Storage Changes Derived from GRACE and GLDAS on Smaller River Basins—A Case Study in Poland

Geosciences ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zofia Rzepecka ◽  
Monika Birylo
Keyword(s):  
Global Climate ◽  
Groundwater Storage ◽  
Direct Measurements ◽  
Global Land ◽  
Snow Water ◽  
Land Data Assimilation ◽  
High Consistency ◽  
Gravity Recovery ◽  
Very High

In the era of global climate change, the monitoring of water resources, including groundwater, is of fundamental importance for nature, agriculture, economy and society. The purpose of this paper is to check compliance of changes in groundwater level obtained from direct measurements in wells with groundwater storage (GWS) anomalies calculated using gravity recovery and climate experiment (GRACE) observations in Poland. Data from the global land data assimilation (GLDAS), in the form of soil moisture (SM) and snow water equivalence (SWE), were used to convert GRACE observations into a series of GWS changes. It was found that very high consistency occurs between GRACE observations and changes in water level in wells, while the GWS series obtained from GRACE and GLDAS do not provide adequate compatibility. Further research presented in the paper was devoted to attempts to explain this phenomenon. In addition, time series of GRACE, GLDAS and groundwater head series were analyzed.

The uncertainty of storage-based drought indices from GRACE

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peyman Saemian ◽  
Mohammad Javad Tourian ◽  
Nico Sneeuw
Keyword(s):  
Land Surface ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Extended Period ◽  
Drought Indices ◽  
Terrestrial Water Storage ◽  
Earth’S Gravity Field ◽  
Grace Data ◽  
Temporal And Spatial Variability ◽  
Terrestrial Water ◽  
Gravity Recovery

<p>Climate change and the growing demand for freshwater have raised the frequency and intensity of extreme events like drought. Satellite observations have improved our understanding of the temporal and spatial variability of droughts. Since March 2002, the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and its successor GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO) have been observing variations in Earth's gravity field yielding valuable information about changes in terrestrial water storage anomaly (TWSA). The terrestrial water storage vertically integrates all forms of water on and beneath land surface including snow, surface water, soil moisture, and groundwater storage.</p><p>Drought indices help to monitor drought by characterizing it in terms of their severity, location, duration and timing. Several drought indices have been developed based on GRACE water storage anomaly from a GRACE-based climatology, most of which suffer from the short record of GRACE, about 15 years, for their climatology. The limited duration of the GRACE observations necessitates the use of external datasets of TWSA with a more extended period for climatology. Drought characterization comes with its own uncertainties due to the inherent uncertainty in the GRACE data, the various post-processing approaches of GRACE data, and different options for external datasets on the other hand.</p><p>This study offers a method to quantify uncertainties for the storage-based drought index. Moreover, we assess the sensitivity of major global river basins to the duration of the observations. The outcome of the study is invaluable in the sense that it allows for a more informative storage based drought, including uncertainty, thus enabling a more realistic risk assessment.</p>

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document