scholarly journals Water Resources Studies in Headwaters of the Blue Nile Basin: A Review with Emphasis on Lake Water Balance and Hydrogeological Characterization

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 1469
Author(s):  
Alemu Yenehun ◽  
Mekete Dessie ◽  
Mulugeta Azeze ◽  
Fenta Nigate ◽  
Ashebir Sewale Belay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Balance ◽  
Lake Water ◽  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Mean Annual Precipitation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Nile Basin ◽  
Blue Nile ◽  
Aquifer System ◽  
Blue Nile Basin ◽  
Lake Water Balance

The Lake Tana Basin, comprising the largest natural lake in Ethiopia, is the source and the uppermost part of the Upper Blue Nile Basin. In this review paper, research papers, mainly on the rainfall-runoff modeling and lake water balance, and on the hydrogeology, have been reviewed. The earlier water balance estimation attempts used simple conceptual and statistical approaches and calculate on a monthly timescale. More recent research has been using advanced semi-physically or physically based distributed hydrological models. Accordingly, mean annual precipitation over the lake was estimated in the range 36.1–53.1%; lake evaporation at 45.3–57.5%; river inflow (all gauged and estimated ungauged) at 43.6–63.9%; and river (lake) water outflow at 0–9.2%. With the few isotope studies, groundwater inflow and outflow are found insignificant. Different studies had estimated groundwater recharge, ranging from 57 mm to 850 mm. The basin has a heterogenous aquifer system consisting of different volcanic rocks and alluvio-lacustrine sediments. Generally, groundwater with low TDS, Ca–Mg–HCO3 type, isotopically relatively enriched, and high TDS, Na–HCO3 type, isotopically relatively depleted, water types have been identified. In this paper, major research gaps such as aquifer hydraulic characterization, surface-groundwater interaction, groundwater flow and groundwater balance have been identified. Hence, future research shall focus on the groundwater resources, so that existing surface water studies are updated and future water usage options are explored.

Water balance of Lake Tana and its sensitivity to fluctuations in rainfall, Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia

2006 ◽  
Vol 316 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 233-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Kebede ◽  
Y. Travi ◽  
T. Alemayehu ◽  
V. Marc
Keyword(s):  
Water Balance ◽  
Nile Basin ◽  
Lake Tana ◽  
Blue Nile ◽  
Blue Nile Basin

scholarly journals Water balance modeling of Upper Blue Nile catchments using a top-down approach

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 2179-2193 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Tekleab ◽  
S. Uhlenbrook ◽  
Y. Mohamed ◽  
H. H. G. Savenije ◽  
M. Temesgen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Balance ◽  
Aridity Index ◽  
Rainfall Amount ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Nile Basin ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Blue Nile ◽  
Blue Nile Basin ◽  
High Flows ◽  
Upper Blue Nile Basin

Abstract. The water balances of twenty catchments in the Upper Blue Nile basin have been analyzed using a top-down modeling approach based on Budyko's hypotheses. The objective of this study is to obtain better understanding of water balance dynamics of upper Blue Nile catchments on annual and monthly time scales and on a spatial scale of meso scale to large scale. The water balance analysis using a Budyko-type curve at annual scale reveals that the aridity index does not exert a first order control in most of the catchments. This implies the need to increase model complexity to monthly time scale to include the effects of seasonal soil moisture dynamics. The dynamic water balance model used in this study predicts the direct runoff and other processes based on the limit concept; i.e. for dry environments since rainfall amount is small, the aridity index approaches to infinity or equivalently evaporation approaches rainfall and for wet environments where the rainfall amount is large, the aridity index approaches to zero and actual evaporation approaches the potential evaporation. The uncertainty of model parameters has been assessed using the GLUE (Generalized Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation) methodology. The results show that the majority of the parameters are reasonably well identifiable. However, the baseflow recession constant was poorly identifiable. Parameter uncertainty and model structural errors could be the reason for the poorly identifiable parameter. Moreover, a multi-objective model calibration strategy has been employed to emphasize the different aspects of the hydrographs on low and high flows. The model has been calibrated and validated against observed streamflow time series and it shows good performance for the twenty study catchments in the upper Blue Nile. During the calibration period (1995–2000) the Nash and Sutcliffe efficiency (E NS) for monthly flow prediction varied between 0.52 to 0.93 (dominated by high flows), while it varied between 0.32 to 0.90 using logarithms of flow series (indicating the goodness of low flow simulations). The model is parsimonious and it is suggested that the calibrated parameters could be used after some more regionalization efforts to predict monthly stream flows in ungauged catchments of the Upper Blue Nile basin, which is the vast majority of catchments in that region.

Water balance of a lake with floodplain buffering: Lake Tana, Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia

2015 ◽  
Vol 522 ◽  
pp. 174-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mekete Dessie ◽  
Niko E.C. Verhoest ◽  
Valentijn R.N. Pauwels ◽  
Enyew Adgo ◽  
Jozef Deckers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Balance ◽  
Nile Basin ◽  
Lake Tana ◽  
Blue Nile ◽  
Blue Nile Basin

scholarly journals Impacts of climate change on Blue Nile flows using bias-corrected GCM scenarios

2009 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 551-565 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. E. Elshamy ◽  
I. A. Seierstad ◽  
A. Sorteberg
Keyword(s):  
Water Balance ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
Runoff Coefficient ◽  
Nile Basin ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Blue Nile ◽  
Blue Nile Basin ◽  
Ensemble Mean ◽  
Upper Blue Nile Basin

Abstract. This study analyses the output of 17 general circulation models (GCMs) included in the 4th IPCC assessment report. Downscaled precipitation and potential (reference crop) evapotranspiration (PET) scenarios for the 2081–2098 period were constructed for the upper Blue Nile basin. These were used to drive a fine-scale hydrological model of the Nile Basin to assess their impacts on the flows of the upper Blue Nile at Diem, which accounts for about 60% of the mean annual discharge of the Nile at Dongola. There is no consensus among the GCMs on the direction of precipitation change. Changes in total annual precipitation range between −15% to +14% but more models report reductions (10) than those reporting increases (7). Several models (6) report small changes within 5%. The ensemble mean of all models shows almost no change in the annual total rainfall. All models predict the temperature to increase between 2°C and 5°C and consequently PET to increase by 2–14%. Changes to the water balance are assessed using the Budyko framework. The basin is shown to belong to a moisture constrained regime. However, during the wet season the basin is largely energy constrained. For no change in rainfall, increasing PET thus leads to a reduced wet season runoff coefficient. The ensemble mean runoff coefficient (about 20% for baseline simulations) is reduced by about 3.5%. Assuming no change or moderate changes in rainfall, the simulations presented here indicate that the water balance of the upper Blue Nile basin may become more moisture constrained in the future.

scholarly journals Water balance modeling of Upper Blue Nile catchments using a top-down approach

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 6851-6886 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Tekleab ◽  
S. Uhlenbrook ◽  
Y. Mohamed ◽  
H. H. G. Savenije ◽  
S. Ayalew ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Balance ◽  
Model Complexity ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Nile Basin ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Ungauged Catchments ◽  
Blue Nile ◽  
Blue Nile Basin ◽  
High Flows ◽  
Upper Blue Nile Basin

Abstract. The hydrological behavior and functioning of twenty catchments in the Upper Blue Nile basin have been analyzed using a top-down modeling approach that is based on Budyko's hypotheses. The objective is to obtain better understanding of catchment response for prediction in ungauged catchments. The water balance analysis using Budyko-type curve at annual scale reveals that the aridity index does not exert a first order control in most of the catchments. This implies the need to increase model complexity to a monthly time scale to include the effects of seasonal soil moisture dynamics. The dynamic water balance model used in this study predicts the direct runoff and other processes based on limit concept. The uncertainty of model parameters has been assessed using the GLUE (Generalized Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation). The results show that the majority of the parameters are reasonably well identifiable. Moreover, a multi-objective model calibration strategy has been employed within the GLUE framework to emphasize the different aspects of the hydrographs on low and high flows. The model has been calibrated and validated against observed streamflow time series and it shows good performance for the twenty catchments of the upper Blue Nile. During the calibration period (1995–2000) the Nash and Sutcliffe coefficient of efficiency for monthly flow prediction varied between 0.52 to 0.93 during high flows, while it varied between 0.32 to 0.90 during low flows (logarithms of flow series). The model is parsimonious and it is suggested that the resulting parameters can be used to predict monthly stream flows in the ungauged catchments of the Upper Blue Nile basin, which accounts about 60% of total Nile basin flow.

scholarly journals Multi-Dimensional Drought Assessment in Abbay/Upper Blue Nile Basin: The Importance of Shared Management and Regional Coordination Efforts for Mitigation

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1835
Author(s):  
Yared Bayissa ◽  
Semu Moges ◽  
Assefa Melesse ◽  
Tsegaye Tadesse ◽  
Anteneh Z. Abiy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Earth Observation ◽  
Drought Indices ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
Nile Basin ◽  
Blue Nile ◽  
Blue Nile Basin ◽  
Small Streams ◽  
Upper Blue Nile Basin

Drought is one of the least understood and complex natural hazards often characterized by a significant decrease in water availability for a prolonged period. It can be manifested in one or more forms as meteorological, agricultural, hydrological, and/or socio-economic drought. The overarching objective of this study is to demonstrate and characterize the different forms of droughts and to assess the multidimensional nature of drought in the Abbay/ Upper Blue Nile River (UBN) basin and its national and regional scale implications. In this study, multiple drought indices derived from in situ and earth observation-based hydro-climatic variables were used. The meteorological drought was characterized using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) computed from the earth observation-based gridded CHIRPS (Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station) rainfall data. Agricultural and hydrological droughts were characterized by using the Soil Moisture Deficit Index (SMDI) and Standardized Runoff-discharge Index (SRI), respectively. The monthly time series of SMDI was derived from model-based gridded soil moisture and SRI from observed streamflow data from 1982 to 2019. The preliminary result illustrates the good performance of the drought indices in capturing the historic severe drought events (e.g., 1984 and 2002) and the spatial extents across the basin. The results further indicated that all forms of droughts (i.e., meteorological, agricultural, and hydrological) occurred concurrently in Abbay/Upper Blue Nile basin with a Pearson correlation coefficient ranges from 0.5 to 0.85 both Kiremt and annual aggregate periods. The concurrent nature of drought is leading to a multi-dimensional socio-economic crisis as indicated by rainfall, and soil moisture deficits, and drying of small streams. Multi-dimensional drought mitigation necessitates regional cooperation and watershed management to protect both the common water sources of the Abbay/Upper Blue Nile basin and the socio-economic activities of the society in the basin. This study also underlines the need for multi-scale drought monitoring and management practices in the basin.

scholarly journals Changes in ecosystem service values strongly influenced by human activities in contrasting agro-ecological environments

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mulatu Liyew Berihun ◽  
Atsushi Tsunekawa ◽  
Nigussie Haregeweyn ◽  
Mitsuru Tsubo ◽  
Ayele Almaw Fenta
Keyword(s):  
Population Growth ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Cultivated Land ◽  
Nile Basin ◽  
Grazing Land ◽  
Blue Nile ◽  
Lulc Changes ◽  
Blue Nile Basin ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Upper Blue Nile Basin

Abstract Background Evaluating the impacts of land-use/land-cover (LULC) changes on ecosystem service values (ESVs) is essential for sustainable use and management of ecosystems. In this study, we evaluated the impact of human activity driven LULC changes on ESVs over the period 1982–2016/17 in contrasting agro-ecological environments: Guder (highland), Aba Gerima (midland), and Debatie (lowland) watersheds of the Upper Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia. Results During the study period, the continuous expansion of cultivated land at the expense of natural vegetation (bushland, forest, and grazing land) severely reduced the total ESV by about US$ 58 thousand (35%) in Aba Gerima and US$ 31 thousand (29%) in Debatie watersheds. In contrast, the unprecedented expansion of plantations, mainly through the planting of Acacia decurrens, led, from 2006, to a ESV rebound by about US$ 71 thousand (54%) in Guder watershed, after it had decreased by about US$ 61 thousand (32%) between 1982 and 2006. The reduction in natural forest area was the major contributor to the loss of total ESV in the study watersheds, ranging from US$ 31 thousand (63%) in Debatie to US$ 96.9 thousand (70%) in Guder between 1982 and 2016/17. On an area-specific basis, LULC changes reduced the average ESV from US$ 560 ha−1 year−1 (1982) in Guder to US$ 306 ha−1 year−1 (2017) in Debatie watersheds. Specific ESVs such as provisioning (mainly as food production) and regulating services (mainly as erosion control and climate regulation) accounted for most of the total ESVs estimated for the study watersheds. Conclusions In most cases, the total and specific ESVs of the watersheds were negatively associated with the population growth, which in turn was positively associated with the expansion of cultivated land over the study period. In Guder, however, ESVs were positively associated with population growth, especially after 2012. This is mainly due to the expansion of Acacia decurrens plantations. Our results suggest, therefore, that future policy measures and directions should focus on improving vegetation cover through planting multipurpose trees such as Acacia decurrens to prevent future loss of ESV in the midland and lowland regions of the Upper Blue Nile basin and beyond. However, caution must be taken during plantation of invasive species as they may have undesirable consequences.

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