Simulating River/Lake–Groundwater Exchanges in Arid River Basins: An Improvement Constrained by Lake Surface Area Dynamics and Evapotranspiration

Abstract

Surface water–groundwater interactions in arid zones are characterized by water exchange processes in a complex system comprising intermittent streams/terminal lakes, shallow aquifers, riparian zone evapotranspiration, and groundwater withdrawal. Notable challenges arise when simulating such hydrological systems; for example, field observations are scarce, and hydrogeological parameters exhibit considerable spatial heterogeneity. To reduce the simulation uncertainties, in addition to groundwater head and river discharge measurements, we adopted remote sensing-based evapotranspiration data and lake area dynamics as known conditions to calibrate the model. We chose the Ejina Basin, located in the lower reaches of the Heihe River Basin in arid northwest China, as the study area to validate our modelling approach. The hydrological system of this basin is characterized by intensive, spatiotemporally variable surface water–groundwater interactions. The areas of the terminal lakes into which all river runoff flows vary significantly depending on the ratio between river runoff and lake evaporation. Simulation results with a monthly time step from 2000 to 2017 indicate that river leakage accounted for approximately 61% of the total river runoff. Our study shows that for areas where surface water and groundwater observations are sparse, combining remote sensing product data of surface water areas and evapotranspiration can effectively reduce the uncertainty in coupled surface water and groundwater simulations.

Unravelling long-term impact of water abstraction and climate change on endorheic lakes: A case study of Shortandy Lake in Central Asia

“…Modflow, SUTRA) requires observed groundwater levels, accurately assessed hydraulic parameters, and well-defined boundary conditions. The lack of these parameters presents significant challenges for groundwater modelling, leading to increased uncertainties that affect the interaction between surface and groundwater, resulting in notable uncertainties in the total water budget [ 103 ]. Many studies use remote sensing data (e.g.…”

Mechanism controlling groundwater chemistry in the hyper-arid basin with intermittent river flow: insights from long-term observations (2001–2023) in the lower Heihe River, Northwest China

“…The Ejina Delta is filled with unconsolidated Quaternary sediments, extending to a depth of several hundred meters (Wu et al, 2002). These sediments exhibit a gradual transition from coarse sand and gravel-pebble deposits to medium and fine sands from the southwest to the northeast within the study area (Wang et al, 2013;Yao et al, 2015;Vasilevskiy et al, 2022). Frontiers in Environmental Science frontiersin.org…”

Spatio-Temporal Evolution of Inland Lakes and Their Relationship with Hydro-Meteorological Factors in Horqin Sandy Land, China

“…The results of the present study show that the shrinking rate of the lake surface area in Horqin Sandy Land was similar to that of Mu Us Sandy Land from 1994 to 1997. However, there was a brief increase in the lake surface area from 1997 to 1999, which was mainly related to different hydrological conditions and transport rules in the region [6,45]. Thus, future research needs to strengthen the simulation and analysis of regional-scale hydrological processes, such that the internal mechanism of lake evolution in sandy land can be clarified.…”