Spatial and temporal dynamics of deep percolation, lag time and recharge in an irrigated semi-arid region

Nazarieh, Farzaneh; Ansari, Hossein; Ziaei, Ali Naghi; Izady, Azizallah; Davari, K; Brunner, Philip

doi:10.1007/s10040-018-1789-z

Cited by 23 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Note also that the arrival of a recharge pulse may be significantly faster than that of the recharged water, as pressure waves move more quickly through the subsurface than water and solutes. Moreover, lag times likely vary based on deep percolation rates and soil moisture conditions prior to the growing season, as seen in other systems (Nazarieh et al., 2018). Here, we focus on the net aquifer balance between water extracted for pumping and drainage below the root zone, or deep percolation, assuming it will eventually reach the water table.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combining Remote Sensing and Crop Models to Assess the Sustainability of Stakeholder‐Driven Groundwater Management in the US High Plains Aquifer

Deines

Kendall

Butler

et al. 2021

Water Resources Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combining Remote Sensing and Crop Models to Assess the Sustainability of Stakeholder‐Driven Groundwater Management in the US High Plains Aquifer

Deines

Kendall

Butler

et al. 2021

Water Resources Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The model simulates flow through variably saturated porous media using the unsaturated zone flow (UZF) package, which uses a kinematic-wave approximation to solve the 1-D Richard's equation (Niswonger et al, 2006;Smith, 1983;Smith & Hebbert, 1983). While numerous models can simulate variably saturated flow, the UZF package for MODFLOW has several advantages for our purposes, including documented use in thick vadose zones (Hunt et al, 2008;Nazarieh et al, 2018), computational efficiency (Kennedy et al, 2016;Niswonger & Prudic, 2009), and widespread use (Bailey et al, 2013;Hou et al, 2020;Morway et al, 2013).…”

Section: Model Construction and Input Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying the impact of lagged hydrological responses on the effectiveness of groundwater conservation

Glose¹,

Zipper²,

Hyndman³

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Many irrigated agricultural areas seek strategies to prolong the lifespan of their groundwater resources. However, it is unclear how lagged responses, such as reduced groundwater recharge caused by more efficient irrigation, may impact the ultimate effectiveness of these initiatives. Here, we use a variably saturated groundwater model to: 1) analyze aquifer responses to pumping reductions, 2) quantify time lags between reductions and water level responses, and 3) identify the physical controls on lagged responses. We explore a range of plausible model parameters for an area of the High Plains Aquifer (USA) where stakeholderdriven conservation has slowed groundwater depletion. We identify two types of lagged responses that reduce the long-term effectiveness of groundwater conservation. When vertical hydraulic conductivity (Kz) is > 3.5 x 10 -3 m d -1 , more efficient irrigation reduces groundwater recharge on sub-decadal timescales (recharge-dominated response). By contrast, when Kz is < 3.5 x 10 -3 m d -1 , changes in recharge are negligible, but pumping reductions alter the lateral flow between the groundwater conservation area and the surrounding regions over decadal timescales (lateral-flow-dominated response). For the modeled area, we found that a pumping reduction of 30% resulted in median usable lifetime extensions of 20 or 25 years, depending on the dominant lagged response mechanism (recharge-vs. lateral-flow-dominated). These estimates are far shorter than estimates made without accounting for the lagged responses. Our results indicate that conservation-based pumping reductions can extend aquifer lifespans, but lagged responses can create a sizable difference between the initial and long-term effectiveness of those conservation measures.

show abstract

“…As transition and ultimately disconnection was reached, variation relative to total head difference diminished, suggesting that unsaturated conditions persisted below the riverbed even during irrigation season. This is because, as noted by Shanafield et al (), the presence and amount of unsaturated zone storage is the key difference between connected and disconnected systems, and unsaturated flow and storage impact both infiltration and groundwater recharge (Cook, ; Nazarieh et al, ; Noorduijn et al, ; Shanafield & Cook, ; Villeneuve et al, ). Implied also is that, in addition to drought and surface water declines, annual groundwater extractions from well pumping in the Rincon Valley can and at times did occur at rates well beyond annual recharge from the river (Fuchs et al, ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying Disconnection of Groundwater From Managed‐Ephemeral Surface Water During Drought and Conjunctive Agricultural Use

Fuchs

King

Carroll

2019

Water Resources Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The physics of disconnection between interrelated surface and groundwater has evolved considerably in recent years, especially since conjunctive use of water resources is increasingly dependent on groundwater resilience, but methods to measure disconnection on a river basin scale are lacking especially for managed‐ephemeral and irrigated‐agricultural systems. Multiyear drought limited surface water along Rincon Valley within the Elephant Butte Irrigation District (EBID) in the arid, Lower Rio Grande Basin of south‐central New Mexico, USA, and effects were compounded by continued extraction of groundwater to meet crop requirements. Average year‐end water table elevations in recent years have been below the average elevation of the riverbed, indicating potential disconnection between the river and the aquifer even when the river flows during the irrigation season. This study analyzed data from EBID groundwater monitoring wells adjacent to the river, infiltration determined from river flows, and riverbed measurements along the Rincon Valley reach to determine net annual seepage discharge to the aquifer and annual average pressure head below the river. Annual assessment from 2010 to 2017 confirmed that the drought shifted the system from connection to transition and then to disconnection. Nonlinear regression was used to quantify this shift to disconnection and back, enabled determination of several disconnection process metrics, and was also used to confirm that nonlinear disconnection behavior was reversible without significant hysteresis. The method developed herein confirms that the total head difference transition threshold can be determined from river/riparian monitoring sites over reach to basin scales.

show abstract

Spatial and temporal dynamics of deep percolation, lag time and recharge in an irrigated semi-arid region

Cited by 23 publications

References 35 publications

Combining Remote Sensing and Crop Models to Assess the Sustainability of Stakeholder‐Driven Groundwater Management in the US High Plains Aquifer

Combining Remote Sensing and Crop Models to Assess the Sustainability of Stakeholder‐Driven Groundwater Management in the US High Plains Aquifer

Quantifying the impact of lagged hydrological responses on the effectiveness of groundwater conservation

Quantifying Disconnection of Groundwater From Managed‐Ephemeral Surface Water During Drought and Conjunctive Agricultural Use

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About