Using GRACE to quantify the depletion of terrestrial water storage in Northeastern Brazil: The Urucuia Aquifer System

Gonçalves, Roger Dias; Stollberg, Reiner; Weiß, Holger; Chang, Hung Kiang

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135845

Cited by 37 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…On average, the UAS discharged 792 m 3 s -1 to the SFR in 1980, however this contribution has decreased continuously to 390 m 3 s -1 in 2015 [70]. In addition, previous studies showed that groundwater storage tended to decrease in -6.5 ± 2.6 mm y -1 (9.75 km 3 ) in the UAS over the 2003-2014 period [69]. Therefore,…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…The decrease in baseflow can be partly related to groundwater irrigation from the Urucuia Aquifer System (UAS). The UAS is an sedimentary aquifer that covers an area of 125,000 km 2 and is an important source of water to the SFR, especially during dry seasons [69]. The UAS is located in most part over the western Bahia State by the left bank of SFR and covers the MATOPIBA region.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Significant baseflow reduction in the Sao Francisco River Basin

Lucas¹,

Kublik²,

Rodrigues³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Water scarcity is a key challenge to global development. In Brazil, the Sao Francisco River Basin (SFB) has experienced water scarcity problems because of decreasing streamflow and increasing demands from multiple sectors. However, the drivers of decreased streamflow, particularly the potential role of surface-groundwater interaction, have not been yet investigated. Here, we assess long-term trends in baseflow, quickflow, and streamflow of the SFB during 1980–2015 and constrain the most likely drivers of observed decreases through trend analysis of precipitation (P), evapotranspiration (ET), and terrestrial water storage change (TWS). We found that over 82% of the observed decrease in streamflow can be attributed to a significant decreasing baseflow trend (< -20 m3 s-1 y-1) along the SFR with spatial agreement between decreased baseflow, increased ET, and irrigated agricultural land. We also noted a decrease in TWS across the SFB with trends exceeding -20 mm y-1. Overall, our findings indicate that decreasing groundwater contributions (i.e., baseflow) is providing the observed reduction in total SFR flow. A lack of significant P trends indicates that only P variability likely has not caused the observed baseflow reduction, mainly in the Middle and Sub-middle SFB. Therefore, groundwater and surface withdrawals may be likely a driver of water scarcity over the SFB.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Significant baseflow reduction in the Sao Francisco River Basin

Lucas¹,

Kublik²,

Rodrigues³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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show abstract

“…But other interventions, with minor contribution in terms of occupied areas, such as eucalyptus planting, may also play a role in altering the water regime, as reported in other studies [71][72][73]. Similarly, according to [57,58], water storage depletion in the Urucuia aquifer is driven by anthropogenic impacts rather than by natural climatic variability.…”

Section: Hydrological Analyses and Intense Irrigation Growthmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…The results for streamflows, unlike those for precipitation (significant results were always less than 15% of stations used), were significant for the most part (the significant results were always greater than 70% of the stations used). Moreover, recent studies on the evolution of the Urucuia Aquifer also have shown a significant decrease of its groundwater level since year 2000 [19,57,58]. As example, decrease in terrestrial water storage (TWS) (Terrestrial water storage (TWS) can be defined as the sum of all water on the earth's surface and in the subsoil.…”

Section: Hydrological Analyses and Intense Irrigation Growthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water Appropriation on the Agricultural Frontier in Western Bahia and Its Contribution to Streamflow Reduction: Revisiting the Debate in the Brazilian Cerrado

Silva

Souza

Filho

et al. 2021

Water

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Over the last three decades, almost half of the Brazilian tropical savanna (Cerrado biome) has been converted into cropland and planted pastures. This study aims to understand the implications of the expansion of the agricultural frontier for water resources in western Bahia state. We use an interdisciplinary approach that combines quantitative and qualitative data (spatial and hydrological analysis, interviews) to tie together land use changes in the Corrente basin, the streamflow and precipitation time series in the Pratudão River sub-basin (part of the Corrente basin), and the perceptions of soybean farmers and smallholder communities about the transformations of the hydrological cycle over the last few years. We observed an almost 10-fold increase in agricultural surface area in the Corrente River basin over the last three decades (1986–2018), going on from 57,090 ha to 565,084 ha, while center-pivot irrigated areas increased from 240 ha to 43,631 ha. Over this period, the streamflow has reduced by 38% in the Pratudão River. Our hydrological analyses, based on the Mann-Kendall test, of seven fluviometric stations and 14 pluviometry stations showed a statistically significant streamflow trend in the Pratudão River sub-basin for both minimum and mean streamflow series (p ≤0.05). Surface runoff coefficient, which relates streamflow and precipitation annual data coefficient, decreased from around 0.4 in the late 1990s to less than 0.2 in 2015. In addition, most precipitation time series analysis (number of annual rainy days) showed no statistically significant trend (p > 0.05). Our results indicate that agricultural changes rather than climate change may be the main driver of downward streamflow trends in the Pratudão River sub-basin that is part of Corrente River basin.

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“…Dessart et al (2020) analyzed aeromagnetic data to identify structural compartments present in aquifers. Gonçalves et al (2020) used the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data to evaluate the depletion of the Urucuia Aquifer System on the northeastern part of Brazil.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water level alterations on the southern rim of the Guarani Aquifer due to the rain regime

Osório

Moura

2021

Braz. J. Geol.

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This paper estimated the total water storage variation in the southern rim of the Guarani Aquifer System during a three-year time span, making use of data provided by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment. Monthly data were used to estimate the Bouguer anomaly in Southern Brazil. A direct modeling, using the Bouguer plateau, was applied to quantitatively estimate the water volume variation of a specific thickness in the studied region. Meteorological almanac data were compared to the gravitational alterations. We found a direct proportionality between the monthly rain average and the water table level. A simple model was found to forecast water accumulation as a function of rainfall regime, which is validated by a Pearson index of 0.82 that indicates a strong correlation between pluviometric and gravimetric data. In order to raise the stored water level near the recharge area by 1 mm, approximately 3 mm of rainfall is needed.

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Using GRACE to quantify the depletion of terrestrial water storage in Northeastern Brazil: The Urucuia Aquifer System

Cited by 37 publications

References 66 publications

Significant baseflow reduction in the Sao Francisco River Basin

Significant baseflow reduction in the Sao Francisco River Basin

Water Appropriation on the Agricultural Frontier in Western Bahia and Its Contribution to Streamflow Reduction: Revisiting the Debate in the Brazilian Cerrado

Water level alterations on the southern rim of the Guarani Aquifer due to the rain regime

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