Estimates of groundwater depletion under extreme drought in the Brazilian semi-arid region using GRACE satellite data: application for a small-scale aquifer

The temporal and spatial monitoring of groundwater levels is among the most widely used techniques for understanding groundwater reserves, which is essential for the management of regions with drought-related issues. Between 2010 and 2017, the Brazilian semi-arid region suffered a severe drought, pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Hydrogeology journal Vol. 27; no. 8; pp. 2789 - 2802
Main Authors:	Melati, Maurício D., Fleischmann, Ayan S., Fan, Fernando M., Paiva, Rodrigo C. D., Athayde, Gustavo B.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-12-2019 Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:	Aquatic Pollution Aquifer storage Aquifer systems Aquifers Arid regions Arid zones Climate Correlation coefficient Correlation coefficients Data Data assimilation Data collection Drought Earth and Environmental Science Earth Sciences Experiments Extreme drought Extreme weather Geology Geophysics/Geodesy GRACE (experiment) GRACE satellite Gravity Groundwater Groundwater data Groundwater depletion Groundwater levels Groundwater storage Hydrogeology Hydrology/Water Resources Monitoring Outcrops Potential resources Recovery Reserves Satellite data Satellites Sedimentary basins Semi arid areas Semiarid lands Semiarid zones Soil Soil moisture Spherical harmonics Waste Water Technology Water Management Water monitoring Water Pollution Control Water Quality/Water Pollution Water storage Satellite imagery Brazil Groundwater monitoring Arid regions
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Summary:	The temporal and spatial monitoring of groundwater levels is among the most widely used techniques for understanding groundwater reserves, which is essential for the management of regions with drought-related issues. Between 2010 and 2017, the Brazilian semi-arid region suffered a severe drought, presenting intensity and societal impacts undetected in decades. This research aimed to understand how Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data can be used as a tool for monitoring groundwater reserves in one of the most important aquifers in the Araripe Sedimentary Basin (Middle Aquifer System), located in a developing region with scarce amounts of data, and where 84,000,000 m 3 of groundwater is abstracted annually through pumping. Groundwater storage (GWS) in-situ data were related to GWS estimates based on a combination of GRACE-based terrestrial water storage (TWS with both mascon and spherical harmonic solutions) and Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) soil moisture (CLM, MOS, NOAH and VIC models were evaluated). Results were analyzed with Nash-Sutcliffe (NS) and Pearson correlation coefficient metrics, and showed that the GWS GRACE-based estimate using the Community Land Model (CLM) land-surface model was more suitable for representing aquifer storage variations. Seven wells (58%) demonstrated a NS > 0.50 for both GWS GRACE-based solutions. In conclusion, GWS GRACE-based methodology has potential for monitoring the 1,394-km 2 outcrop area of the Middle Aquifer System.
ISSN:	1431-2174 1435-0157
DOI:	10.1007/s10040-019-02065-1