Update on Powell Research Group Study Integrating GRACE Satellite Data, Regional Groundwater Models, and In-Situ Data to Assess Water Storage Changes in Major Aquifers in the U.S.
Abstract
Groundwater is a critical resource, providing drinking water for 50% of the United States population, a source of 70% of the irrigation water, a buffer during drought, is critical to economic development, and provides a natural recharge source for wetlands, lakes, and rivers. The goal of the USGS/NSF Powell Research Group is to integrate remotely-sensed information on water storage changes into regional water resource assessments by combining GRACE satellite data with national and regional groundwater models and ground-based monitoring data. Analyses to date include estimation of spatiotemporal variability in water storages and identification of long-term trends and seasonal fluctuations in several major aquifers (Central Gulf Coast, Central Valley, Columbia, Edwards Trinity, High Plains, and Mississippi Embayment). Groundwater storage was estimated by subtracting water budget component storages from the total water storage changes derived from GRACE; these components include snow (SNODAS), surface water from ground-based monitoring, and soil moisture from land surface models (GLDAS, NLDAS) and global hydrologic models (PCR-GLOBWB and WGHM). Water storage trends respond to droughts, particularly in the Central Valley and High Plains aquifers, and wet periods, including in the Columbia and Snake River aquifers. Comparison of storage trends from GRACE and regional models suggests that some of the models may overestimate groundwater storage trends by underestimating stream capture. The study highlights the value of the additional data from GRACE satellites for constraining uncertainties in water storage changes in major aquifers. The approaches used should be valuable for incorporating new data from the GRACE Follow-On mission as they become available into water resource assessments.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AGUFM.H51M1477R
- Keywords:
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- 1836 Hydrological cycles and budgets;
- HYDROLOGYDE: 1847 Modeling;
- HYDROLOGYDE: 1855 Remote sensing;
- HYDROLOGYDE: 1873 Uncertainty assessment;
- HYDROLOGY