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Mapping depleting aquifers in drylands and the impact on net primary productivity
Author
Gilbert, WQ
Washington-Allen, RA
Publisher
XII International Rangeland Congress
Publication Year
2025
Body

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite can measure changes in the height of the water table within 1 cm, unfortunately, GRACE has a horizontal pixel resolution of 40 km X 40 km. We selectively applied a GRACE-based downscaling approach to model the change in the height of groundwater from 2003 to 2017 within distinct groupings of hydrographic basins. We determined that the existence of distinct hydrographic systems at spatial scales smaller than the scale of GRACE pixels does not appear to preclude this downscaling methodology. We then compared this change in the height of the water table over the entire state of Nevada to a net primary productivity (NPP) disturbance map of the frequency of drought on the landscape. We found no significant correlation between disturbance frequency and the modeled change in water table height, implying that aquifer overdraw is not predictive of a reduced ability for the landscape to resist disturbance.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Additional Information
This paper is part of the larger XII International Rangelands Congress Proceedings. Page Numbers: 439-443. Theme: Theme 3 / Rangeland mapping technologies and tools
ISSN
978-0-646-72121-7
Conference Name
International Rangeland Congress
Collection
International Rangelands Congress
Keywords
Carbon Dynamics
Gravimetry
Groundwater
Remote Sensing