Abstract
Groundwater is important for daily life, because it is the largest freshwater source for domestic use and industrial consumption. Sustainable groundwater depends on many parameters: climate change is one factor, which leads to floods and droughts. Distribution of groundwater age indicates groundwater velocity, recharge rate and risk assessment. We developed transient 3D mathematical models, i.e., MODFLOW and MODPATH, to measure the distributions of groundwater age, impacted by climate change (IPSL-CM5A-MR), based on representative concentration pathways, defined in terms of atmospheric CO2 concentration, e.g., 2.6 to 8.5, for the periods 2020 to 2099. The distributions of groundwater age varied from 100 to 100,000 years, with the mean groundwater age ~11,000 years, generated by climate led change in recharge to and pumping from the groundwater. Interestingly, under increasing recharge scenarios, the mean age, in the groundwater age distribution, decreased slightly in the shallow aquifers, but increased in deep aquifers, indicating that the new water was in shallow aquifers. On the other hand, under decreasing recharge scenarios, groundwater age increased significantly, both shallow and deep aquifers, because the decrease in recharge caused longer residence times and lower velocity flows. However, the overall mean groundwater age gradually increased, because the groundwater mixed in both shallow and deep aquifers. Decreased recharge, in simulation, led to increased groundwater age; thus groundwater may become a nonrenewable groundwater. Nonrenewable groundwater should be carefully managed, because, if old groundwater is pumped, it cannot be restored, with a detriment to human life.
Highlights
IntroductionWater plays an important role for life, especially groundwater—the largest freshwater source
Water plays an important role for life, especially groundwater—the largest freshwater source.It is a source of freshwater for human consumption, agriculture and industry, especially during periods of critical drought and disaster [1]
Under increasing recharge scenarios, the mean age, in the groundwater age distribution, decreased slightly in the shallow aquifers, but increased in deep aquifers, indicating that the new water was in shallow aquifers
Summary
Water plays an important role for life, especially groundwater—the largest freshwater source. It is a source of freshwater for human consumption, agriculture and industry, especially during periods of critical drought and disaster [1]. Climate change impacts every region, such as agriculture and water resources [2,3,4]. Tropical climate changes strongly affect groundwater quality and quantity [10,11,12,13], due to the strongly alternating hot and rainy conditions, indicating that climate change directly impacts both temperature and rainfall, which, in turn, affects recharge and hydraulic head [14,15]. The change in groundwater resource under climate change has been studied; for example, Jackson et al [16] used the A2 emission scenario of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) General Circulation Models (GCMs), which assumed a population growth of 15 billion by 2100 and a significant decline in fertility
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
