Estimation of groundwater level and storage changes using innovative trend analysis (ITA), GRACE data, and google earth engine (GEE)

Abstract

Groundwater is the supreme source of fresh water and the third-largest water resource around the world. But in recent decades, groundwater-related issues in Manbhum Singhbhum Plateau have been significantly increasing day by day. In this plateau region, overuse of groundwater and inappropriate irrigation has greatly harmed the ecosystem, triggering salinity, increasing contamination of groundwater. Therefore, it is essential to estimate the magnitude of groundwater storage changes and water table fluctuation in both pre and post-monsoon seasons in this plateau fringe. The principal objectives of this study are i) to investigate groundwater level changes in the last two decades using observed water level data and ii) to estimate groundwater storage changes using satellite-derived datasets in a hard rock terrain region of India. The Innovative Trend Analysis (ITA) technique has been applied for its better visual interpretation and advantage in serial correlation than the traditional Mann-Kendell test. Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) gridded data have been processed to obtain a time series trend of mean Equivalent Water Thickness (EWT) and soil moisture has been estimated in Google Earth Engine (GEE). Therefore, soil moisture is subtracted from terrestrial water storage (TWS) to estimate the changes in groundwater storage (GWS) in this plateau fringe. ITA result indicates that approximately 40% and 67.5% of monitoring sites had seriously dropping tendencies of groundwater table in pre and post-monsoon seasons respectively. Simultaneously, maximum groundwater storage (9.484 cm) occurred in Jul 2004 (wet months) whereas a minimum of −30.21 in March 2016 (dry months). Overall results indicate massive decline in groundwater table and groundwater storage. The main reasons for these alarming challenges are geological structure and excessive extraction of groundwater for drinking and irrigation purposes. These research findings will help to further investigations and perform crucial well-organized management of water resources in this part of Manbhum-Singhbhum Plateau.