Exploring the connectivity between glacier melt, groundwater and climate change in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru

Abstract

Glacier melt is known to provide an important source of water to streamflow in glacierized tropical regions, especially during the dry season. Groundwater also contributes a significant amount to streamflow. However, the linkage between the two is often unclear: How much groundwater originates from glacier melt? More broadly, how will groundwater and surface water contributions to streamflow change as glaciers retreat and climate changes? We developed a glacio-hydrological model in the Cold Region Hydrological Modelling platform to explore the complex interactions among the cryosphere, surface water, and groundwater in Peru's Cordillera Blanca, specifically in the Quilcayhuanca valley. The model uses meteorological observations from the valley and is parameterized using numerous data sources and process-based studies in the valley. Our findings reveal that during the dry season, 24 % of streamflow is routed through the groundwater reservoir, increasing to 40 % during the lowest flows. In a simulation without glaciers, streamflow discharge decreases by 34 % during the wet season and by 54 % during the dry season, with the groundwater contribution to streamflow decreasing by 55 % and 52 % for the wet and dry seasons, respectively. This simplified approach suggests that approximately half of the annual groundwater contribution to the stream originates from glacier wastage. We conducted sensitivity scenarios to evaluate the basin's resilience to the range of possible changes in precipitation, temperature and glacier cover expected by 2100. In a nearly deglaciated basin, the sensitivity to the range of tested temperature (+0 to 5 °C) produced a streamflow ranging from -60 to -49 % of current conditions in the dry season, and the range of tested precipitation (-20 % to +20 %) produced a streamflow ranging between -78 to -35 % of current conditions, indicating a larger sensitivity to potential changes in precipitation. Expected ratio changes were smaller during the wet season but followed a similar pattern. In the most likely scenarios by 2100, under RCP 8.5, wet season streamflow is predicted to decrease by 17 to 27 %, and dry season streamflow by 28 to 52 %. Despite a substantial decline in snow and ice contributions under climate change and deglaciation, the groundwater zone's contribution to streamflow shows relatively minor changes, demonstrating the low sensitivity of the groundwater system to climate shifts and glacier variations.