Response of Groundwater Storage and Recharge in the Qaidam Basin (Tibetan Plateau) to Climate Variations From 2002 to 2016

Abstract

AbstractGroundwater (GW) and recharge as the main drivers of the water budget are challenging to quantify due to the complexity of hydrological processes and limited observations. Understanding these processes in relation to climate is crucial for evaluating future water availability of Tibetan Plateau. By computing storage changes in Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment terrestrial water storage and Global Land Surface Data Assimilation System land surface state variables and water balance approach, we calculated GW storage changes and recharges. In the Qaidam Basin (northern Tibetan Plateau), terrestrial water storage from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment revealed a significant increasing trend of 25.5 mm/year during 2002–2012. However, an obviously turning point was found around 2012 and terrestrial water storage revealed a significant decreasing rate of 37.9 mm/year during 2013–2016. Similarly, GW (recharge) had a significant increasing trend of 21.2 (4.5) mm/year before 2012 and a decreasing rate of 32.1 (10.9) mm/year after 2012. Domain‐averaged difference (P‐ET) between precipitation (P) and evapotranspiration (ET) also exhibited an increasing trend of 4.4 mm/year during 2002–2012 and a decreasing rate of 9.0 mm/year during 2013–2016. Precipitation followed dissimilar pattern with an increasing rate of 5.3 mm/year during 2002–2012 while no significant trend during 2013–2016. However, ET had a consistent increasing trend over the basin during the past 15 years (0.9 mm/year before 2012 and 9.0 mm/year thereafter). This study concluded that GW amount and distribution is mainly controlled by precipitation and ET. Decrease in precipitation at high elevations and increase in ET may impact future groundwater availability in this region.