The Response of Groundwater Level to Climate Change and Human Activities in Baotou City, China

Yingjie Cui,Yongfu Wei,Yifan Song,Huiwen Liu,Zilong Liao,Xiaomin Xu

doi:10.3390/w12041078

Yingjie Cui, Yongfu Wei + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/w12041078

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Abstract

The response mechanism of groundwater to climate change and human activities in cities within arid and semi-arid regions, such as the Urban Planning Area of Baotou City (UPABC), northern China, is a complicated problem to understand. We analyzed the climate change relationships, including precipitation and temperature, and analyzed changes in human activities, such as groundwater consumption, and then statistically analyzed the main factors affecting groundwater depth. Furthermore, cross-wavelet and wavelet coherence methods were used to analyze the response relationship and hysteresis of groundwater depth to precipitation to better understand the groundwater depth response law. The results showed that the annual precipitation in the UPABC reduction rate was 3.3 mm/10 yr, and the annual average temperature increase rate was 0.43 °C/10 yr, from 1981 to 2017. The unconfined water decrease rate was 0.50 m/yr, and the confined water decrease rate was 0.7 m/yr. The unconfined and confined water depths were affected by precipitation and groundwater exploitation, respectively, with correlation coefficients of 0.58 and 0.57, respectively. The hysteresis of groundwater depth to precipitation was about 9–14 months. However, changes in groundwater depth, especially confined water depth, were greatly affected by groundwater exploitation. This reflected the imbalance in consumption and recharges in the UPABC, highlighting the long-term risk in areas relying on access to this resource. Therefore, arid inland zones of northern China, such as the UPABC, should pay more attention to the rational development of groundwater and strengthen the management and protection of groundwater resources.

Highlights

Groundwater is an almost ubiquitous source of generally high-quality freshwater
The rate of incline of water depth in confined water had been relatively stable for many years, and the fluctuation of unconfined water depth was large. This indicated that the unconfined water depth was more strongly affected by external influences than the confined water, which was related to the relative change of precipitation and evaporation in adjacent years
The results of this study showed that the depth of unconfined water in most areas had remained the same or decreased, whereas the depth of confined water in most areas increased significantly

Summary

Introduction

Groundwater is an almost ubiquitous source of generally high-quality freshwater. These characteristics have promoted its widespread exploitation and utilization, which can be scaled and localized to demand, removing the need for substantial infrastructure [1]. Groundwater is the source of one-third of all freshwater exploitation, supplying an estimated 36%, 42%, and 27% of the water used for domestic, agricultural, and industrial purposes, respectively [2]. The increasing use of groundwater for human consumption and irrigation has resulted in the lowering of groundwater levels in large parts of the world [3,4,5]. Surface water resources are scarce in arid and semi-arid regions, and, groundwater resources are valuable [6,7].

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Discussion

Conclusion