Terrestrial Water Storage Deficit Research Articles

Drought Characterization Using the Grace Terrestrial Water Storage Deficit in Turkey

Drought Characterization Using the Grace Terrestrial Water Storage Deficit in Turkey

Hydrological Assessment of Iraq for the Period 2002-2020 Using GRACE Terrestrial Water Storage Deficit

The research examines the effectiveness of remote sensing for monitoring drought conditions, specifically focusing on the utilization of satellite missions like GRACE to detect alterations in water levels. The study analyzes GRACE data for 10 Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) grid cells alongside precipitation data from 11 meteorological stations. It employs the DrinC program to calculate the standard precipitation index (SPI) at different time intervals. Non- Non-parametric Mann-Kendall tests and Sen's slope statistics are used to determine the trend and magnitude of the GRACE-based anomaly in terrestrial water storage. The statistical findings reveal a significant decrease in Iraq's terrestrial water storage anomaly between 2007 and 2017, indicating drier climatic conditions. However, there is an increase in anomaly between 2002 and 2006, as well as from 2018 to 2020, indicating wetter conditions. The water storage deficit varies among grid cells, each exhibiting distinct characteristics and patterns. The study also highlights that more intense and prolonged droughts tend to occur in the northern and southern regions of Iraq, while the central region experiences more frequent but less severe droughts. In most grid cells, the Mann-Kendall test illustrates a substantial decrease in the water storage deficit index and a significant increase in SPI-06. On the other hand, only one grid cell shows a noticeable precipitation trend. Comparatively, trends in the water storage deficit index and SPI-06 are similar. Overall, the water storage deficit and its index prove valuable in predicting drought severity in locations lacking hydrological measurements.

Reconstructing a new terrestrial water storage deficit index to detect and quantify drought in the Yangtze River Basin

With the intensification of global climate change, droughts have frequently been occurring in the Yangtze River Basin (YRB), significantly affecting the production patterns, lives, and socioeconomic development of humans. Drought characteristics must be comprehensively identified and quantified to reduce the damage caused by droughts in the YRB. The spatiotemporal variability of precipitation, runoff, soil moisture, groundwater change (GWSC) and terrestrial water storage change (TWSC) in the YRB was comprehensively estimated using the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), hydrological and in situ observations by decomposing the variabilities into seasonal, sub-seasonal, trend, and interannual. The new weighted GRACE drought standardized index (WGDSI) and weighted groundwater standardized index (WGWSI) were reconstructed by weighing the seasonal, trend, interannual and sub-seasonal of TWSC and GWSC. They were compared with the standardized soil moisture index (SSI06), standardized precipitation index (SPI06), and standardized runoff index (SRI06). Additionally, the drought characteristics identified based on the observations of the water storage deficit, severity, peak, duration, and recovery time in the YRB were also quantified using the WGDSI/WGWSI over the YRB. The results indicated that soil moisture, TWSC, and GWSC in the YRB increased from 2003 to 2019, mainly based on seasonal and interannual signals. The correlation coefficients between the WGDSI and the SSI06, SPI06, and SRI06 at the monthly were 0.84, 0.56, and 0.75, respectively, representing increases of 9 %, 14 %, and 21 % compared to that with the unweighted GRACE drought standardized index, respectively. The interannual variability of the hydrologic variables was more consistent with the drought events in the YRB, which was beneficial for detecting droughts. Two severe serious droughts occurred in the YRB from 2003 to 2019. In 2006, a continuous seven-month-long drought occurred, with a peak at − 28.974 km3, a severity of − 174.767 km3∙month, an average drought recovery rate of 0.83 km3/month, and a recovery time of 30 months, while in 2011, a continuous five-month-long drought occurred, with a peak at − 18.384 km3, a severity of − 78.106 km3∙month, an average drought recovery rate of 0.40 km3/month, and a recovery time of 39 months. The results indicated that the WGDSI could effectively identify drought events and measure their severity accurately, offering a more holistic understanding of drought conditions compared to other available indices. The index proposed in this study can be applied to generate new datasets and methods for quantifying and detecting droughts on a global scale.

Oceanic climate changes threaten the sustainability of Asia’s water tower

Water resources sustainability in High Mountain Asia (HMA) surrounding the Tibetan Plateau (TP)—known as Asia’s water tower—has triggered widespread concerns because HMA protects millions of people against water stress1,2. However, the mechanisms behind the heterogeneous trends observed in terrestrial water storage (TWS) over the TP remain poorly understood. Here we use a Lagrangian particle dispersion model and satellite observations to attribute about 1 Gt of monthly TWS decline in the southern TP during 2003–2016 to westerlies-carried deficit in precipitation minus evaporation (PME) from the southeast North Atlantic. We further show that HMA blocks the propagation of PME deficit into the central TP, causing a monthly TWS increase by about 0.5 Gt. Furthermore, warming-induced snow and glacial melt as well as drying-induced TWS depletion in HMA weaken the blocking of HMA’s mountains, causing persistent northward expansion of the TP’s TWS deficit since 2009. Future projections under two emissions scenarios verified by satellite observations during 2020–2021 indicate that, by the end of the twenty-first century, up to 84% (for scenario SSP245) and 97% (for scenario SSP585) of the TP could be afflicted by TWS deficits. Our findings indicate a trajectory towards unsustainable water systems in HMA that could exacerbate downstream water stress.

Hydro-Geophysical Evaluation of the Regional Variability of Senegal’s Terrestrial Water Storage Using Time-Variable Gravity Data

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite data retrieval experiment has been instrumental in characterizing the global fluctuations in terrestrial water storage (ΔTWS) over the past 20 years. Given the limited availability of hydrological data, GRACE measurements are frequently combined with other climatic models, standardized precipitation index (SPI), and standardized temperature index (STI) data to examine the likelihood of such impacts on hydrology and calculate the groundwater storage changes (ΔGWS). The characterization of the intensity and variability of drought events has been identified based on the Terrestrial Water Storage Deficit Index (TWSI), derived from GRACE mass concentration blocks (mascons) over Senegal during the studied period (April 2002–December 2021). The results are: (1) The average annual precipitation (AAP) rate for the entire period was calculated at 692.5 mm/yr. (2) The GRACE-derived ΔTWS variations were calculated at +0.89 ± 0.34, +0.07 ± 0.36, +1.66 ± 1.20, and +0.63 ± 0.08 cm/yr for Periods I (April 2002–December 2009), II (January 2010–December 2017), III (January 2018–December 2021), and the entire period (April 2002–December 2021), respectively. (3) The ΔGWS changes were estimated to be +0.89 ± 0.31, +0.085 ± 0.33, +1.64 ± 1.11, and +0.63 ± 0.08 cm/yr for Periods I, II, II, and the entire period, respectively. (4) There is good agreement in some years and seasons according to the investigation of the link between the GRACE dataset, STI, and SPI. (5) Senegal’s groundwater storage is increasing at a rate of 0.63 ± 0.08 cm/yr (1.24 ± 0.16 km3/yr) between April 2002 and December 2021. (6) Considering the yearly extraction rates of 1.13 ± 0.11 cm/yr (2.22 ± 0.22 km3/yr), an average recharge rate of +1.76 ± 0.14 cm/yr (+3.46 ± 0.28 km3/yr) was calculated for the studied area. The integrated strategy is instructive and economical.

Quantification and Assessment of Global Terrestrial Water Storage Deficit Caused by Drought Using GRACE Satellite Data

A drought-induced water storage deficit index (D-WSDI) was proposed to quantify the response of GRACE-based terrestrial water storage change to meteorological drought and the impact of drought on water storage deficit. D-WSDI was defined as the normalized residual component of GRACE time series data after removing the long-term trend and seasonal components. The evaluation based on the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) showed that more than 90% of global drought events from 2002 to 2019 led to the water storage deficit, which can be detected by the proposed D-WSDI. The severity of the water storage deficit caused by drought increases with the extending drought duration. Average 73% of water storage deficit months at the global scale is related to precipitation shortages. The cumulative precipitation deficit in relatively short periods of less than 9 months can lead to the water storage deficit in low-latitude regions, whereas a longer time scale is required to lead to a water storage deficit in high-latitude regions. The negative monthly precipitation anomaly of about -20% can lead to the water storage deficit in high rainfall regions, while the negative precipitation anomaly can reach -80% in arid and semi-arid areas. D-WSDI holds the capability to quantify the water storage deficit caused by drought, especially in the regions with terrestrial water storage change influenced by the long-term trends in climate and anthropogenic activities, and can be used as an index of drought monitoring with similar or superior performance compared to some traditional drought indices.

GRACE and land surface models reveal severe drought in eastern China in 2019

An extreme drought on record occurred in eastern China in 2019 and caused severe terrestrial water storage (TWS) deficits. It is important to understand this drought process and assess its impacts. We combine the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) observations and land surface model (LSM) outputs to thoroughly investigate this drought event. To consolidate the quantitative analysis, we fuse five sets of GRACE-derived TWS data and four sets of LSM-based soil moisture storage (SMS) data, respectively, using the generalized three-cornered hat method and the least-square method, and thereby generate robust TWS and SMS results. Both the GRACE and LSM results suggest that this drought event started in July in northeastern and northern China and then spread south to southern China in August and lasted until December, influencing a vast area of ∼2.0 × 106 km2 in eastern China. The drought center first appeared in North China, then moved southward to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River basin, and finally stayed in South China. TWS results from GRACE show that the largest regional TWS deficit was 94.1 ± 17.7 mm and happened in September in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River basin. SMS results from LSMs exhibit similar spatiotemporal characteristics to the GRACE results but with smaller magnitudes. Meteorological Drought Composite Index from the China Meteorological Administration agrees well with the GRACE-derived TWS deficits and LSM-based SMS deficits in terms of their spatiotemporal distributions. These three independent indicators together identify and assess this severe drought event, providing us a quantitative understanding of it. The water budget analysis demonstrates that the precipitation deficit in the second half of 2019 is the main reason for this drought event. The precipitation deficit is mainly due to the northerly wind anomaly and sinking anomaly over eastern China, which are closely associated with the anomalous cyclonic circulation over the western Pacific.

Spatiotemporal Drought Characterization Using Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) in the Central Plateau Catchment of Iran

Droughts that occurred in the central plateau catchment of Iran have been monitored by Terrestrial Water Storage Deficit Index (TSDI) and three recently modified indices, namely aSPI, aSPEI and eRDI. Terrestrial Water Storage Changes (TWSC) for this area during April 2002–2016 was calculated using the GRACE spherical harmonics. The leakage error and noise of TWSC were evaluated by inter-comparison of this time series with regional mascon solutions; furthermore, to better comprehend the effect of climate on drought, the studied area was divided into semi-arid, arid, and extra-arid zones by using the modified De Martonne method. Using the meteorological data of 105 synoptic stations, the selected indices were calculated within a time scale of 3, 6, 9 and 12 months, and were compared to TSDI. Accordingly, the study area experienced multiple droughts during the studied period. The spatial distribution map for 2008–2009 drought showed that all indices indicated good conformity. The coefficient correlations between TSDI and other indices were different in each zone, but generally, the similarity of TSDI pattern increased with increasing time scales and was the most consistent with 9 and 12-month indices. Based on the spatiotemporal analysis of droughts, the severity, duration, and frequency of drought in the semi-arid zone were more than the other zones while no significant drought occurred in the extra-arid zone. Overall, the result indicated that GRACE-derived TSDI could be implemented successfully to predict spatiotemporal characteristics of droughts in extensive basins.

Recent Ogallala Aquifer Region Drought Conditions as Observed by Terrestrial Water Storage Anomalies from GRACE

AbstractRecent severe drought events have occurred over the Ogallala Aquifer region (OAR) during the period 2011–2015, creating significant impacts on water resources and their use in regional environmental and economic systems. The changes in terrestrial water storage (TWS), as indicated by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), reveals a detailed picture of the temporal and spatial evolution of drought events. The observations by GRACE indicate the worst drought conditions occurred in September 2012, with an average TWS deficit of ~8 cm in the northern OAR and ~11 cm in the southern OAR, consistent with precipitation data from the Global Precipitation Climatology Project. Comparing changes in TWS with precipitation shows the TWS changes can be predominantly attributable to variations in precipitation. Power spectrum and squared wavelet coherence analysis indicate a significant correlation between TWS change and the El Nino‐Southern Oscillation, and the influence of equatorial Pacific sea surface temperatures on TWS change is much stronger in the southern OAR than the northern OAR. The results of this study illustrate the value of GRACE in not just the diagnosis of significant drought events, but also in possibly improving the predictive power of remote signals that are impacted by nonregional climatic events (El Nino), ultimately leading to improved water resource management applications on a regional scale. Editor’s note: This paper is part of the featured series on Optimizing Ogallala Aquifer Water Use to Sustain Food Systems. See the February 2019 issue for the introduction and background to the series.

Performance of Various Forms of the Palmer Drought Severity Index in China from 1961 to 2013

Abstract A topic of ongoing debate on the application of PDSI is whether to use the original version of the PDSI or a self-calibrating form, as well as which method to use for calculating potential evapotranspiration (PET). In this study, the performances of four forms of the PDSI, including the original PDSI based on the Penman–Monteith method for calculating PET (ETp), the PDSI based on the crop reference evapotranspiration method for calculating PET (ET0), the self-calibrating PDSI (scPDSI) based on ETp, and the scPDSI based on ET0, were evaluated in China using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), modeled soil moisture anomalies (SMA), and the terrestrial water storage deficit index (WSDI). The interannual variations of all forms of PDSI agreed well with each other and presented a weak increasing trend, suggesting a climate wetting in China from 1961 to 2013. PDSI-ET0 correlated more closely with NDVI anomalies, SMA, and WSDI than did PDSI-ETp in northern China, especially in northeastern China, while PDSI-ETp correlated more closely with SMA and WSDI in southern China. PDSI-ET0 performed better than PDSI-ETp in regions where the annual average rainfall is between 350 and 750 mm yr−1. The spatial comparability of scPDSI was better than that of PDSI, while the PDSI correlated more closely with NDVI anomalies, SMA, and WSDI than did scPDSI in most regions of China. Knowledge from this study provides important information for the choice of PDSI forms when it is applied for different practices.

Monitoring and Analysis of Drought Using Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)

Drought monitoring needs comprehensive and integrated meteorological and hydrologic data. However, such data are generally not available in extensive catchments. The present study aimed to analyze drought in the central plateau catchment of Iran using the terrestrial water storage deficit index (TSDI). In this arid catchment, the meteorological and hydrologic observed data are scarce. First, the time series of terrestrial water storage changes (TWSC) obtained from the gravity recovery and climate experiment (GRACE) was calculated and validated by the water budget output. Then, the studied area was divided into semi-arid, arid, and hyper-arid zones and the common drought indices of SPI and RDIe within a timescale of 3, 6, and 12 months were calculated to compare the results obtained from the TSDI by using the meteorological data of 105 synoptic stations. Based on the results, the study area experienced a drought with extreme severity and expansion during 2007–2008. The drought spatial distribution map obtained from three indices indicated good conformity. Based on the maps, the severity, duration, and frequency of drought in the semi-arid zone were greater than that in other zones, while no significant drought occurred in the hyper-arid zone. Furthermore, the temporal distribution of drought in all three zones indicated that the TSDI could detect all short- and long-term droughts. The study results showed that the TSDI is a reliable, integrated, and comprehensive index. Using this index in arid areas with little field data led to some valuable results for planning and water resource management.

Drought Assessment using GRACE Terrestrial Water Storage Deficit in Mongolia from 2002 to 2017

Climate warming can result in increases in the frequency and magnitude of drought events, leading to water shortages and socioeconomic losses. Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite data have been used to monitor and estimate drought events. However, there is little information on detecting the characteristics of droughts in Mongolia due to sparse observations. In this study, we estimate the drought conditions in Mongolia using GRACE terrestrial water storage data during 2002–2017. Water storage deficit (WSD) is used to identify the drought event and calculate the water storage deficit index (WSDI). The WSDI was compared with the standardized precipitation index (SPI) and the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI). The results showed that there were two turning points of WSD in 2007 and 2012. Eight drought events were identified and the most severe drought occurred in 2007–2009 lasting for 38 months with a WSDI of −0.98 and a total WSD of −290.8 mm. Overall, the WSD and WSDI were effective in analyzing and assessing the drought severity in a region where hydrological observations are lacking.

Glacier and snow variations and their impacts on regional water resources in mountains

Glaciers and snow are major constituents of solid water bodies in mountains; they can regulate the stability of local water sources. However, they are strongly affected by climate change. This study focused on the Tianshan Mountains, using glacier and snow datasets to analyse variations in glaciers, snow, water storage, and runoff. Three typical river basins (Aksu, Kaidou, and Urumqi Rivers) were selected to interpret the impacts of glacier and snow changes on regional water resources in the Tianshan Mountains. The results exhibited a nonlinear functional relationship between glacial retreat rate and area, demonstrating that small glacial retreat is more sensitive under climate change. Further, the glacial retreat rate at the low-middle elevation zone was seen to be faster than that at the high elevation zone. The regional average terrestrial water storage (TWS) decrease rate in the Tianshan Mountains was–0.7±1.53 cm/a during 2003–2015. The highest TWS deficit region was located in the central part of the Tianshan Mountains, which was closely related to sharp glacial retreats. The increases in glacier and snow meltwater led to an increase in runoff in the three typical river basins, especially that of the Aksu River (0.4×108 m3/a). The decreasing and thinning of areas, and increasing equilibrium line altitude (ELV) of glaciers have been the major causes for the decrease in runoff in the three river basins since the mid-1990s. Therefore, the results reveal the mechanisms causing the impacts of glaciers and snow reduction in mountains on regional water resources under climate change, and provide a reference for water resources management in the mountainous river basins.

Drought evaluation using the GRACE terrestrial water storage deficit over the Yangtze River Basin, China

Droughts are some of the worst natural disasters that bring significant water shortages, economic losses, and adverse social consequences. Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite data are widely used to characterize and evaluate droughts. In this work, we evaluate drought situations in the Yangtze River Basin (YRB) using the GRACE Texas Center for Space Research (CSR) mascon (mass concentration) data from 2003 to 2015. Drought events are identified by water storage deficits (WSDs) derived from GRACE data, while the drought severity evaluation is based on the water storage deficit index (WSDI), standardized WSD time series, and total water storage deficit (TWSD). The WSDI is subsequently compared with the Palmer drought severity index (PDSI), standardized precipitation index (SPI), standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI), and standardized runoff index (SRI). The results indicate the YRB experienced increased wetness during the study period, with WSD values increasing at a rate of 5.20mm/year. Eight drought events are identified, and three major droughts occurred in 2004, 2006, and 2011, with WSDIs of −2.05, −2.38, and −1.30 and TWSDs of −620.96mm, −616.81mm, and −192.44mm, respectively. Our findings suggest that GRACE CSR mascon data can be used effectively to assess drought features in the YRB and that the WSDI facilitates robust and reliable characterization of droughts over large-scale areas.

Characterizing Drought in India Using GRACE Observations of Terrestrial Water Storage Deficit

AbstractFrequent recurrences of drought in India have had major societal, economical, and environmental impacts. While region-specific assessments are abundant, exhaustive appraisal over large spatial scales has been insubstantial. Here a new drought index called Water Storage Deficit Index (WSDI) is devised and analyzed for holistic representation of drought. The crux of the method is the employment of terrestrial water storage (TWS) variations from Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) for quantification of drought intensity and severity. Drought events in recent times are well identified and quantified using the approach over four homogenous rainfall regions of India over the period from April 2002 to April 2015. Among the four regions, the highest peak deficit of −158.00 mm is observed in January 2015 over central India. While the drought of 2002–04 is prominent in peninsular and west-central India, the drought of 2009–10 and 2012–13 is conspicuous in almost all four regions of India. The longest deficit period of 23 months (from February 2009 to December 2010) and the highest severity value of −26.31 are observed in central and northwestern India, respectively. WSDI values show an increasing trend in west-central India (0.07 yr−1), indicating recovery from previously existing drought conditions. On the contrary, a decreasing trend in WSDI is observed in northwestern (−0.07 yr−1) and central (−0.18 yr−1) India. Results demonstrate considerable confidence in the potential of WSDI for robust characterization of drought over large spatial scales.

2010–2012 drought and flood events in the Amazon Basin inferred by GRACE satellite observations

The Amazon Basin experienced an abrupt transition from extreme drought to flood during 2010–2012, causing significant loss and damage to the property of thousands of families. We used datasets derived from the latest products of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), and the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) to assess the extent, intensity, and dynamics of the 2010–2012 abrupt transition from extreme drought to flood in the Amazon. The monthly developing processes during the abrupt transition from extreme drought to flood between 2010 and 2012 were reproduced and examined by comparisons between GRACE terrestrial water storage anomaly and the precipitation derived from TRMM satellite estimates and GLDAS datasets. Accumulated precipitation during the peak of 2010 drought and 2012 flood looks very much similar to terrestrial water storage deficit and surplus, both at the temporal and spatial scales. Furthermore, strong correlations between the 2010 and 2012 extreme drought/flood events over the Amazon and El Nino-Southern Oscillation were also detected. This study can be helpful for archiving historical information on disasters that can contribute to the elaboration of regional scale drought/flood disaster prevention and mitigation strategies in the Amazon.

Terrestrial water storage anomalies of Yangtze River Basin droughts observed by GRACE and connections with ENSO

Two severe drought events occurred in the Yangtze River Basin (YRB) of China in the summer of 2006 and the spring of 2011. We examine terrestrial water storage (TWS) changes in the YRB for these events using time-variable gravity data from the GRACE satellite mission, in combination with observations made by TRMM satellite and in situ river gauges, along with hydrological models GLDAS and WGHM. GRACE TWS deficit estimates clearly quantify these YRB droughts, and a normalized GRACE-based TWS anomaly provides an alternative and useful hydro-climatological index in the YRB. We find that an El Niño (La Niña) event is significantly correlated with high (low) TWS in the YRB with a phase lead of ~7–8months, and the lower YRB is more sensitive to ENSO variability than the upper basin. The possible linkage between TWS anomaly and ENSO is raised in terms of physical mechanisms of influencing the precipitation over the YRB.

Assessing the recent droughts in Southwestern China using satellite gravimetry

AbstractHeavy droughts have frequently struck Southwestern China in recent years. A major consequence of these droughts is the loss of terrestrial water storage (TWS) which affects agriculture, civil life, and industry production and results in serious social and economic losses. The satellite gravimetry has been proved an effective way to estimate hydrological variations over the globe, and we use the monthly gravity solutions from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission and extract the hydrological variations from the regional gravity signal. Here we show that the recent heavy droughts in Southwestern China have caused observable nonseasonal gravity changes in the monthly GRACE solutions. Two heavy droughts in September 2009 to May 2010 and August 2011 to January 2012 have resulted in significant TWS deficit up to hundreds of gigatons in Southwestern China. It is found that the latter drought in 2011–2012 is the most severe one in Southwestern China over the decade, hitting large areas, and causing heavy TWS deficit. Affected by the recent droughts, the GRACE estimate shows a gradual decrease in the regional TWS during the recent 4 years in Southwestern China with a nominal rate of −13.3 ± 7.5 mm/yr, which indicates the severity of the TWS deficit in this area.

Recent La Plata basin drought conditions observed by satellite gravimetry

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) provides quantitative measures of terrestrial water storage (TWS) change. GRACE data show a significant decrease in TWS in the lower (southern) La Plata river basin of South America over the period 2002–2009, consistent with recognized drought conditions in the region. GRACE data reveal a detailed picture of temporal and spatial evolution of this severe drought event, which suggests that the drought began in lower La Plata in around austral spring 2008 and then spread to the entire La Plata basin and peaked in austral fall 2009. During the peak, GRACE data show an average TWS deficit of ∼12 cm (equivalent water layer thickness) below the 7 year mean, in a broad region in lower La Plata. GRACE measurements are consistent with accumulated precipitation data from satellite remote sensing and with vegetation index changes derived from Terra satellite observations. The Global Land Data Assimilation System model captures the drought event but underestimates its intensity. Limited available groundwater‐level data in southern La Plata show significant groundwater depletion, which is likely associated with the drought in this region. GRACE‐observed TWS change and precipitation anomalies in the studied region appear to closely correlate with the ENSO climate index, with dry and wet seasons corresponding to La Niña and El Niño events, respectively.