Evaluation Of Water Resources Research Articles

The Uses and evaluation of water resources in the Zalm river basin

This study deals with the subject of a geographical assessment of the use of water resources in the Zalam River Basin. The aim of this study is to highlight the reality of the current uses of water resources for various purposes in the study area. And to achieve a balance between the volume of incoming, surface and underground water in the study area, and to find the amount of consumption of water by the population in the various activities. It appeared through this study that the total water needed for domestic use of the population of the study area was (2.486) million / m3 annually, in the year (2016). The amount of water required for agricultural crops and orchards is estimated at (36.109) million/m3 annually, and this is where the most is consumed compared to other uses in the area, The amount of water used by the livestock in the area is (146) million/liter annually, and the total water consumption of chicken fields and poultry birds is (7.16) million/liter annually. The estimated amount of water used in the food industry is (0.014) million m3/year. The amount of surface and ground water is estimated at (171.698) million/m3 in the study area, and surface water represents (65.45%), while groundwater represents (34.55%), and the amount that is consumed is estimated at (38.762) million/m3 for all uses, and it is clear from the above that there is a surplus of water, said surplus is estimated to be at (132.936) million/m3.

Agricultural Water Optimal Allocation Using Minimum Cross-Entropy and Entropy-Weight-Based TOPSIS Method in Hetao Irrigation District, Northwest China

Affected by the temporal and spatial changes of natural resources, human activities, and social economic system policies, there are many uncertainties in the development, utilization, and management process of irrigation district agricultural water resources, which will increase the complexity of the use of irrigation district agricultural water resources. Decision makers find it challenging to cope with the complexity of fluctuating water supplies and demands that are critical for water resources’ allocation. In response to these issues, this paper presents an optimization modeling approach for agricultural water allocation at an irrigation district scale, considering the uncertainties of water supply and demand. The minimum cross-entropy method was used to estimate the parameters of hydrologic frequency distribution functions of water supply and demand, which are the basis for agricultural water resources’ optimal allocation and the evaluation of water resources’ carrying capacity in the Hetao Irrigation District. Interval Linear Fractional Programming was used to find water availability, shortage, and use efficiency in different irrigation areas of the Hetao Irrigation District (HID) under different scenarios. The denominator of fractional planning is the environmental goal, and the numerator is the economic goal; so, the objective function of fractional programming is the utility rate required in the post-optimization analysis. Future water availability and shortage scenarios are adopted consistent with the Representative Concentration Pathways’ (RCPs’) framework, and future water use scenarios are developed using the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways’ (SSPs’) framework. Results revealed that under SSP1, the annual water consumption increased from 30 billion m3 to 60 billion m3, almost doubling in Urad. The annual water consumption under SSP2 and SSP3 increased slightly, from 30 billion m3 to about 50 billion m3. The amount of water available for well irrigation in Urad decreased from 300 to 250 billion m3, while the amount of water available for canal irrigation in Urad remained at 270 billion m3 from 2010 s to 2030 s, only dropping to 240 billion m3 in 2040 s. The entropy-weight-based Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method was applied to evaluate agricultural water resources’ allocation schemes because it can avoid the subjectivity of weight determination and can reflect the dynamic changing trend of irrigation district agricultural water resources’ carrying capacity. The approach is applicable to most regions, such as the Hetao Irrigation District in the Upper Yellow River Basi with limited precipitation, to determine water strategies under the changing environment.

Study on the Relationship between Water Resources Utilization and Economic Growth in Tarim River basin from the Perspective of Water Footprint

Taking the Tarim River basin as the research object, the water footprint was calculated based on the water footprint theory based on the relevant data from 2008 to 2019, and the water resource evaluation system was constructed to analyze the water footprint and water resource utilization of the Tarim River basin from three levels of structure, benefit, and ecology. Based on the water footprint theory, the annual water footprint and GDP of Tarim River basin were used to construct the Tapio decoupling model, and the decoupling type between water resources utilization and economic growth was obtained. The relationship between water resource utilization and economic growth in Tarim River was analyzed by combining the decoupling type evaluation and water footprint evaluation. The internal benefit is poor, and the external benefit is good; The degree of water resource shortage is on the rise, and the self-sufficiency rate of water resources is large. On the whole, the decoupling strength increases gradually. Decoupling strength has obvious industrial influence characteristics. Based on the above research conclusions, the sustainable economic and ecological development of the Tarim River basin can be realized from two aspects: reducing water footprint and strengthening decoupling intensity.

The optimal allocation and the evaluation of water resources carrying capacity in Shendong mining area

Coal mining has consumed a large amount of water resources in China, and the entire industrial chain of coal production has a larger consumption of water resources than the past especially in Shendong mining area. The water resources carrying capacity determines the scale of coal industry development. The previous research had been conducted at the national, provincial and municipal levels, but there were few studies on the water resources carrying capacity of coal mining areas. The Shendong mining area is located in the coal-rich and water-scarce western region, where precipitation is low and evaporation is high. As a water-scarce area, the development of Shendong mining area is inseparable from the support of coal resources and the rational use of water resources. Therefore, firstly, taking the Shendong mining area as the research object, this paper set high, medium and low scenarios according to the development goals of Shendong mining area, Shenhua Group and the plans of China. The gray forecast model was used to predict the water demand of the economic-social-ecological system of the mining area from 2020 to 2030 under different scenarios. Secondly, a multi-objective optimization model was established with the objective function to optimize the water resources allocation in Shendong mining area. Thirdly, based on the forecast and optimization results, a water resources carrying capacity evaluation model was constructed to evaluate the water resources carrying capacity of the Shendong mining area. Finally, based on the results, the suggestions for rational development and the utilization of water resources in the Shendong mining area were proposed.

Evaluation of Agricultural Water Resources Carrying Capacity and Its Influencing Factors: A Case Study of Townships in the Arid Region of Northwest China

The water resources carrying capacity (WRCC) strongly determines the agricultural development in arid areas. Evaluation of WRCC is important in balancing the availability of water resources with society’s economic and environmental demands. Given the demand for sustainable utilization of agricultural water resources, we combine the water stress index and comprehensive index of WRCC and use multi-source data to evaluate agricultural WRCC and its influencing factors at the township scale. It makes up for the deficiencies of current research, such as the existence of single-index evaluation systems, limited calibration data, and a lack of a sub-watershed (i.e., township) scale. By applying multi-source data, this study expands the spatial scale of WRCC assessment and establishes a multidimensional evaluation framework for the water resources in dryland agriculture. The results indicate water stress index ranges from 0.52 to 1.67, and the comprehensive index of WRCC ranges from 0.25 to 0.70, which are significantly different in different types of irrigation areas and townships. Water quantity and water management are key factors influencing WRCC, the water ecosystem is an area requiring improvement, and the water environment is not a current constraint. Different irrigation areas and different types of townships should implement targeted measures to improve WRCC.

Brief communication: A framework to classify glaciers for water resource evaluation and management in the Southern Andes

Abstract. Over the last 2 decades the importance of Andean glaciers, particularly as water resources, has been recognized in both scientific literature and the public sphere. This has led to the inclusion of glaciers in the environmental impact assessment and the development of glacier protection laws in both Chile and Argentina. However, these laws are limited in their ability to protect, manage, and monitor water resources as they do not differentiate between glacier types. We propose three glacier categories that aim to group glaciers based on their sensitivity to environmental changes as a framework that could be adopted to match the level of protection to the current and future needs of society, be region-specific, and evolve through time. Finally, we review both national inventories with respect to this classification to facilitate the evaluation and/or management of water resources.

Performance of gridded precipitation products in the Black Sea region for hydrological studies

Gridded precipitation products are becoming good alternative data sources for regions with limited weather gauging stations. In this study, four climate gridded precipitation products were utilized, namely Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR), European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ERA-Interim/land, the Asian Precipitation-Highly-Resolved Observational Data Integration Towards Evaluation of Water Resources (APHRODITE), and Multi-Source Weighted-Ensemble Precipitation (MSWEP). The key novelty of this study is to fill the gap in one of important areas of the transcontinental region of Eurasia, namely Rize province in the Black Sea region being selected as a study area since it has complex topography and climatology in addition to a limited number of gauging stations. A set of precipitation products were assessed for performance with the observed precipitation data before using a hydrological model (SWAT) to evaluate the basin response for the climate products. Three methods were considered in this study: (i) spatial comparison and (ii) hydrological and (iii) statistical evaluations. Along with precipitation forcing, the SWAT model simulations were analyzed in conjunction with streamflow observations. In an overall evaluation, the percentage bias of ERA-Interim/land, CFSR, APHRODITE, and MSWEP mean monthly precipitation is 19.9%, 33.4%, 41.4%, and 85.0% respectively. For the flow simulations, the CFSR and MSWEP have resulted in exaggerated peak flows in the high flow season due to overestimated precipitation forcing (Nash Sutcliffe efficiency [NS] equal to 0.22 and −0.73, respectively). On the contrary, the APHRODITE underestimated the peak flows due to lower precipitation estimates (NS = 0.38). The ERA-Interim land showed good agreement with the observed flows (NS = 0.53). From these readings, we stated that the ERA-Interim land exhibited improved performance with the observed precipitation whereas the CFSR showed the worst performance. The study suggests that gridded precipitation products could supplement observed precipitation data for observational data scarcity in mountainous regions.

Research on water resources carrying capacity evaluation based on innovative RCC method

Scientific assessment of water resources carrying capacity (WRCC) is the basis for implementing water resources protection measures. To make the evaluation more objective and reasonable, this study created a WRCC evaluation method based on R-clustering-variance coefficient method coupled with cloud model (RCC) for the state study of WRCC in a specific region. The study collected and summarized the available indicators through the review of existing studies to build a database of extensively selected indicators, and also combined with the characteristics of the study area to construct the initial indicators database. Then the indicators were categorized into 12 factor layers under the concept of water resources carrying subjects and objects, and the R clustering-variance coefficient method was introduced to screen the indicators to construct a concise and effective evaluation index system. Finally, combined with the cloud model to identify the comprehensive state of WRCC, the quantitative expression of WRCC was realized. Taking Henan Province of China as the research area, a total of 81 available indicators were collected, and an evaluation index system composed of 30 indicators was constructed after screening. During the evaluation years of 2005–2017, the WRCC level in Henan Province gradually raised from level IV (overload) to level II (weakly bearable), and the results of the study were stable and consistent with the changing trend of existing studies. The study can provide new ideas for the evaluation indicators selection and quantitative evaluation of water resources carrying capacity or other carrying capacity for a specific county, city, or provincial study area.

Numerical modeling for the temporal variations of the water interchange between groundwater and surface water in a regional great lake (Poyang Lake, China)

For areas possessing both regional-scale floodplain lakes and complex river system, the allocation pattern of water interchange between the groundwater and the lakes and rivers, as well as its temporal variations under year-scale climate changes, are important issues in regard to water resources and ecology environment but are rarely revealed. This study presented a numerical groundwater modeling of the Poyang Lake area to reveal the difference of the temporal variation patterns of the groundwater-lake water interchange and that of the groundwater-river water interchange, and to assess the potential effects of year-scale climate on the temporal-spatial variability of water interchange and on the allocation pattern of the net groundwater discharges into rivers and lake. It is found that the monthly groundwater discharge into surface water exhibits significant temporal variability, which reveals an inverse correlation between monthly groundwater discharge and lake water levels and precipitation amounts. Rainy months can lead to groundwater recharge from the Poyang Lake. Our simulated results reveal that, in the dry year of 2018, the variable monthly groundwater discharge into Poyang Lake and the monthly groundwater recharge from Poyang Lake were 0.97–9.67 × 108 m3/month and 0.07–2.54 × 108 m3/month, respectively. Additionally, the annual water interchange amount between groundwater and the Poyang Lake was 9.44 × 108 m3/year, and the annual net groundwater discharge into Poyang Lake was 6.76 × 108 m3/year. However, the hydraulic interaction between groundwater and the five rivers only features groundwater discharge into rivers with variable monthly groundwater discharge into the five rivers of 0.20–0.72 × 108 m3/month and an annual total groundwater discharge amount of 5.32 × 108 m3/year in 2018. Additionally, our water interchange results of the rainy year of 2010 indicate that the annual water interchange amount between groundwater and the Poyang Lake was 22.74 × 108 m3/year, the annual net groundwater discharge into the Poyang Lake was 1.26 × 108 m3/year, and the annual groundwater discharge into the five rivers was 8.10 × 108 m3/year. These comparisons between the results of the rainy year of 2010 and dry year of 2018 can reveal the effects of the year-scale climate on water exchange between groundwater and surface water and imply that a rainy year can increase the total water interchange amount but decrease the total net groundwater discharge into surface water and that groundwater is more likely to discharge into rivers during a rainy year. Furthermore, it is found that a rainy year can significantly alter the spatial distribution of the water interchange between groundwater and lake water and that the backward particle tracking simulation could be helpful in regard to identifying the spatial distribution of water exchange between groundwater and regional-scale lake. These findings can contribute to a deeper understanding of climate effects on the spatial–temporal variability of water interchange between groundwater and surface water in regional floodplain lake areas and provide useful information for the evaluation of local water resources and the estimation of pollutant transportation.

Study and Evaluation of Surface Water Resources Affected by Ancient and Illegal Mining in the Upper Part of the Milluni Micro-Basin, Bolivia

One of the factors with the most significant impact due to pollution caused by mining activities is water. Surface water resources are limited, and in many cases, they are the primary water source for consumption; thus, its quality is a fundamental subject of study. The traditional way of studying water quality is to measure parameters and compare the results with tables of values established in the regulations. The quality of drinking water is characterized and controlled. However, this traditional comparison method may be subjective and insufficient to classify water quality as safe. Therefore, it is necessary to develop and complement the conventional monitoring, linking physicochemical analysis with remote perception. The different variables analyzed can be integrated and result in much more complete water quality indices, achieving the evolution of the monitoring programs of the water quality of the surface bodies. This research combines remote sensing with traditional monitoring to obtain a more robust and affordable indicator, resulting in a study of the central water bodies of Milluni. The main finding—the alarming contamination in the Milluni Chico and Milluni Grande lagoons—provides more accurate information to decision-makers to improve water management in Bolivia.

Applying a modified conduit flow process to understand conduit-matrix exchange of a karst aquifer

Due to the high heterogeneity and complexity of water flow movement for multiple karst water-bearing mediums, the evaluation, effective development, and utilization of karst water resources are significantly limited. Matrix flow is usually laminar, whereas conduit flow is usually turbulent. The driving mechanisms of water exchange that occur between the karst conduit and its adjacent matrix are not well understood. This paper investigates the hydrodynamic characteristics and the mechanism of flow exchange in dual water-bearing mediums (conduit and matrix) of karst aquifers through laboratory experimentation and numerical simulation. A karst aquifer consisting of a matrix network and a conduit was proposed, and the relationship between the water exchange flux and hydraulic head differences generated from the laboratory experiments was analyzed. Two modes of experimental tests were performed with different fixed water level boundaries in the laboratory karst aquifer. The results indicate that the water exchange capacity was proportional to the square root of hydraulic head differences. The linear exchange term in the conduit flow process (CFP) source program was modified according to experimental results. The modified CFP and the original CFP model experimental data results were compared, and it was found that the modified CFP model had better fitting effects. These results showed that the water exchange mechanism between conduit and matrix is very important for solid-liquid interface reaction, water resource evaluation, and understanding of karst hydrodynamic behavior.© 2022 China Geology Editorial Office.

An Assessment of Temporal and Spatial Dynamics of Regional Water Resources Security in the DPSIR Framework in Jiangxi Province, China.

Water resources are critical for the survival and prosperity of both natural and socioeconomic systems. A good and informational water resources evaluation system is substantial in monitoring and maintaining sustainable use of water. The Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework is a widely used general framework that enabled the measurement of water resources security in five different environmental and socioeconomic subsystems: driver, pressure, state, impact, and response. Methodologically, outcomes of water resources evaluation based on such framework and using fuzzy set pair analysis method and confidence interval rating method depend critically on a confidence threshold parameter which was often subjectively chosen in previous studies. In this work, we demonstrated that the subjectivity in the choice of this critical parameter can lead to contradicting conclusions about water resources security, and we addressed this caveat of subjectivity by proposing a simple modification in which we sample a range of thresholds and pool them to make more objective evaluations. We applied our modified method and used DPSIR framework to evaluate the regional water resource security in Jiangxi Province, China. The spatial-temporal analysis of water resources security level was carried out in the study area, despite the improvement in Pressure, Impact, and Response factors, the Driver factor is found to become less safe over the years. Significant variation of water security across cities are found notably in Pressure and Response factors. Furthermore, we assessed both cross-sectionally and longitudinally the inter-correlations among the DPSIR nodes in the DPSIR framework. The region-specific associations among the DPSIR nodes showed important deviances from the general DPSIR framework, and our analysis showed that in our study region, although Responses of regional government work effectively in improving Pressure and State security, more attention should be paid to improving Driver security in future regional water resources planning and management in Jiangxi Province, China.

Spectral indices for estimating total dissolved solids in freshwater wetlands using semi-empirical models. A case study of Guartinaja and Momil wetlands

ABSTRACT Water is one of the most important and abundant resources on earth; therefore, determining easier and more accurate methods of measuring water quality has become challenging in recent years. Images of the Sentinel-2 multispectral (MSI) sensor and field measurements for three seasons and 39 spectral indices were evaluated to identify those that can be used as patterns for the generation of semi-empirical bio-optical models to predict the total dissolved solids (TDS) in surface water of freshwater wetlands. The Guartinaja and Momil wetlands, located in the Wetland Complex of Bajo Sinú, Northern Colombia, were used as references in the field. The individual bands of the Sentinel 2 MSI sensor and the spectral indices derived from these bands were tested (and will be referred to in this paper as spectral indices). They were classified as follows: 10 individual spectral bands of the MSI sensor of the Sentinel 2 satellite; 11 indices reported by the literature to determine water, vegetation, or soils; 11 indices reported to estimate salinity; and 7 to estimate total dissolved solids and proposed in this research. The indices were evaluated based on three exclusive conditions: 1) the correlation between the TDS values measured in the field and indices spectral values >0.7 for at least two sampling seasons; 2) for the three seasons, the regression models derived from the indices have a determination coefficient >0.7; and 3) the spatial correlation matrix between the images derived from the models is >0.8 for at least two out of the three analysis seasons. We achieved important results: 1) seven indices (B3, Brightness-3, SI-3, SI-5, Ferdous-2020, TDS-1, and TDS5) met the three conditions proposed above and therefore, they were preliminarily defined as patterns for estimating TDS in the selected wetlands; 2) Additionally, this research provided two new efficient indices for calculating TDS through bio-optical models: TDS-1 and TDS-5. The validation of the regression models derived from these indices indicated a high accuracy of the prediction surfaces, expressed in values <10% of the normalized root-mean-square deviation. The results of this study contribute to the determination of semi-empirical bio-optical models for predicting optically inactive water quality parameters, which are generally predicted with empirical models whose use is spatiotemporally limited. Additionally, the research contributions that are carried out to improve the methods of evaluating water quality from remote sensing products become investigations that positively impact the evaluation of water resources, especially in geographical locations in which there is no with sufficient financial resources for on-site sampling.

Quantitative Evaluation and Diagnosis of Water Resources Carrying Capacity (WRCC) Based on Dynamic Difference Degree Coefficient in the Yellow River Irrigation District

In order to effectively deal with the uncertainty between evaluation samples and evaluation criteria, and quantitatively identify the water resources carrying capacity (WRCC) and its obstacle factors in the Yellow River irrigation district, a calculation method of dynamic difference degree coefficient varying with evaluation sample was proposed, and then an evaluation and diagnosis model of WRCC was established. The results applied to the Dagong irrigation district showed that the overall WRCC of five counties in the irrigation district were improved from 2010 to 2017, especially since 2013. The improvement magnitudes of Changyuan County, Fengqiu County, and Hua County were significantly higher than those of Xun County and Neihuang County. In 2017, Fengqiu County, Changyuan County, Hua County, Xun County, and Neihuang County were in water resources critical overloaded status, and the connection number values were 0.231, 0.163, 0.120, −0.293, and −0.331, respectively, which is consistent with the fact that their distances become farther from the main stream of the Yellow River. In addition, the utilization ratio of water resources, available water resources amount per capita, GDP per capita, and water deficient ratio in each county belonged to the middle or strong obstacle index over a long period of time. They were the crucial obstacle factors of WRCC in the Dagong irrigation district, as well as the core and difficult points of water resources management. In some counties, the effective irrigation area ratio, effective utilization coefficient of irrigation water, and water consumption ratio of the ecological environment gradually developed from strong obstacle to weak or strong promotion index. These were important reasons for the improvement of their carrying situation, reflecting their control of agricultural and ecological water consumption. In short, the results of the case study suggest that the model established in this study is conducive to the identification of water resources’ carrying status and its key obstacle factors in the Yellow River irrigation district, and can be applied to the evaluation and regulation of resources and environment carrying capacity.

Threshold recognition for shallow groundwater recharge by precipitation using dual isotopes in a small subtropical hilly catchment

Understanding the origins of groundwater and its movement from hillslopes to valleys is critical for conserving water supplies, determining water-use policies and controlling pollution. These factors are also the keys for understanding the dominant processes in hydrological models. In this study, the sources of groundwater from hillslopes to valleys were explored by using a multiple-hillside observatory in an agricultural catchment in Southwest China. Stable isotope tracers (e.g., 18O and 2H) combined with the concept of line-conditioned excess (lc-excess), which describes the offset of the groundwater evaporation line from the local meteoric water line, were used to understand the development of kinetic fractionation at specific sampling sites and to further determine the threshold for precipitation recharge to groundwater. The results showed that the isotope kinetic fractionations of soil water and shallow groundwater in the rainy season were stronger than those in the dry season. The precipitation sources and temperatures were the key factors affecting groundwater isotope fractionation. The recharging processes and the increasing lc-excess values from upslope areas to the valleys indicated a greater contribution of lateral flow from the upslope. In the rainy season, precipitation amounts greater than 30 mm d−1 could effectively recharge the shallow groundwater in the study area. Our results confirmed that it was possible to elucidate the recharging mechanisms of shallow groundwater by using the dual-isotope method based on the lc-excess concept. It is anticipated that a broader application of these findings could be helpful for evaluating water resource sustainability in the subtropics, particularly in hilly regions.

Evaluation of six gauge-based gridded climate products for analyzing long-term historical precipitation patterns across the Lancang-Mekong River Basin

Freshwater plays a vital role in global sustainability by improving human lives and protecting nature. In the Lancang-Mekong River Basin (LMRB), sustainable development is principally dependent upon precipitation that predominantly controls freshwater resources availability required for both life and livelihood of ∼70 million people. Hence, this study comprehensively analyzed long-term historical precipitation patterns (in terms of trends, variability, and links to climate teleconnections) throughout the LMRB as well as its upper (Lancang River Basin, LRB) and lower (Mekong River Basin, MRB) parts employing six gauge-based gridded climate products: Asian Precipitation Highly-Resolved Observational Data Integration Towards Evaluation of Water Resources (APHRODITE), Climate Prediction Center (CPC), Climate Research Unit (CRU), Global Precipitation Climatology Center (GPCC), Precipitation Reconstruction over Land (PRECL), and University of Delaware (UDEL). Accordingly, annual and seasonal (dry and wet) precipitation time series were calculated for three study periods: century-long outlook (1901-2010), mid-past (1951-2010), and recent decades (1981-2010). However, the role of climate teleconnections in precipitation variability over the LMRB was only identified during their available temporal coverages: mid-past and recent decades. The results generally showed that: (i) both annual and seasonal precipitation increased across all three basins in 1981-2010; (ii) wet and dry seasons got drier and wetter, respectively, in all basins in 1951-2010; (iii) all such changes were fundamentally attributed to increases in precipitation variability on both annual and seasonal scales over time; (iv) these variations were most strongly associated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) and East Pacific/North Pacific (EP/NP) pattern in the LMRB and the MRB during 1951-2010, but with the North Sea-Caspian Pattern (NCP) and the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) in the LRB; (v) such relationships got stronger in 1981-2010, while the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) became the most influential teleconnection for dry season precipitation variability across all basins; and (vi) GPCC (APHRODITE) provided the most reliable gauge-based gridded precipitation time series over the LMRB for the years before (after) 1951. These findings lay a foundation for further studies focusing on water resources and sustainable development in the LMRB.

Evaluation of available surface water resources in Qarah Tikan border basin using satellite products and GIS

Evaluation of available surface water resources in Qarah Tikan border basin using satellite products and GIS

Impacts of parameter uncertainty on baseflow separation by a two‐parameter recursive digital filter

AbstractAccurate baseflow quantification is an important step in the survey and evaluation of water resources, non‐point source pollution quantification, and optimization of water resource allocation. We selected a typical agricultural watershed with high precipitation rates in eastern China as the study area and investigated the impact of the combination of a recession constant (on an annual, monthly, or daily scale) and the maximum baseflow index (BFImax; empirical value vs. optimal value) on the accuracy and reliability of baseflow separated using a two‐parameter recursive digital filter (TPRDF). It was observed that the accuracy and reliability of the TPRDF‐separated baseflow varied with the time scale of the recession constant. Specifically, they decreased in the following order: baseflow estimated using daily recession constants (EBSD) (NSE = 0.797, R2 = 0.819) &gt; baseflow estimated using monthly recession constants (EBSM; NSE = 0.779, R2 = 0.801) &gt; baseflow estimated using annual recession constants (EBSY; NSE = 0.666, R2 = 0.675), where ‘NSE’ is the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient. The empirical value setting of BFImax was another important reason for the uncertainties in the TPRDF‐separated baseflow. The NSE values of EBSY, EBSM, and EBSD increased from 0.666, 0.779, and 0.797–0.785, 0.859, and 0.876, respectively, after replacing the empirical values with numerically optimized values. The combination of BFImax with recession constants on various time scales significantly affected the annual total TPRDF‐separated baseflow. It also affected the overall variation characteristics of the baseflow time series, composition of different magnitude (frequency) components, and sensitivity of baseflow time series to rainfall events.

Evaluating water resource carrying capacity using the deep learning method: a case study of Yunnan, Southwest China.

Water resource carrying capacity (WRCC) is an important index for measuring the relations between water resource systems and socio-economic-environmental development. In view of the difficulty in describing the complex and nonlinear relationships between the WRCC and indicators using traditional methods, this study introduces deep learning theory and proposes a novel deep neural network named WRCC-Net for WRCC assessment. Unlike typical network structures, we constructed a hierarchical structure that can indicate the index system in WRCC evaluation. Furthermore, we utilized a residual learning technique to increase the network depth for fitting the complex relationship between the WRCC state and indicators. The proposed deep learning method was applied to solve the real-world WRCC problem by taking the Yunnan province (Southwest China) as the case area. The WRCC was assessed from the following five dimensions: the water resources, social, economic, ecological environment, and coordination subsystems. Performance evaluation shows the advantages of the proposed WRCC-Net over the typical deep feed-forward network and shallow methods. Therefore, the proposed method provides a new way of evaluating the WRCC state and has potential for WRCC research. Overall, the WRCC evaluation using the WRCC-Net shows that the state of the WRCC in Yunnan constantly decreased from 2008 to 2018. These central-eastern areas in the Yunnan province, such as Kunming, Qujing, and Yuxi, are under an unfavorable capacity state. Measures, such as improving water resources management and increasing water utilization efficiency, should be considered in water resource planning in Yunnan province for the sustainable development of water resources.

Evaluation and prediction of water resources carrying capacity in Jiangsu Province, China

Abstract Water resources carrying capacity (WRCC) is an important component of the carrying capacity of regional natural resources. It is a restrictive index indicating whether a region can support the coordinated development of its population, economy, and environment. In order to solve the problem that WRCC varies with the supporting capacity of, load on, and capacity for regulation of the water resources, this study establishes the relationship between WRCC and the level of socio-economic development (carrying level) and then develops a WRCC evaluation model by analyzing the connotations, characteristics and influencing factors of WRCC. The model is applied to calculate the population and economic scales supportable by water resources in Jiangsu Province under different carrying levels. Predictions are made of the effects of varying water consumption quotas and the industrial structure so as to explore methods of regulating and controlling WRCC in the region. The evaluation, prediction, and control results provide an important reference for the rational allocation of water resources in Jiangsu Province so as to further improve the regional WRCC and achieve sustainable development of regional water resources. The regional WRCC evaluation model has strong applicability and good application effects.