{"title":"Estimating groundwater recharge across Africa during 2003–2023 using GRACE-derived groundwater storage changes","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.ejrh.2024.102046","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Study Region:</h3><div>Africa, with its diverse climatic zones from the humid Congo Basin to the arid Sahara Desert, where groundwater is influenced by climate variability, land use, and human activities.</div></div><div><h3>Study Focus:</h3><div>The main objective is to estimate groundwater recharge across Africa from 2003 to 2023 using a novel approach that uses GRACE-derived groundwater storage changes.</div></div><div><h3>New Hydrological Insights for the Region:</h3><div>This study provides new insights into the spatial patterns and temporal variability of groundwater recharge across Africa, highlighting the influence of climate variability on the continent’s groundwater resources. Key findings include distinct regional differences in recharge, with higher values in humid regions like the Congo Basin and lower values in arid regions like the Sahara Desert. Substantial interannual variability in recharge is largely driven by year-to-year variations in precipitation and modulated by major modes of climate variability, especially the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. The sensitivity of groundwater recharge to hydroclimatic extremes, with droughts causing significant declines and wet periods leading to above-average replenishment. Regions with low recharge rates or high variability, such as Northern Africa, are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts and unsustainable groundwater abstraction. The findings emphasize the need for sustainable groundwater management strategies that consider the spatial and temporal variability of recharge, as well as the potential impacts of climate change on groundwater resources.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48620,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Hydrology-Regional Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Hydrology-Regional Studies","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581824003951","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"WATER RESOURCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Study Region:
Africa, with its diverse climatic zones from the humid Congo Basin to the arid Sahara Desert, where groundwater is influenced by climate variability, land use, and human activities.
Study Focus:
The main objective is to estimate groundwater recharge across Africa from 2003 to 2023 using a novel approach that uses GRACE-derived groundwater storage changes.
New Hydrological Insights for the Region:
This study provides new insights into the spatial patterns and temporal variability of groundwater recharge across Africa, highlighting the influence of climate variability on the continent’s groundwater resources. Key findings include distinct regional differences in recharge, with higher values in humid regions like the Congo Basin and lower values in arid regions like the Sahara Desert. Substantial interannual variability in recharge is largely driven by year-to-year variations in precipitation and modulated by major modes of climate variability, especially the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. The sensitivity of groundwater recharge to hydroclimatic extremes, with droughts causing significant declines and wet periods leading to above-average replenishment. Regions with low recharge rates or high variability, such as Northern Africa, are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts and unsustainable groundwater abstraction. The findings emphasize the need for sustainable groundwater management strategies that consider the spatial and temporal variability of recharge, as well as the potential impacts of climate change on groundwater resources.
期刊介绍:
Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies publishes original research papers enhancing the science of hydrology and aiming at region-specific problems, past and future conditions, analysis, review and solutions. The journal particularly welcomes research papers that deliver new insights into region-specific hydrological processes and responses to changing conditions, as well as contributions that incorporate interdisciplinarity and translational science.