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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
earth and planetary sciences
Quantifying the modern recharge of the "fossil" Sahara aquifers
Geophysical Research Letters, Volume 40, No. 11, Year 2013
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Description
The North-Western Sahara Aquifer System (NWSAS), one of the world's largest groundwater systems, shows an overall piezometric decline associated with increasing withdrawals. Estimating the recharge rate in such a semiarid system is challenging but crucial for sustainable water development. In this paper, the recharge of the NWSAS is estimated using a regional water budget based on GRACE terrestrial water storage monthly records, soil moisture from the GLDAS (a land data system that assimilates hydrological information), and groundwater pumping rates. A cumulated natural recharge rate of 1.40 ± 0.90 km3 yr-1is estimated for the two main aquifers. Our results suggest a renewal rate of about 40% which partly contradicts the premise that recharge in this area should be very low or even null. Aquifer depletion inferred from our analysis is consistent with observed piezometric head decline in the two main aquifers in the region. Annual recharge variations were also estimated and vary between 0 and 4.40 km3 yr-1for the period 2003-2010. These values correspond to a recharge between 0 and 6.75 mm yr-1 on the 650,000 km2of outcropping areas of the aquifers, which is consistent with the expected weak and sporadic recharge in this semiarid environment. These variations are also in line with annual rainfall variation with a lag time of about 1 year. © 2013 American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.
Authors & Co-Authors
Gonçalvès, Julio
France, Marseille
Aix Marseille Université
Petersen, Jade O.
France, Marseille
Aix Marseille Université
Deschamps, Pierre
France, Marseille
Aix Marseille Université
France, Aix-en-provence
Centre Européen de Recherche et D’enseignement de Géosciences de L’environnement
Hamelin, Bruno
France, Marseille
Aix Marseille Université
France, Aix-en-provence
Centre Européen de Recherche et D’enseignement de Géosciences de L’environnement
Baba-Sy, O.
Tunisia, Tunis
Oss
Statistics
Citations: 84
Authors: 5
Affiliations: 3
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1002/grl.50478
ISSN:
00948276
e-ISSN:
19448007
Research Areas
Environmental