Recharge sensitivity to local and regional precipitation in semiarid midlatitude regions

The influence of regional, local, and total precipitation on groundwater recharge in a semiarid region is investigated through modeling. Daily precipitation data at two meteorological stations within Okanagan Basin, British Columbia, Canada, are classified into regional (approximately 60% of annual)...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water resources research 2009-06, Vol.45 (6), p.n/a
Main Authors: Toews, M.W, Allen, D.M, Whitfield, P.H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
case studies
climate models
groundwater recharge
hydrologic models
modeling
Okanagan
precipitation
precipitation separation
semiarid zones
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The influence of regional, local, and total precipitation on groundwater recharge in a semiarid region is investigated through modeling. Daily precipitation data at two meteorological stations within Okanagan Basin, British Columbia, Canada, are classified into regional (approximately 60% of annual) and local (approximately 40% of annual) precipitation. The classified daily precipitation data are used as inputs to a one-dimensional unsaturated zone recharge model, HELP 3.80 D. The recharge response is calculated at the base of the approximately 1.2 m soil columns for 86 soil profiles typical of the region. Results suggest that local precipitation events contribute insignificant amounts of recharge compared to regional events. Precipitation data from global climate models that cannot simulate local events accurately may therefore still provide reasonable estimates of groundwater recharge.
ISSN:0043-1397
1944-7973
DOI:10.1029/2007WR006763