Overview of terrestrial water storage changes over the Indus River Basin based on GRACE/GRACE-FO solutions

Yu Zhu; Shiyin Liu; Ying Yi; Fuming Xie; Richard Grünwald; Wenfei Miao; Kunpeng Wu; Miaomiao Qi; Yongpeng Gao; Dharmaveer Singh

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149366

Overview of terrestrial water storage changes over the Indus River Basin based on GRACE/GRACE-FO solutions

Sci Total Environ. 2021 Dec 10:799:149366. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149366. Epub 2021 Jul 31.

Authors

Yu Zhu¹, Shiyin Liu², Ying Yi³, Fuming Xie⁴, Richard Grünwald⁵, Wenfei Miao⁶, Kunpeng Wu⁷, Miaomiao Qi⁸, Yongpeng Gao⁹, Dharmaveer Singh¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, 650091 Kunming, China; Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-security, 650091 Kunming, China. Electronic address: yuzhu@mail.ynu.edu.cn.
² Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, 650091 Kunming, China; Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-security, 650091 Kunming, China. Electronic address: shiyin.liu@ynu.edu.cn.
³ Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, 650091 Kunming, China; Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-security, 650091 Kunming, China. Electronic address: yingyi@mail.ynu.edu.cn.
⁴ Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, 650091 Kunming, China; Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-security, 650091 Kunming, China. Electronic address: xfm@mail.ynu.edu.cn.
⁵ Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, 650091 Kunming, China; Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-security, 650091 Kunming, China. Electronic address: grunwaldrichard@ynu.edu.cn.
⁶ Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, 650091 Kunming, China; Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-security, 650091 Kunming, China. Electronic address: wenfei.miao@mail.ynu.edu.cn.
⁷ Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, 650091 Kunming, China; Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-security, 650091 Kunming, China. Electronic address: wukunpeng@ynu.edu.cn.
⁸ Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, 650091 Kunming, China; Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-security, 650091 Kunming, China. Electronic address: qmm@mail.ynu.edu.cn.
⁹ Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, 650091 Kunming, China; Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-security, 650091 Kunming, China. Electronic address: 22019000220@mail.ynu.edu.cn.
¹⁰ Symbiosis Institute of Geo-informatics, Symbiosis International University, 411016 Pune, India. Electronic address: dharmaveer@sig.ac.in.

PMID: 34352463
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149366

Abstract

Water resources are under severe stress in the highly populated Indus River Basin due to the increased consumption of water across different sectors and climate change. Coping with these challenges, requires a clear understanding on hydrological processes and anthropogenic activities, and how these are influencing recharging and spatiotemporal availability of groundwater in the basin. The present study aims to investigate the natural and anthropogenic impact on Terrestrial Water Storage (TWS) over the Indus River Basin by using a series of statistical methods and the observation data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and Follow-On (GRACE-FO). Our results show that (i) TWS Anomaly (TWSA) experienced a significant decrease from 2002 to 2020, particularly in the MUIP; (ii) the UIB showed a weak decreasing trend in TWSA as a result of the accelerated glacier melting; (iii) there was significant loss of groundwater (1.57 mm/month) caused by ineffective water management and over-exploitation; and (iv) assisted by favorable meteorological conditions, the precipitation presented a positive trend against the weakness of the Westerlies, which exerted the positive influence on TWSA.

Keywords: Anthropogenic impact; Climate change; Middle and Upper Indus Plain (MUIP); Terrestrial water storage anomaly (TWSA); Upper Indus Basin (UIB).

MeSH terms

Environmental Monitoring
Groundwater*
Hydrology
Rivers*
Water

Substances

Water