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Remote Sensing
Volume 17
Issue 24
10.3390/rs17244015
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Assessing the Use of the Standardized GRACE Satellite Groundwater Storage Change Index for Quantifying Groundwater Drought in the Mu Us Sandy Land

by
Yonghua Zhu
1,
Longfei Zhou
1,
Qi Zhang
2,
Zhiming Han
3,
Jiamin Li
1,
Yan Chao
1,
Xiaohan Wang
1,
Hui Yuan
2,
Jie Zhang
1 and
Bisheng Xia
2,*
1
College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Yan’an University, Yan’an 716000, China
2
College of Mathematics and Computer Science, Yan’an University, Yan’an 716000, China
3
College of Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Xi’an 710000, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Remote Sens. 2025, 17(24), 4015; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17244015
Submission received: 16 July 2025 / Revised: 11 November 2025 / Accepted: 21 November 2025 / Published: 12 December 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensing in Geology, Geomorphology and Hydrology)
Versions Notes

Abstract

The increasingly severe phenomenon of groundwater drought poses a dual threat to the development and construction of a region, as well as its ecological environment. Traditional groundwater drought monitoring methods rely on observation wells, which makes it difficult to obtain dynamic drought information in areas with limited measurement data. Based on Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite technology and data, the suitability of the standardized groundwater index (GRACE_SGI) was explored for drought characterization in the Mu Us Sandy Land. Multiscale and seasonal trend changes in groundwater drought in the study area from 2002 to 2021 were comprehensively identified. Subsequently, the characteristics of hysteresis time between the GRACE_SGI and the standardized precipitation index (SPI) were clarified. The results show that (1) different fitting functions impact the parameterized GRACE_SGI fitting results. The Anderson–Darling method was used to find the best-fitting function for groundwater data in the study area: the Pearson III distribution. (2) The gain and loss characteristics of the GRACE_SGI are similar, showing downward trends at different time scales, including seasonal scales. (3) The absolute values based on the maximum correlation coefficients between the SPI and the GRACE_SGI at different time scales were 0.1296, 0.2483, 0.2427, and 0.5224, with time lags of 0, 0, 12, and 11 months, respectively. The vulnerability of semiarid ecosystems to hydroclimatic changes is highlighted by these findings, and a satellite-based framework for monitoring groundwater drought in data-scarce regions is provided.
Keywords: standardized groundwater index; hysteresis time; probability density function; drought; Mu Us Sandy Land standardized groundwater index; hysteresis time; probability density function; drought; Mu Us Sandy Land

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MDPI and ACS Style

Zhu, Y.; Zhou, L.; Zhang, Q.; Han, Z.; Li, J.; Chao, Y.; Wang, X.; Yuan, H.; Zhang, J.; Xia, B. Assessing the Use of the Standardized GRACE Satellite Groundwater Storage Change Index for Quantifying Groundwater Drought in the Mu Us Sandy Land. Remote Sens. 2025, 17, 4015. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17244015

AMA Style

Zhu Y, Zhou L, Zhang Q, Han Z, Li J, Chao Y, Wang X, Yuan H, Zhang J, Xia B. Assessing the Use of the Standardized GRACE Satellite Groundwater Storage Change Index for Quantifying Groundwater Drought in the Mu Us Sandy Land. Remote Sensing. 2025; 17(24):4015. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17244015

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zhu, Yonghua, Longfei Zhou, Qi Zhang, Zhiming Han, Jiamin Li, Yan Chao, Xiaohan Wang, Hui Yuan, Jie Zhang, and Bisheng Xia. 2025. "Assessing the Use of the Standardized GRACE Satellite Groundwater Storage Change Index for Quantifying Groundwater Drought in the Mu Us Sandy Land" Remote Sensing 17, no. 24: 4015. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17244015

APA Style

Zhu, Y., Zhou, L., Zhang, Q., Han, Z., Li, J., Chao, Y., Wang, X., Yuan, H., Zhang, J., & Xia, B. (2025). Assessing the Use of the Standardized GRACE Satellite Groundwater Storage Change Index for Quantifying Groundwater Drought in the Mu Us Sandy Land. Remote Sensing, 17(24), 4015. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17244015

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