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Remote Sensing for Groundwater Hydrology

A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Remote Sensing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 February 2025 | Viewed by 3610

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. Institute of Geodesy, University of Warmia, Olsztyn, Poland
2. Department of Land Surveying and Geomatics, Mazury University in Olsztyn, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Interests: geodesy; gravimetry; earth gravity field; GNSS; hydrology; GRACE; groundwater

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Institute of Geodesy, University of Warmia, Olsztyn, Poland
2. Department of Land Surveying and Geomatics, Mazury University in Olsztyn, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Interests: geodesy; gravimetry; earth gravity field; hydrology; GRACE; groundwater
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Division of Land and Water, The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Highett, VIC, Australia
Interests: groundwater charaterisation; groundwater environmental function; remote sensing in groundwater reserach

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

No one needs convincing about the enormous importance of groundwater resources (globally 30% of freshwater resources, providing about 36% of drinkable water, 42% of irrigation water and 24% of industrial water).  Groundwater is also essential for the overall water cycle and balance. Groundwater resources are subject to different fluctuations caused by many factors, like growing population, urbanisation, climate change, bad management or lack of control. Hence, there is a need for continuous, in-depth monitoring of groundwater resources and factors affecting them. This should enable wise decisions on groundwater management, based on the results of collected data and scientific research.

The purpose of the Special Issue is to present the modern methods and results of research on groundwater resources, their fluctuations, trends of changes, factors causing these changes, forecasts for the future. Remote methods such as multispectral, radar, thermal and gravity monitoring, both satellite and on-ground, are of basic interest to the Remote Sensing Journal.

Suggested themes of submissions include the following:

  • Modern methods of monitoring, especially remote techniques;
  • Methods of observation elaboration;
  • Statistical analysis of results and time series analysis;
  • Analysis of factors causing changes in groundwater resources;
  • Other topics related to scientific monitoring of groundwater resources.

The authors can choose a submission type from the following:

  • Original article;
  • Review;
  • Case or brief report;
  • Concept paper;
  • Project report.

Dr. Zofia Rzepecka
Dr. Monika Birylo
Dr. Olga Barron
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • groundwater
  • GRACE
  • GLDAS
  • water storage
  • methods of groundwater monitoring
  • water cycle and balance

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 5925 KiB  
Article
Revealing Water Storage Changes and Ecological Water Conveyance Benefits in the Tarim River Basin over the Past 20 Years Based on GRACE/GRACE-FO
by Weicheng Sun and Xingfu Zhang
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(23), 4355; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16234355 - 22 Nov 2024
Viewed by 383
Abstract
As China’s largest inland river basin and one of the world’s most arid regions, the Tarim River Basin is home to an extremely fragile ecological environment. Therefore, monitoring the water storage changes is critical for enhancing water resources management and improving hydrological policies [...] Read more.
As China’s largest inland river basin and one of the world’s most arid regions, the Tarim River Basin is home to an extremely fragile ecological environment. Therefore, monitoring the water storage changes is critical for enhancing water resources management and improving hydrological policies to ensure sustainable development. This study reveals the spatiotemporal changes of water storage and its driving factors in the Tarim River Basin from 2002 to 2022, utilizing data from GRACE, GRACE-FO (GFO), GLDAS, the glacier model, and measured hydrological data. In addition, we validate GRACE/GFO data as a novel resource that can monitor the ecological water conveyance (EWC) benefits effectively in the lower reaches of the basin. The results reveal that (1) the northern Tarim River Basin has experienced a significant decline in terrestrial water storage (TWS), with an overall deficit that appears to have accelerated in recent years. From April 2002 to December 2009, the groundwater storage (GWS) anomaly accounted for 87.5% of the TWS anomaly, while from January 2010 to January 2020, the ice water storage (IWS) anomaly contributed 57.1% to the TWS anomaly. (2) The TWS changes in the Tarim River Basin are primarily attributed to the changes of GWS and IWS, and they have the highest correlation with precipitation and evapotranspiration, with grey relation analysis (GRA) coefficients of 0.74 and 0.68, respectively, while the human factors mainly affect GWS, with an average GRA coefficient of 0.64. (3) In assessing ecological water conveyance (EWC) benefits, the GRACE/GFO-derived TWS anomaly in the lower reaches of the Tarim River exhibits a good correspondence with the changes of EWC, NDVI, and groundwater levels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing for Groundwater Hydrology)
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23 pages, 7337 KiB  
Article
Remote Sensing-Based Multiscale Analysis of Total and Groundwater Storage Dynamics over Semi-Arid North African Basins
by Abdelhakim Amazirh, Youness Ouassanouan, Houssne Bouimouass, Mohamed Wassim Baba, El Houssaine Bouras, Abdellatif Rafik, Myriam Benkirane, Youssef Hajhouji, Youness Ablila and Abdelghani Chehbouni
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(19), 3698; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16193698 - 4 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1256
Abstract
This study evaluates the use of remote sensing data to improve the understanding of groundwater resources in climate-sensitive regions with limited data availability and increasing agricultural water demands. The research focuses on estimating groundwater reserve dynamics in two major river basins in Morocco, [...] Read more.
This study evaluates the use of remote sensing data to improve the understanding of groundwater resources in climate-sensitive regions with limited data availability and increasing agricultural water demands. The research focuses on estimating groundwater reserve dynamics in two major river basins in Morocco, characterized by significant local variability. The study employs data from Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellite (GRACE) and ERA5-Land reanalysis. Two GRACE terrestrial water storage (TWS) products, CSR Mascon and JPL Mascon (RL06), were analyzed, along with auxiliary datasets generated from ERA5-Land, including precipitation, evapotranspiration, and surface runoff. The results show that both GRACE TWS products exhibit strong correlations with groundwater reserves, with correlation coefficients reaching up to 0.96 in the Oum Er-rbia River Basin and 0.95 in the Tensift River Basin (TRB). The root mean square errors (RMSE) were 0.99 cm and 0.88 cm, respectively. GRACE-derived groundwater storage (GWS) demonstrated a moderate correlation with observed groundwater levels in OERRB (R = 0.59, RMSE = 0.82), but a weaker correlation in TRB (R = 0.30, RMSE = 1.01). On the other hand, ERA5-Land-derived GWS showed a stronger correlation with groundwater levels in OERRB (R = 0.72, RMSE = 0.51) and a moderate correlation in TRB (R = 0.63, RMSE = 0.59). The findings suggest that ERA5-Land may provide more accurate assessments of groundwater storage anomalies, particularly in regions with significant local-scale variability in land and water use. High-resolution datasets like ERA5-land are, therefore, more recommended for addressing local-scale heterogeneity in regions with contrasted complexities in groundwater storage characteristics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing for Groundwater Hydrology)
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22 pages, 5012 KiB  
Article
Providing Enhanced Insights into Groundwater Exchange Patterns through Downscaled GRACE Data
by Jianchong Sun, Litang Hu, Junchao Zhang and Wenjie Yin
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(5), 812; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16050812 - 26 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1257
Abstract
The measurement of groundwater exchange between neighboring regions is a critical topic in water resource management and can usually be achieved through a combination of field investigations and the use of groundwater flow models. In this study, we employed the water balance and [...] Read more.
The measurement of groundwater exchange between neighboring regions is a critical topic in water resource management and can usually be achieved through a combination of field investigations and the use of groundwater flow models. In this study, we employed the water balance and Darcy’s law methods, utilizing downscaled Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and GRACE-Follow On (GRACE-FO) data to assess groundwater exchange patterns in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region of China. Additionally, we determined the contributions of human activities and climate factors to the observed variations via residual analysis. The results revealed a consistent decrease in groundwater storage in the study area since 2008, especially in the spring and summer months. The groundwater exchange rates calculated by 1° and 0.05° groundwater storage anomalies (GWSAs) were basically consistent, and the downscaled GWSAs could better reflect the small-scale groundwater exchange characteristics. The groundwater exchange rate showed a decreasing trend from the Piedmont plain to the coastal areas. A notable trend of declining groundwater exchange between the Taihang Mountains and Piedmont plains was observed, and the downward trend gradually intensified from north to south between 2003 and 2007. After 2008, there was an increasing trend, and coastal areas exhibited the smallest amount of groundwater exchange. Human activities emerged as the predominant factor accounting for more than 90.9% of the overall reduction in groundwater storage, while climate change imposed a minimal influence on groundwater storage variations. The insights obtained in this study hold significant implications for groundwater resource planning and management in the region. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing for Groundwater Hydrology)
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