Groundwater recharge assessment in a rural,arid, mid-mountain basin in North-Central Chile |
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| Authors: | Eric Sandoval Giacomo Baldo Jorge Núñez Jorge Oyarzún Jerry P Fairley Hoori Ajami |
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| Institution: | 1. Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universidad de La Serena, La Serena, Chile;2. Mining Engineering Department, Universidad de La Serena, La Serena, Chile;3. CAZALAC, Water Centre for Arid and Semi-Arid Zones in Latin America and the Caribbean, La Serena, Chile;4. Geological Sciences Department, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA;5. Environmental Sciences Department, University of California-Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA |
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| Abstract: | ABSTRACTA basic component of any hydrogeological study is the magnitude and temporal variation of groundwater recharge. This can be difficult to assess accurately, particularly in arid and semi-arid rainfed mid-mountain zones, as is the situation in the rural, low population density zones of North-Central Chile. In this study, recharge in the Punitaqui Basin, North-Central Chile, was characterized, contrasting the results of two methods: a modified Thornthwaite-Mather (MTM) and discharge recession analysis (DRA). We found a recharge rate of between 1 and 4% of average annual precipitation. Average recharge estimated by the MTM method is consistently higher than that estimated by DRA. Also, DRA tends to smooth the recharge values, resulting in a lower inter-annual variation coefficient. Both methods identified a threshold value of total annual precipitation, above which recharge can be expected to occur, of the order of 180 mm year?1, consistent with values reported in similar areas. |
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| Keywords: | mountain block recharge Punitaqui Basin Chile dryland water balance recession analysis |
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