A Coupled Modeling System to Simulate Water Resources in the Rio Grande Basin

Limited availability of fresh water in arid and semi-arid regions of the world requires prudent management strategies from accurate, science-based assessments. These assessments demand a thorough understanding of the hydrologic cycle over long time periods within the individual water-sheds that comprise large river basins. Measurement and simulation of the hydrologic cycle is a tremendous challenge, involving a coupling between global to regional-scale atmospheric precipitation processes with regional to local-scale land surface and subsurface water transport. Los Alamos National Laboratory is developing a detailed modeling system of the hydrologic cycle and applying this tool at high resolution to assess the water balance within the upper Rio Grande river basin. The Rio Grande is a prime example of a river system in a semiarid environment, with a high demand from agricultural, industrial, recreational, and municipal interests for its water supply. Within this river basin, groundwater supplies often augment surface water. With increasing growth projected throughout the river basin, however, these multiple water users have the potential to significantly deplete groundwater resources, thereby increasing the dependence on surface water resources