Responding to the challenges of Water and Global Warming: Environmental Hydrogeology and Global Change Research Group (HYGLO-Lab)

[EN] The current Global Warming of planet Earth is probably the most important geological phenomenon in the last 20,000 years of its history and for human race. This process is having nowadays notable effects on the climate, ecosystems and natural resources. Possibly the most important renewable geological resource is water. One of the most strategic phases of the water cycle is groundwater. Despite its low visibility, quantitatively (and qualitatively too) it is essential for life on Planet Earth. Foreseeable consequences on groundwater due to climate change and sea level rise will be very significant. Hydrogeology can provide answers to many of the questions that are beginning to be raised in relation to these impacts and their effects. Environmental hydrogeology is a way of understanding the set of disciplines mixed in Hydrogeology as a Science of Nature. The HYGLO-Lab Research Group of the IGME-CSIC National Center attempts, through its lines of research, with a double global and local component, to provide answers to some of these questions.Peer reviewe

Role of time variant and invariant terms on soil moisture spatio-temporal variability in a subhumid coastal wetland

[EN] The knowledge of soil moisture spatio-temporal variability is highly relevant for water resources management. This paper reports an analysis of the spatial–temporal variability of soil moisture data for a small to medium-scale soil-sensors network in a coastal wetland of southwestern Spain. Measurements were taken from five sites located in the Doñana National Park over the time-period of one hydrological year from September 2017 to September 2018. The total area of the soil-sensors network shows an extension about 25 × 3 km. Soil moisture data was separated into time invariant (the temporal mean of the whole period at each site) and time-variant terms (the deviations of soil moisture from the mean, or anomalies). The time-invariant component was generally the main contributor to the total spatial variance of soil moisture and it was mostly controlled by the groundwater levels in the area. Nevertheless, the time variant terms have a huge effect on soil moisture variability in very dry states. Characteristic convex time-dependent patterns for this field site were found between spatially averaged soil moisture and its variability. This information could be used for the up and downscaling of soil moisture from satellite data. Those patterns of relation between spatial mean and variability of soil moisture were only affected by heavy rainfalls giving rise to hysteretic behaviour. This study shows that even though groundwater level is a time-variant variable, it significantly affects soil moisture's time-variant but also time-invariant terms due to the different average groundwater level depths at the different sites.This work has been financed by the CLIGRO Project (MICINN, CGL2016-77473-C3-1-R) of the Spanish National Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation. The infrastructure has been co-financed by European Research Funds (SE Scientific Infrastructures and Techniques and Equipment 388 2013, IGME13-1E-2113). The contracts of Lidia Molano Leno (PEJ-2014-A-68763) and Daniel Jesus Martinez Suárez (PTA2014-09579-I) were financed by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness of Spain (MINECO) and co-financed by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Social Fund (ESF).Peer reviewe

Nueva instrumentación de investigación para la mejora y actualización de la red de seguimiento de la recarga de los recursos hídricos en el espacio natural de Doñana.

[EN] Dune belts constitute important areas of groundwater recharge due to their elevated infiltration rates. Therefore, sustainable management of groundwater resources of coastal aquifers recharged partly by coastal dune belts need precise knowledge of the soil wáter budget. In this sense, in September 2015, a high-precision infrastructure was installed in the Doñana National Park to monitor natural recharge and regional climate trends. In March 2021, this infrastructure was complemented, mainly with the installation of 3 new weighing lysimeters of different sizes. The main objective pursued in this presentation is to measure the recharge that occurs in soil with/without vegetation and under pine cover. The results reveal important differences in recharge depending on the existing vegetation cover and, in addition, demonstrate that there is an excellent correlation of the values provided by the smaller lysimeters compared to the larger ones.[ES] Los cinturones de dunas constituyen áreas importantes de recarga de aguas subterráneas debido a sus elevadas tasas de infiltración. Por lo tanto, la gestión sostenible de los recursos de agua subterránea de los acuíferos costeros, recargados en parte por cinturones de dunas, necesita un conocimiento preciso del balance de agua del suelo. En este sentido, en septiembre de 2015 se instaló en el Parque Nacional de Doñana una infraestructura de alta precisión para monitorizar la recarga natural y las tendencias climáticas regionales. En marzo de 2021 se complementó esta infraestructura, principalmente con la instalación de 3 nuevos lisímetros pesadores de diferentes tamaños. El principal objetivo que se persigue en esta presentación es medir la recarga que se produce en suelos con/sin vegetación y bajo cubierta de pino. Los resultados revelan importantes diferencias en la recarga en función de la cobertura vegetal existente y, además, demuestran que existe una excelente correlación de los valores proporcionados por los lisímetros más pequeños respecto a los más grandes.Este trabajo se ha realizado en el marco del convenio del IGME-CSIC con la Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir, para la mejora del conocimiento hidrogeológico en el marco de la planificación hidrológica (2020-2024). La infraestructura de recarga instalada en 2015 se ejecutó con fondos FEDER mediante el Proyecto IGME13-1E-2113. La ampliación de dicha instalación, realizada en 2021, se ha realizado con fondos FEDER (proyecto EQC2018-004130-P).Peer reviewe