Snowpack and groundwater recharge in the Atlas mountains: New evidence and key drivers

Study region: The Atlas Mountains of Morocco, specifically the High Oum Er-rbiaa (HOER) and Ourika catchments. Study focus: to identify the recharge processes within the semi-arid watersheds, in the Atlas Mountains, through monthly monitoring of snow, rainfall, surface water, and groundwater isotope...

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Main Authors: Nadia Rhoujjati, Yassine Ait Brahim, Lahoucine Hanich, Ali Rhoujjati, Abdellatif Rafik, Hamza Ouatiki, Abdelghani Chehbouni, Lhoussaine Bouchaou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-10-01
Series:Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581823002070
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author Nadia Rhoujjati
Yassine Ait Brahim
Lahoucine Hanich
Ali Rhoujjati
Abdellatif Rafik
Hamza Ouatiki
Abdelghani Chehbouni
Lhoussaine Bouchaou
author_facet Nadia Rhoujjati
Yassine Ait Brahim
Lahoucine Hanich
Ali Rhoujjati
Abdellatif Rafik
Hamza Ouatiki
Abdelghani Chehbouni
Lhoussaine Bouchaou
author_sort Nadia Rhoujjati
collection DOAJ
description Study region: The Atlas Mountains of Morocco, specifically the High Oum Er-rbiaa (HOER) and Ourika catchments. Study focus: to identify the recharge processes within the semi-arid watersheds, in the Atlas Mountains, through monthly monitoring of snow, rainfall, surface water, and groundwater isotope signal, but also the usage of remote sensing data. New hydrological insights for the region: The spatial-temporal analysis of groundwater and precipitation isotopes reveals significant spatial heterogeneity, primarily influenced by the geological variations in each aquifer. Temporal variations indicate that direct recharge occurs in response to winter precipitation, whereas a delayed response is observed during the summer when snow replenishes groundwater towards the end of the melting season. The findings are further supported by the ''Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment'' (GRACE) dataset, which demonstrates that high values of Total Water Storage (TWS) align with groundwater isotopes. This highlights the substantial groundwater abstraction rate between March and June to compensate for the lack of precipitation during this period. The analysis of isotope data indicates that 50% of groundwater recharge in the upstream Jurassic aquifer and 80% in the downstream Triassic-Paleozoic aquifers in the HOER catchment is sourced from snowmelt. Similarly, in the Ourika catchment, snowmelt contributes 30% and 50% of groundwater recharge in the upstream and downstream portions of the catchments respectively. This disparity is due to different melting rates across altitudinal ranges and variations in the lithology of each catchment.
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spelling doaj.art-f4c5317c1e864511b07ae604a8ee28682023-09-11T04:17:17ZengElsevierJournal of Hydrology: Regional Studies2214-58182023-10-0149101520Snowpack and groundwater recharge in the Atlas mountains: New evidence and key driversNadia Rhoujjati0Yassine Ait Brahim1Lahoucine Hanich2Ali Rhoujjati3Abdellatif Rafik4Hamza Ouatiki5Abdelghani Chehbouni6Lhoussaine Bouchaou7Mohamed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Center for Remote Sensing Applications (CRSA), Benguérir, Morocco; Corresponding author.Mohamed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), International Water Research Institute (IWRI), Benguérir, MoroccoLaboratory of Georesources, Geoenvironment and Civil Engineering, Earth Sciences Department, Faculty of Sciences & Techniques, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, MoroccoLaboratory of Georesources, Geoenvironment and Civil Engineering, Earth Sciences Department, Faculty of Sciences & Techniques, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, MoroccoMohamed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), International Water Research Institute (IWRI), Benguérir, MoroccoMohamed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Center for Remote Sensing Applications (CRSA), Benguérir, MoroccoMohamed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Center for Remote Sensing Applications (CRSA), Benguérir, Morocco; Mohamed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), International Water Research Institute (IWRI), Benguérir, Morocco; IRD / CESBIO (Toulouse, UMR 5126, UPS-CNRS-CNES-IRD), MoroccoMohamed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), International Water Research Institute (IWRI), Benguérir, Morocco; Laboratory of Applied Geology and Geo-Environment, IbnZohr University, Faculty of Sciences, Agadir, MoroccoStudy region: The Atlas Mountains of Morocco, specifically the High Oum Er-rbiaa (HOER) and Ourika catchments. Study focus: to identify the recharge processes within the semi-arid watersheds, in the Atlas Mountains, through monthly monitoring of snow, rainfall, surface water, and groundwater isotope signal, but also the usage of remote sensing data. New hydrological insights for the region: The spatial-temporal analysis of groundwater and precipitation isotopes reveals significant spatial heterogeneity, primarily influenced by the geological variations in each aquifer. Temporal variations indicate that direct recharge occurs in response to winter precipitation, whereas a delayed response is observed during the summer when snow replenishes groundwater towards the end of the melting season. The findings are further supported by the ''Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment'' (GRACE) dataset, which demonstrates that high values of Total Water Storage (TWS) align with groundwater isotopes. This highlights the substantial groundwater abstraction rate between March and June to compensate for the lack of precipitation during this period. The analysis of isotope data indicates that 50% of groundwater recharge in the upstream Jurassic aquifer and 80% in the downstream Triassic-Paleozoic aquifers in the HOER catchment is sourced from snowmelt. Similarly, in the Ourika catchment, snowmelt contributes 30% and 50% of groundwater recharge in the upstream and downstream portions of the catchments respectively. This disparity is due to different melting rates across altitudinal ranges and variations in the lithology of each catchment.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581823002070IsotopesAtlas mountainsGroundwaterSnowmeltRechargeGRACE
spellingShingle Nadia Rhoujjati
Yassine Ait Brahim
Lahoucine Hanich
Ali Rhoujjati
Abdellatif Rafik
Hamza Ouatiki
Abdelghani Chehbouni
Lhoussaine Bouchaou
Snowpack and groundwater recharge in the Atlas mountains: New evidence and key drivers
Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies
Isotopes
Atlas mountains
Groundwater
Snowmelt
Recharge
GRACE
title Snowpack and groundwater recharge in the Atlas mountains: New evidence and key drivers
title_full Snowpack and groundwater recharge in the Atlas mountains: New evidence and key drivers
title_fullStr Snowpack and groundwater recharge in the Atlas mountains: New evidence and key drivers
title_full_unstemmed Snowpack and groundwater recharge in the Atlas mountains: New evidence and key drivers
title_short Snowpack and groundwater recharge in the Atlas mountains: New evidence and key drivers
title_sort snowpack and groundwater recharge in the atlas mountains new evidence and key drivers
topic Isotopes
Atlas mountains
Groundwater
Snowmelt
Recharge
GRACE
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581823002070
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AT lahoucinehanich snowpackandgroundwaterrechargeintheatlasmountainsnewevidenceandkeydrivers
AT alirhoujjati snowpackandgroundwaterrechargeintheatlasmountainsnewevidenceandkeydrivers
AT abdellatifrafik snowpackandgroundwaterrechargeintheatlasmountainsnewevidenceandkeydrivers
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