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Morin, E., Grodek, T., Dahan, O., Benito, G., Külls, C., Jacoby, Y., et al. (2009). Flood routing and alluvial aquifer recharge along the ephemeral arid Kuiseb River, Namibia. Journal of Hydrology, 368(1-4), 262–275.
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Klaus, J., Külls, C., & Dahan, O. (2008). Evaluating the recharge mechanism of the Lower Kuiseb Dune area using mixing cell modeling and residence time data. Journal of Hydrology, 358(3-4), 304–316.
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Müller, M., Alaoui, A., Külls, C., Leistert, H., Meusburger, K., Stumpp, C., et al. (2014). Tracking water pathways in steep hillslopes by δ18O depth profiles of soil water. Journal of hydrology, 519, 340–352.
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Ollivier, C. C., Carrière, S. D., Heath, T., Olioso, A., Rabefitia, Z., Rakoto, H., et al. (2023). Ensemble precipitation estimates based on an assessment of 21 gridded precipitation datasets to improve precipitation estimations across Madagascar. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 47, 101400.
Abstract: Study region this study focuses on Madagascar. This island is characterized by a great diversity of climate, due to trade winds and the varying topography. This country is also undergoing extreme rainfall events such as droughts and cyclones. Study focus the rain gauge network of Madagascar is limited (about 30 stations). Consequently, we consider relevant satellite-based precipitation datasets to fill gaps in ground-based datasets. We assessed the reliability of 21 satellite-based and reanalysis precipitation products (P-datasets) through a direct comparison with 24 rain gauge station measurements at the monthly time step, using four statistical indicators: Kling-Gupta Efficiency (KGE), Correlation Coefficient (CC), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and Bias. Based on this first analysis, we produced a merged dataset based on a weighted average of the 21 products. New hydrological insights for the region based on the KGE and the CC scores, WFDEI (WATCH Forcing Data methodology applied to ERA-Interim), CMORPH-BLD (Climate Prediction Center MORPHing satellite-gauge merged) and MSWEP (Multi-Source Weighted Ensemble Precipitation) are the most accurate for estimating rainfall at the national scale. Additionally, the results reveal a high discrepancy between bio-climatic regions. The merged dataset reveals higher performance than the other products in all situations. These results demonstrate the usefulness of a merging approach in an area with a deficit of rainfall data and a climatic and topographic diversity.
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Nijsten, G. - J., Christelis, G., Villholth, K. G., Braune, E., & Gaye, C. B. (2018). Transboundary aquifers of Africa: Review of the current state of knowledge and progress towards sustainable development and management. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 20, 21–34.
Abstract: Study region Transboundary aquifers (TBAs) of Africa. Study focus Review of work on TBAs in Africa, including an overview of assessments and management efforts that have taken place over the last half century. New hydrological insights Seventy-two TBAs have been mapped in Africa. They underlie 40% of the continent, where 33% of the population lives, often in arid or semi-arid regions. TBA inventories have progressed since 2000 and remain work in progress. Despite their importance only eleven TBAs have been subjected to more detailed studies. Cooperation has been formalised for seven TBAs. Most of these TBAs are in North Africa and the Sahel. The recent global Transboundary Waters Assessment Programme compiled information at the national level to describe TBAs in terms of key indicators related to the water resource, socio-economic, and legal and institutional conditions. Availability of data at national level is low, hampering regional assessment. Comparing indicators, from questionnaire surveys, with those from a global water-use model showed variable levels of agreement, calling for further research. Reports on agreements scoping TBA management, indicate that this may be dealt with within international river/lake agreements, but reported inconsistencies between TBA sharing countries also indicate that implementation is limited. Increasing awareness and support to joint TBA management is noticeable amongst international organisations. However, such cooperation requires long-term commitment to produce impacts at the local level.
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Rooyen, J. D. van, Watson, A. W., & Miller, J. A. (2022). Using tritium and radiocarbon activities to constrain regional modern and fossil groundwater mixing in Southern Africa. Journal of Hydrology, 614, 128570.
Abstract: This study combines historical records of 14C and 3H in the atmosphere and soil with renewal rate and groundwater lumped parameter models to predict the abundance of 14C and 3H in groundwater over time. 624 groundwater samples from numerous studies, over four decades (1978–2019), in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Mozambique were collated to compare with predicted groundwater activities of 14C and 3H within the South African Development Community (SADC) region. Spatial datasets of carbonate bearing lithology, C3/C4 vegetation, summer/winter rainfall and coastal proximity were used to apply corrections to 14C and 3H data. Corrected values of 14C and 3H were compared with the theoretical abundance of these tracers, derived from the lumped parameter models, to estimate the general mean residence times and presence of groundwater mixing between modern recharge and older groundwaters. This study found that corrected values produced varying mean residence times derived from 14C ages (∼500–28500 years) and a wide range of potentially mixed waters within each aquifer system (0–100 % of tested wells) across the study area. The largest proportions of mixed groundwater, as well as the youngest mean residence times, were found in alluvial and primary fractured rock aquifers (e.g., western coast of South Africa and southern Mozambique). The smallest proportions of mixed groundwater were predicted in deep confined clay-rich aquifers as well as layered coal bearing carbonate sequences (e.g., Orapa, Malwewe and Serowe, Botswana). Insights into the proportions of mixed groundwater and mean residence times can help assess hydrological resilience on a regional scale. Such information is pertinent in promoting socio-economic development and increased water/food security in the SADC region. By understanding the resilience of groundwater resources, robust and informed strategies for water equality and GDP growth in the SADC region can be envisioned and implemented.
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Heaton, T. H. E., Talma, A. S., & Vogel, J. C. (1983). Origin and history of nitrate in confined groundwater in the western Kalahari. Journal of Hydrology, 62(1), 243–262.
Abstract: Data are presented for nitrate, dinitrogen and argon concentrations and 15N14N ratios in groundwater, with radiocarbon ages up to 40,000 yr. for three confined sandstone aquifers in the western Kalahari of South West Africa/Namibia. The nitrate is probably generated within the soil of the recharge areas, and its production rate during the period 3000-40,000 B.P. has remained between 0.5 and 1.6 meq NO−3l−1 of recharge water, with ° 15N between + 4 and + 8‰. Variations in the amount of nitrate and of “excess air” in groundwater recharge are found, and can only reflect changes in the environmental conditions during recharge. They must therefore be caused by the climatic changes that have taken place during the past 25,000 yr.
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Burchi, S. (2018). Legal frameworks for the governance of international transboundary aquifers: Pre- and post-ISARM experience. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 20, 15–20.
Abstract: Study region Africa, Latin America, Europe. Study focus Through the extensive study and mapping of the world’s aquifers that lie astride the international boundary lines of sovereign States, ISARM has awakened concerned States to the existence of aquifers stretching beyond their borders, and precipitated cooperation in generating a body of knowledge that facilitated cooperation in governance arrangements for such aquifers. In parallel, ISARM influenced the shape and direction of the United Nations “Draft articles on the law of transboundary aquifers” appended to UN Resolution 63/124 of 2008. Both stimulated cooperation among concerned States, and provided a frame of reference for the legal grounding of such cooperation in aquifer-specific agreements. New hydrological insights Through this synergistic paradigm, ISARM has made an impact on the shape and direction of cooperation in the Guaraní Aquifer in South America, and in the Iullemeden and Taoudeni/Tanezrouft Aquifer Systems (ITAS) in the Sahel region of Africa. It is having an influence on the shape and direction of cooperation being negotiated on the Stampriet Aquifer System in Southern Africa, and on the Ocotepeque-Citalá Aquifer in Central America. The link of ISARM to other international aquifer agreements on record is tenuous, and ISARM’s influence on their generation speculative. The visibility of ISARM has faded since 2012, however its legacy is lasting.
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Frumkin, A., & Gvirtzman, H. (2006). Cross-formational rising groundwater at an artesian karstic basin: the Ayalon Saline Anomaly, Israel. Journal of Hydrology, 318(1), 316–333.
Abstract: It is proposed that a geothermal artesian karstic system at the central part of the Yarkon–Taninim aquifer creates the ‘Ayalon Saline Anomaly’ (ASA), whose mechanism has been under debate for several decades. A 4-year-long detailed groundwater monitoring was carried out at 68 new shallow boreholes in the Ayalon region, accompanied by a comprehensive survey of karstic voids. Results indicate the rising of warm-brackish groundwater through highly permeable swarms of karstic shafts, serving as an outflow of the artesian geothermal system. The ASA area contains ‘hot spots’, where groundwater contrasts with ‘normal’ water hundreds of meters away. The ASA temperature reaches 30°C (∼5°C warmer than its surroundings), chloride concentration reaches 528mg/l (50–100mg/l in the surrounding), H2S concentration reaches 5.6mg/l (zero all around) and pH value is 7.0 (compared with 7.8 around). Subsequently, the hydrothermal water flows laterally of at the watertable horizon through horizontal conduits, mixing with ‘normal’ fresh water which had circulated at shallow depth. Following rainy seasons, maximal watertable rise is observed in the ASA compared to its surroundings. Regional hydrogeology considerations suggest that the replenishment area for the ASA water is at the Samaria Mountains, east of the ASA. The water circulates to a great depth while flowing westward, and a cross-formational upward flow is then favored close the upper sub-aquifer’s confinement border.
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Gimeno, M. J., Tullborg, E. - L., Nilsson, A. - C., Auqué, L. F., & Nilsson, L. (2023). Hydrogeochemical characterisation of the groundwater in the crystalline basement of Forsmark, the selected area for the geological nuclear repositories in Sweden. Journal of Hydrology, 624, 129818.
Abstract: Numerous groundwater analyses from the crystalline bedrock in the Forsmark area have been performed between 2002 and 2019, together with thorough geological, geophysical, and hydrogeological studies, within the site investigations carried out by the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company. The groundwater samples have been taken from boreholes down to ≈ 1000 m and the analysis include major- and trace-elements, stable and radiogenic isotopes, gases and microbes. The chemical and isotopic composition of these groundwaters evidences the presence of non-marine brackish to saline groundwaters with very long residence times (many hundreds of thousands of years) and a series of complex mixing events resulting from the recharge of different waters over time: glacial meltwaters, probably from different glaciations of which the latest culminated some 20,000 years ago, and marine waters from the Baltic starting some 7000 years ago. Later, meteoric water and present Baltic Sea water have recharged in different parts of the upper 100 m. These mixing events have also triggered chemical and microbial reactions that have conditioned some of the important groundwater parameters and, together with the structural complexity of the area, they have promoted a heterogeneous distribution of groundwater compositions in the bedrock. Due to these evident differences in chemistry, residence time and origin of the groundwater, several groundwater types were defined in order to facilitate the visualisation and communication. The differentiation (linked to the paleohydrological history of the area) was based on Cl concentration, Cl/Mg ratio (marine component), and δ18O value (glacial component). The work presented in this paper increases the understanding of the groundwater evolution in fractured and compartmentalised aquifers where mixing processes are the most important mechanisms. The model proposed to characterise the present groundwater system of the Forsmark area will also help to predict the future hydrogeochemical behaviour of the groundwater system after the construction of the repositories for the nuclear wastes.
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