Groundwater recharge in desert playas: current rates and future effects of climate change

• Published in: Environmental research letters Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 14025 - 14034
• Main Authors: McKenna, Owen P, Sala, Osvaldo E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bristol IOP Publishing 01.01.2018
• Subjects: Aquifers; Arid lands; Arid zones; Carbon sequestration; Catchments; Climate change; Climate effects; desert playas; Deserts; Groundwater; Groundwater recharge; Groundwater storage; Jornada LTER; Natural recharge; open climate campaign; Playas; Precipitation; precipitation variability; Runoff; runoff modeling; Soil texture; Vegetation cover; Water resources; watershed ecology; United States > US

Our results from playas, which are topographic low areas situated in closed-catchments in drylands, indicated that projected climate change in Southwestern USA would have a net positive impact over runon and groundwater recharge beneath playas. Expected increased precipitation variability can cause...