Скачать или смотреть Characterizing the 2019-2021 Drought in La Plata River Basin with GLDAS and SMAP

Jessica Besnier | University of Virginia

Description:
This presentation delves into research on the 2019-2021 drought in La Plata River Basin in South America using different remote sensing techniques.

Abstract:
In 2019, there was an inception of a drought in the La Plata River Basin (LPRB) that lasted until 2021. With the LPRB being the second largest river basin in South America, this drought affected all aspects of life for over 100 million people who inhabit this area. The most detrimental effects were to the water resources, hydropower, and agriculture sectors. In this study, we utilize satellite datasets to examine spatial and temporal variability of hydrological anomalies throughout the basin. The hydrological variables examined in this study are precipitation, evapotranspiration, runoff, groundwater, total water storage, surface soil moisture, rootzone soil moisture, and profile soil moisture. These variable anomalies are derived from the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) and were found to decrease from 2019 to 2021. The water loss was calculated from 2015 to 2021 using the Mann-Kendall test to assess the changes in anomalies for the total water storage throughout the basin and subbasins. It was found that the Upper Parana subbasin lost the most water over this period.

Additionally, the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) observations were used in the spatial and temporal analysis and characterization of the drought. In order to better understand the soil moisture patterns for the LPRB during this drought, both 9 km and the downscaled 1 km SMAP data was used. These datasets were compared and validated with in-situ observations. These products allowed for an improved understanding of the spatial variability within the entire basin and sub basins of the LPRB. This analysis allows for improved understanding of droughts in this basin as well as resources to assist in the future management of water resources.

NASA Science Theater at AGU 2022