Some old stuff that I never bothered to post at the time I did it. It's now time to get it out there, as more references to this idea are showing up in various places.
Two years ago I wrote an abstract that I gave as an oral presentation at the AWRA Annual Water Resources Conference in Portland, 4-7 November 2013:
Melting Glaciers and Groundwater Storage: Ever The Twain Shall Meet? ‐ Michael Campana and Maria Gibson, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
In response to global warming, some mountain glaciers are melting at
accelerated rates in various regions. These mountain glaciers provide humanity and ecosystems with 'free storage' of fresh water and parcel out water to maintain and replenish freshwater supplies. During warm seasons, the glacial meltwater nourishes lower‐elevation ecosystems and human settlements alike. Replenishment of the frozen glacial water normally occurs during the cooler seasons; the cycle then repeats itself. However, the specter of global warming suggests that these glaciers will melt completely, some relatively quickly, thus eliminating them as a reliable, perennial source of freshwater with potentially disastrous effects for lower elevations. But before the freshwater melts completely and runs off to the oceans or internal basins, can some of it be stored in the subsurface? Such groundwater storage would not be a permanent, sustainable solution to freshwater shortages, but might provide a buffer to permit the development of alternatives to ensure survival of ecosystems and humans. The presentation will explore some of the advantages and disadvantages of subsurface storage to salvage glacial meltwater runoff, and speculate where such schemes might work.
It was the last abstract in the last session of the last day of the conference.
Download AWRA_2013-Sess_88_abs
I had thought about this as early as January 2008 (see here and here) but it didn't really dawn on me until I visited Copiapó, Chile, in summer 2008 (see the PPT). By the way, I'm not claiming that I was the first to think of this concept.
PPT: Download Campana_AWRA_2013_Session_88
You'll note that the abstract does not have much substance; neither does the PPT. My sole purpose in presenting this was to take the pulse of the audience (which contained a bunch of groundwater wonks) to see if I was 'all wet' (or not) about this idea. Turns out that the reception was more favorable than I had imagined.
Maria Gibson, my PhD student, aka Groundwater Geek, is expert at MAR and ASR/AR and I are pursuing this concept. We thought we had a good chance to get some funding to demonstrate proof of concept in Peru (via USAID) but we couldn't quite pull it off. We have not given up and may do some work a lot closer to home.
If you have any comments, positive or negative, please make them.
Note: Friend Bob Bower sent me this announcement of the 9th International Symposium on Managed Aquifer Recharge, 20-24 June 2016, Mexico City. I wrote this post before reading his email. Maybe I should go.
"The meek shall inherit the earth; the rest of us will escape." -- Unknown
I pitched this same idea at a 2009 conference in Xian for the Tarim Basin in western China given the *third pole* is melting. The response from the NSF was *this looks more like consulting than research*.
Hoping your work encounters *entrepreneurial* reviewers and funders that think out of the box, like a Canadian groundwater syndicate.
Posted by: Rainbow Water Coalition | Sunday, 14 June 2015 at 09:46 AM