In November 2013 I presented a brief talk on storing glacial meltwater by aquifer recharge. I posted it on 14 June 2015:
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.
At the time we (Maria Gibson and I) were thinking of the Andes, Himalayas, and the Cascade Range here in the Pacific Northwest. I think that this could be a real boon to areas where the glaciers are melting 'too fast' because of global warming - store some of that water on land.
Now comes a study published by Daniel Farinotti, Alberto Pistocchi, and Matthias Huss in Environmental Research Letters 11(6), From dwindling ice to headwater lakes: could dams replace glaciers in the European Alps?
Abstract
The potential exploitation of areas becoming ice-free in response to ongoing climate change has rarely been addressed, although it could be of interest from the water management perspective. Here we present an estimate for the potential of mitigating projected changes in seasonal water availability from melting glaciers by managing runoff through reservoirs. For the European Alps we estimate that by the end of the century, such a strategy could offset up to 65% of the expected summer-runoff changes from presently glacierized surfaces. A first-order approach suggests that the retention volume potentially available in the areas becoming deglacierized is in excess of the volume required for achieving the maximal possible mitigation by more than one order of magnitude. Obviously, however, such a strategy cannot compensate for the reduction in annual runoff caused by glacier ice depletion. Our estimates indicate that by 2070–2099, 0.73 ± 0.67 km3 a−1 of this non-renewable component of the water cycle could be missing in Alpine water supplies.
I'm not claiming that the Alps are a place to store water in the subsurface but I am very glad to see that someone is thinking about storing glacial meltwater. Time to get going on this!
Enjoy - I sure did!
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” - N. Walsh (via @OutwardBoundUSA)
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