Transmission losses and groundwater recharge from ephemeral rivers in the Canterbury Plains (New Zealand): Historical reconstruction and environmental implications
Study regionThe Canterbury Plains (New Zealand), where gravel-bed rivers are a major source of groundwater recharge to underlying aquifers and some of these rivers are ephemeral.Study focusA recently developed method has been employed to estimate groundwater recharge from the Selwyn and Orari rivers...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581825001417 |
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| author | Antoine Di Ciacca Lucille Guinevere Knight Maxime Brand Patrick Durney Scott Wilson Thomas Wöhling |
| author_facet | Antoine Di Ciacca Lucille Guinevere Knight Maxime Brand Patrick Durney Scott Wilson Thomas Wöhling |
| author_sort | Antoine Di Ciacca |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Study regionThe Canterbury Plains (New Zealand), where gravel-bed rivers are a major source of groundwater recharge to underlying aquifers and some of these rivers are ephemeral.Study focusA recently developed method has been employed to estimate groundwater recharge from the Selwyn and Orari rivers using satellite images. We found that for both rivers the specific groundwater recharge is strongly correlated to the logarithm of the river discharge. These relationships were leveraged to predict the total groundwater recharge from flow data for the last 40 years.New hydrological insights for the regionOur findings indicate an average annual groundwater recharge of 74 Mm3y-1 from the Selwyn River and 205 Mm3y-1 from the Orari River. Notably, there is a strong interannual variability in groundwater recharge of up to 100%, partly explained by El Niño events, but no distinct impact of longer-term climate change.Moreover, this study highlights the importance of groundwater recharge from ephemeral rivers of the Canterbury Plains for groundwater resources and groundwater-dependent ecosystems located in spring-fed streams. We show that to ensure flow in the studied spring-fed streams, the Selwyn and Orari monthly averaged recharge should be maintained above 2 and 8 m3s-1, respectively.We advocate for the broader application of our method to enhance the understanding and management of ephemeral rivers and their dependent systems in other regions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7c1cc866cb4a4248815fd0e19c05fa89 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2214-5818 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-7c1cc866cb4a4248815fd0e19c05fa892025-08-20T03:13:07ZengElsevierJournal of Hydrology: Regional Studies2214-58182025-06-015910231710.1016/j.ejrh.2025.102317Transmission losses and groundwater recharge from ephemeral rivers in the Canterbury Plains (New Zealand): Historical reconstruction and environmental implicationsAntoine Di Ciacca0Lucille Guinevere Knight1Maxime Brand2Patrick Durney3Scott Wilson4Thomas Wöhling5Environmental Research, Lincoln Agritech Ltd, Lincoln, New Zealand; Correspondence to: Université de Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.Environmental Research, Lincoln Agritech Ltd, Lincoln, New Zealand; University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New ZealandEnvironmental Research, Lincoln Agritech Ltd, Lincoln, New Zealand; ENGEES, Strasbourg, FranceEnvironmental Research, Lincoln Agritech Ltd, Lincoln, New ZealandEnvironmental Research, Lincoln Agritech Ltd, Lincoln, New ZealandEnvironmental Research, Lincoln Agritech Ltd, Lincoln, New Zealand; Chair of Hydrology, TU Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, GermanyStudy regionThe Canterbury Plains (New Zealand), where gravel-bed rivers are a major source of groundwater recharge to underlying aquifers and some of these rivers are ephemeral.Study focusA recently developed method has been employed to estimate groundwater recharge from the Selwyn and Orari rivers using satellite images. We found that for both rivers the specific groundwater recharge is strongly correlated to the logarithm of the river discharge. These relationships were leveraged to predict the total groundwater recharge from flow data for the last 40 years.New hydrological insights for the regionOur findings indicate an average annual groundwater recharge of 74 Mm3y-1 from the Selwyn River and 205 Mm3y-1 from the Orari River. Notably, there is a strong interannual variability in groundwater recharge of up to 100%, partly explained by El Niño events, but no distinct impact of longer-term climate change.Moreover, this study highlights the importance of groundwater recharge from ephemeral rivers of the Canterbury Plains for groundwater resources and groundwater-dependent ecosystems located in spring-fed streams. We show that to ensure flow in the studied spring-fed streams, the Selwyn and Orari monthly averaged recharge should be maintained above 2 and 8 m3s-1, respectively.We advocate for the broader application of our method to enhance the understanding and management of ephemeral rivers and their dependent systems in other regions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581825001417Groundwater rechargeEphemeral riversRemote sensingGroundwater-dependent ecosystemsClimate change |
| spellingShingle | Antoine Di Ciacca Lucille Guinevere Knight Maxime Brand Patrick Durney Scott Wilson Thomas Wöhling Transmission losses and groundwater recharge from ephemeral rivers in the Canterbury Plains (New Zealand): Historical reconstruction and environmental implications Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies Groundwater recharge Ephemeral rivers Remote sensing Groundwater-dependent ecosystems Climate change |
| title | Transmission losses and groundwater recharge from ephemeral rivers in the Canterbury Plains (New Zealand): Historical reconstruction and environmental implications |
| title_full | Transmission losses and groundwater recharge from ephemeral rivers in the Canterbury Plains (New Zealand): Historical reconstruction and environmental implications |
| title_fullStr | Transmission losses and groundwater recharge from ephemeral rivers in the Canterbury Plains (New Zealand): Historical reconstruction and environmental implications |
| title_full_unstemmed | Transmission losses and groundwater recharge from ephemeral rivers in the Canterbury Plains (New Zealand): Historical reconstruction and environmental implications |
| title_short | Transmission losses and groundwater recharge from ephemeral rivers in the Canterbury Plains (New Zealand): Historical reconstruction and environmental implications |
| title_sort | transmission losses and groundwater recharge from ephemeral rivers in the canterbury plains new zealand historical reconstruction and environmental implications |
| topic | Groundwater recharge Ephemeral rivers Remote sensing Groundwater-dependent ecosystems Climate change |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581825001417 |
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