In a series of presentations, the topic of terrestrial water storage variations in California was discussed, with a focus on the fluctuations between very wet and very dry years. The early impacts on groundwater recharge following the record-breaking snow accumulation during the 2022/2023 winter were highlighted. Groundwater recharge, an important focus of the 2017 Earth Science Decadal Survey, was noted as being poorly understood due to the challenges of observing the infiltration of new water supply into the ground and the impact of various factors such as rate of input, amount of input, and aquifer characteristics.
By utilizing observations of precipitation, snow water equivalent, surface water storage, ground surface deformation, and groundwater storage from G/G-FO, researchers were able to characterize recharge behavior in a natural experiment where source inputs are abundant but recharge capacity is limited. The results of studies presented during the meeting indicated that only a fraction of the potential recharge available could enter the aquifer. G/G-FO observations enabled the measurement of effective aggregated recharge capacity and how it varied based on several predictors.
One study that was highlighted during these presentations showed that subsurface water in California’s Sierra Nevada region increased by 0.6 meters (~2 feet) from October 2022 to June 2023, representing 43% of the cumulative precipitation during that period. This data provided valuable insights into the dynamics of groundwater recharge in the region and the challenges associated with maximizing the recharge capacity of aquifers. Overall, these presentations shed light on
