首页|Inter-Basin Water Transfer Effectively Compensates for Regional Unsustainable Water Use

Inter-Basin Water Transfer Effectively Compensates for Regional Unsustainable Water Use

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  • NETL
  • NSTL
  • Amer Geophysical Union
Globally, a persistent decline of freshwater availability has been identified over a number of intensively irrigated agricultural regions. Large-scale inter-basin water transfer (IBWT) has been suggested as a key tool for stabilizing regional terrestrial water storage (TWS). However, IBWT projects are prohibitively expensive, and their large-scale cost effectiveness remains unclear. Here we quantify the IBWT impacts on TWS trends in the North China Plain (NCP), a global hotspot for TWS depletion and IBWT. Based on in-situ observations, remote sensing, and water balance principles, we provide a framework to disentangle complex climate and anthropogenic impacts on NCP TWS. Results show that the NCP TWS depletion rate was significantly attenuated in 2015-2021, which is primarily attributable to recently enhanced IBWT. Otherwise, the average NCP TWS would currently be 94.9 ± 4.9 mm (or 12.2 ± 0.6 km~3) lower. However, the positive effect of IBWT is partly offset by increased crop water consumption (-24.1 ± 5.2 mm or -3.1 ± 0.7 km~3). IBWT and agricultural management (i.e., reducing crop density) are both necessary for stabilizing future NCP TWS. Otherwise, a TWS declining trend exceeding 100 mm/year may occur under elevated CO_2 conditions. As such, this study verifies the feasibility and effectiveness of IBWT for mitigating regional water shortages, as well as the crucial role of agricultural management in stabilizing regional TWS.

Jianzhi Dong、Xi Chen、Yuxi Li、Man Gao、Lingna Wei、Natthachet Tangdamrongsu、Wade T. Crow

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Institute of Surface-Earth System Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China

School of Hydrology and Water Resources, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, China

Water Engineering and Management, School of Engineering and Technology, Asian Institute of Technology, Pathum Thani, Thailand

USDA Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory, Beltsville, MD, USA

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2023

10.1029/2023WR035129

Water resources research

Water resources research

EISCI
ISSN：0043-1397
年,卷(期)：2023.59(12)
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