Informations et ressources scientifiques
sur le développement des zones arides et semi-arides

Titre : Quantifying the Impact of Climate Extremes on Salt Mobilization and Loading in Non-Developed, High Desert Landscapes

Auteur : Henson, Eleanor

Université de soutenance : Colorado State University

Grade : Master of Science (MS) 2022

Résumé partiel
Excess salt loading acts as a chemical stressor in water bodies and can have significant impacts on water quality. High salinity threatens sustainable crop production globally and is especially prevalent in semi-arid and arid regions. For this reason, salt transport in irrigated semi arid and arid regions has been intensively studied. However, comparatively little research has been conducted to evaluate the salinity contributions of dominantly non-irrigated basins, and to my knowledge, no previous research has evaluated the changes in salt loads from upland semi arid catchments in the face of climate change and extreme climate events. This research utilizes the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and a coupled salinity module (SWAT-Salt), applied to a natural watershed, to fill this knowledge gap. SWAT Salt simulates the reactive transport of 8 major salt ions, SO4 2- , Cl- , CO3 2- , HCO3- , Ca2+, Na+ , Mg2+, and K + , in the soil-aquifer-stream system of a watershed, with salt mass transported via major hydrologic pathways (surface runoff, percolation, recharge, soil lateral flow, upflux, and groundwater discharge). Specifically, this study has two major research objectives : 1) develop an accurate SWAT-Salt model that can estimate salinity loads from a largely undeveloped, upland desert catchment, the Purgatoire River Basin in Colorado, USA ; and 2) quantify changes in predicted salt loads in the Purgatoire River Basin with increasing storm intensity.

Présentation et version intégrale (ProQuest)