Anticipating central Chilean water stress due to new mining development

• Project in Chile
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• Project Proposal:

  My research will improve water vulnerability forecasting in the context of increasing mining intensity in central Chile by quantifying how much water comes from non-renewable glacier ice as compared to renewable sources like snow and rain. Working with the Hidrología Ambiental (Environmental Hydrology) group at the Advanced Mining Technology Center (AMTC) located at the Universidad de Chile, I plan to address first-order questions about the sustainability of water resources in Central Chile. There is a fundamental knowledge gap in Chilean hydrology processes regarding the sources of water in the region. Specifically, where does water come from: rain, snow melt, glacial ice melt, or groundwater? This is an important question because 1) each source has a different response to climate change, affecting future water resources in different ways and 2) reliance on non-renewable sources (glacier ice melt) imposes much higher future water stress than water supplies that regenerate like snow or rain. Separating out the relative proportions of water supplied by each source is my research goal and is an important first step in assessing water vulnerabilities in the region, especially in relation to quantifying the water resources impact of the mining sector.

  My proposed research is innovative because it employs hydrochemistry mixing model techniques not currently used in the water resource sector in Chile, with the high temporal resolution of field data (monthly sampling) afforded by working with the AMTC group.

  Chile’s natural resources are one of its most important national assets. This work will assist central Chile in its sustainable development amidst the rising water demands of industrial and mining sectors, work made even more critical given the uncertainty of warming temperatures and their impact on Andean snow and ice water resources. Introducing new analysis techniques to Chilean hydrology experts brings additional tools that will improve water resource forecasting, helping to ensure adequate water supplies for future generations of Chileans.

• Proposal:

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