Christopher Ruybal
Assessing Trends in Chilean Groundwater Storage Using the GRACE Satellites
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Project Proposal:
Chile is experiencing one of the most severe droughts in its history. This disaster is cause for concern and leading to major water shortages. Aquifers are being depleted at unsustainable rates due to the increased reliance from all water users. Aquifers south of Santiago, Chile, suffer from limited data and information on system dynamics [1]. Lack of data availability limits our understanding of these systems and inhibits the groundwater resource evaluations needed. Across the world, NASA’s GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellites) mission has been used to monitor groundwater changes with a 15 year data record. I propose to use the GRACE satellites to understand changes in groundwater storage south of Santiago and help provide increased confidence in data sparse areas.
This project would provide water officials and stakeholders with added information about the status of their groundwater resources. The objective assessment could help with management decisions and political aspects of water allocation in Chile. I hope that this project will be transparent to all Chileans, communicate a common understanding of the status of groundwater resources in Chile, advocate for continual improvement in data, and help with resource management planning.
Through this project I look forward to interacting and becoming part of the local community. Being affiliated with the university, I envision attending campus functions, sporting events, helping with technical seminars, and getting to know students and faculty on a personal level. I also envision an education outreach component to my project, which could include mentoring and educating elementary through high school students on water resources and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
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Proposal:
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