Application of the conceptualization groundwater data model to study the Upper Arkansas River corridor, western Kansas

Abstract

Large-scale water pumping has caused significant decline in groundwater level in the Upper Arkansas corridor region, which in turn has triggered a chain of hydrological and ecological impacts. A newly developed conceptualization groundwater data model was used to organize various datasets on the Upper Arkansas corridor groundwater system and to develop a MODFLOW model to simulate groundwater flow in the region from 1959 to 2005. The simulation results have shown a significant decline in groundwater level and the conversion of Arkansas River from a gaining river to a losing river in the western two-thirds of the study area. Correlation analysis between percentage of salt cedar and the hydrogeological conditions indicates that these hydrogeological changes at least partially account for invasion of salt cedar that is more drought tolerant. The analysis also illustrates the complexity of the interaction mechanisms between hydrological conditions and salt cedar distribution, and suggests the need for better data on salt cedar distribution with higher spatial resolution and across larger hydrological gradients.

Keywords

groundwater/surface-water relation / invasive species / High Plains / data model / geographic information system

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