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Assessing Surface Water Availability in the Santa Cruz Watershed
Citation:
Nie, W., Y. YUAN, N. G. TALLENT-HALSELL, W. G. KEPNER, AND M. JACKSON. Assessing Surface Water Availability in the Santa Cruz Watershed. Presented at 65th SWCS International Annual Conference, St. Louis, MO, July 18 - 21, 2010.
Impact/Purpose:
Presentation material
Description:
The Southwest Ecosystem Service Project (SwESP) is one of five place-based studies in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Ecosystem Services Research Program (ESRP). The goal of the SwESP is to identify, locate, and inventory ecosystem services. Initial research efforts are focused on the Santa Cruz River watershed (Arizona, USA and Sonora, Mexico). Given the growing demand for water and the likely decreasing precipitation due to climate change, water availability has become a dominant issue in semi-arid ecosystems. Quantifying the amount of available water for human and ecosystem is very challenging due to its complexity. In this study, surface and groundwater models will be explored to simulate surface runoff processes, recharge to subsurface storages, and engineering alterations. This paper reports on our review and application of existing hydrological models and modeling frameworks including the Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment Tool (AGWA) and groundwater models.