Satellite and Ground based Approached to Estimating Impacts of Biofuel Production on Water Resources

Período: de 08/03/2013 à 08/03/2013

Horário: 08 de Março de 2013, sexta-feira, às 11:00h

Local: Auditório CTBE - Prédio CTBE Campus – Guará

Bridget R. Scanlon
Bureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin

A variety of approaches can be used to assess impacts of biofuel production on water resources. In our studies we have used satellite and ground based analyses to assess past land use change impacts on water resources that can be used as an analog for current and future expansion of biofuel production on water resources. The following examples show how we evaluated impacts of land surface practices on water resources. Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellites were used to evaluate groundwater depletion in response to irrigation over large aquifers in the US (High Plains and California Central Valley). Results from the High Plains show gradual depletion of the aquifer because it is fossil groundwater that is being mined in the south and is nonsustainable. Impacts of initial cultivation in the High Plains on groundwater resources were evaluated by examining unsaturated zone chloride profiles and pressure data. Results show that conversion from native perennial grasses to cropland reduced evapotranspiration, increased recharge, and flushed salts into the underlying aquifer. Groundwater arsenic contamination in the southern High Plains was previously attributed to application of arsenical pesticides on cotton. Drilling and sampling showed that arsenic from pesticide application is restricted to the upper meter of the soil profile because of sorption and does not result in groundwater contamination. Similar studies could be conducted in Brazil to provide baseline information on impacts of sugarcane production on water resources.

Fonte: http://www.cnpem.br/