Background
The intensification of the hydrological cycle, when combined with population growth and increasing water demand, will further exacerbate the complexity of the water dynamics in the drylands of Arizona, New Mexico, and West Texas. To mitigate this trend, the project team plans to implement a simple yet novel approach through which they can assess the impact of artificially created inland bodies of water on the local and regional water budget.
Figure 1: To date the team has modeled the rainfall patterns for Arizona in preparation for modeling the impact of a large artificial body of water on the pattern.
Approach
The project team will quantify the impact of artificially created evaporation pools on local dynamics and trends of evapotranspiration (ET) and soil moisture (SM), assess the potential freshwater capture via evaporation distillation, quantify the impact of the increased evapotranspiration on regional precipitation patterns, and assess the potential total water production from a techno-economical perspective.
The research project aims to develop a proof of concept for:
- The generation of clean freshwater via evaporation-induced rainfall (regionally).
- The use of condensers or evaporation distillation systems (locally).
Focused/specific goals of this project:
- Model “lake-effect” impacts on local/regional water dynamics, focusing on two key hydrologic variables: ET and SM.
- Model potential freshwater capture using evaporation distillation, solar stills or similar processes for generation of potable water for local usage.
- Assess the impact of increased ET on regional precipitation patterns using an empirical relationship between precipitation and ET.
- Perform a techno-economic analysis of the total potential water production. Use the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) hydrologic model (without & with lake algorithm) to quantify the impact of artificially created evaporation pools on dynamics and trends of ET and SM.
Figure 2: Current patterns indicate strong linkage with the Sea of Cortez, which is very promising.
Accomplishments
Task 1: Set up & calibrate Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) hydrologic model (without and with lake algorithm) to quantify the impact of artificially created evaporation pools on dynamics and trends of ET and SM, run VIC simulations, set up VIC-Lake, and run VIC-Lake Simulations.
- The set up of the VIC model has been completed. The model has been calibrated and all required input data and files haven been acquired, processed and generated. Minor tweaks in the model are performed following each VIC simulation. Work has begun on VIC-Lake and work will commence in early 2024 for VIC-Lake simulations.
Task 2: VIC Validation
- The project team has acquired soil moisture and ET data from various satellite observations (SMAP/SMOS/ECOSTRESS/MODIS) for validation is underway.
Task 3: The project team will assess impact of increased ET on regional precipitation.
- In progress.
Task 4: The project will estimate the evaporation rate to determine equivalent flow rate to maintain the pool depth and determine the relationship between surface area and evaporation rate.
- In progress.
Task 5: The project team will estimate local condensate potential yield and perform techno-economic analysis of water production.
- In progress.
The project is ahead of schedule and under budget.
Figure 3: In addition to modeling, the project team has constructed a test rig to model wind rate, temperature, humidity, and solar radiation on evapotranspiration. Testing has been initiated using water from the Gulf of Mexico to capture key parameters to validate our modeling efforts.
Figure 4: Actual apparatus ready for testing.
Figure 5: Project Timeline.