SERVIR AST members from Brigham Young University (BYU), in partnership with SERVIR West Africa hub colleagues, recently completed a study of groundwater storage changes in Southern Niger using data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission. The results indicated that groundwater storage has been increasing in Southern Niger, especially over the past 10 years. This is believed to be a result of changing land use patterns that increase infiltration and recharge efficiency and increased precipitation in the region. These results indicate that the region could support increased development of groundwater infrastructure for agriculture and municipal use. By analyzing seasonal fluctuations in GRACE-derived groundwater storage anomalies, the team also estimated average annual groundwater recharge rates in the region. The study is described in a recent peer-reviewed journal article published in Remote Sensing. The BYU team is training hub partners how to use the tools and algorithms to continue monitoring storage change going forward.
Read the papert at: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/7/1532.
