What does it take to flood the Pampas? : lessons from a decade of strong hydrological fluctuations

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorKuppel, S.
dc.contributor.authorHouspanoussian, J.
dc.contributor.authorNosetto, M.D.
dc.contributor.authorJobbágy, E.G.
dc.date.accessioned2015-10-19T17:00:36Z
dc.date.available2015-10-19T17:00:36Z
dc.date.issued2015-01
dc.descriptionDraften
dc.description.abstractWhile most landscapes respond to extreme rainfalls with increased liquid water outputs, very flat and poorly drained ones have little capacity to do this and their most common responses include (i) increased water storage leading to rising water tables and floods, (ii) increased evaporative water losses and, at high levels of storage, (iii) increased liquid water losses. The relative importance of these pathways were explored in the extensive plains of the Argentine Pampas, where two significant flood episodes (herein FE1 and FE2) occurred in 2000-2003 and 2012-2013. Focusing on two of the most flood-prone areas (Western and Lower Pampa, 60 000 km2 each), it was found that the surface water cover reached 31 and 19% during FE1 in each subregion, while FE2 covered up to 22 and 10%, respectively. From the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of the flood events, we distinguished 1) slow floods lasting several years when the water table is brought near the surface 16 following sustained precipitation excesses in groundwater-connected systems (Western Pampa), and "fast" floods triggered by surface water accumulation over the course of weeks to months, typical of a poor above-/belowground connectivity (Lower Pampa) or more generally when exceptionally-strong rain-falls overwhelm infiltration. Because of these different hydrological responses, precipitation and evapotranspiration were strongly linked in the Lower Pampa only, while the connection between water fluxes and storage was limited to the Western Pampa. In both regions, evapotranspirative losses (pathway (ii)) were strongly linked to flooded conditions as a regulatory feedback, while liquid water losses (pathway (iii)) remained negligible.en
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.citationKuppel, S., Houspanoussian, J., Nosetto, M.D., & Jobbágy, E.G. (2015). What does it take to flood the Pampas? Lessons from a decade of strong hydrological fluctuations. Water Resources Research, 1-39.en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10625/54833
dc.language.isoen
dc.subjectFLOODINGen
dc.subjectPLAINSen
dc.subjectARGENTINA--PAMPASen
dc.subjectEVAPOTRANSPIRATIONen
dc.subjectHYDROLOGYen
dc.subjectSOIL WATER BALANCEen
dc.subjectSTREAM FLOWen
dc.subjectGROUNDWATERen
dc.subjectPERIODICITYen
dc.subjectRISK MANAGEMENTen
dc.titleWhat does it take to flood the Pampas? : lessons from a decade of strong hydrological fluctuationsen
dc.typeJournal Article (peer-reviewed)en
idrc.dspace.accessIDRC Onlyen
idrc.noaccessDue to copyright restrictions the full text of this research output is not available in the IDRC Digital Library or by request from the IDRC Library. / Compte tenu des restrictions relatives au droit d'auteur, le texte intégral de cet extrant de recherche n'est pas accessible dans la Bibliothèque numérique du CRDI, et il n'est pas possible d'en faire la demande à la Bibliothéque du CRDI.en
idrc.project.componentnumber106601001
idrc.project.number106601
idrc.project.titleFloods, Droughts and Farming on the Plains of Argentina and Paraguay, Pampas and Chaco Regionsen
idrc.recordsserver.bcsnumberIC01-947-31
idrc.rims.adhocgroupIDRC SUPPORTEDen

Files

Collections

IDRC Research Results / Résultats de recherches du CRDI
2010-2019 / Années 2010-2019
Research Results (CCW) / Résultats de recherches (CCE)