Potencial de recarga de acuíferos durante crecidas: estimaciones de primer orden

Paulo A. Herrera; Peter Lichtner

doi:10.24850/j-tyca-2026-05-09

Authors

Paulo A. Herrera Consultant on Water Resources, Santiago, Chile https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9966-500X
Peter Lichtner University of New Mexico-Center for Water and the Environment, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9403-4428

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24850/j-tyca-2026-05-09

Keywords:

agua subterránea, inundación, zona árida, cambio climático, humedad del suelo, capa acuífera, hidrogeología, recursos hídricos, río, modelo matemático

Abstract

Observaciones de las variaciones de los niveles de acuíferos ubicados en zonas áridas y semiáridas en distintos países, indican que recarga significativa a los acuíferos puede ocurrir durante inundaciones que suceden en promedio cada década o más. Es probable que como consecuencia del cambio climático ocurran inundaciones más intensas en el futuro. Por lo tanto, es importante aumentar el conocimiento sobre los mecanismos de recarga que pueden sobrevenir durante tales eventos hidrológicos extremos. Presentamos estimaciones de primer orden de la potencial magnitud de la recarga que puede darse durante inundaciones y, extrapolamos esos resultados para calcular el potencial de recarga hacia acuíferos a la escala de cuenca. Demostramos que una rápida y significativa recarga puede producirse durante tales eventos, pudiendo constituir la principal fuente de recarga en acuíferos ubicados en zonas áridas y semiáridas. Ese potencial de recarga puede ser especialmente importante en áreas donde el agua subterránea es la principal o única fuente de agua. Por ejemplo, estimamos que la recarga que podría acaecer durante un solo evento con una duración de pocos días, puede ser equivalente a más de 30 veces la precipitación promedio anual registrada en algunas zonas áridas. También mostramos que el tiempo que el agua que infiltra requiere para alcanzar el nivel freático, incluso en casos en que este se encuentra a profundidad significativa, puede ser menor a algunas horas bajo supuestos realistas.

References

Abbas, M., Carling, P., Jansen, J., & Al-Saqarat, B. (2020). Flash-flood hydrology and aquifer-recharge in Wadi Umm Sidr, Eastern Desert, Egypt. Journal of Arid Environments, 178, 104170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2020.104170

AC Ingenieros Consultores. (2009). Definición de estrategias de manejo sustentable para el acuífero de Azapa, XV Región (Informe Técnico S.I.T. 201). Dirección General de Aguas, Ministerio de Obras Públicas.

Ali, K., Bajracharyar, R. M., & Raut, N. (2017). Advances and challenges in flash flood risk assessment: A review. Journal of Geography & Natural Disasters, 7(2), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.4172/2167-0587.1000195

Amanambu, A., Obarein, O., Mossa, J., Li, L., Ayeni, S., Balogun, O., Oyebamiji, A., & Ochege, F. (2020). Groundwater system and climate change: Present status and future considerations. Journal of Hydrology, 589, 125163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.125163

Ascott, M., Lapworth, D., Gooddy, D., Sage, R., & Karapanos, I. (2016). Impacts of extreme flooding on riverbank filtration water quality. Science of the Total Environment, 554, 89-101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.02.169

Balic, I. (2015). Modelación numérica de los efectos de la variabilidad climática sobre la utilización sustentable del acuífero de la cuenca del río San José, Arica [Tesis de ingenería, Universidad de Chile]. Repositorio Académico de la Universidad de Chile. https://repositorio.uchile.cl/handle/2250/134832

Bredehoeft, J. (2002). The water budget myth revisited: Why hydrogeologists model. Groundwater, 40(4), 340-345. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6584.2002.tb02511.x

Bredehoeft, J., Papadopulos, S., & Cooper, H. (1982). Groundwater: The water budget myth. Scientific Basis of Water Resource Management, 51-57. https://cawaterlibrary.net/document/groundwater-the-water-budget-myth/

Brunner, M., Papalexiou, S., Clark, M., & Gilleland, E. (2020). How probable is widespread flooding in the United States? Water Resources Research, 56(10), e2020WR028096. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR028096

Brunner, P., Therrien, R., Renard, P., Simmons, C., & Franssen, H. (2017). Advances in understanding river-groundwater interactions. Reviews of Geophysics, 55(3), 818-854. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017RG000556

Carroll, R., Niswonger, R., Ulrich, C., Varadharajan, C., Siirila-Woodburn, E., & Williams, K. (2024). Declining groundwater storage expected to amplify mountain streamflow reductions in a warmer world. Nature Water, 2(5), 419-433. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-024-00239-0

Cenderelli, D. (2000). Floods from natural and artificial dam failures. In: Inland Flood Hazards: Human, riparian and aquatic communities (pp. 73-103). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511529412.004

Chow, V., Maidment, D., & Mays, L. (1988). Applied hydrology. McGraw-Hill.

Constantz, J., Stewart, A., Niswonger, R., & Sarma, L. (2002). Analysis of temperature profiles for investigating stream losses beneath ephemeral channels. Water Resources Research, 38(12), 52-1-52-13. https://doi.org/10.1029/2001WR001221

Cook, P., Edmunds, W., & Gaye, C. (1992). Estimating paleorecharge and paleoclimate from unsaturated zone profiles. Water Resources Research, 28(10), 2721-2731. https://doi.org/10.1029/92WR01298

CR2. (2024). Explorador climático. Center for Climate and Resilience Research. https://explorador.cr2.cl

Domenico, P., & Schwartz, F. (1997). Physical and chemical hydrogeology. John Wiley & Sons.

El-Saadawy, O., Gaber, A., Othman, A., Abotalib, A., El Bastawesy, M., & Attwa, M. (2020). Modeling flash floods and induced recharge into alluvial aquifers using multi-temporal remote sensing and electrical resistivity imaging. Sustainability, 12(23), 10204. https://doi.org/10.3390/su122310204

Fathy, I., Ahmed, A., & Abd-Elhamid, H. (2021). Integrated management of surface water and groundwater to mitigate flood risks and water scarcity in arid and semi-arid regions. Journal of Flood Risk Management, 14(3), e12720. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfr3.12720

Fox, G., & Durnford, D. (2003). Unsaturated hyporheic zone flow in stream/aquifer conjunctive systems. Advances in Water Resources, 26(9), 989-1000. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0309-1708(03)00087-3

Hashemi, H., Uvo, C., & Berndtsson, R. (2015). Coupled modeling approach to assess climate change impacts on groundwater recharge and adaptation in arid areas. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 19(10), 4165-4181. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-4165-2015

Jiménez, G. (2013). Caracterización de la cuenca del río San José en Arica para la evaluación a nivel de perfil de un sistema de recarga artificial de acuíferos [tesis de ingeniería, Universidad de Chile]. Repositorio Académico de la Universidad de Chile. https://repositorio.uchile.cl/handle/2250/115300

Jourde, H., Lafare, A., Mazzilli, N., Belaud, G., Neppel, L., Dorfliger, N., & Cernesson, F. (2014). Flash flood mitigation as a positive consequence of anthropogenic forcing on the groundwater resource in a karst catchment. Environmental Earth Sciences, 71, 573-583. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-013-2678-3

Knox, J. (2000). Sensitivity of modern and Holocene floods to climate change. Quaternary Science Reviews, 19(1-5), 439-457. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-3791(99)00074-8

Kundzewicz, Z., Hirabayashi, Y., & Kanae, S. (2010). River floods in the changing climate—observations and projections. Water Resources Management, 24, 2633-2646. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-009-9571-6

Mackay, D., Freyberg, D., Roberts, P., & Cherry, J. (1986). A natural gradient experiment on solute transport in a sand aquifer: 1. Approach and overview of plume movement. Water Resources Research, 22(13), 2017-2029. https://doi.org/10.1029/WR022i013p02017

Marchi, L., Borga, M., Preciso, E., & Gaume, E. (2010). Characterisation of selected extreme flash floods in Europe and implications for flood risk management. Journal of Hydrology, 394(1-2), 118-133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2010.07.017

Milly, P., Christopher, D., Wetherald, R., Dunne, K., & Delworth, T. (2002). Increasing risk of great floods in a changing climate. Nature, 415(6871), 514-517. https://doi.org/10.1038/415514a

Neuman, S. (1994). Generalized scaling of permeabilities: Validation and effect of support scale. Geophysical Research Letters, 21(5), 349-352. https://doi.org/10.1029/94GL00308

Philip, J. (1969). Theory of infiltration. In: Chow, V. T. (ed.). Advances in Hydroscience (Vol. 5) (pp. 215-296). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-1-4831-9936-8.50010-6

Philipp, A., & Grundmann, J. (2013). Integrated modeling system for flash flood routing in ephemeral rivers under the influence of groundwater recharge dams. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 139(12), 1234-1246. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)HY.1943-7900.0000766

Pino, C. (2018). Integrated surface-subsurface hydrologic modeling to quantify groundwater recharge due to an extreme flooding event in the Atacama Desert [tesis de maestría, Universidad de Chile]. Repositorio Académico de la Universidad de Chile. https://repositorio.uchile.cl/handle/2250/168077

Portniaguine, O., & Solomon, D. (1998). Parameter estimation using groundwater age and head data, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Water Resources Research, 34(4), 637-645. https://doi.org/10.1029/97WR03361

Renard, P., & De Marsily, G. (1997). Calculating equivalent permeability: A review. Advances in Water Resources, 20(5-6), 253-278. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0309-1708(96)00050-4

Ruifen, L., & Keqin, W. (2001). Environmental isotope profiles of the soil water in loess unsaturated zone in semi-arid areas of China (Technical Report XA0103615). International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). https://www.osti.gov/etdeweb/servlets/purl/20224657

Sakata, Y. (2015). Heat as a tracer for examining depth-decaying permeability in gravel deposits. Groundwater, 53(S1), 21-32. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.12236

Scanlon, B., Keese, K., Flint, A., Flint, L., Gaye, C., Edmunds, W., & Simmers, I. (2006). Global synthesis of groundwater recharge in semiarid and arid regions. Hydrological Processes, 20(15), 3335-3370. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.6335

Schilling, O., Irvine, D., Hendricks Franssen, H., & Brunner, P. (2017). Estimating the spatial extent of unsaturated zones in heterogeneous river-aquifer systems. Water Resources Research, 53(12), 10583-10602. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017WR020409

Shanafield, M., & Cook, P. (2014). Transmission losses, infiltration and groundwater recharge through ephemeral and intermittent streambeds: A review of applied methods. Journal of Hydrology, 511, 518-529. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.01.068

Shanafield, M., Cook, P., Brunner, P., McCallum, J., & Simmons, C. (2012). Aquifer response to surface water transience in disconnected streams. Water Resources Research, 48(11). https://doi.org/10.1029/2012WR012103

Taylor, R., Scanlon, B., Doll, P., Rodell, M., Van Beek, R., Wada, Y., Longuevergne, L., Leblanc, M., Famiglietti, J. S., Edmunds, M., Konikow, L., Green, T. R., Chen, J., Taniguchi, M., Bierkens, M. F. P., MacDonald, A., Fan, Y., Maxwell, R. M., Yechieli, Y.,…, & Treidel, H. (2013). Ground water and climate change. Nature Climate Change, 3(4), 322-329. https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1744

Twarakavi, N., Simunek, J., & Seo, S. (2008). Evaluating interactions between groundwater and vadose zone using the hydrus-based flow package for MODFLOW. Vadose Zone Journal, 7(2), 757-768. https://doi.org/10.2136/vzj2007.0082

Tyler, S., Chapman, J., Conrad, S., Hammermeister, D., Blout, D., Miller, J. J., Sully, M. J., & Ginanni, J. M. (1996). Soil-water flux in the southern great basin, United States: Temporal and spatial variations over the last 120,000 years. Water Resources Research, 32(6), 1481-1499. https://doi.org/10.1029/96WR00564

Unland, N., Cartwright, I., Daly, E., Gilfedder, B., & Atkinson, A. (2015). Dynamic river–groundwater exchange in the presence of a saline, semi-confined aquifer. Hydrological Processes, 29(23), 4817-4829. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10525

Whitfield, P. (2012). Floods in future climates: A review. Journal of Flood Risk Management, 5(4), 336-365. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-318X.2012.01150.x

Woodbury, A., & Sudicky, E. (1991). The geostatistical characteristics of the Borden aquifer. Water Resources Research, 27(4), 533-546. https://doi.org/10.1029/90WR02545

Youssef, A., Abu-Abdullah, M., AlFadail, E., Skilodimou, H., & Bathrellos, G. (2021). The devastating flood in the arid region a consequence of rainfall and dam failure: Case study, Al-lith flood on 23th november 2018, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie, 63, 115-136. https://doi.org/10.1127/zfg.2021.0672

Zhou, D., Zhang, Y., Gianni, G., Lichtner, P., & Engelhardt, I. (2018). Numerical modelling of stream–aquifer interaction: Quantifying the impact of transient streambed permeability and aquifer heterogeneity. Hydrological Processes, 32(14), 2279-2292. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13169