Wednesday May 13, 2026
Please post any comments and questions here to in advance of/to continue the discussion!
Confined aquifers are the most vulnerable to deformation caused by groundwater overdraft, which leads to land subsidence and reduced groundwater storage capacity. In this seminar, I will present on how data derived from satellite interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) measurements can reveal locations where the confined aquifer is recharged. I will also show how airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data can be used to identify recharge pathways consistent with the InSAR data, and how these pathways imply a connectivity between surface water, unconfined aquifers, and the confined aquifers that is essential to consider for sustainable groundwater management.
Recording (Passcode: 1Y@gh**m)
This is so cool! The spatial mapping between InSAR and AEM is compelling to identify the recharge pathways in space! Is there data to also track the temporal correlation between the timing of the recharge peak and flows in the rivers or unlined canals? And also what about precipitation data to track timing?
Also makes me wonder how to leverage @ettore88’s fiber sensing to track the downward recharge pulse from the rivers/canals into the confined layer to get at the timing and magnitude
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Re how this might tie into isotope work - below is a link to Ate Vissars paper about river water recharge in the SJV
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/hyp.11468
There are data from stream gages (USGS, CDEC, USACE) at some of the major rivers and creeks that I showed. I have not had the chance to look at them yet, but it would certainly be interesting to compare.