Skip to main content

Current Continental Base-Levels Above Sea Level

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Groundwater Base Level Changes and Adjoining Hydrological Systems

Abstract

Among the best known current continental base-levels, above sea level, which existed already in the past as paleo base-levels, are the Lake Chad Basin, the Great Salt Lake Basin, the Andean Altiplano Basin, the Aral Sea Basin, the Mono Lake Basin and the Main Ethiopian Rift (MER) lakes basins which will be discussed below (locations 3, 4, 5, 11, 21 and 6 on Fig. 8.1 respectively).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Alemayehu T, Ayenew T, Kebede S (2006) Hydrogeochemical and lake level changes in the Ethiopian Rift. J Hydrol 316:290–300

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arad A, Kafri U (1975) Geochemistry of groundwaters in the Chad Basin. J Hydrol 25:105–127

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aravena R (1995) Isotope hydrology and geochemistry of northern Chile groundwaters. Bull Inst Fr Etudes Andines 24:495–503

    Google Scholar 

  • Asfaw LM, Beyene H, Mkonnen A, Oli T (2006) Vertical deformation in the Main Ethiopian Rift: leveling results in its northern part, 1995–2004. In: Yirgu G, Ebinger CG, Maguire PKH (eds) The Afar volcanic province within the East African Rift System. Geological Society of London Special Publications, London 259:185–190

    Google Scholar 

  • Ayele A, Nyblade AA, Langstone CA, Cara M, Leveque JJ (2006) New evidence for Afro-Arabian plate separation in southern Afar. In: Yirgu G, Ebinger CG, Maguire PKH (eds) The Afar volcanic province within the East African Rift System. Geological Society of London Special Publications, London 259:133–141

    Google Scholar 

  • Ayenew T (2002) Recent changes in the level of Lake Abiyata, central main Ethiopian Rift. Hydrol Sci 47:493–503

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ayenew T (2003) Environmental isotope-based integrated hydrogeological study of some Ethiopian rift lakes. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 257:11–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ayenew T, Becht R, van Lieshout A, Gebreegziabher Y, Legesse D, Onyando J (2007) Hydrodynamics of topographically closed lakes in the Ethio-Kenyan Rift: the case of lakes Awassa and Naivasha. J Spat Hydrol 7:81–100

    Google Scholar 

  • Ayenew T, Demlie M, Wohnlich S (2008) Hydrogeological framework and occurrence of groundwater in the Ethiopian aquifers. J Afr Earth Sci 52:97–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barber W (1965) Pressure water in the Chad formation of Bornu and Dikwa Emirates, Northeastern Nigeria. Bull Geol Surv Niger 35:138

    Google Scholar 

  • Benduhn F, Renard P (2004) A dynamic model of the Aral Sea water and salt balance. J Mar Syst 47:35–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Birkett CM (2000) Synergistic remote sensing of Lake Chad: variability of basin inundation. Rem Sens Environ 72:218–236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bonini M, Corti G, Innocenti F, Manetti P, Mazzarini F, Abebe T, Pecskay Z (2005) Evolution of the Main Ethiopian Rift in the frame of Afar and Kenya rifts propagation. Tectonics 24:TC1007 DOI:10.1029/2004TC001680

    Google Scholar 

  • Boomer I, Aladin A, Plotnikov I, Whatley R (2000) The palaeolimnology of the Aral Sea: a review. Quat Sci Rev 19:1259–1278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bursik MI, Sieh K (1989) Range front faulting and volcanism in the Mono Basin, eastern California. J Geophys Res 94B:15587–15609

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark JF, Hudson GB (2001) Quantifying the flux of hydrothermal fluids into Mono Lake by use of helium isotopes. Limnol Oceanogr 46:189–196

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colman SM, Kelts KR, Dinter DA (2002) Depositional history and neotectonics in Great Salt Lake, Utah, from high-resolution seismic stratigraphy. Sediment Geol 148:61–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coudrain-Ribstein A, Olive P, Quintanilla J, Sondag F, Cahuaya D (1995) Salinity and isotope dynamics of the groundwater resources on the Bolivian Altiplano. IASH Publ 232:268–276

    Google Scholar 

  • Cross SL, Baker PA, Seltzer GO, Fritz SC, Dunbar RB (2001) Late Quaternary climate and hydrology of tropical South America inferred from an isotopic and chemical model of Lake Titicaca, Bolivia and Peru. Quat Res 56:1–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Demlie M, Ayenew T, Wohnlich S (2007) Comprehensive hydrological and hydrogeological study of the topographically closed lakes in highland Ethiopia: the case of Hayq and Ardibo. J Hydrol 339:145–158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dixon TH, Robaudo S, Lee J, Reheis MC (1995) Constrains on present-day basin and range deformation from space geodesy. Tectonics 14:755–772

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drake N, Bristow C (2006) Shorelines in the Sahara:geomorphological evidence for an enhanced monsoon from palaeolake Megachad. Holocene 16:901–911

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edmunds WM, Fellman E, Goni IB (1999) Lakes, groundwater and palaeohydrology in the Sahel of NE Nigeria: evidence from hydrogeochemistry. J Geol Soc Lond 156:345–355

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edmunds WM, Fellman E, Goni IB, Prudhomme C (2002) Spatial and temporal distribution of groundwater recharge in northern Nigeria. Hydrogeol J 10:205–215

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ekdahl EJ, Fritz SC, Baker PA, Rigsby CA, Coley K (2008) Holocene multidecadal- to millennial-scale hydrologic variability on the South American Altiplano. Holocene 18:867–876

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fan Y, Duffy CJ, Oliver Jr DS (1997) Density-driven groundwater flow in closed desert basins: field investigations and numerical experiments. J Hydrol 196:139–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fritz SC, Baker PA, Lowenstein TK, Seltzer GO, Rigsby CA, Dwyer GS, Tapia PM, Arnold KK, Ku T-L, Luo S (2004) Hydrolic variation during the last 170,000 years in the southern hemisphere tropics of South America. Quat Res 61:95–104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gasse F (2000) Hydrological changes in the African tropics since the last glacial maximum. Quat Sci Rev 19:189–211

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ghienne J-F, Schuster M, Bernard A, Duringer P, Brunet M (2002) The Holocene giant Lake Chad revealed by digital elevation models. Quat Int 87:81–85

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilbert CM, Christensen MN, Al-Rawi Y, Lajoie KR (1968) Structural and volcanic history of Mono Basin, California-Nevada. Geol Soc Am Mem 116:275–331

    Google Scholar 

  • Godfrey LV (2006) Focused groundwater flow and the accumulation of giant salt deposits in the Salar de Atacama. Geol Soc Am Abstr Programs 38:521

    Google Scholar 

  • Goerner A, Jolie E, Gloaguen R (2009) Non-climatic growth of the saline Lake Beseka, Main Ethiopian Rift. J Arid Environ 73:287–295

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grosjean M (1994) Paleohydrology of the Laguna Lejia (north Chilean Altiplano) and climatic implications for late-glacial times. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 109:89–100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grosjean M, Geyh MA, Messerli B, Schotterer U (1995) Late-glacial and early Holocene lake sediments, ground-water formation and climate in the Atacama Altiplano 22–24°S. J Paleolimnol 14:241–252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guyot JL, Roche MA, Noriega L, Calle H, Quintanilla J (1990)Salinities and sediment transport in the Bolivian highlands. J Hydrol 113:147–162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hart WS, Quade J, Madsen DB, Kaufman DS, Oviatt CG (2004) The 87Sr/86Sr ratios of lacustrine carbonates and lake-level history of the Bonneville paleolake system. Geol Soc Am Bull 116:1107–1119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoke GD, Isacks BL, Jordan TE, Yu JS (2004) Groundwater-sapping origin for the giant quebradas of northern Chile. Geology 32:605–608

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holzbecher E (2005) Groundwater flow pattern in the vicinity of a salt lake. Hydrobiology 532:233–242

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Isiorho SA, Matisoff G (1990) Groundwater recharge from Lake Chad. Limnol Oceanogr 35:931–938

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Isiorho SA, Matisoff G, Wehn KS (1996) Seepage relationship between Lake Chad and the Chad aquifers. Ground Water 34:819–826

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jarsjo J, Destouni G (2004) Groundwater discharge into the Aral Sea after 1960. J Mar Syst 47:109–120

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johansson O, Aimbetov I, Jarsjo J (2009) Variation of groundwater salinity in the partially irrigated Amudarya River delta, Uzbekistan. J Mar Syst 76:287–295

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kafri U, Arad A (1972) Geochemistry of groundwaters in the Chad Basin. Rep. submitted to the F.A.O., Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Kebede E, Gebremariam Z, Ahlgren I (1994) The Ethiopian Rift Valley lakes: chemical characteristics of a salinity–alkalinity series. Hydrobiology 288:1–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kebede S, Travi Y, Asrat A, Alemayehu T, Ayenew T, Tessema Z (2008) Groundwater origin and flow along selected transects in Ethiopian rift volcanic aquifers. Hydrogeol J 16:55–73

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kebede S, Travi Y, Rozanski K (2009) The δ 18O and δ 2H enrichment of Ethiopian lakes. J Hydrol 365:173–182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keir D, Stuart GW, Jackson A, Ayele A (2006) Local earthquake magnitude scale and seismicity rate for the Ethiopian Rift. Seism Soc Am Bull 96:2221–2230

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kohfahl C, Rodriguez M, Fenk C, Menz C, Benavente J, Hubberten H, Meyer H, Paul L, Knappe A, Lopez-Geta JA, Pekdeger A (2008) Characterising flow regime and interrelation between surface- water and ground-water in the Fuente de Piedra salt lake basin by means of stable isotopes, hydrogeochemical and hydraulic data. J Hydrol 351:170–187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kowalewska A, Cohen AS (1998) Reconstruction of paleoenvironments of the Great Salt Lake Basin during the late Cenozoic. J Paleolimnol 20:381–407

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leblanc M, Favreau G, Maley J, Nazoumou Y, Leduc C, Stagnitti F, van Oevelen PJ, Delclaux F, Lemoalle J (2006) Reconstruction of Megalake Chad using Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission data. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 239:16–27

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leblanc M, Favreau G, Tweed S, Leduc C, Razack M, Mofor L (2007) Remote sensing for groundwater modeling in large semiarid areas: lake Chad Basin, Africa. Hydrogeol J 15: 97–100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee K (1969) Infrared exploration for shoreline springs, a contribution to the hydrogeology of Mono Basin, California. PhD Thesis, Stanford University of California

    Google Scholar 

  • Legesse D, Ayenew T (2006) Effect of improper water and land resource utilization on the central Main Ethiopian Rift lakes. Quat Int 148:8–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lowenstein TK, Risacher F (2009) Closed basin brine evolution and the influence of Ca-Cl inflow waters: Death Valley and Bristol Dry Lake California, Qaidam basin, China, and Salar de Atacama, Chile. Aquat Geochem 15:71–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magaritz M, Aravena R, Pena H, Suzuki O, Grilli A (1990) Source of ground water in the deserts of Northern Chile: evidence of deep circulation of ground water from the Andes. Ground Water 28:513–517

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manning AH, Solomon DK (2003) Using noble gases to investigate mountain-front recharge. J Hydrol 275:194–207

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Micklin PP (1988) Desiccation of the Aral Sea: a water management disaster in the Soviet Union. Science 241:1170–1176

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Micklin P (2007) The Aral Sea disaster. Annu Rev Earth Planet Sci 35:47–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Micklin P, Aladin NV (2008) Reclaiming the Aral Sea. Sci Am 298:44–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oviatt CG, Miller DM, McGeehin JP, Zachary C, Mahan S (2005) The younger Dryas phase of Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 219:263–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pedone VA, Folk RL (1996) Formation of aragonite cement by nannobacteria in the Great Salt Lake, Utah. Geology 24:763–765

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peneva EL, Stanev EV, Stanychni SV, Salokhiddinov A, Stulina G (2004) The recent evolution of the Aral Sea level and water properties: analysis of satellite, gauge and hydrometeorological data. J Mar Syst 47:11–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rech JA, Quade J, Betancourt JL (2002) Late quaternary paleohydrology of the central Atacama Desert (lat 22–24°S), Chile. Geol Soc Am Bull 114:334–348

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reheis MC, Dixon TH (1996) Kinematics of the Eastern California shear zone: evidence for slip transfer from Owens and Saline Valley fault zones to Fish Lake Valley fault zone. Geology 24:339–342

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reheis MC, Stine S, Sarna-Wojcicki AM (2002) Drainage reversals in Mono Basin during the late Pliocene and Pleistocene. Geol Soc Am Bull 114:991–1006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Risacher F, Fritz B (1991) Quaternary geochemical evolution of the salars of Uyuni and Coipasa, Central Altiplano, Bolivia. Chem Geol 90:211–231

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Risacher F, Fritz B (2000) Bromine geochemistry of the salar de Uyuni and deeper salt crusts, Central Altiplano, Bolivia. Chem Geol 167:373–392

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Risacher F, Fritz B (2009) Origin of Salts and Brine Evolution of Bolivian and Chilean Salars. Aquat Geochem 15:123–157

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers DB, Dreiss SJ (1995) Saline groundwater in Mono Basin, California 1. Distribution. Water Resour Res 31:3131–3150

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers DB, Dreiss SJ (1995) Saline groundwater in Mono Basin, California 2. Long-term control of lake salinity by groundwater. Water Resour Res 31:3151–3169

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sagri M, Bartolini C, Billi P, Ferrari G, Benvenuti M, Carnicelli S, Barbano F (2008), Latest Pleistocene and Holocene river network evolution in the Ethiopian Lakes Region. Geomorphology 94:79–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seltzer GO, Baker P, Cross S, Dunbar R, Fritz S (1998) High-resolution seismic reflection profiles from Lake Titicaca, Peru-Bolivia: evidence for Holocene aridity in the tropical Andes. Geology 26:167–170

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shibuo Y, Jarsjo J, Destouni G (2007) Hydrological responses to climate change and irrigation in the Aral Sea drainage basin. Geophys Res Lett 34:L21406

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sieh K, Bursik M (1986) Most recent eruption of the Mono craters, eastern central California. J Geophys Res 91(B12):12539–12571

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Small EE, Giorgi F, Cirbus Sloan L, Hostetler S (2001) The effects of desiccation and climatic change on the hydrology of the Aral Sea. J Climatol 14:300–322

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spencer RJ, Eugster HP, Jones BF (1985a) Geochemistry of Great Salt Lake, Utah II: Pleistocene–Holocene evolution. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 49:727–737

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spencer RJ, Eugster HP, Jones BF, Rettig SL (1985b) Geochemistry of Great Salt Lake, Utah I: hydrochemistry since 1850. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 49:739–747

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stephens DW (1990) Changes in lake levels, salinity and the biological community of Great Salt Lake (Utah, USA), 1847–1987. Hydrobiol 197:139–146

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stine S (1987) Mono Lake: the past 4,000 years. PhD Thesis, University of California, Berkeley

    Google Scholar 

  • Stine S (1990) Past climate at Mono Lake. Nature 345:391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stine S (1991) Geomorphic, geographic, and hydrographic basis for resolving the Mono Lake controversy. Environ Geol Water Sci 17:67–83

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sylvestre S, Servant M, Servant-Vildary S, Causse C, Fournier M, Ybert J-P (1999) Lake-level chronology on the southern Bolivian Altiplano (180–230S) during late glacial time and the early Holocene. Quat Res 51:54–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sylvestre F (2002) A high-resolution diatom reconstruction between 21,000 and 17,000 14C yr BP from the southern Bolivian Altiplano (18–23°S). J Paleolimnol 27:45–57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UNESCO (1969) Study of water resources in the Chad basin. Technical report, UNESCO/UNDP Special Fund Project Serial No. 1600/BMS.RD/SCE, 151 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Valero-Garces BL, Delgado-Huertas A, Ratto N, Navas A, Edwards L (2000) Paleohydrology of Andean saline lakes from sedimentological and isotopic records, Northwestern Argentina. J Paleolimnol 24:343–359

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valero-Garces BL, Delgado-Huertas A, Navas A, Edwards L, Schwalb A, Ratto N (2003) Patterns of regional hydrological variability in central-southern Altiplano (18–26°) lakes during the last 500 years. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 194:319–338

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vandervoort DS, Jordan TE, Zeitler PK, Alonso RN (1995) Chronology of internal drainage development and uplift, southern Puna plateau, Argentine central Andes. Geology 23:145–148

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • VanWormer JD, Ryall AS (1980) Sierra Nevada-Great Basin boundary zone: earthquake hazard related to structure, active tectonic processes, and anomalous patterns of earthquake occurrence. Seism Soc Am Bull 70:1557–1572

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolfenden E, Ebinger C, Yirgu G, Deino A, Ayalew D (2004) Evolution of the northern Main Ethiopian rift: birth of a triple junction. Earth Planet Sci Lett 224:213–228

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yirgu G, Ebinger CG, Maguire PKH (2006) The Afar volcanic province within the East African Rift System: introduction. In: Yirgu G, Ebinger CG, Maguire PKH (eds) The Afar Volcanic Province within the East African Rift System. Geol Soc Lond Spec Publ 259:1–6

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Uri Kafri .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Kafri, U., Yechieli, Y. (2010). Current Continental Base-Levels Above Sea Level. In: Groundwater Base Level Changes and Adjoining Hydrological Systems. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-13944-4_9

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics