Abstract
Humid climates — contrary to arid climates — are characterized by higher precipitation than evapotranspiration. This means that water balance methods for estimation of groundwater recharge are more useful in humid than in arid climates. Groundwater recharge in humid climates takes place more or less continuously by percolation in the unsaturated zone in the higher parts of the terrain and the water is discharged in the lower parts. This is contrary to the conditions in the arid climates, where the input of water is intermittent and the recharge is mainly localized to the lower parts of the terrain (river valleys, wadis) and rock outcrops. The unsaturated part of the ground with its vegetation is the crucial zone. The dominating water movement is downward in humid climates with leaching and weathering, contrary to in arid climates, where there is an upward transport and enrichment of salts. The methods for estimation of groundwater recharge based on soil water balance or soil water flow are more important in humid than in arid climates.
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© 1988 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Knutsson, G. (1988). Humid and Arid Zone Groundwater Recharge — A Comparative Analysis. In: Simmers, I. (eds) Estimation of Natural Groundwater Recharge. NATO ASI Series, vol 222. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7780-9_32
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7780-9_32
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