Converting Seasonal Measurements to Monthly Groundwater Levels through GRACE Data Fusion

Groundwater depletion occurs when the extraction exceeds its recharge and further impacts water resource management around the world, especially in developing countries. In India, most groundwater level observations are only available on a seasonal scale, i.e., January (late post-monsoon), May (pre-monsoon), August (monsoon), and November (early post-monsoon). The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data are available to estimate the monthly variation in groundwater storage (GWS) by subtracting precipitation runoff, canopy water, soil moisture, and solid water (snow and ice) from the GLDAS model. Considering GRACE-based GWS data, the data fusion is further used to estimate monthly spatial maps of groundwater levels using time-varying spatial regression. Seasonal groundwater monitoring data are used in the training stage to identify spatial relations between groundwater level and GWS changes. Estimation of unknown groundwater levels through data fusion is accomplished by utilizing spatial coefficients that remain consistent with the nearest observed months. Monthly groundwater level maps show that the lowest groundwater level is 50 to 55 m below the earth’s surface in the state of Rajasthan. The accuracy of the estimated groundwater level is validated against observations, yielding an average RMSE of 2.37 m. The use of the GWS information enables identification of monthly spatial patterns of groundwater levels. The results will be employed to identify hotspots of groundwater depletion in India, facilitating efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of excessive groundwater extraction.