GroMoPo Metadata for Nishapur Plain model

In Iran, due to arid and semi-arid climate, groundwater resources play an essential role in food production, as well as domestic and industrial water supply. In recent years, increasing population, scarcity of surface water resources, and effects of worldwide and regional climate change have resulted in over-exploitation and unsustainability of these resources in the country. The present study aims to estimate groundwater sustainable yield, examine effects of spatial and temporal scale, and propose a plan for groundwater sustainable use in Nishapur Plain, in the north-east of Iran. In investigating the effects of spatial scale, the area of the plain is divided into several zones, with estimation of groundwater recharge and discharge for each zone and the temporal scale refers to the different time-scales used to estimate the average value of groundwater recharge and discharge. The results of the transient groundwater model of Nishapur Plain, revealed that average annual groundwater storage depletion is about 311 MGM(1) during the 8-year period of 2005-2013 with the minimum, average, and maximum water table decline of 0.6 m, 7.7 m and 11 m, respectively. The study results suggest that sustainable yield is closely correlated to the spatial and temporal scales, and refinement of spatial and temporal scales increases sustainable yield from 39 % to 59 % of the current pumping volume equal to about 100 MCM of water (or 8000 ha of irrigated land). Furthermore, when the groundwater withdrawals are limited to sustainable yield, increasing irrigation efficiency from 38 % (current efficiency) to about 60 %, can potentially result in maintaining irrigated areas and minimize adverse social and economic impacts of limiting groundwater usage. This is an achievable rate, based on data from the Iranian government organizations. The results of this study can be extended to other semi-arid agricultural areas, which primarily depend on groundwater.

在伊朗，鉴于其干旱及半干旱的气候特征，地下水资源在食品生产、家庭及工业用水供应中扮演着至关重要的角色。近年来，随着人口的不断增长、地表水资源的稀缺以及全球和区域气候变化的影响，该国地下水资源的过度开发和不可持续利用问题日益突出。本研究旨在估算地下水的可持续产量，探讨空间和时间尺度的影响，并提出伊朗东北部尼沙普尔平原地下水可持续利用的规划。在研究空间尺度的影响时，平原区域被划分为数个区域，对每个区域进行地下水补给和排泄的估算；而时间尺度则指用于估算地下水补给和排泄平均值的不同的时间尺度。尼沙普尔平原瞬时地下水模型的结果显示，在2005年至2013年的8年期间，平均每年地下水储存消耗约为311 MGM(1)，其中水位下降的最小值、平均值和最大值分别为0.6米、7.7米和11米。研究结果表明，可持续产量与空间和时间尺度密切相关，空间和时间尺度的细化可以将可持续产量从当前抽水量的39%提升至59%，相当于约100 MCM的水量（或8000公顷的灌溉面积）。此外，当地下水抽取量限制在可持续产量时，将灌溉效率从当前的38%提升至约60%，有望在维持灌溉面积的同时，最小化限制地下水使用所带来的负面社会和经济影响。这一目标基于伊朗政府机构的数据，是可实现的。本研究的结果可推广至其他主要依赖地下水的半干旱农业区域。