The cold,semi-arid environment shows a high variability in precipitation and river discharge,with a general tendency towards decreasing water availability due to increasing air temperatures and,thus,rising potential e...The cold,semi-arid environment shows a high variability in precipitation and river discharge,with a general tendency towards decreasing water availability due to increasing air temperatures and,thus,rising potential evaporation levels.The main watercourse near the city is the Tuul River,fed by precipitation in the nearby Khentii Mountains.However,due to the absence of precipitation during winter and spring,the riverbed usually runs dry during these seasons,and observations show that the dry period has been extending within the last years.For many decades,the water supply of Ulaanbaatar has been exclusively based on the use of groundwater in the Tuul valley.However,in parallel with the city’s development,the extended groundwater aquifer shows a clear decline,and the groundwater levels drop significantly.Therefore,a groundwater management system based on groundwater model and MAR(Managed Aquifer Recharge)is proposed and a strategy to implement these measures in the Tuul valley is presented.The groundwater model research purposes of artificially recharging the Tuul River aquifer are to provide information for future improvement in solving shortage water supply related issues and to find simple,low cost,cheap,and reliable flow control methods to eliminate the Tuul River drying out in low flow season.展开更多
文摘The cold,semi-arid environment shows a high variability in precipitation and river discharge,with a general tendency towards decreasing water availability due to increasing air temperatures and,thus,rising potential evaporation levels.The main watercourse near the city is the Tuul River,fed by precipitation in the nearby Khentii Mountains.However,due to the absence of precipitation during winter and spring,the riverbed usually runs dry during these seasons,and observations show that the dry period has been extending within the last years.For many decades,the water supply of Ulaanbaatar has been exclusively based on the use of groundwater in the Tuul valley.However,in parallel with the city’s development,the extended groundwater aquifer shows a clear decline,and the groundwater levels drop significantly.Therefore,a groundwater management system based on groundwater model and MAR(Managed Aquifer Recharge)is proposed and a strategy to implement these measures in the Tuul valley is presented.The groundwater model research purposes of artificially recharging the Tuul River aquifer are to provide information for future improvement in solving shortage water supply related issues and to find simple,low cost,cheap,and reliable flow control methods to eliminate the Tuul River drying out in low flow season.
