干旱区生态环境知识资源中心(Arid): Relic Groundwater and Prolonged Drought Confound Interpretations of Water Sustainability and Lithium Extraction in Arid Lands

Arid

DOI	10.1029/2021EF002555
	Relic Groundwater and Prolonged Drought Confound Interpretations of Water Sustainability and Lithium Extraction in Arid Lands
	Moran, Brendan J.; Boutt, David F.; McKnight, Sarah V.; Jenckes, Jordan; Munk, Lee Ann; Corkran, Daniel; Kirshen, Alexander
通讯作者	Moran, BJ
来源期刊	EARTHS FUTURE
EISSN	2328-4277
出版年	2022
卷号	10 期号:7
英文摘要	Demand for lithium for batteries is growing rapidly with the global push to decarbonize energy systems. The Salar de Atacama, Chile holds similar to 42% of the planet's reserves in the form of brine hosted in massive evaporite aquifers. The mining of these brines and associated freshwater use has raised concerns over the environmental responsibility of lithium extraction, yet large uncertainties remain regarding fundamental aspects of governing hydrological processes in these environments. This incomplete understanding has led to the perpetuation of misconceptions about what constitutes sustainable or renewable water use and therefore what justifies responsible allocation. We present an integrated hydrological assessment using tritium and stable oxygen, and hydrogen isotopes paired with remotely sensed and terrestrial hydroclimate data to define unique sources of water distinguished by residence time, physical characteristics, and connectivity to modern climate. Our results describe the impacts of prolonged drought on surface and groundwaters and demonstrate that nearly all inflow to the basin is composed of water recharged >65 years ago. Still, modern precipitation is critical to sustaining important wetlands around the salar. Recent large rain events have increased surface water and vegetation extents and terrestrial water storage while mining-related water withdrawals have continued. As we show, poor conceptualizations of these complex hydrological systems have perpetuated the misallocation of water and the misattribution of impacts. These fundamental issues apply to arid regions globally. Our new framework for hydrological assessment in these basins moves beyond calculating gross inputs-outputs at a steady state to include all compartmentalized stores that constitute modern budgets.
英文关键词	Salar de Atacama Chile tritium groundwater sustainability hydroclimate water budget lithium brine
类型	Article
语种	英语
开放获取类型	gold
收录类别	SCI-E
WOS记录号	WOS:000825388800001
WOS关键词	CENTRAL ATACAMA DESERT ; NORTHERN CHILE ; RECHARGE EVENTS ; HYPERARID CORE ; ROCK GLACIERS ; CLOSED BASIN ; FRESH-WATER ; ALTIPLANO ; PATTERNS ; CLIMATE
WOS类目	Environmental Sciences ; Geosciences, Multidisciplinary ; Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
WOS研究方向	Environmental Sciences & Ecology ; Geology ; Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
资源类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/392274
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Moran, Brendan J.,Boutt, David F.,McKnight, Sarah V.,et al. Relic Groundwater and Prolonged Drought Confound Interpretations of Water Sustainability and Lithium Extraction in Arid Lands[J],2022,10(7).
APA	Moran, Brendan J..,Boutt, David F..,McKnight, Sarah V..,Jenckes, Jordan.,Munk, Lee Ann.,...&Kirshen, Alexander.(2022).Relic Groundwater and Prolonged Drought Confound Interpretations of Water Sustainability and Lithium Extraction in Arid Lands.EARTHS FUTURE,10(7).
MLA	Moran, Brendan J.,et al."Relic Groundwater and Prolonged Drought Confound Interpretations of Water Sustainability and Lithium Extraction in Arid Lands".EARTHS FUTURE 10.7(2022).