Monitoring water table depths at Bauru Aquifer System in a conservation reserve in Aguas de Santa Barbara, Sao Paulo, Brazil

A hydro-climatological network of data collecting stations has already been set up at the Bauru Aquifer System in a conservation area in Águas de Santa Bárbara, Sao Paulo, Brazil by Dr. Rodrigo Manzione of UNESP Ourinhos. The purpose of this internship is to use the data that has already been collected to make predictions about how the water table will react to varying inputs of rainfall, ie. how much water will actually reach the water table with respect to the amount of rainfall. I will use statistical modeling, GIS mapping tools and autoregressive time series models, and expect that from this data we will be able to determine the effect of accumulated rainfall on the behaviour of the aquifer in a given year. By using this approach we expect to be able to separate the effect of atypical rainfall events when estimating groundwater level trends. This research is timely as Brazil experienced one of the driest summers on record last year, while simultaneously demands are increasing for agriculture, industries, and municipalities.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dan Smith

Student:

Emma Caron

Partner:

Discipline:

Geography / Geology / Earth science

Sector:

University:

University of Victoria

Program:

Globalink