Water and Irrigation Management

Water and Irrigation Management

Investigation of the Impact of Climate fluctuations on the Chadegan Plain Aquifer, Iran

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Seyedeh Saba Hashemi
Kumars Ebrahimi
Seyed Javad Sadatinejad
Alireza Moghaddamnia
Department of Environmental Sciences and Technologies, Faculty of Energy and Sustainable Resources Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
10.22059/jwim.2026.410098.1285
Abstract
Climate fluctuations are a fundamental and unavoidable challenge in the present era, with widespread impacts on all aspects of the environment; aquifers, as vital resources, are affected by these changes. This study examines the impact of climate fluctuations on the Chadegan Plain aquifer of Iran. For this purpose, the groundwater level was examined as the main criterion of the GRI index. The years 2002-2023 were selected as the time period due to complete data and information, and the necessary calculations and evaluations were performed on the data. The drought status of two wells in western Chadegan and three wells in Se Rahe Ghorghor were investigated from the 12 piezometric wells in the region, and the highest rate of groundwater level drop occurred in these two wells during the time periods 2015-2018 with nine meters and 2006-2011 with 18 meters, respectively. Evaluation of the wells in the study area with the GRI index shows the good performance of this index in the Chadegan plain. The results showed a decreasing trend in the GRI index values during the time periods 2006-2011 and 2015-2018, and the highest degree of GRI drought in the wes of Chadegan well and Se Rahe Ghorghor well was recorded with values of -2.47 in 2018 and -2.54 in 2011, respectively. Also, the Spearman nonparametric test was used to evaluate the correlation between the meteorological drought index SPI and the hydrogeological drought index GRI. The results indicated no significant trend, and the main reason for the drop in groundwater level can be attributed to human factors.
Keywords
GRI Index
Groundwater Level Fluctuations
Spearman Nonparametric Test
SPI
Subjects
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Water and Irrigation Management
Volume 16, Issue 1
Spring 2026
Pages 127-140