Incorporation of Satellite Data to the Characterization of Water Table Level in the Santa Fe plains, Argentina

3. Faculty of Engineering and Water Sciences, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina

Abstract: The Argentine province of Santa Fe is part of the Chaco-Pampean plains. The distribution, frequency and spatio-temporal intensity of rainfall and surface runoff is variable over the province. As for the underlying unconfined aquifer it has been affected by significant climatic fluctuations over the last thirty years. The climate is also closely linked to sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean and other oceanic regions of the planet, as well as other large-scale climatic phenomena. The climate and the water resources system have a special relationship, since they depend on the hydrological cycle which is itself part of the climate system. When the physical conditions of the system allow it, the recharge in transit can reach the aquifer, manifesting level rises. These conditions are consistent with the definition of Sophocleous of 1991 who defines recharge as the water that percolates through the lower limit of the unsaturated zone of the aquifer and produces measurable level rises. The objective of the present research is to incorporate satellite data to the characterization of water table level behavior, together with the traditional rainfall analysis as the contribution to interpret and validate remote sensing data, providing a tool for groundwater resource assessment, for an environmentally sustainable, economic, and social development.