ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Earth Sci.
Sec. Hydrosphere
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feart.2025.1617125
Seasonal and diurnal groundwater fluctuations linked to environmental and drought variability for the Kermit dune Field, Chihuahuan Desert, West Texas, USA
Provisionally accepted
- Baylor University, Waco, United States
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Water availability is limited in the northern Chihuahua Desert due to increasing aridity and anthropogenic disturbance. This study investigates the groundwater fluctuations in the shallow water table of the Kermit dune field, West Texas, USA, to assess the aquifer's response to climate variability and human impact. The Kermit dune field's aquifer may contribute up to 9% of the regional Pecos Valley Aquifer's annual recharge. Groundwater levels were monitored in three piezometers between 2021 and 2024 in both shallow central dune areas and at the downflow transition to sand sheet deposits. Statistical analyses, using linear regression, ANOVA, and mixed effects models, revealed that central groundwater (1-3 m deep) responds to precipitation with peak rise at a 3-day lag post-rainfall, while no recharge signal was detected for deeper groundwater (5-7 m deep), likely due to the thicker vadose zone and denser vegetation cover of high water-use plants, up to 80 L/day. Both areas seemed influenced by daylight duration and exhibited consistent daily cycles (5-8 mm), suggestive of evapotranspiration influence. Over the monitoring period, groundwater levels declined by ~1.2 m on average, likely exacerbated by the formation of a dredge pond associated with mining operations. Additionally, consistently elevated electric conductivity (EC) measured post oil or produced water spill in 2022 indicated potential long-term groundwater contamination. These results highlighted the vulnerability of the shallow unconfined Kermit dunal aquifer to climate changes and anthropogenic disturbance, with implications for regional water sustainability and land surface stability.
Keywords: Dunes, Perched aquifer, groundwater monitoring, evapotranspiration, Climate variation, Anthropogenic impact, Water table fluctuations
Received: 23 Apr 2025; Accepted: 07 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Fournier, Fox and Forman. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Alix Fournier, Baylor University, Waco, United States
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