MULTIVARIATE SPATIO-TEMPORAL VISUALIZATION OF IMPACTS ON THE HIGH PLAINS AQUIFER AND ARKANSAS RIVER DUE TO PUMPING FOR IRRIGATION

Environmental assets like arable land and water have been developed extensively as agricultural irrigation is supplied by groundwater pumping. Large-scale groundwater depletion consequences on streamflow are even evident in satellite imagery. Combining open data sources in a web interface, developed using GIS and JavaScript APIs, enables a visual representation of data that will aid in understanding the impacts of historical, current, and future decisions of pumping. A time­ evolving participative map showing the decline in streamflow in the Arkansas River allows the evolution of this resource to be more visceral to people than has previously been possible. Synchronized time-series data plots correlate groundwater level and streamflow with pumping and drought indices. Aligning data in this manner elucidates trends between groundwater-surface water interactions, the impacts of pumping on these interactions, and how they have been compounded by climate. Visualizing correlations and trends enriches scientific analyses, such as supporting the development of statistical indices to identify relations between variables or stream characterization as perennial and ephemeral. This dynamic interface can improve community education and assist in decision making as stakeholders are enabled to clearly envision the relations between data and the observable landscape.