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Overview of the PRB: Physical Parameters

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Overview of the PRB: Physical Parameters

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The Paraná River Watershed includes the greater part of southeastern Brazil, Paraguay, southeastern Bolivia, and northern Argentina. It spans 1,081,000 square miles and is generally hot and humid all year round, with rather dry winters and rainy summers. Specifically, the middle and lower basin ranges from subtropical as you climb north, and a more temperate humid one as you go south. This watershed has tiny basins of water that form and function within the main watershed, which are called subbasins.

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The volume of this watershed is dependent on the amount of water the Paraná River receives from the neighboring Paraguay River, which usually provides about 25% of the total water in the Paraná River at any one point and...

The Paraná River annually discharges 610,700 cubic feet of water per second!

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Geographic location and topographic map of the PRB with its subbasins, showing the spatial distribution of the 853 weather stations.

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On average, higher values of accumulated precipitation over the PRB, exceeding 1850mm, are located mainly in the southern part of the basin, west of the Iguaçu and southeast of the Paraná subbasins.

The significant negative trends of precipitation were located in the Grande and Paranaíba subbasins.

The significant positive trends were mainly in the Paranapanema, Iguaçu, and Paraná subbasins.

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Spatial distribution of trends and interpolated values of annual and seasonal average precipitation totals in the PRB over the period of 1977–2016.

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During the summertime, the north and northeast (the Paranaíba and Grande subbasins) have the highest precipitation values, equal to or greater than 800mm. The southern region (the Iguaçu subbasin) presents the lowest values, equal to or less than 500mm.

These contrasting trends to the annual precipitation of the PRB are caused by the activity of the SAMS during the austral summer.

SAM (Southern Annular Mode) influences rainfall and temperature in Australia because of the north-south movement of winds that continuously blows in the mid to high altitudes of the southern hemisphere.

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Spatial distribution of trends and interpolated values of annual average extreme precipitation indices in the PRB over the period of 1977–2016.

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During the fall, the PRB has greater spatial variability with higher values concentrating in the southeastern region. Overall, there is less water in every region/subbasin of this watershed during this time of the year.

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During the winter, precipitation generally increases from north to south and ranges from less than 30mm to more than 240mm. Here, we see negative trends predominated in the north and positive ones concentrated more in the southern parts of the watershed.

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When spring comes around, total precipitation levels range from 350 to 500mm and significant negative trends again are mainly in the northern/northeastern region of the PRB (Grande subbasin).

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Overall though, as I mentioned in the annual trends section, the spatial distribution of trends of annual and seasonal total precipitation shows that significant negative trends are mostly located in the Paranaíba and Grande subbasins and that significant positive trends are concentrated in the Paranapanema and Iguaçu subbasins, notably during the summertime.

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Itaipú Dam on the Paraná River at the border of Brazil and Paraguay, which generates 12,600 MW of electricity.

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Overview of the PRB: Physical Parameters

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Overview of the PRB: Physical Parameters

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The Paraná River watershed provides half of all of the farming and drinking water used by 18 million residents and provides more than 17,000 MW of electricity to them through the many hydropower plants that are located within the subbasins of the Paraná River watershed.

Although much of the Paraná River Basin is still relatively unexploited, the lower portion of the watershed is a transport route for agricultural products, manufactured goods, and petro products. Alongside supplying citizens with potable water, the water is also used for irrigation on adjacent farmlands.

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The Yacyretá Dam, A smaller hydropower plant that has been built in the PRB.

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One of the main uses of land within this watershed is the multitude of hydropower dams that have been built to generate a significant portion of the region's electricity. The Itaipú plant mentioned above supplies about 15% of Brazil's total energy and is located in the lower reaches of the upper watershed.

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Some annual crops native to Brazil and other surrounding countries.

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Forest Coverage has been replaced by annual crops, leading to mass deforestation. Coverage has decreased from 23.9% to 5.2% in a matter of 25 years (1965-1990).

In 1970, the PRB consisted of 17% agricultural land, 4% primary forest, and 79% secondary forest.

In 2008, just 38 years later, humans have changed the PRB land usage completely. 75% of the land was used for agriculture, less than 1% of it was primary forest, and only 24% of the secondary forestry remained.

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Currently, in 2021, the Paraná River has dropped to levels not seen in 77 years, and this has unfortunately disrupted the energy, commerce, and ecology locally in the region.

This has occurred because of the many years of drought this area has gone through and is currently still going through. Recently, they have been hit by cyclical droughts and dwindling rainfall upriver from Brazil.

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The Parana River is at its Lowest Level in Living Memory

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Visual difference in river levels 1 year apart.

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This decrease in precipitation has caused a few negative water impacts for the citizens that relies on the Paraná River watershed.

Being the second largest river system in its region, it normally has an abundance of water to supply animals, plants, and humans with.

But as precipitation decreases, so does water security. This watershed, its main river, the Paraná River, and the ones who rely on this system, are all under threat right now because of this drought.

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So, why is this decrease in precipitation occurring in the first place?

Climate change!

Almost every environmental scientist will tell you that climate change is the #1 growing issue our Earth is currently facing, and further climate change will only exacerbate these issues the PRB is facing.

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Fires get fanned by strong winds, temperatures over 104 degrees and the dry season in which farmers use slash-and-burn techniques to try to regenerate the soil.

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We've figured out the cause for this lack of precipitation, now let's dive into the other issues and changes the ecosystem has faced because of it.

-Water quality drops significantly because of pollution and this has forced the region's governments to chemically treat the water, which now makes up 51% of all the potable water used.

-Droughts have contributed to a rise in wildfires and have subsequently damaged wetland ecosystems.

-This has also hurt river communities and has halted much of the transport of grains and other ag-related commerce that occurs daily in this watershed.

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Deforestation has been occurring rapidly in the last couple of decades in this watershed, mainly due to infrastructure and agricultural projects being funded and built.

This and climate change create a ripe situation for ecosystem degradation. The native fish and bird species are shrinking every year and that means less food for other animals and humans, thereby reducing biodiversity greatly.

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Along with that, there is now significantly less water for the animals, plants, and humans of this region. The remaining water that there is, is being polluted by run-off from the hydropower dams and the agricultural infrastructure sadly. Soil and ground erosion is also occurring because of the lack of water and forestry, and the surplus of contaminants.

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Lack of water, in this watershed, equals less transported food, which means fewer people get fed, and many go starving.

Energy access isn't necessarily impacted by these detrimental changes, on the contrary, the energy plants have affected the watershed negatively remember.

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What is the cause of all of this catastrophe? As we have learned, climate change is.

Locally, the citizens and businesses that interact with the Paraná River watershed can do a few things to help slow or even begin to reverse the damage that is occurring.

1. Make sure citizens follow proper environmentally safe protocols in their daily lives.

2. Support local environmental groups in the fight to bring back their environment health and volunteer for eco-work.

3. Rally and protest against the corporations, governments, and any organization or institution that has a hand in this climate change and these watershed issues.

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Global Drought Risk and Water Stress Map.

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On a grander level, this is more of a global issue in nature. The citizens and infrastructure of this region can't do it alone. Droughts and climate change are global issues and in order to effectively find a solution for them and stop these environmental atrocities, we have to find a global solution.

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So, what should we do globally in order to resolve these issues?

Regulation.

If there is no regulation in place that stops agricultural run-off, none to reduce GHGs, and not an ounce of reprimanding from our world governments because most of them are being paid off by the same industries that pollute and destroy Earth, then we will never get anywhere in solving this global climate change issue. Let's layout a few options.

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Solution #2: Reasonable, More- Sustainable Solutions

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Solution #2: Reasonable, More- Sustainable Solutions

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1. Enact global policy that mitigates most, if not all things or entities that contribute to global climate change in a significant way.

2. Globally switch to only sustainable and renewable energy sources permanently by a certain year, like solar or wind.

3. A massive diet culture change to an overall more plant-based diet than animal-based.

4. Invest and create infrastructure that works with the environment and is ultimately beneficial to the environment.

5. Continue on with environmentalist activism and volunteer work and clean up our Earth daily!

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There has been a growing movement in the western world, and its been the standard as the way of living for most humans that have roamed this Earth.

I don't know specifically what to call it, but a few thoughts:

1. We need to slow down our social, work output, and economic system we take place in every day. Things have gotten out of control, we have lost touch with our environment, and it is time we re-connect and make it our #1 priority.

2. We need to revert back to growing our own foods if possible and decentralize many of our industries and give the reigns back to Earth. If we do this, we will see almost everything get better environmentally and society become better as a whole too.

3. Create new global network systems that work together, instead of against each other, in order to create a sustainable way of living, not where we control the Earth and its environment and animals, but where we live within the beautiful confines and sustainable restrictions of Earth, as to not cause it harm anymore.

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The Paraná River Watershed Causal Loop Diagram

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The Paraná River Watershed Causal Loop Diagram

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References (Articles, Scholarly Journals, and Pictures)

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References (Articles, Scholarly Journals, and Pictures)

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“Agriculture in Brazil.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Dec. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_Brazil.

Diemer, Tatum. “How to Actually Fight Climate Change, Instead of Just Posting about It.” THE SKIER SCRIBBLER, https://skierscribbler.com/8336/uncategorized/how-to-actually-fight-climate-change-instead-of-just-posting-about-it/.

“Drought and Wildfires Devastating South America's Wetlands and Forests.” MercoPress, https://en.mercopress.com/2020/10/26/drought-and-wildfires-devastating-south-america-s-wetlands-and-forests.

Gilbert, Jonathan. “The Argentine River That Carries Soybeans to the World Is Drying Up.” The Japan Times, 8 Aug. 2021, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/08/08/business/argentina-parana-river/.

“Global Drought Risk and Water Stress – DG ECHO Daily Map: 11/10/2019 - World.” ReliefWeb, https://reliefweb.int/map/world/global-drought-risk-and-water-stress-dg-echo-daily-map-11102019.

Hartman, Travis. “Down River.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 26 Oct. 2021, https://graphics.reuters.com/CLIMATE-UN/ARGENTINA-RIVER/zdpxoreykvx/.

“Investigate the Mortality of Millions of Fish in the Parana River.” Sosvox.org, https://www.sosvox.org/en/petition/investigate-the-mortality-of-millions-of-fish-in-the-parana-river.html.

Jim Robbins • April 26, et al. “Native Knowledge: What Ecologists Are Learning from Indigenous People.” Yale E360, https://e360.yale.edu/features/native-knowledge-what-ecologists-are-learning-from-indigenous-people.

Lee, Eunjee, et al. “Land Cover Change Explains the Increasing Discharge of the Paraná River - Regional Environmental Change.” SpringerLink, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 9 Apr. 2018, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10113-018-1321-y.

“Legarda: Urgent Climate Action Needed as 2020 Is Set to Become One of the Warmest Years on Record.” Climate Change Commission, https://www.climate.gov.ph/news/395.

“Paraná River.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/place/Parana-River.

Person, and Daniela Desantis Lucila Sigal. “Mighty River to Muddy Trickle: South America's Parana Rings Climate Alarm.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 27 Oct. 2021, https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/mighty-river-muddy-trickle-south-americas-parana-rings-climate-alarm-2021-10-27/.

Rafee, Sameh A. Abou, et al. “Spatial Trends of Extreme Precipitation Events in the Paraná River Basin.” AMETSOC, American Meteorological Society, 1 Mar. 2020, https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/apme/59/3/jamc-d-19-0181.1.xml.

scheme=AGLSTERMS.AglsAgent; corporateName=Australian Government - Bureau of Meteorology. “Southern Annular Mode and the Australian Climate.” Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Scheme=AGLSTERMS.AglsAgent; CorporateName=Australian Government - Bureau of Meteorology, http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/sam/.

Sharpley, Andrew. “Managing Agricultural Phosphorus to Minimize Water Quality Impacts.” Scientia Agricola, São Paulo - Escola Superior De Agricultura "Luiz De Queiroz", https://www.scielo.br/j/sa/a/StgwcqyYXTvQXxrrC5x5hFv/?lang=en.

“South America's Drought-Hit Paraná River at 77-Year Low.” BBC News, BBC, 1 Sept. 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-58408791.

Team, Our Global Climate, and Name *. “Parana River: Its Importance and Its Threats.” Our Global Climate, https://ourglobalclimate.com/parana-river/.