Typhoons reseal mountain groundwater systems after earthquake damage
Abstract
Bedrock groundwater supplies drinking water to half the global population, and earthquakes can disrupt this resource for years by changing subsurface permeability. Previous studies proposed several mechanisms to explain coseismic permeability changes but lacked an observational tool to distinguish them; moreover, all assumed an immediate onset. Here, we analyse groundwater and seismic data from eastern Taiwan capturing the responses of the groundwater system and the rock substrate to the 2024 M7.2 Hualien earthquake. Tracking substrate and groundwater responses separately enables us to distinguish permeability changes driven by mechanisms confined to the groundwater network from those affecting the entire subsurface. Earthquakes modify permeability in two distinct ways: coseismic shaking produces immediate permeability increases that co-evolve with substrate changes. Months later, two consecutive typhoons triggered abrupt permeability decreases, unlike typhoons before the earthquake. As the substrate remains unaffected by these typhoons, we attribute this response to the combined effect of the earthquake, which increased sediment availability and enhanced infiltration capacity, and typhoon-induced overland flow, delivering the sediment into the fracture network, sealing fractures and causing potential discharge deficits of up to 24%. Our results demonstrate that large earthquakes can prime landscapes for delayed hydrological disruption, with long-lasting consequences for mountain groundwater resources.
Related
- Groundwater recharge sources and flow systems in the Matsumoto Basin, Japan: Insights from ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isotopes, δ¹⁸O, δ²H, and hydrochemistry
- Deciphering water salinization mechanisms of arid lake-groundwater systems in Inner Mongolia, China: An integration of multi-isotopic models
- Groundwater potential mapping using conventional and machine learning approaches with multi-indicator validation of Aflaj systems in Oman
- Monitoring and forecasting groundwater storage dynamics in arid Wadi systems using GRACE/GRACE-FO satellite observations and XGBoost machine learning: Wadi El-Assiuti, Egypt (2003–2030)
- Do typhoons pull Indonesian smoke into the Pacific? A pre-registered test, and the record 2026 season
BibTeX
@misc{makus2026typhoons,
title = {{Typhoons reseal mountain groundwater systems after earthquake damage}},
author = {Peter Makus and Nicolas Brantut and Luc Illien and Jens Martin Turowski and Wei-An Chao and Jui-Ming Chang and Wen-Yen Chang and Wen-Sheng Chen and Niels Hovius},
howpublished = {EarthArXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.31223/x5jb7g},
url = {https://eartharxiv.org/repository/view/14792/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Typhoons reseal mountain groundwater systems after earthquake damage
AU - Peter Makus
AU - Nicolas Brantut
AU - Luc Illien
AU - Jens Martin Turowski
AU - Wei-An Chao
AU - Jui-Ming Chang
AU - Wen-Yen Chang
AU - Wen-Sheng Chen
AU - Niels Hovius
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/04
PB - EarthArXiv
DO - 10.31223/x5jb7g
UR - https://eartharxiv.org/repository/view/14792/
AB - Bedrock groundwater supplies drinking water to half the global population, and earthquakes can disrupt this resource for years by changing subsurface permeability. Previous studies proposed several mechanisms to explain coseismic permeability changes but lacked an observational tool to distinguish them; moreover, all assumed an immediate onset. Here, we analyse groundwater and seismic data from eastern Taiwan capturing the responses of the groundwater system and the rock substrate to the 2024 M7.2 Hualien earthquake. Tracking substrate and groundwater responses separately enables us to distinguish permeability changes driven by mechanisms confined to the groundwater network from those affecting the entire subsurface. Earthquakes modify permeability in two distinct ways: coseismic shaking produces immediate permeability increases that co-evolve with substrate changes. Months later, two consecutive typhoons triggered abrupt permeability decreases, unlike typhoons before the earthquake. As the substrate remains unaffected by these typhoons, we attribute this response to the combined effect of the earthquake, which increased sediment availability and enhanced infiltration capacity, and typhoon-induced overland flow, delivering the sediment into the fracture network, sealing fractures and causing potential discharge deficits of up to 24%. Our results demonstrate that large earthquakes can prime landscapes for delayed hydrological disruption, with long-lasting consequences for mountain groundwater resources.
ER -