Articles | Volume 30, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-433-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-433-2026
Research article
 | 
28 Jan 2026
Research article |  | 28 Jan 2026

Questioning the Endorheic Paradigm: water balance dynamics in the Salar del Huasco basin, Chile

Francisca Aguirre-Correa, Oscar Hartogensis, Pedro Bonacic-Vera, and Francisco Suárez

Data sets

Data of “Questioning the Endorheic Paradigm: Water Balance dynamics in the Salar del Huasco basin, Chile” Francisca Aguirre-Correa et al. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/6BG2W

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Short summary
We studied an arid, endorheic basin in the Chilean Altiplano to understand how rainfall and evaporation affect groundwater and water availability. Using a rainfall-runoff model and 40 years of satellite data, we found that much of the water evaporates and less reaches the aquifers than expected. Our results challenge the idea that the basin is fully closed and suggest that current water budget estimates may need revision, an urgent task under a changing climate.
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