1
|
Jasechko S, Seybold H, Perrone D, Fan Y, Shamsudduha M, Taylor RG, Fallatah O, Kirchner JW. Rapid groundwater decline and some cases of recovery in aquifers globally. Nature 2024; 625:715-721. [PMID: 38267682 PMCID: PMC10808077 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06879-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
Groundwater resources are vital to ecosystems and livelihoods. Excessive groundwater withdrawals can cause groundwater levels to decline1-10, resulting in seawater intrusion11, land subsidence12,13, streamflow depletion14-16 and wells running dry17. However, the global pace and prevalence of local groundwater declines are poorly constrained, because in situ groundwater levels have not been synthesized at the global scale. Here we analyse in situ groundwater-level trends for 170,000 monitoring wells and 1,693 aquifer systems in countries that encompass approximately 75% of global groundwater withdrawals18. We show that rapid groundwater-level declines (>0.5 m year-1) are widespread in the twenty-first century, especially in dry regions with extensive croplands. Critically, we also show that groundwater-level declines have accelerated over the past four decades in 30% of the world's regional aquifers. This widespread acceleration in groundwater-level deepening highlights an urgent need for more effective measures to address groundwater depletion. Our analysis also reveals specific cases in which depletion trends have reversed following policy changes, managed aquifer recharge and surface-water diversions, demonstrating the potential for depleted aquifer systems to recover.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Scott Jasechko
- Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
| | - Hansjörg Seybold
- Department of Environmental Systems Sciences, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Debra Perrone
- Environmental Studies Program, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Ying Fan
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Mohammad Shamsudduha
- Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction, University College London, London, UK
| | | | - Othman Fallatah
- Department of Nuclear Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- Center for Training and Radiation Protection, Faculty of Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - James W Kirchner
- Department of Environmental Systems Sciences, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
- Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|