Rapid groundwater decline and some cases of recovery in aquifers globally

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Jasechko, Scott; Seybold, Hansjorg; Perrone, Debra; Fan, Ying; Shamsudduha, Mohammad; Taylor, Richard G.; Fallatah, Othman; Kirchner, James W.
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California Santa Barbara; Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain; ETH Zurich; University of California System; University of California Santa Barbara; Rutgers University System; Rutgers University New Brunswick; University of London; University College London; University of London; University College London; King Abdulaziz University; King Abdulaziz University; Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain; Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow & Landscape Research; University of California System; University of California Berkeley
• 刊物名称: Nature
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0028-4645
• DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06879-8
• 发表日期: 2024-01-25
• 关键词: bohemian cretaceous basin; climate-change impacts; multivariate statistical techniques; deccan volcanic province; saline-water intrusion; multi-tracer approach; bonab plain aquifer; river alluvial-fan; gareh-bygone plain; hard-rock aquifer

摘要

Groundwater resources are vital to ecosystems and livelihoods. Excessive groundwater withdrawals can cause groundwater levels to decline(1-10), resulting in seawater intrusion(11), land subsidence(12,13), streamflow depletion(14-16) and wells running dry(17). 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 withdrawals(18). 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.