groundwater

Conceptual model proposed for the deep groundwater circulation system within the Gela Fm. aquifer. Credit: Communications Earth & Environment (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s43247-023-01077-w A multi-institutional team of geoscientists has discovered a deep, ancient underground pool of fresh water underneath part of the Sicilian mountains. In their study, reported in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, the group used…

Recent research suggests that ultrasound technology could be effective in treating PFAS, harmful chemicals found in contaminated groundwater. This method contrasts with traditional treatments as it degrades smaller PFAS compounds more efficiently. The study, extending previous work on pharmaceutical degradation, demonstrates ultrasound’s ability to break down the stable carbon-fluorine bonds in PFAS. Though costly and energy-intensive, this method may be vital for protecting water sources, and it indicates a potential…

Classification of river basins in the context of the ESBs. The eight groups of river basins as defined by the status of their surface water and groundwater with respect to the safe and just ESBs. Credit: Nature Sustainability (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41893-023-01247-w A Griffith-led study has assessed whether basic human water needs can be met without exceeding safe and just Earth system boundaries (ESBs) for surface and…

Graphical abstract. Credit: Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering (2023). DOI: 10.1007/s11783-023-1670-8 Due to the unclear distribution characteristics and causes of fluoride in groundwater of Mihe-Weihe River Basin (China), there is a higher risk for the future development and utilization of groundwater. Based on the systematic sampling and analysis, a team of researchers from Shandong University of Science…

We’ve been sucking the earth dry, and it’s starting to change how our planet works. A study published this month in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, explains that we’ve extracted so much damn water out of the ground, it has changed the planet’s tilt and has contributed to sea level rise. Is Google's New $1,800 Pixel Phone Worth It? | Gizmodo ReviewGroundwater is a pretty important source of water throughout the world, especially in the U.S. It’s used to provide drinking water and it’s a backup source of water…

Recent uptick in δ18O values indicates a disconnection in rainfall recharge (reduced preferential flow) to groundwater that is unprecedented in the last 800 years. Cave record compared with reconstructed annual rainfall for southwest Australia and southern Australia. a Golgotha Cave δ18O record: speleothem GL-S4 (solid purple) plus drip water (dashed purple) and composite record (red). b Distributions of drip water and Holocene groundwater δ18O values…

The Earth has lost enough groundwater to thirsty humans to measurably tilt the planet’s axis of rotation. The net water lost from underground reservoirs between 1993 and 2010 is estimated to be more than 2 trillion tons. That has caused the geographic North Pole to shift at a speed of 4.36 centimetres per year, researchers have calculated. The results appeared on 15 June in Geophysical Research Letters. A wobbling of the Earth The tilt of the axis on which any celestial object spins tends to be stable. But small…

Groundwater extraction and redistribution by humans caused the Earth’s rotational pole to shift nearly a meter in two decades (1993-2010), contributing to a sea level rise, reveals a study in Geophysical Research Letters. The most water redistribution occurred in western North America and northwestern India, and efforts to reduce groundwater depletion in such areas could theoretically affect this shift. The phenomenon doesn’t risk shifting seasons but could impact climate over geological time scales.The shifting of mass…

While spinning on its axis, Earth wobbles like an off-kilter top. Sloshing molten iron in Earth’s core, melting ice, ocean currents, and even hurricanes can all cause the poles to wander. Now, scientists have found that a significant amount of the polar drift results from human activity: pumping groundwater for drinking and irrigation. “The very way the planet wobbles is impacted by our activities,” says Surendra Adhikari, a geophysicist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion…

Here, the researchers compare the observed polar motion (red arrow, “OBS”) to the modeling results without (dashed blue arrow) and with (solid blue arrow) groundwater mass redistribution. The model with groundwater mass redistribution is a much better match for the observed polar motion, telling the researchers the magnitude and direction of groundwater's influence on the Earth's spin. Credit: Geophysical Research Letters (2023). DOI:…