groundwater

Earth's deepest sources of water may not be as old as we once assumed.Based on samples taken from deep below the Colorado Plateau, the briny remnants of ancient seas that make up the base of many groundwater systems might not be so perfectly isolated from the world above.  When researchers attempted to date the region's Paradox Basin, between Colorado and Utah, they found 'young' water had been flushed down as deep as three kilometers (1.9 miles).The fresh influx would have been delivered by rainfall, snow melt or…

Groundwater at depths of several hundred meters or more can be hundreds of millions of years old and are often thought of stagnant and isolated from the atmosphere and the water cycle—a reason these subsurface areas are targeted as potential sites for subsurface waste disposal, said Ferguson. …

The graphic depicts the changes in the composition of dissolved organic matter as it moves from surface water to deep groundwater The grey dashed line represents an arbitrary boundary separating shallow and deep groundwater. Credit: Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) Groundwater experts from ANSTO and UNSW have led a collaboration of Australian and American researchers to analyze the composition of…

A wheat field receives water from a pumping system tapped into an irrigation canal in the southern region of the San Joaquin Valley, near Bakersfield, California. Credit: John Chacon / California Department of Water Resources The floor of California's arid Central Valley is sinking as groundwater pumping for agriculture and drinking water depletes aquifers. A new remote sensing study from Stanford University shows land…

Lead author Chloe Gustafson and mountaineer Meghan Seifert install geophysical instruments to measure groundwater below West Antarctica’s Whillans Ice Stream. Credit: Kerry Key/Lamont-Doherty Earth ObservatoryThe study proves the value of electromagnetic techniques in a new polar environment.Researchers have made the first detection of groundwater beneath an Antarctic ice stream. The discovery confirms what scientists had already suspected but had been unable to verify until now.Scientists require data from all parts of…

A new discovery deep beneath one of Antarctica's rivers of ice could change scientists' understanding of how the ice flows, with important implications for estimating future sea level rise. Glacier scientists Matthew Siegfried from Colorado School of Mines, Chloe…

Lead author Chloe Gustafson and mountaineer Meghan Seifert install geophysical instruments to measure groundwater below West Antarctica’s Whillans Ice Stream. Credit: Kerry Key/Lamont-Doherty Earth ObservatoryPreviously unmapped reservoirs could speed glaciers and release carbon.Many researchers believe that liquid water is a key to understanding the behavior of the frozen form found in glaciers. Meltwater is known to lubricate their gravelly bases and speed up their march toward the sea. In recent years, scientists in…

Beneath a fast-flowing ice stream in West Antarctica, scientists have discovered a vast aquifer brimming with seawater that's likely been locked down there for thousands of years.   This is the first time scientists have detected groundwater beneath an ice stream in Antarctica, and the discovery could reshape our understanding of how the frigid continent reacts to climate change and what kinds of mysterious organisms lurk beneath its many ice shelves.   The newfound groundwater system can be thought of as a giant sponge,…

Survey locations on the Whillans Ice Stream. Electromagnetic imaging stations were set up in two general areas (yellow markings). The team traveled to wider areas to perform other tasks, shown by red dots. Click on image to see a larger version. Credit: Chloe Gustafson Many scientists say that liquid water is a key to understanding the behavior of the frozen form found in glaciers. Melt water is known to lubricate their…

Diagram of groundwater extraction. Credit: Wang Longhuan The rapid development of agriculture and industry in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region leads to an increase in water demand. Excessive groundwater extraction often results in the water depletion that may affect ecological and hydrological processes.…