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November 13, 2019
Global Groundwater Sustainability – A Call to Action… do you want to sign?
I am excited about a new initiative called “Global Groundwater Sustainability: A call to action” that was first drafted at the recent Chapman conference in Valencia, Spain. Overall, we are a global group of scientists calling for action to ensure groundwater benefits society now and into the future, and hope that you would like to join us by signing.
October 3, 2019
Groundwater pumping poses worldwide threat to riverine ecosystems
With the climate strikes happening all over the world, I sometimes wish I had a crystal ball that would allow me to look into the future. Or even better, a crystal ball that could show me different scenarios of what will happen if we change, or not. Well, I do not have a crystal ball, but I do have a global scale hydrological model.
September 25, 2019
Groundwater and a ‘green drought’
Here in New South Wales (NSW) in southeastern Australia, a long-running drought continues. The government’s water minister Melinda Pavey noted recently that “This drought is more severe than NSW has ever experienced” and some of the worst in living memory.
June 27, 2019
Upcoming Chapman conference “Quest for Sustainability of Heavily Stressed Aquifers at Regional to Global Scales”
Abstracts are due soon (July 10th) for the upcoming Chapman conference on groundwater sustainability on Oct 21-24, 2019 in Valencia Spain.
June 3, 2019
Update on the groundwater situation in Cape Town
When the Cape Town water crisis first emerged it took almost a year before active contingencies were put in place. Four major ideas were proposed: (1) Intense water restrictions for municipal water users, (2) greywater recycling facilities, (3) groundwater augmentation of water supplies, and (4) desalination.Although not all the proposed ideas came to fruition, there was a significant increase in the installation of well points and boreholes for municipal and private use.
May 16, 2019
Data sharing: an update on new and existing initiatives
Last year, Anne Van Loon wrote about data sharing initiatives in hydrology (“Data drought or data flood?” 28 May 2018). This post gives an update on existing and new initiatives.
May 8, 2019
Video: Linking water planetary boundaries and UN Sustainable Development Goals
Water Underground creator Tom Gleeson prepared this quick research video (with no more than a toothbrush, a file holder, and a doughnut, in one take!) for the Ripples project meeting at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, that was held in April. In this video, he talks about using doughnut economics for linking water planetary boundaries and UN Sustainable Development Goals.
April 1, 2019
Have you ever wondered if groundwater is connected to climate?
‘Groundwater-surface water interactions’ has become standard hydrologic lexicon and a perennial favorite session title at various conferences… but how often do you hear the phrase ‘groundwater-climate interactions’?
March 25, 2019
Celestial groundwater – the subsurface plumbing for extraterrestrial life support
Have you ever taken a walk on the beach during a lowering (ebbing) tide and see mini-rivers grow and create beautiful drainage patterns before your eyes? These short-lived groundwater seepage features are tiny (and fast) analogs of how groundwater has shaped some parts of Mars! It appears that groundwater loosening sediments can lead to all sorts of scales of erosion on both Earth and Mars.
March 17, 2019
Of Karst! – short episodes about karst
We often associate groundwater with large water storage and very slow water movement, for instance compared to rivers. But is it possible that groundwater flow can be as quick as stream flow? Of karst, it is possible!
