WaterUnderground

environment

Groundwater: a sensitive but powerful tool

Groundwater: a sensitive but powerful tool

Guest contribution by Dr. Rosario Sanchez Flores, TAMU Yes, water is a delicate resource. You can barely hold it in your hand, but you can certainly feel it within your fingers; your skin; your nervous system. It has the power to change the energy of our body. It is as natural as magic. We convince ourselves that we control it, but it surprises us every time we think we understood it. It is not a ...[Read More]

Why so salty? Coastal groundwater quality under threat

Why so salty? Coastal groundwater quality under threat

Guest contribution from Daniel Kretschmer, University of Potsdam European groundwater quality is deteriorated by seawater intrusion, the displacement of freshwater by a landward movement of seawater (Custodio, 2010). Just south of Barcelona, the deep confined aquifer at the Llobregat river delta has experienced SWI of several kilometers due to intensive groundwater abstraction in the 20th century ...[Read More]

Visualizing the invisible through art

Visualizing the invisible through art

authored by Grant Ferguson Groundwater is often thought of as out of sight out of mind and has even been accused of being not photogenic. The typical visualization tools used by hydrogeologists include maps, cross-sections and graphs. These can be effective, especially amongst ourselves, but it is difficult to invoke the sort of emotional response that is typical from seeing other hydrologic featu ...[Read More]

Bright Spots in Groundwater Management

Bright Spots in Groundwater Management

Announcing a new series of articles By Swamini Khurana Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is the coordinated management of natural resources including both water and land. IWRM informs a sustainable path to development without leaving a holistic view of ecosystems out of the context. Thus, it brings together professionals from a wide variety of professional backgrounds to ensure this hol ...[Read More]

Groundwater and a ‘green drought’

Groundwater and a ‘green drought’

Post by Andy Baker, professor in the Connected Waters Initiative Centre at UNSW Sydney, Andreas Hartmann, assistant professor in Hydrological Modeling and Water Resources at the University of Freiburg, and Romane Berthelin, PhD student in Hydrological Modeling and Water Resources at the University of Freiburg. Here in New South Wales (NSW) in southeastern Australia, a long-running drought continue ...[Read More]

Shedding light on the invisible: addressing potential groundwater contamination by plastic microfibers

Shedding light on the invisible: addressing potential groundwater contamination by plastic microfibers

Post by Viviana Re, researcher at the University of Pisa in Italy. You can follow Viviana on Twitter at @biralnas. Until recently, the topic of plastic pollution was relatively unknown to the general public, although the problem was already under everyone’s very eyes. Indeed, plastic pollution has become one of the most debated issues over the last few years, in some cases even overshadowing ...[Read More]

Urban water underground: How green infrastructure makes it visible

Urban water underground: How green infrastructure makes it visible

Post by Theodore Lim, assistant professor of Urban Affairs and Planning at Virginia Tech. He researches the socio-hydrology of green infrastructure planning and implementation. In order for people to care about something, to value it, they have to be able to see it and experience it. This point should not be taken lightly. So much about decision-making and policy-making depends on how much public ...[Read More]

Update on the groundwater situation in Cape Town

Update on the groundwater situation in Cape Town

Post by Jared van Rooyen, PhD student in Earth Science at Stellenbosch University, in South Africa. 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) des ...[Read More]

Have you ever wondered if groundwater is connected to climate?

Have you ever wondered if groundwater is connected to climate?

Post by Tom Gleeson,  Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering at the University of Victoria. ‘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’? A group of hydrologists, hydrogeologists, atmospheric scientists and geodesists that met i ...[Read More]

Groundwater and drought

Groundwater and drought

Post by Andy Baker, Professor researching groundwater, caves, past climate, organic carbon and more at the University of New South Wales, in Australia. __________________________________________________ Drought is in the news here in New South Wales, Australia. But how are rainfall, drought and groundwater related? First, we need to understand what drought is. Is it a water shortage? Or a lack of ...[Read More]