Tapped Out
A new study finds humans are rapidly depleting some of the world’s largest aquifers.
Illustrated by UC Irvine/NASA/JPL-Caltech. Click to enlarge.
When it comes to groundwater, humans are all take and no give—that’s the conclusion of a new study of the world’s 37 largest aquifers. Using data collected by NASA’s GRACE satellites, researchers have found that 13 of them—more than one-third—are drying up faster than they’re being replenished.
And the three aquifers in the most dire straits? The Arabian aquifer system, the Indus basin, and California’s Central Valley. Climate change and population growth are only going to stress these crucial reserves more, and to make matters worse, no one really knows how much groundwater is actually left right now. The researchers say supplies could last anywhere from a few millennia to decades. (Gulp.)
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