water security

Groundwater and climate change

February 22, 2024 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Groundwater is the vast reserve of water beneath Earth’s surface. It’s an essential resource for humans, plants, animals, and other living organisms. According to the United States Geological Survey, about 30% of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. In areas lacking sufficient surface water supply from rivers and reservoirs, groundwater is critical for meeting the region’s drinking water and food production needs.

But climate change, as well as global population growth, is stressing groundwater resources. As precipitation becomes less reliable due to climate change, surface water bodies can drop too low to provide the needed water. As a result, people turn to groundwater. Depletion of groundwater is already a significant problem, and over-pumping will only increase further as climate change makes traditional sources of water less reliable.

According to a new study led by researchers from the University of Michigan, farmers in India have adapted to warming temperatures by intensifying the withdrawal of groundwater used for irrigation. The study, which was published in the journal Science Advances, found that the rate of groundwater loss could triple by 2080 if this trend continues, further threatening India’s food and water security.

India is the second-largest global producer of common cereal grains such as rice and wheat, and recently passed China as the world’s most populous nation. Without interventions to conserve groundwater, the research team finds that warming temperatures will likely amplify India’s groundwater depletion problem, further threatening the country’s food and water security.

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Groundwater depletion rates in India could triple in coming decades as climate warms, study shows

Where is Earth’s Water?

Photo, posted August 2, 2013, courtesy of Rajarshi MITRA via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A Better Solar Evaporator | Earth Wise

May 21, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Water security is a serious global problem. Nearly 1.5 billion people – including almost half a billion children – live in areas of high or extremely high water vulnerability. Less than 3% of the world’s water is fresh and demand for it is rising with increasing population growth, urbanization, and growing water needs from a range of sectors.

Researchers at the University of South Australia have developed a promising new technique that could help reduce or eliminate water stress for millions of people. The technique uses highly efficient solar evaporation to obtain fresh water from seawater, brackish water, or even contaminated water. According to the researchers, their technique can deliver enough daily fresh drinking water for a family of four from just one square meter of source water.

Solar evaporation has been the focus of a great deal of effort in recent years, but it has generally been found to be too inefficient to be practically useful. The new technique overcomes those inefficiencies and can deliver fresh water at a fraction of the cost of existing technologies like reverse osmosis.

The system utilizes a highly efficient photothermal structure that sits on the surface of a water source and converts sunlight to heat, focusing energy precisely on the surface to rapidly evaporate the uppermost portion of the liquid. The technique prevents any loss of solar energy and even draws additional energy from the bulk water and surrounding environment.

The system is built entirely from simple, everyday materials that are low cost, sustainable, and easily obtainable.

The technology has the potential to provide a long-term clean water solution to people who can’t afford other systems, and these are the places where such solutions are most needed.

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Sunlight to solve the world’s clean water crisis

Photo, posted November 13, 2016, courtesy of Steve Austin via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Making It Rain

May 23, 2016 By WAMC WEB

It seldom rains in the United Arab Emirates. Some areas of the UAE receive less than five inches of rain annually, and often little to none at all during the summer months when temperatures can climb above 110 degrees Fahrenheit. These conditions have led to water security concerns particularly in Dubai, a blossoming international destination, as well as in rural, farming communities.

[Read more…] about Making It Rain