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Richard Taylor, a Professor at UCL (left) and Merhawi GebreEgziabher, a postdoctoral researcher at UCSB presenting groundwater topics at Isla Vista Elementary School.
Credit: School Principal
Engaging Elementary Students with Higher Education Topics: Groundwater in California
In this outreach program, we aim to spark curiosity and help elementary students to a deeper understanding among themselves about the critical topic of groundwater in California. Through physical based groundwater simulation model, students learnt via active learning about:
The importance and role of groundwater in California's water supply.
The impact of dry seasons on groundwater levels and availability.
How irrigation practices affect groundwater resources.
The science behind groundwater replenishment during rainy seasons.
September 2023: New York Times features our U.S. Aquifer Database, highlighting groundwater depletion across the United States
"One of the biggest obstacles is that the depletion of this unseen yet essential natural resource is barely regulated." The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/08/28/climate/groundwater-drying-climate-change.html
Hydrogeologic cross-section in Big Bear Valley, Southcentral California
Source: Modified after Supplementary Information. Supplementary Note 3. Section 3.47 of Thaw et al., 2022.
Modern groundwater reaches deeper depths in heavily pumped aquifer systems
The widespread and increasing trend to access fossil groundwater is manifested by the increasing trend of taping fossil groundwater over time across U.S. aquifers. This is critical because this helps to understand fossil groundwater quantity and quality-related management issue and help to sustain the current and future water demand.
Selected vertical sections (hundreds of meters below the land surface) of aquifer system across the United States.
Source: Supplementary Information. Supplementary Fig. 9 of GebreEgziabher et al., 2022.
Widespread and increased drilling of wells into fossil aquifers in the USA
The widespread and increasing trend to access fossil groundwater is manifested by the increasing trend of taping fossil groundwater over time across U.S. aquifers. This is critical because this helps to understand fossil groundwater quantity and quality related managements issue and helps to sustain the current and future water demand.
U.S. broader aquifer systems. Selected expansive broader aquifer systems are represented by pinkish colors with black color outline and labels.
Source: Supplementary Information. Supplementary Note 8 of GebreEgziabher et al., 2022.
U.S. Aquifer Database (HydroShare)
The database contains 440 polygons, each representing one study area with both (1) an aquifer system title and (2) a broader aquifer system title. The story map for this aquifer database can be found via U.S. Aquifer Database. The resource can be downloaded via HydroShare.
https://www.hydroshare.org/resource/d2260651b51044d0b5cb2d293d21af08/
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