GRACE-Based Estimates of Global Groundwater Depletion
Journal
Terrestrial Water Cycle and Climate Change: Natural and Human-Induced Impacts
Pages
135-146
Date Issued
2016
Author(s)
Abstract
Groundwater contributes approximately 30% of global freshwater use, and it is particularly crucial for access to water in dry areas during dry seasons. However, the increasing demand for water and diminishing sources have led to groundwater depletion, which occurs when withdrawal rates exceed recharge rates and, therefore, is a problem in several regions of the world under pressure of population growth and climate changes. Because of the lack of sufficient data, it is difficult to estimate and quantify the rate of groundwater depletion regionally and globally, particularly for transboundary regions. However, the new satellite dataset of NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission provides a unique approach to estimating changes in groundwater storage. In this chapter, we review the existing studies on GRACE-based estimates of global groundwater depletion in the past decade. © 2016 by the American Geophysical Union.
Type
book part