Earth's Major Aquifers Are in Trouble
by Brett Walton
The world is perilously ignoring the water crisis that is occurring underfoot, writes Jay Famiglietti in the journal Nature Climate Change.
A professor of Earth System Science at the University of California, Irvine, Famiglietti has helped refine the premier tool for understanding large-scale changes in groundwater reserves. Measurements from NASA's GRACE satellite mission, launched in 2002, have revealed unsettling trends in the world's major aquifers: they are almost all declining.
Sound management of new demands for water requires a better understanding of the supplies available, according to Famiglietti.