39 Assessing Groundwater in the Midwestern U.S.: How Much, How Good, and for How Long?

Tuesday, 17 April 2018
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Room 260/262

COMMUNICATING ABOUT GROUNDWATER DEPLETION

Paper number: 39-9
Program: Theme Sessions
Time: 3:50 PM – 4:10 PM

Authors

Abstract

Groundwater depletion is a global problem. In this respect, it has certain features akin to climate change. It’s hard to understand the scope of a problem you can’t see and that develops slowly. Groundwater depletion is also situational; depending on local/regional geology, climate, surface-water availability, and social factors. This paper examines how groundwater depletion is communicated to policymakers and the public using examples from the recent book, “High and Dry: Meeting the Challenges of the World’s Growing Dependence on Groundwater.” The importance of a multi-scale perspective is emphasized along with the challenges of addressing concepts of sustainability and resilience, capture vs storage depletion, long response times, and the importance of integrated monitoring and modeling.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 50, No. 4

doi: 10.1130/abs/2018NC-311636

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