Search Results (733)

The decline in groundwater storage (GWS) poses a critical threat to water security in semi-arid regions where increasing agricultural water demand and climate variability are increasing pressure on aquifers. This study presents a novel hybrid modeling framework integrating multi-source satellite and climate data (GRACE, GLDAS, TerraClimate, and MODIS) with machine learning and explanatory artificial intelligence techniques for the long-term assessment and interpretation of GWS anomalies in the data-poor Iğdır Basin. Three different modeling approaches were developed: XGBoost, Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks, and their combined model, and interpreted using the Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) method. The results showed a significant long-term decreasing trend in groundwater storage anomalies at a rate of −0.87 mm per month during the 2002–2016 period, indicating continuous depletion. The LSTM model demonstrated the best performance with R² of 0.59, RMSE of 19.5 mm, and MAE of 15.1 mm, revealing the dominant role of temporal dependencies in groundwater systems. SHAP analysis identified lagged groundwater anomalies (especially GWS_lag3) as the most effective predictors; this may reflect the memory effect and lagged response specific to semi-arid aquifer systems, but this interpretation needs to be validated in different study areas. Snow water equivalent and total water storage anomalies also emerged as significant determinants, while the direct effect of instantaneous precipitation was found to be limited. This study addresses significant gaps in the literature by combining sequence-based modeling with model interpretability in a semi-arid closed basin. The findings highlight the necessity of using system memory and explainable artificial intelligence together for reliable groundwater prediction. While the proposed hybrid approach has the potential for application in other semi-arid regions, its broader usability needs to be supported by independent validation studies under different hydrogeological and climatic conditions. Full article

Renewable-powered agricultural water systems are often assessed as solar-pumping devices, but their sustainability depends on a service chain linking crop-water demand, hydraulic duty point, power electronics, storage, water quality, governance, operation and end-of-life management. This structured integrative review synthesizes peer-reviewed and practice-oriented evidence on photovoltaic pumping, hybrid renewable irrigation, grid-interactive pumps, micro-hydro assistance and renewable-powered brackish-water reverse osmosis (PV-RO). Evidence was screened across four source families and coded by service function, energy architecture, hydraulic duty and dominant sustainability pathway; recurring combinations were consolidated using explicit separation and merge rules. It develops an archetype-based screening framework for ex ante appraisal of irrigation, desalination and circularity risks. Seven technology-service archetypes are identified: direct PV pumping, PV-to-tank pumping, PV with electrical buffering, grid-interactive PV pumping, PV–wind hybrid irrigation, micro-hydro-assisted irrigation and PV-RO water making. The framework links each archetype to its operating envelope, evidence maturity, enabling subsystems, sustainability pathways, minimum indicators and ordinal triggers for deeper due diligence. Hydraulic storage is usually the lowest-regret reliability buffer for open-field irrigation, whereas batteries are justified mainly when pressure stability, fertigation timing or night-time operation has high agronomic value. PV-RO is a distinct water-making archetype and is environmentally defensible only where feed-water characterization, energy recovery, pretreatment, product-water agronomy, membrane management and permitted concentrate disposal are embedded in design. Two synthetic applications demonstrate archetype selection and due-diligence escalation. Responsible deployment requires service-oriented screening that integrates hydraulic design, groundwater governance, procurement quality assurance, circularity obligations and social inclusion before field implementation. Full article

Field tests were conducted at a heterogeneous industrial site using one circulation well and six monitoring wells. Groundwater circulation well (GCW) extraction–injection (30 d), multi-component tracing (6 h), and circulation–oxidation (20 h) tests were performed to investigate the flow-field characteristics and their influence on multi-component solute transport. The results suggested that the extraction–injection circulation mode increased the flow rate of the single well from 0.5 m³/h to 3.5 m³/h, establishing a composite flow field with near-field circulation and far-field outward expansion. Short-term circulation achieved limited concentration attenuation primarily near the well with rebound. Long-term circulation elevated the average concentration attenuation rates of benzene from 13% in the short-term test to 61%, and chemical oxygen demand (COD) from 16% to 47%, expanding the remediation scope of the circulation well. Bromide tracer tests and an advection–dispersion equation characterized the heterogeneous flow field with preferential flow channels and slow migration zones. Furthermore, sulfate tracer transport was governed by adsorptive retardation and advective delivery. Circulation–oxidation tests showed that benzene and COD showed higher concentration attenuation than naphthalene. After cessation, benzene and COD concentration attenuation rates increased by 39% and 29% compared to the short-term test without oxidation. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) revealed the downward diffusion of the oxidant, suggesting that the circulation well system enhances oxidant transport and expands the oxidant-affected zone. This research provides field-scale diagnostic evidence and in situ diagnostic methodologies for GCW remediation at complex contaminated sites. Full article

In this review, I synthesize recent evidence showing how climate acceleration, biosphere disruption, food and freshwater insecurity, pollution, disease, and inequality are increasingly converging into a single, interconnected sustainability challenge. I show that the Anthropocene crisis extends far beyond climate warming and its impacts alone: current national commitments remain consistent with warming of approximately 2.3–2.5 °C under full implementation, while current policies could produce up to 2.8 °C; however, the remaining carbon budget for a 50% chance of limiting warming to 1.5 °C may be exhausted within only a few years, and the oil and gas industry has committed to a 14% increase in upstream production over the period 2024–2030. At the same time, pollution remains responsible for approximately nine million deaths annually; agriculture accounts for roughly 70% of global freshwater withdrawals; and groundwater depletion, continental drying, marine heatwaves, weakening carbon sinks, and intensifying precipitation extremes are destabilizing the ecological and hydrological systems that sustain human health and food security. This review’s incremental contribution is the integration of these trends within a justice-centered sustainability framework that links Earth-system feedback, public health burdens, water insecurity, and institutional failure rather than treating them as separate environmental problems. I argue that because vulnerability is produced not by exposure alone but by unequal access to infrastructure, wealth, governance capacity, and political power, a viable response therefore requires more than decarbonization: it demands ecological restoration, food and water-centered governance, pollution and disease mitigation, and justice-based institutional reform capable of sustaining human dignity, equity, and resilience within planetary boundaries. I encourage resilience and sustainability programs around the world to fold in these additional challenges to their missions and goals. Full article

Seawater intrusion (SWI) represents an increasingly critical challenge for coastal groundwater systems, with particularly pronounced impacts observed along the Indian coastline. Coastal aquifers constitute a vital freshwater resource supporting domestic, agricultural, and industrial demands. This study evaluates SWI vulnerability along the entire Indian coast, extending from Gujarat to West Bengal, covering approximately 7517 km of shoreline and up to 100 km inland. The assessment applies the GALDIT vulnerability framework that combines several hydrogeological and hydrochemical criteria such as groundwater occurrence, aquifer hydraulic conductivity, depth to groundwater, distance from shoreline, hydrochemical data, and groundwater quality data. We also assessed the intrusion of existing seawater, shoreline location, and aquifer thickness. However, conventional vulnerability assessments are inherently static and often fail to capture anthropogenic influences. To address this limitation, the present study integrates multi-temporal land use and land cover (LULC) datasets derived from ESA WorldCover remote sensing data for the period 2017–2024. Incorporating LULC dynamics enables a more comprehensive evaluation of the impacts of urban expansion and agricultural intensification on coastal susceptibility to SWI. Accordingly, a modified GALDIT-LU framework is developed to assess the spatiotemporal evolution of coastal vulnerability. The outcomes suggest that huge parts of the Indian coastline are vulnerable to moderate or very high classes, with the very high vulnerability class growing from 13,295 km² in 2017 to 38,257 km² in 2024, a 188% increase in vulnerability over the course of seven years. Groundwater chloride concentrations from Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) monitoring well locations have been used for validation over the proposed assessment, and show good spatial agreement between areas identified as high vulnerability and the spatial distribution of groundwater salinity for all three assessment periods, lending support to the robustness and predictive power of the proposed groundwater salinity assessment. The findings carry direct implications for the United Nations 2030 Agenda, demonstrating that the identified vulnerability patterns intersect with critical targets related to clean water and sanitation, food security, public health, climate action, and poverty reduction along one of the world’s most densely populated coastlines. Full article

Hydroclimatic evidence is often carried too directly from global-scale attribution studies into local water-resources decisions, despite important differences among variables, methods, and spatial scales. This critical narrative review examines how climate variability, statistical trends, detection, attribution, non-stationarity, and risk should be distinguished when interpreting changes in precipitation, drought, streamflow, floods, groundwater, and water availability. The review compares global assessments, Mediterranean studies, and selected local examples to clarify what each line of evidence can—and cannot—support in adaptation planning. Human influence on global warming is unequivocal, and increases in atmospheric evaporative demand are well supported across many regions; anthropogenic influence has also been detected in several large-scale water-cycle responses. Historical changes in precipitation, river flooding, groundwater, and local drought remain spatially heterogeneous because internal variability interacts with circulation, storage, landscape properties, abstraction, infrastructure, and demand. Statistically significant trends do not by themselves establish hydrological importance or causation, while non-significant local trends do not imply an absence of operational risk. On this basis, the review proposes a scale-aware way of matching hydroclimatic evidence with system vulnerability and the degree of commitment involved in adaptation. Low-regret and adjustable measures can address current vulnerabilities under uncertainty, whereas costly, long-lived, or difficult-to-reverse interventions require stronger local evidence and stress testing across plausible futures. Full article

The Huaibei region is a critical grain and energy–chemical base in northern China, characterized by substantial water demand for industrial and agricultural production. Karst groundwater systems constitute the primary water supply source in this area. Under the superimposed impacts of intensive exploitation, climate change, and anthropogenic activities, karst aquifers have encountered a series of geo-environmental problems, including groundwater level decline and expansion of cones of depression. Most previous studies have predominantly focused on water quality assessment and groundwater resource quantification, yet systematic investigations into the multi-scale characteristics and driving mechanisms of karst groundwater level dynamics remain insufficient. In this study, based on long-term groundwater level and rainfall monitoring data (2014–2024) from three monitoring wells representing different types of karst aquifers, continuous wavelet transform (CWT) and wavelet coherence (WTC) approaches are introduced to identify the periodic patterns of karst groundwater levels and reveal the dominant controlling factors of groundwater level dynamics. The results demonstrate that groundwater levels in all types of karst aquifers exhibit distinct multi-scale periodic variations. The groundwater levels of HB01 and HB02 share dominant oscillation periods of 18~19 months and 9 months with regional rainfall, while the groundwater level at HB03 displays a more complex, multi-scale, periodic combination of 41 months, 18~19 months, and 9 months. Periodic variations in regional rainfall serve as the dominant controlling factor for the intra-annual and inter-annual periodic fluctuations of karst water levels, with a prominent resonance relationship identified between the two variables at dominant periodic scales. Distinct heterogeneity is observed in the response magnitude and lag time of different karst aquifer types to rainfall; specifically, the lag time of water level response to rainfall on the annual periodic scale ranges from 2.7 to 2.9 months. The correlation between annual average water level and pumping discharge is moderate for boreholes HB01 and HB03, whereas a strong correlation is detected for borehole HB02, implying that its water level regime is likely subjected to pronounced pumping disturbance. The degree of karst development, aquifer burial depth, and overlying stratum architecture are the key geological factors accounting for such heterogeneous response patterns. For the first time, this study utilizes long-term water level time series data from the karst water exploitation zone of the Huaibei Plain, complemented by synchronous precipitation and pumping records. Integrated with regional hydrogeological settings, wavelet analysis is employed to conduct an in-depth investigation into the dynamic variations in karst water levels in the Huaibei region from the perspective of groundwater recharge–discharge relationships. The results provide a scientific underpinning for the remediation of karst water over-exploitation and the optimal allocation of water resources. Specifically, pumping and artificial recharge schemes can be proactively adjusted based on periodicity forecasts. Zoned management strategies for water resources are put forward: artificial regulation and storage are recommended for zones with sensitive hydrological responses, while preventive protection is prioritized for zones with sluggish responses. By incorporating periodic characteristics and lag durations, targeted pumping strategies for dry and wet seasons can be developed, and a coupled water level–rainfall–pumping early warning system can be established to realize the long-term sustainable regulation of karst water resources. Full article

Water scarcity poses significant challenges to urban water management for long-term sustainability in hyper-arid regions. This study presents a longitudinal assessment of water demand and supply dynamics in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, from 2016 to 2022 using operational data obtained from the Sharjah Electricity, Water and Gas Authority (SEWA). Temporal trends in water production, sectoral consumption, and source transitions were evaluated using descriptive statistics and operational performance metrics: Demand–Production Ratio (DPR), Operational Production Margin (OPM), Production Adequacy Index (PAI), Source Dependency Ratio (SDR), and Seasonal Variability Index (SVI). Results showed that Sharjah maintained a production capacity consistently exceeding billed consumption, with an average DPR of approximately 72% and a PAI of 1.0. Desalinated water became the dominant supply source (~90%), while groundwater reliance declined substantially to support aquifer conservation. The residential sector accounted for approximately 62% of total water demand, highlighting the importance of demand-side management strategies. Seasonal variability analysis indicated peak demand during summer months, while desalination capacity supported relatively stable supply conditions throughout the year. The findings provide localized empirical insights into urban water management, supply diversification, and long-term water security in a hyper-arid Gulf city. Full article

Recent destructive earthquakes have clearly demonstrated that damage distribution in many cities developed on thick alluvial deposits is strongly controlled by local soil amplification and site response effects. Soil conditions therefore play a critical role in determining the characteristics of ground motion and the seismic performance of structures during earthquakes. This study presents the first microzonation-oriented site response assessment for the rapidly urbanizing city of Afyonkarahisar, which is characterized by thick alluvial deposits and a shallow groundwater table. A database consisting of 124 boreholes was compiled to characterize the subsurface stratigraphy of the study area. Shear-wave velocity profiles were verified using both SPT-based correlations and MASW measurements to ensure reliable input parameters for dynamic analyses. One-dimensional equivalent linear and nonlinear site response analyses were performed using the DeepSoil program, employing eleven earthquake ground motion records scaled according to the Turkish Building Earthquake Code. The results indicate that for Earthquake Level-1 (EL-1; 2% probability of exceedance in 50 years) ground motions, nonlinear analyses produce lower amplification factors (1.00–1.62), whereas equivalent linear analyses tend to predict higher amplification values, reaching up to 4.52, owing to their simplified treatment of soil nonlinearity. Under Earthquake Level-2 (EL-2; 10% probability of exceedance in 50 years) motions, both methods yield comparable amplification values ranging from 1.18 to 1.72. GIS-based amplification maps reveal significant spatial variability within the study area and identify zones where local soil conditions may substantially increase seismic demand. The findings suggest that nonlinear site response analysis is more appropriate for representing soil behavior under strong ground motions (EL-1), while both approaches provide comparable results for moderate ground motions (EL-2). Comparisons with Eurocode 8 and NEHRP site classifications further confirm the broader applicability of the results. Overall, this study provides a practical framework for reliable site response assessment that supports earthquake-resistant design and microzonation studies in seismically active regions characterized by complex alluvial environments. Full article

Daily groundwater-level prediction in arid inland basins is driven by complex meteorological–hydrological conditions, water supply, pumping, and irrigation demand. Using data from the Zhangye Basin (2018–2025), this study selected 10 representative wells from 51 candidates to build a one-day-ahead framework with a 60-day input window. Dempster–Shafer evidence theory fused five criteria (Pearson, Spearman, lagged correlation, mutual information, and tree-model importance) to screen external variables. Long short-term memory network (LSTM), temporal convolutional network (TCN), and Transformer served as first-level sequence models; extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) as the second-level stacking learner; and SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) to quantify feature contributions. Dempster–Shafer evidence theory (D-S evidence theory) results indicated that groundwater pumping proxy variable (GPV), irrigation water-demand intensity proxy variable (IWD), surface-water supply proxy variable (SWS), canal-diversion proxy variable (CDV), air temperature (AT), runoff, vapor pressure deficit (VPD), and canal irrigation supply–demand coupling intensity (CISDCI) exhibited high process-representation relevance. During the 90-day test period, Stacking achieved the lowest RMSE for six of 10 wells. Regional average RMSE, MAE, and NSE values were 0.1596 m, 0.0772 m, and 0.9326 for the Zhangye group, and 0.0185 m, 0.0133 m, and 0.9177 for the Gaotai group. SHAP showed historical groundwater-level data dominated contributions, accounting for 64.17% and 43.96% in the Zhangye and Gaotai groups, respectively, and indicating model dependence rather than direct hydrological causality. This framework provides a cautious reference for short-term groundwater forecasting and input selection under the given data conditions. Full article

Water-intensive industries in the Mediterranean face supply stress and decarbonisation pressure simultaneously. We develop an operations-research decision-support framework that treats the firm as one node of a small industrial resource cluster and prices the cost and carbon-equivalent emissions of five alternative supply trains—municipal water, river water, groundwater, rainwater harvesting and brewery wastewater reuse—within a multi-objective Linear Program. Each train carries engineering-grounded expenditures, energy intensities and grid emissions, and a weighted-sum scalarisation is solved daily for 365 days under three managerial scenarios. On a Cretan microbrewery whose 2022 demand of 5250 m³ is met from the municipal network, the balanced and cost-focused scenarios coincide on a single optimum that cuts the Levelised Cost of Water by 25.3% and emissions by 40.7%, while the eco-friendly scenario yields a 19.3% cost and 51.7% emissions reduction. LP duality, shadow prices and an extended sensitivity programme (diversification, capacity, grid factor, discount rate, RO recovery and demand profile) turn the optimisation into a decision-support package: optimal daily allocations, shadow-price signals on capacity and demand, and robustness diagnostics for capital planning, dispatch and risk management. Results are site-specific, but the framework and its diagnostics transfer in structure to clusters sharing the same convex-polytope source geometry; transposition to energy cooperatives is future work. Full article

Progressive climate change and rapid urbanization are placing increasing pressure on water resources, highlighting the need for local stormwater retention and reuse in residential areas. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of geological-engineering and geotechnical conditions on the design of stormwater management systems and to develop a conceptual solution for a residential property in Kraków, Poland. Geological, hydrogeological, hydrological, and topographic conditions were assessed using archival data verified through field investigations. Rainfall data from the Kraków-Balice meteorological station (2014–2023) were used to estimate rainwater harvesting potential and evaluate system performance. The proposed system consists of surface and subsurface drainage, two storage tanks, and an infiltration well. The first tank collects roof runoff for non-potable domestic use, whereas the second stores water from the drainage system and paved surfaces for irrigation. The annual rainwater harvesting potential was comparable to the non-potable water demand of a five-person household, while water collected from the drainage system and paved surfaces was sufficient for irrigation. Monthly precipitation analysis revealed pronounced seasonal variability, with winter shortages and summer surpluses. Integrating the storage tanks with the infiltration well enabled effective management of excess stormwater while supporting groundwater recharge. The results demonstrate that consideration of geological-engineering conditions is essential for the effective and sustainable design of residential stormwater management systems. Full article

To reveal the impacts of long-term coal mining on groundwater flow fields and the environment, the Jinjitan Coal Mine in Shaanxi Province, China, was selected as the study area. A systematic investigation on the evolution of flow fields and migration of pollutants under long-term coal mining impact was conducted using methods including Self-Organizing Map (SOM) clustering analysis, water isotope analysis, and numerical simulation. The results show that groundwater in the study area is mainly derived from atmospheric precipitation, and the mine water is a mixture of 55% coal seam water and 45% Quaternary groundwater; long-term coal mining has led to two types of Quaternary groundwater level changes (stable and continuously declining); The groundwater level of the Jurassic aquifer shows an overall decline. However, where the aquifer is locally recharged by the Quaternary groundwater, the groundwater level shows a decline-then-rise variation. The overall groundwater flow field maintains the pattern of runoff from northeast to southwest and discharge into the Yuxi River, with no local or regional groundwater depression cones observed; numerical simulation results indicate an average groundwater level drop of 1.36 m over an 10-year period, with a maximum decrease of 4.89 m; the migration scope of oxygen demand and petroleum pollutants caused by domestic sewage pond leakage is limited, their maximum long-term (3650 d) migration distances are 253.47 m and 254.27 m, respectively, and their concentrations are far below the limit of the Class III groundwater quality standard. The research findings provide a scientific basis for the environmental protection, rational development, and utilization of groundwater in the Jinjitan Coal Mine area. Full article

Hydrological processes in dryland urban lakes are jointly shaped by landscape pattern dynamics and water resource scarcity, yet the spatial correspondence between landscape fragmentation and lake ecological water demand remains poorly understood. This study took Yuehai Lake, a typical dryland urban lake in Northwest China, as a case study. Landscape pattern analysis was integrated with a water balance model to quantify ecological water demand and its spatial correspondence with landscape metrics. The model coupled the Penman–Monteith equation, a depth-modified evaporation model, and a Darcy’s Law-based zonal seepage calculation. Results showed that: (1) the landscape structure remained highly stable over 2014–2022, with the Aggregation Index ranging from 95.07% to 95.28% and the Largest Patch Index from 90.20% to 90.70%; (2) the annual ecological water demand for maintaining ecosystem integrity was estimated at 2036.97 × 10⁴ m³, comprising inherent lake water volume of 1138.02 × 10⁴ m³ (55.9%), evapotranspiration of 659.72 × 10⁴ m³ (32.4%), and lakebed seepage of 239.23 × 10⁴ m³ (11.7%); and (3) evapotranspiration was concentrated between May and August, accounting for 80.5% of annual losses, with water surface evaporation dominating the flux at 91.5%. These findings suggest a spatial correspondence between landscape metrics and ecological water demand components, providing quantitative support for differentiated water supplementation strategies in dryland urban lakes. Full article

Groundwater is one of the basic requirements for life, economic and social developments in the Bazo River catchment, Rift Valley, Southern Ethiopia. In the study area, availability of water is faced with several problems, such as quality issues due to high levels of fluoride in some samples, spring scarcity in the lowlands, unprotected river water used for drinking, and high demand for good quality water. The aim of this study was to investigate the hydrogeochemical characteristics and to evaluate groundwater quality for domestic and irrigation uses. Thirty-four primary groundwater samples were collected from the field and analyzed in the water quality lab of Arba Minch University. Two water quality indices (WQI and EWQI), a variety of irrigation water quality indices, and GIS-based spatial analysis were utilized in this study. Cations were present in the descending order of Na > Ca > Mg > K > Fe, and anions were HCO₃⁻ > Cl > SO₄ > NO₃⁻ > F. Excepting two samples (BH8 and SP3), the water samples were acceptable for drinking. Sodium, TDS, and fluoride levels were over the limit of drinking water in BH8 and SP3. Rock–water interaction, cation exchange, and silicate mineral weathering were the main hydrogeochemical reactions that controlled groundwater composition in the area, based on Gibb’s diagram, chloro-alkaline indices, and major ions ratios. Groundwater facies were identified as Ca.HCO₃, Na.HCO₃ and mixed Ca-Na/Ca.Mg.Na.HCO₃ types using a Piper plot. The water quality index was computed, and its spatial variations were mapped using GIS. About 82.35% of groundwater samples were excellent for drinking use and 94.12% (SAR) of groundwater were acceptable for irrigation. These study results are useful to help develop inclusive strategies and interventions to address groundwater quality aspects in the study area, underlining the significance of managing and monitoring water resources. The findings underscore the need for effective management and monitoring strategies to ensure sustainable groundwater resources in the Bazo River catchment. Full article