Satellites Could Hold the Key To Measuring Groundwater

摘要

For thousands of years, groundwater wells have supplied water for drinking, irrigation, and other vital purposes. But in some areas growing populations and large-scale pumping have led to groundwater depletion, not only jeopardizing water supplies but also contributing to land subsidence. The most common way to monitor groundwater supplies and depletion rates is to drill observation wells, but researchers at Stanford University are developing a noninvasive approach that they say would be more effective. They are using satellite data on changes in land elevation to determine groundwater levels beneath the surface.