January 17, 2019
Easter Island inhabitants drank brackish water to survive
The remote Chilean island of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, is famous for its 961 giant stone statues and monuments, erected between 1200 …
The EARTH archive
Groundwater
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18 articles · Page 1 of 1
April 14, 2017
Neonicotinoids: Prominent pesticides escape into the environment
The 1990s was a watershed era in pest control — and, by extension, agriculture — thanks to a particular bit of chemical innovation. With the …
March 29, 2017
Maui reef degradation linked to contamination in coastal groundwater
Submarine groundwater discharge — the flow of fresh and brackish groundwater from land to sea — can transport contaminants to coastal ecosystems. …
August 19, 2016
Down to Earth With: Hydrogeologist Shemin Ge
" graduated from high school in China, the country was still in the throes of the Cultural Revolution. During this movement, which lasted from …
December 23, 2015
Treated water that's too pure lets arsenic sneak in
With California’s water resources dwindling to alarmingly low levels, the Orange County Water District (OCWD) has pioneered a high-tech approach …
December 9, 2014
Lead-up to Icelandic earthquakes seen in groundwater chemistry
Scientists tracking groundwater in Iceland have reported that significant shifts in the water’s chemistry occurred months prior to earthquakes in …
December 8, 2014
A dry and ravaged land: Investigating water resources in Afghanistan
Aside from the front-page issues of war and politics, one of Afghanistan’s most critical national needs is safe and reliable supplies of water. …
November 4, 2014
Rainwater penetrates into ductile crust
Rainwater is capable of percolating deeper into Earth’s crust than once thought possible, according to a new study. The finding could impact our …
September 25, 2014
Colorado River Basin sees severe groundwater depletion
Over the past 14 years, the Colorado River Basin has experienced its worst drought since precipitation records have been kept, starting in the …
September 9, 2013
Arsenic in wells in Vietnam suggests dig-deeper approach has issues
For years, scientists and public health officials have known that arsenic threatens the water supplies of millions of people in the heavily …
September 9, 2013
Arsenic levels in China may be predicted by modeling
In China, arsenic poisoning from groundwater has been a known chronic health issue since at least the 1970s. From 2001 to 2005, the Chinese …
June 13, 2013
The energy-water nexus: Managing water in an energy-constrained world
Water can be tricky. With too little, crops die, industries move away, power plants fail, ecosystems suffer and people go thirsty. With too much, …
January 5, 2012
Mining for iron oxides in coal mine sludge
The billions of tons of coal that miners extracted from Pennsylvania’s ground over the past two centuries have long gone up in smoke, but their …
January 5, 2012
Mapping safer drinking water
Beginning in the 1970s, international aid agencies dug hundreds of thousands of wells in Bangladesh to help people access clean drinking water. …
January 5, 2012
Impossible Odds, Irrepressible Hope: Pakistan's water woes and the science that can solve them
Most residents of developed countries don’t think about their water running out or worry about their water leading to the death of their …
January 5, 2012
Geoscientists Without Borders: Geologists Lend a Hand
Craig Beasley’s one-year term as president of the Society for Exploration Geophysicists had a challenging start. After about two months in …
January 5, 2012
Extinction-era coal linked to Chinese cancer epidemic
At the close of the Permian, 252 million years ago, conditions on Earth took a turn for the worse, nearly wiping out life on land and at sea in …
January 5, 2012
Benchmarks: December 3, 1984: Bhopal gas leak kills thousands
On Dec. 3, 1984, Aziza Sultan woke to the sound of coughing. When she opened her eyes, she could see that the room was filled with a white haze. …