In arid and semiarid regions, the increasing demands upon groundwater resources due to expanding metropolitan and agricultural areas present a serious challenge.
In Iran, decades of unrestrained groundwater extraction have resulted in a rapid depletion of this valuable resource. Motagh et al. show that associated declines in groundwater levels are linked to land surface deformation on local and regional scales. Combining water level data with satellite radar observations, the authors find that aquifers are compacting throughout the country.
This compaction results from excessive groundwater withdrawal, which in turn causes subsidence and eventually the destruction of aquifers, as evidenced by observations of groundwater basins from central and northeastern Iran. Comparing ground deformation in Iran with other basins around the world revealed that Iran currently hosts some of the fastest sinking valleys and plain aquifers in the world.
Because global warming and future climate change will likely affect arid and semiarid areas in the coming decades, further augmenting hazards associated with groundwater-induced land subsidence, the authors suggest that effective water resource management may help abate potential hazards.American Geophysical Union
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