scholarly journals Groundwater: the processes and global significance of aquifer degradation

2003 ◽  
Vol 358 (1440) ◽  
pp. 1957-1972 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. S. D. Foster ◽  
P. J. Chilton
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Rural Livelihoods ◽  
Resource Development ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Resource Base ◽  
Aquifer Storage ◽  
Groundwater Availability ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Status

The exploitation of groundwater resources for human use dates from the earliest civilizations, but massive resource development has been largely restricted to the past 50 years. Although global in scope, the emphasis of this paper is on groundwater–based economies in a developing nation context, where accelerated resource development has brought major social and economic benefits over the past 20 years. This results from groundwater's significant role in urban water supply and in rural livelihoods, including irrigated agriculture. However, little of the economic benefit of resource development has been reinvested in groundwater management, and concerns about aquifer degradation and resource sustainability began to arise. A general review, for a broad–based audience, is given of the mechanisms and significance of three semi–independent facets of aquifer degradation. These are (i) depletion of aquifer storage and its effects on groundwater availability, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems; (ii) groundwater salinization arising from various different processes of induced hydraulic disturbance and soil fractionation; and (iii) vulnerability of aquifers to pollution from land–use and effluent discharge practices related to both urban development and agricultural intensification. Globally, data with which to assess the status of aquifer degradation are of questionable reliability, inadequate coverage and poor compilation. Recourse has to be made to ‘type examples’ and assumptions about the extension of similar hydrogeological settings likely to be experiencing similar conditions of groundwater demand and subsurface contaminant load. It is concluded that (i) aquifer degradation is much more than a localized problem because the sustainability of the resource base for much of the rapid socio–economic development of the second half of the twentieth century is threatened on quite a widespread geographical basis; and (ii) major (and long overdue) investments in groundwater resource and quality protection are urgently needed. These investments include appropriate institutional provisions, demand–side management, supply–side enhancement and pollution control.

Diversity and distribution of copepods (Class: Maxillopoda, Subclass: Copepoda) in groundwater habitats across South-East Asia

2020 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 374
Author(s):  
Mark Louie D. Lopez ◽  
Rey Donne S. Papa
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
South East Asia ◽  
Species Accumulation Curve ◽  
The Past ◽  
Accumulation Curve ◽  
The Status ◽  
Management Policies ◽  
High Possibility ◽  
Groundwater Wells

Copepods have successfully penetrated the groundwater realm through a series of morphological diversifications and adaptations. Research on this taxon has increased over the past decade because of its potential in revealing the status of groundwater environmental health and biodiversity. Despite efforts in documenting this group in other regions, groundwater copepods in South-East Asia remain barely studied. To date, only 47 species belonging to 22 genera from Harpacticoida, Cyclopoida and Calanoida have been documented from groundwater and groundwater-dependent habitats across the region. The steep species accumulation curve from 1980 up to the present indicates a high possibility of discovering more new species. Spatial distribution shows high local endemicity than regional scales, where some species considered to be rare and endemic were actually common in local habitats. Overall, the low number of records in the region is because of the lack of experts and limited accessibility to groundwater and dependent ecosystems, like aquifers and groundwater wells. A more intensive effort in documenting the diversity and distribution of groundwater copepods and building collaborations between experts in the region is highly needed. This information is important in drafting future conservation and management policies for the groundwater resources in the region.

scholarly journals Simple and low-cost technology for irrigation from shallow aquifers in the Western Terai, Nepal

2000 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Costantino Faillace
Keyword(s):  
Development Strategy ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Shallow Aquifer ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Alluvial Deposits ◽  
The Past ◽  
Irrigated Area ◽  
Tube Wells ◽  
New Development

The paper briefly outlines the hydrogeological conditions of the Terai area and describes the simple and low -cost drilling technologies used over the past thirty years in developing its groundwater resources for irrigated agriculture. The results herewith presented derive from the author's personal experience of the area and from the review of numerous studies and researches, most of which are reported in the references. The Terai area is a very rich groundwater reservoir, made up of thick alluvial deposits transported in the lowlands by a number of watercourses originating in the northern hilly and mountainous areas. Proceeding from north to south, the alluvial deposits become progressively finer and inter-finger with each other. It is the most productive area of Nepal with rice and wheat as main food grains. The irrigated areas of the Terai Plain can be further expanded using simple and low-cost shallow tube wells drilled manually or by machine, and equipped with centrifugal diesel pumps, rower, and treadle pumps. The results of the 40,000 shallow tube wells drilled in the area have proven that shallow aquifer potential is very high, and this justifies the expansion of the present irrigated area to benefit also poor and marginal farmers. The author stresses that the new development strategy should be based not only on the experience gained from the past thirty years, but also on improved technology and on renewed financial input in the forthcoming projects. For a well-coordinated development of the area, it will be necessary to adopt a model in which the people will be fully involved in the planning as well in the implementation, and also participate in the operation and maintenance of wells and irrigation water systems. The new development strategy should aim at expanding progressively the present irrigated area to cope with the rate of the population growth.

scholarly journals Geological and hydrogeological assessment of the Brito Formation: Municipio de Tola, Nicaragua

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
James K. Adamson ◽  
G. Thomas LaVanchy ◽  
Brandon Stone ◽  
James A. Clark ◽  
Stuart J. Dykstra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Groundwater Recharge ◽  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Flow Characteristics ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Secondary Porosity ◽  
Aquifer System ◽  
Aquifer Storage ◽  
Groundwater Availability ◽  
Regional Flow

AbstractThere are sparse hydrogeological data and insufficient hydrogeological knowledge in many areas of the world reliant on groundwater. Nicaragua’s Pacific coast is one such region that is also experiencing water scarcity resulting from increasing demand on groundwater resources and climate change. The primary source of water in the region is the aquifer system associated with the Brito Formation, which is a marine sedimentary stratum of mostly sandstone that blankets 75 km of coastline in southwest Nicaragua. This study focused on the Tola municipality with the objective to advance a conceptual understanding of the hydrogeology and to support sustainable water development. Results demonstrate a heterogeneous aquifer system with regional flow characteristics and other factors that influence groundwater availability and water quality. Primary porosity is low, and secondary porosity is the primary mechanism of aquifer storage and is influenced by geological structure and diagenesis processes. Groundwater recharge is spatially and temporally heterogeneous and direct recharge is low. Infiltration of streamflow and runoff, especially early in the rainy season, is thought to be a large component of groundwater recharge. Climate, flow and recharge dynamics, and low storage capacity make the Brito Formation a sensitive resource and vulnerable to drought, increased abstraction, and climate change. This assessment provides data and insights useful for informing future studies and investments within the region and may be applicable in other Central American and Caribbean nations with coastal sandstone aquifers.

scholarly journals Pollution and Other Dimensions of Non-Renewable Groundwater in Haryana (India)

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 153
Author(s):  
Avtar Singh Rahi
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Pollution ◽  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Cooling Water ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Service Industries ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Aquifer Storage ◽  
Rural And Urban

<div><p><em>The vital role groundwater plays as a decentralized source of drinking water for millions rural and urban families cannot be overstated. In India, where groundwater is used intensively for irrigation and industrial purposes, a variety of land and water-based human activities are causing pollution of this precious resource. There are no estimates of the public health consequences of groundwater pollution as it involves methodological complexities and logistical problems. The groundwater behavior in the Indian sub-continent is highly complicated due to the occurrence of diversified geological formations with considerable litho-logical and chronological variations, complex tectonic framework, climato-logical dissimilarities and various hydro-chemical conditions. Once contamination starts, very little can be done to check it except a total ban on pumping. But this is very difficult, as millions of rural families in India depend on groundwater for sustaining irrigated agriculture and livelihoods. Manufacturing and service industries have high demands for cooling water, processing water and water for cleaning purposes. Groundwater pollution occurs when used water is returned to the hydrological cycle. Haryana is fast emerging as one of the most favoured investment destinations in India. The State has taken lead in terms of planned industrial and urban growth compared to neighboring States, which has resulted in development of vibrant urban and industrial complexes. They dump the wastes in the rivers which results in water pollution. Management of groundwater resources in the Indian context is an extremely complex proposition as it deals with the interactions between the human society and the physical environment. Unplanned depletion of non-renewable groundwater reserves can undermine and potentially erode the economic and social vitality of any community. Hence, there is need to plan the exploitation of non-renewable groundwater resources and guide their utilization with a view to making communities better prepared socio-economically to cope with increasing water stress as aquifer storage is depleted.</em></p></div>

scholarly journals Point- and reach-scale measurements are important for determining accurate seepage rates in controlled flow channels

2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 74-82
Author(s):  
Mark E. Grismer
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Environmental Water ◽  
Irrigation District ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Groundwater Availability ◽  
Recharge Rates ◽  
Controlled Flow ◽  
Putah Creek ◽  
Channel Seepage

A critical component of water-resources management in the irrigated agriculture landscape, particularly those landscapes dependent on groundwater availability, is determining groundwater recharge rates from streams and other channels. In California, flows in many such channels are “controlled” by upstream reservoir releases to meet downstream urban, irrigation and environmental water requirements. Seepage volumes from these channels and how they might vary during controlled release periods is a key component of meeting downstream riparian and groundwater-pumping needs. Understanding annual seepage from streamflow channels is also important in developing water budgets as part of the management of groundwater resources under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) in California. However, direct measurements of channel seepage rates are infrequent or unavailable, and these rates, or associated volumes, are most often only estimated. Here we describe direct point- and reach-scale field measurements of channel seepage rates in Lower Putah Creek (Solano County) and in distribution lateral channels of the Oakdale Irrigation District on the east side of the San Joaquin Valley (San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties). We measured overall average seepage rates of about 2 feet (610 mm) per day at both locations and determined how these rates varied spatially and temporally during the summer when channel flows are controlled for downstream requirements.

Lot's Offer of his Daughters to his People in the Torah and the Qur'an: A Comparative Study in Two Parts (Part One)

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 161-224
Author(s):  
ʿĀʾiḍ B. Sad Al-Dawsarī
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Comparative Studies ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Status ◽  
Moral Problems ◽  
Moral Dimensions ◽  
Similarities And Differences

The story of Lot is one of many shared by the Qur'an and the Torah, and Lot's offer of his two daughters to his people is presented in a similar way in the two books. This article compares the status of Lot in the Qur'an and Torah, and explores the moral dimensions of his character, and what scholars of the two religions make of this story. The significance of the episodes in which Lot offers his daughters to his people lies in the similarities and differences of the accounts given in the two books and the fact that, in both the past and the present, this story has presented moral problems and criticism has been leveled at Lot. Context is crucial in understanding this story, and exploration of the ways in which Lot and his people are presented is also useful in terms of comparative studies of the two scriptures. This article is divided into three sections: the first explores the depiction of Lot in the two texts, the second explores his moral limitations, and the third discusses the interpretations of various exegetes and scholars of the two books. Although there are similarities between the Qur'anic and Talmudic accounts of this episode, it is read differently by scholars from the two religions because of the different contexts of the respective accounts.

LEGAL RESEARCH AT AHMAD IBRAHIM KULLIYYAH OF LAWS, INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA: TRENDS AND POLICIES

2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hunud Abia Kadouf ◽  
Umar Aimhanosi Oseini ◽  
Ainul Jaria Maidin
Keyword(s):  
Research Output ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Research Quality ◽  
Research Progress ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Education ◽  
Legal Research ◽  
The Past ◽  
Research Institution ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
The Status

The primary function of Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah (Faculty) of Laws, at the very beginning of its inception, was that of teaching civil law and Sharî’ah subjects. As it matured, its vision has been varied from teaching to that of research with the aim of attaining the status of a full research institution that provides both quality research and best legal education in the region. Similar to other institutions of higher education in Malaysia, the responsibility of research is a shared function of both graduate students and the academic staff. The research output, on the part of the students is mostly composed of either Master Dissertations or PhD Theses. The academic members of the Faculty, however, are involved either in direct research, individually or jointly, supervision, and publications of their findings. By investigating and analyzing factors influencing research activities at AIKOL in the past twenty years, the researchers will be able to identify the general trends and development of research as it unfolded over years. The researchers hope that the policymakers, at both Faculty and University levels, will use the findings to improve research quality by boldly addressing the problems hampering research progress at AIKOL.

Integrated Geomorphological, Geospatial and AHP Technique for Groundwater Prospects Mapping in Basaltic Terrain

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vaishnavi Mundalik ◽  
Clinton Fernandes ◽  
Ajaykumar Kadam ◽  
Bhavana Umrikar
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Drainage Density ◽  
Groundwater Potential ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Thematic Layers ◽  
Groundwater Availability ◽  
Basaltic Terrain ◽  
Thematic Layer ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
Gis Environment

Groundwater is an important source of drinking water in rural parts of India. Because of the increasing demand for water, it is essential to identify new sources for the sustainable development of this resource. The potential mapping and exploration of groundwater resources have become a breakthrough in the field of hydrogeological research. In the present paper, a groundwater prospects map is delineated for the assessment of groundwater availability in Kar basin on basaltic terrain, using remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques. Various thematic layers such as geology, slope, soil, geomorphology, drainage density and rainfall are prepared using satellite data, topographic maps and field data. The ranks and weights were assigned to each thematic layer and various categories of those thematic layers using AHP technique respectively. Further, a weighted overlay analysis was performed by reclassifying them in the GIS environment to prepare the groundwater potential map of the study area. The results show that groundwater prospects map classified into three classes low, moderate and high having area 17.12%, 38.26%, 44.62%, respectively. The overlay map with the groundwater potential zones in the study area has been found to be helpful for better planning and managing the resources.

Australia and People Seeking Asylum who Arrive by Boat

2018 ◽  
pp. 518-536
Author(s):  
Caroline Fleay
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
The Past ◽  
The People ◽  
The Status ◽  
Repeated Use ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The United Nations

Throughout the past forty years various leaders from both major political parties in Australia have categorized the arrival by boat of people seeking asylum as a “crisis” and the people themselves as “illegal.” This is despite Australia being a signatory to the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, and receiving relatively few people who seek asylum compared with many other countries. Punitive government policies and processes have further reinforced these representations, such that “crisis” and “illegal” can now be understood as both categories of analysis and practice. The repeated use of such categories may be helping to produce and reproduce prejudice and racism and obscure the needs and experiences of people seeking asylum.

scholarly journals Taxonomy of Dark Energy Models

Universe ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 163
Author(s):  
Verónica Motta ◽  
Miguel A. García-Aspeitia ◽  
Alberto Hernández-Almada ◽  
Juan Magaña ◽  
Tomás Verdugo
Keyword(s):  
Dark Energy ◽  
Cold Dark Matter ◽  
Accelerated Expansion ◽  
Energy Component ◽  
The Past ◽  
Energy Models ◽  
The Status ◽  
Expansion Of The Universe ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Unknown Component

The accelerated expansion of the Universe is one of the main discoveries of the past decades, indicating the presence of an unknown component: the dark energy. Evidence of its presence is being gathered by a succession of observational experiments with increasing precision in its measurements. However, the most accepted model for explaining the dynamic of our Universe, the so-called Lambda cold dark matter, faces several problems related to the nature of such energy component. This has led to a growing exploration of alternative models attempting to solve those drawbacks. In this review, we briefly summarize the characteristics of a (non-exhaustive) list of dark energy models as well as some of the most used cosmological samples. Next, we discuss how to constrain each model’s parameters using observational data. Finally, we summarize the status of dark energy modeling.

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