Descripción del proyecto
Gestión sostenible de las aguas subterráneas
Las aguas subterráneas son la materia prima más extraída. El aumento de las tasas de bombeo de las aguas subterráneas y las elevadas tasas de agotamiento de los acuíferos correspondientes en todo el mundo son un gran problema. El agotamiento de los acuíferos del mundo es insostenible y acabará haciéndose sentir en la seguridad alimentaria de las generaciones futuras. En este contexto, el equipo del proyecto GEOWAT, financiado por el Consejo Europeo de Investigación, se propone determinar la cantidad de aguas subterráneas existentes y cuánto se extenderá su duración. En concreto, construirá el primer modelo de aguas subterráneas mundial de alta resolución basado en un mapeo tridimensional de los acuíferos de todo el mundo. Se utilizarán herramientas de modelización, junto con estudios de casos específicos, para estudiar el volumen global de las reservas de agua dulce subterránea física y económicamente extraíbles y se determinará el tiempo que transcurrirá hasta el agotamiento físico y económico de acuerdo con el bombeo futuro. El objetivo general del proyecto es proporcionar nuevos conocimientos para el uso sostenible de las aguas subterráneas.
Objetivo
Population growth and economic development have dramatically increased the demand for food and water. The resulting expansion of agriculture into areas with limited precipitation and surface water has greatly increased the reliance on groundwater irrigation. Further, urban groundwater use has risen exponentially to meet the ever-increasing population growth of mega-cities. These trends have resulted in a dramatic rise in groundwater pumping and associated high rates of aquifer depletion around the globe. The depletion of our world’s aquifers is unsustainable and will eventually impact the food security of future generations. Also, groundwater depletion results in severe environmental impacts such as land subsidence, groundwater salinisation, and damage to groundwater-dependent ecosystems. Despite decades of research on groundwater overuse, knowledge on attainable groundwater reserves and the critical time horizons of their depletion is completely lacking. In GEOWAT, I propose to take the giant leap to extractable volumes and depletion horizons by answering the obvious question that has been avoided thus far: How much groundwater is there and how long will it last? To this end, my research team will build the first high-resolution global groundwater model supported with a 3D-mapping of the world’s aquifers. We will use these unique modelling tools, in combination with dedicated case studies, to assess, for the first time, the global volume of physically and economically extractable fresh groundwater, and determine the time to physical and economic depletion under future pumping. We will also provide the first global assessment of the effects of groundwater pumping on groundwater-dependent ecosystems and explore pathways to sustainable groundwater use. As such, GEOWAT will provide critically-needed new knowledge to address one of most pressing challenges that mankind will face: how to sustainably manage the freshwater resources needed to survive on this planet?
Ámbito científico
- engineering and technologycivil engineeringwater engineeringirrigation
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyplanetary sciencesplanets
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesnutrition
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystems
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculture
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-ADG - Advanced GrantInstitución de acogida
3584 CS Utrecht
Países Bajos