Groundwater storage trends for Earth's 37 largest aquifers from UCI-led study using NASA GRACE data (2003 - 2013). Of these, 21 have exceeded sustainability tipping points and are being depleted, with 13 considered significantly distressed, threatening regional water security and resilience. Image Credit: UC Irvine/NASA/JPL-Caltech

Earth’s groundwater resources are being used up at an alarming rate, reaching dangerously low levels, according to two new studies out of the University of California, Irvine.

The reason? Researchers found groundwater from aquifers without knowing when the water will run out, resulting in the fast depletion of nearly one-third of the world’s resources, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration noted in a press release.

“Given how quickly we are consuming the world’s groundwater reserves, we need a coordinated global effort to determine how much is left,” Jay Famiglietti, senior water scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, UCI professor and lead investigator, told NASA.

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Using information from NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellites, the research team observed and their ability to recover from human intervention, according to the study, published in the journal Water Resources Research.

Eight of the systems are considered “overstressed,” meaning they are being consumed quickly and are unable to “recharge” or replenish their stock. The majority of these suffering aquifers were located in semi-arid and arid regions, including the Arabian aquifer.

Research revealed California’s Central Valley aquifer, labeled “highly stressed,” is also draining quickly due to heavy agriculture use, NASA says. Famiglietti noted the drought-stricken state relies heavily on groundwater.

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“We’re trying to raise red flags now to pinpoint where active management today could protect future lives and livelihoods,” Alexandra Rickey, lead author of the papers, told NASA.

In the second paper, scientists revealed that about the subject is unreliable, resulting in poor knowledge about our available water supply and the aquifers’ ability to bounce back.

The scientists are calling for better management and research around the world, stressing that as the situation grows more dire, the level of uncertainty will become less and less tolerable. Only a global effort to improve knowledge of the state of the world’s aquifers, they noted, will better help conserve these invaluable resources.

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