Canadian researchers have produced a map illustrating the permeability of the porous surface rocks and sediments worldwide, a tool they say will emerge as a critical resource in water resource management and climate modeling. Using recent lithology results documenting rock types worldwide, scientists at the University of British Columbia were able to map how easily fluids should be able to flow at depths of more than 325 feet (100 meters). Earlier models achieved depths of only about 6 ½ feet (2 meters). “Using our permeability data and maps, we can now evaluate sustainable groundwater resources as well as the impact of groundwater on past, current and future climate at the global scale,” said Tom Gleeson, a researcher at UBC and lead author of the study published in Geophysical Research Letters. Groundwater accounts for about 99 percent of the fresh, unfrozen water on the planet.
New Water Resource Tool Maps Ground Permeability Worldwide
More From E360
-
INTERVIEW
Pakistan’s Solar Revolution Is Bringing Power to the People
-
Food & Agriculture
In Uganda, Deadly Landslides Force an Agricultural Reckoning
-
Energy
Why U.S. Geothermal May Advance, Despite Political Headwinds
-
Food & Agriculture
In War Zones, a Race to Save Key Seeds Needed to Feed the World
-
Climate
Lightning Strikes the Arctic: What Will It Mean for the Far North?
-
RIVERS
A Win for Farmers and Tribes Brings New Hope to the Klamath
-
Solutions
Deconstructing Buildings: The Quest for New Life for Old Wood
-
NATURAL DEFENSES
How Restored Wetlands Can Protect Europe from Russian Invasion
-
Solutions
Birds vs. Wind Turbines: New Research Aims to Prevent Deaths
-
Biodiversity
Cambodian Forest Defenders at Risk for Exposing Illegal Logging
-
OPINION
The ‘Green’ Aviation Fuel That Would Increase Carbon Emissions
-
Solutions
Out of the Wild: How A.I. Is Transforming Conservation Science