Tess Russo, G360 Seminar

Professor Tess Russo, Department of Geosciences, The Pennsylvania State University.   "Groundwater levels, extraction, and climate connections in Punjab, India and the United States."  

Abstract:  Groundwater constitutes a critical component of our water resources, especially during dry seasons and droughts, and in regions lacking reliable access to surface water. In this talk, I'll present groundwater studies on Punjab, India and the continental US.  Punjab, a major agricultural supplier for the rest of India, supports irrigation with a canal system and groundwater, which is vastly over-exploited. The data required to estimate future impacts on water supplies is not readily available for this region, therefore we use Bayesian methods to estimate hydrologic properties. Model results are used to test three water management strategies, which show that replacement of rice with pulses may be sufficient to stop water table decline. In the United States, where historical groundwater records are ubiquitous, we analyze data trends and connections to extraction, precipitation, and larger climate phenomena. Analysis of historical groundwater level records indicates groundwater storage declined between 1949 and 2009 throughout much of the continental United States. Most notably, groundwater level declines in the southern and eastern U.S. are comparable to declines in areas of the often-discussed water stressed areas of the High Plains and southwest U.S. Climate is a clear controlling factor on groundwater levels, with changes in groundwater level correlating well with annual precipitation and long-term climate patterns including the Pacific Decadal Oscillation.