Anthropogenic drought dominates groundwater depletion in Iran

Abstract Using publicly-available average monthly groundwater level data in 478 sub-basins and 30 basins in Iran, we quantify country-wide groundwater depletion in Iran. Natural and anthropogenic elements affecting the dynamics of groundwater storage are taken into account and quantified during the...

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Autores principales:	Samaneh Ashraf, Ali Nazemi, Amir AghaKouchak
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/b1e3c50d10fb4148ab0b963d2ef9e65c
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:b1e3c50d10fb4148ab0b963d2ef9e65c2021-12-02T17:39:20ZAnthropogenic drought dominates groundwater depletion in Iran10.1038/s41598-021-88522-y2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/b1e3c50d10fb4148ab0b963d2ef9e65c2021-04-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-88522-yhttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Using publicly-available average monthly groundwater level data in 478 sub-basins and 30 basins in Iran, we quantify country-wide groundwater depletion in Iran. Natural and anthropogenic elements affecting the dynamics of groundwater storage are taken into account and quantified during the period of 2002–2015. We estimate that the total groundwater depletion in Iran to be ~ 74 km3 during this period with highly localized and variable rates of change at basin and sub-basin scales. The impact of depletion in Iran’s groundwater reserves is already manifested by extreme overdrafts in ~ 77% of Iran’s land area, a growing soil salinity across the entire country, and increasing frequency and extent of land subsidence in Iran’s planes. While meteorological/hydrological droughts act as triggers and intensify the rate of depletion in country-wide groundwater storage, basin-scale groundwater depletions in Iran are mainly caused by extensive human water withdrawals. We warn that continuation of unsustainable groundwater management in Iran can lead to potentially irreversible impacts on land and environment, threatening country’s water, food, socio-economic security.Samaneh AshrafAli NazemiAmir AghaKouchakNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Samaneh Ashraf Ali Nazemi Amir AghaKouchak Anthropogenic drought dominates groundwater depletion in Iran
description	Abstract Using publicly-available average monthly groundwater level data in 478 sub-basins and 30 basins in Iran, we quantify country-wide groundwater depletion in Iran. Natural and anthropogenic elements affecting the dynamics of groundwater storage are taken into account and quantified during the period of 2002–2015. We estimate that the total groundwater depletion in Iran to be ~ 74 km3 during this period with highly localized and variable rates of change at basin and sub-basin scales. The impact of depletion in Iran’s groundwater reserves is already manifested by extreme overdrafts in ~ 77% of Iran’s land area, a growing soil salinity across the entire country, and increasing frequency and extent of land subsidence in Iran’s planes. While meteorological/hydrological droughts act as triggers and intensify the rate of depletion in country-wide groundwater storage, basin-scale groundwater depletions in Iran are mainly caused by extensive human water withdrawals. We warn that continuation of unsustainable groundwater management in Iran can lead to potentially irreversible impacts on land and environment, threatening country’s water, food, socio-economic security.
format	article
author	Samaneh Ashraf Ali Nazemi Amir AghaKouchak
author_facet	Samaneh Ashraf Ali Nazemi Amir AghaKouchak
author_sort	Samaneh Ashraf
title	Anthropogenic drought dominates groundwater depletion in Iran
title_short	Anthropogenic drought dominates groundwater depletion in Iran
title_full	Anthropogenic drought dominates groundwater depletion in Iran
title_fullStr	Anthropogenic drought dominates groundwater depletion in Iran
title_full_unstemmed	Anthropogenic drought dominates groundwater depletion in Iran
title_sort	anthropogenic drought dominates groundwater depletion in iran
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/b1e3c50d10fb4148ab0b963d2ef9e65c
work_keys_str_mv	AT samanehashraf anthropogenicdroughtdominatesgroundwaterdepletioniniran AT alinazemi anthropogenicdroughtdominatesgroundwaterdepletioniniran AT amiraghakouchak anthropogenicdroughtdominatesgroundwaterdepletioniniran
_version_	1718379842507898880

Anthropogenic drought dominates groundwater depletion in Iran

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