Sustainable Water Resources Program
This program addresses sustainability of water resources using remote sensing, global and regional models, and ground-based monitoring data. Much of our research focuses on impacts of climate extremes including floods and droughts, land use, and water use on water resources. Approaches used include GRACE satellite data, altimetry, global and regional models, and groundwater level monitoring. Topics include assessing impacts of climate and humans on water resources in major aquifers and river basins globally. Field studies include evaluation of groundwater recharge, monitoring equal hydrologic n and processes affecting nutrients, particularly nitrate.
Recent Publications
Scanlon, B. R., Reedy, R. C., Fakhreddine, S., Yang, Q., & Pierce, G. (2023). Drinking water quality and social vulnerability linkages at the system level in the United States. Environmental Research Letters, 18(9), 094039. https://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ace2d9. Click here for a PDF of the paper, or here for a 1 page summary.
Scanlon, B.R., Fakhreddine, S., Rateb, A. et al. Global water resources and the role of groundwater in a resilient water future. Nat Rev Earth Environ (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-022-00378-6. Click here for PDF of paper, or supporting information, table.
Scanlon, B. R., S. Fakhreddine, R. C. Reedy, Q. Yang, and J. G. Malito (2022), Drivers of Spatiotemporal Variability in Drinking Water Quality in the United States, Environmental Science & Technology, 56(18), 12965-12974. Click here for PDF of paper.
Scanlon, B. R., A. Rateb, A. Anyamba, S. Kebede, A. M. MacDonald, M. Shamsudduha, J. Small, A. Sun, R. G. Taylor, and H. Xie (2022), Linkages between GRACE water storage, hydrologic extremes, and climate teleconnections in major African aquifers, Environmental Research Letters, 17(1). https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac3bfc.
Li, X. Y., D. Long, B. R. Scanlon, M. E. Mann, X. D. Li, F. Q. Tian, Z. L. Sun, and G. Q. Wang (2022), Climate change threatens terrestrial water storage over the Tibetan Plateau, Nature Climate Change, 12(9), 801-+. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-022-01443-0.
Scanlon, B. R., S. Ikonnikova, Q. Yang, and R. C. Reedy (2020), Will water issues constrain oil and gas production in the U.S.?, Env. Sci. & Technol., https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.9b06390.
Scanlon, B. R., A. Rateb, D. R. Pool, W. Sanford, H. Save, A. D. Sun, D. Long, and B. Fuchs (2021), Effects of climate and irrigation on GRACE-based estimates of water storage changes in major US aquifers, Environmental Research Letters, 16(9). https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac16ff
Rateb, A., et al. (2020), Comparison of Groundwater Storage Changes from GRACE Satellites with Monitoring and Modeling of Major U.S. Aquifers, Water Resour. Res. , 56(12). https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR027556
Scanlon, B. R., R. C. Reedy, P. E. Xu, M., J. P. Nicot, D. Yoxtheimer, Q. Yang, and S. Ikonnikova (2020), Can we beneficially reuse produced water from oil and gas extraction in the U.S.?, Science of the Total Environment, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137085
Yang, Q., and B. R. Scanlon (2019), How much water can be captured from flood flows to store in depleted aquifers for mitigating floods and droughts? A case study from Texas, US, Environmental Research Letters, 14(5), https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ab148e
