Exploitation of Groundwater Causes Sea Level Rise

The Water Cycle. Water travels the earth in a constant cycle, which is ultimatively driven by the sun. (Picture from: http://www.sswm.info/)

Slowly but surely, the sea level continues to rise. Recent research suggests this increase is also driven by the exploitation of underground water by humans that eventually flowed into the sea.

According to Leonard Konikow, geological researchers from the United States Geological Survey, yet many experts that included the factors of groundwater as a contributor to sea level rise. The difficulty of estimating underground water reserves in the world makes the study of this case as if pounding a dead end.

Causes the sea level rise. (Picture from: http://maps.grida.no/)

However Konikow reluctant to give up. He reviewed the amount of underground water drawn to the surface of the earth and dumped into the ocean. Data on the number of underground water reserves is taken from 46 sites most frequently studied aquifers in the world. From this data, Konikow can estimate the underground water reserves in all corners of the earth.

He estimated the man had been wearing around 4,500 cubic kilometers of groundwater over the period 1900-2008. "This amount is equivalent to sea level rise as high as 1.26 centimeter. In the same period the total increase in sea levels by 17 centimeters," said Konikow in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

Increase of 1.26 inches does not seem large, which is accounted for 7 percent of sea level rise. But that should be a concern is that since 1950 more and more people use the underground water.

Peak consumption is estimated to occur at the end of last decade. Throughout the 2000-2008 period, groundwater contributed to rising sea levels as much as 0.36 centimeter or 13 percent of the total sea level rise of 2.79 inches.

"We were very surprised contribution of groundwater to rising sea levels greater," he said. It remains unclear whether the underground water will contribute to greater sea level rise in the future.

The optimism comes from some developing countries are beginning to reduce dependence on underground water, even trying to recharge water supplies by rainwater into the soil water storage. According to him, the effort was a step forward and should be applied more widely .*** [NEWSCIENTIST | ANTON WILLIAM | KORAN TEMPO 3658]