Open AccessPursuing Solutions to Sustain Groundwater in California's Changing Climate
Author(s) -
Gilbert James
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1002/2014eo340006
Subject(s) - groundwater , sustainability , climate change , environmental planning , population growth , politics , population , discipline , environmental resource management , political science , geography , environmental science , sociology , engineering , ecology , law , demography , geotechnical engineering , biology
A century of groundwater development in California with comparatively little regulation has yielded enduring legal, political, and hydrologic challenges compounded by drought, population growth and shifts, and climate change. With the debate over state and local roles in managing the resource garnering considerable attention, focus is shifting to how best to address groundwater issues for future sustainability. Groundwater does not exist in isolation, and sustainable management requires understanding interconnections with climate, land surface, and human actions. This integrated approach to California's groundwater raises significant cross‐disciplinary questions that will need to be answered by the next generation of scientists, managers, and policy makers.