Crustal Groundwater Volumes Greater Than Previously Thought
Grant Ferguson, Jennifer C. McIntosh, Oliver Warr, Barbara Sherwood Lollar, C. J. Ballentine, J. S. Famiglietti, Jihyun Kim, J. R. Michalski, John F. Mustard, J. D. Tarnas, Jeffrey J. McDonnell
Abstract
Global groundwater volumes in the upper 2 km of the Earth's continental crust—critical for water security—are well estimated. Beyond these depths, a vast body of largely saline and non-potable groundwater exists down to at least 10 km—a volume that has not yet been quantified reliably at the global scale. Here, we estimate the amount of groundwater present in the upper 10 km of the Earth's continental crust by examining the distribution of sedimentary and crystalline rocks with depth and applying porosity-depth relationships. We demonstrate that groundwater in the 2–10 km zone (what we call “deep groundwater”) has a volume comparable to that of groundwater in the upper 2 km of the Earth's crust. These new estimates make groundwater the largest continental reservoir of water, ahead of ice sheets, provide a basis to quantify geochemical cycles, and constrain the potential for large-scale isolation of waste fluids.- Cite:
- Grant Ferguson, Jennifer C. McIntosh, Oliver Warr, Barbara Sherwood Lollar, C. J. Ballentine, J. S. Famiglietti, Jihyun Kim, J. R. Michalski, John F. Mustard, J. D. Tarnas, and Jeffrey J. McDonnell. 2021. Crustal Groundwater Volumes Greater Than Previously Thought. Geophysical Research Letters, Volume 48, Issue 16, 48(16).
- Copy Citation:
Export citation
@article{Ferguson-2021-Crustal,
title = "Crustal Groundwater Volumes Greater Than Previously Thought",
author = "Ferguson, Grant and
McIntosh, Jennifer C. and
Warr, Oliver and
Lollar, Barbara Sherwood and
Ballentine, C. J. and
Famiglietti, J. S. and
Kim, Jihyun and
Michalski, J. R. and
Mustard, John F. and
Tarnas, J. D. and
McDonnell, Jeffrey J.",
journal = "Geophysical Research Letters, Volume 48, Issue 16",
volume = "48",
number = "16",
year = "2021",
publisher = "American Geophysical Union (AGU)",
url = "https://gwf-uwaterloo.github.io/gwf-publications/G21-106001",
doi = "10.1029/2021gl093549",
abstract = "Global groundwater volumes in the upper 2 km of the Earth's continental crust{---}critical for water security{---}are well estimated. Beyond these depths, a vast body of largely saline and non-potable groundwater exists down to at least 10 km{---}a volume that has not yet been quantified reliably at the global scale. Here, we estimate the amount of groundwater present in the upper 10 km of the Earth's continental crust by examining the distribution of sedimentary and crystalline rocks with depth and applying porosity-depth relationships. We demonstrate that groundwater in the 2{--}10 km zone (what we call {``}deep groundwater{''}) has a volume comparable to that of groundwater in the upper 2 km of the Earth's crust. These new estimates make groundwater the largest continental reservoir of water, ahead of ice sheets, provide a basis to quantify geochemical cycles, and constrain the potential for large-scale isolation of waste fluids.",
}
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<modsCollection xmlns="http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3">
<mods ID="Ferguson-2021-Crustal">
<titleInfo>
<title>Crustal Groundwater Volumes Greater Than Previously Thought</title>
</titleInfo>
<name type="personal">
<namePart type="given">Grant</namePart>
<namePart type="family">Ferguson</namePart>
<role>
<roleTerm authority="marcrelator" type="text">author</roleTerm>
</role>
</name>
<name type="personal">
<namePart type="given">Jennifer</namePart>
<namePart type="given">C</namePart>
<namePart type="family">McIntosh</namePart>
<role>
<roleTerm authority="marcrelator" type="text">author</roleTerm>
</role>
</name>
<name type="personal">
<namePart type="given">Oliver</namePart>
<namePart type="family">Warr</namePart>
<role>
<roleTerm authority="marcrelator" type="text">author</roleTerm>
</role>
</name>
<name type="personal">
<namePart type="given">Barbara</namePart>
<namePart type="given">Sherwood</namePart>
<namePart type="family">Lollar</namePart>
<role>
<roleTerm authority="marcrelator" type="text">author</roleTerm>
</role>
</name>
<name type="personal">
<namePart type="given">C</namePart>
<namePart type="given">J</namePart>
<namePart type="family">Ballentine</namePart>
<role>
<roleTerm authority="marcrelator" type="text">author</roleTerm>
</role>
</name>
<name type="personal">
<namePart type="given">J</namePart>
<namePart type="given">S</namePart>
<namePart type="family">Famiglietti</namePart>
<role>
<roleTerm authority="marcrelator" type="text">author</roleTerm>
</role>
</name>
<name type="personal">
<namePart type="given">Jihyun</namePart>
<namePart type="family">Kim</namePart>
<role>
<roleTerm authority="marcrelator" type="text">author</roleTerm>
</role>
</name>
<name type="personal">
<namePart type="given">J</namePart>
<namePart type="given">R</namePart>
<namePart type="family">Michalski</namePart>
<role>
<roleTerm authority="marcrelator" type="text">author</roleTerm>
</role>
</name>
<name type="personal">
<namePart type="given">John</namePart>
<namePart type="given">F</namePart>
<namePart type="family">Mustard</namePart>
<role>
<roleTerm authority="marcrelator" type="text">author</roleTerm>
</role>
</name>
<name type="personal">
<namePart type="given">J</namePart>
<namePart type="given">D</namePart>
<namePart type="family">Tarnas</namePart>
<role>
<roleTerm authority="marcrelator" type="text">author</roleTerm>
</role>
</name>
<name type="personal">
<namePart type="given">Jeffrey</namePart>
<namePart type="given">J</namePart>
<namePart type="family">McDonnell</namePart>
<role>
<roleTerm authority="marcrelator" type="text">author</roleTerm>
</role>
</name>
<originInfo>
<dateIssued>2021</dateIssued>
</originInfo>
<typeOfResource>text</typeOfResource>
<genre authority="bibutilsgt">journal article</genre>
<relatedItem type="host">
<titleInfo>
<title>Geophysical Research Letters, Volume 48, Issue 16</title>
</titleInfo>
<originInfo>
<issuance>continuing</issuance>
<publisher>American Geophysical Union (AGU)</publisher>
</originInfo>
<genre authority="marcgt">periodical</genre>
<genre authority="bibutilsgt">academic journal</genre>
</relatedItem>
<abstract>Global groundwater volumes in the upper 2 km of the Earth’s continental crust—critical for water security—are well estimated. Beyond these depths, a vast body of largely saline and non-potable groundwater exists down to at least 10 km—a volume that has not yet been quantified reliably at the global scale. Here, we estimate the amount of groundwater present in the upper 10 km of the Earth’s continental crust by examining the distribution of sedimentary and crystalline rocks with depth and applying porosity-depth relationships. We demonstrate that groundwater in the 2–10 km zone (what we call “deep groundwater”) has a volume comparable to that of groundwater in the upper 2 km of the Earth’s crust. These new estimates make groundwater the largest continental reservoir of water, ahead of ice sheets, provide a basis to quantify geochemical cycles, and constrain the potential for large-scale isolation of waste fluids.</abstract>
<identifier type="citekey">Ferguson-2021-Crustal</identifier>
<identifier type="doi">10.1029/2021gl093549</identifier>
<location>
<url>https://gwf-uwaterloo.github.io/gwf-publications/G21-106001</url>
</location>
<part>
<date>2021</date>
<detail type="volume"><number>48</number></detail>
<detail type="issue"><number>16</number></detail>
</part>
</mods>
</modsCollection>
%0 Journal Article %T Crustal Groundwater Volumes Greater Than Previously Thought %A Ferguson, Grant %A McIntosh, Jennifer C. %A Warr, Oliver %A Lollar, Barbara Sherwood %A Ballentine, C. J. %A Famiglietti, J. S. %A Kim, Jihyun %A Michalski, J. R. %A Mustard, John F. %A Tarnas, J. D. %A McDonnell, Jeffrey J. %J Geophysical Research Letters, Volume 48, Issue 16 %D 2021 %V 48 %N 16 %I American Geophysical Union (AGU) %F Ferguson-2021-Crustal %X Global groundwater volumes in the upper 2 km of the Earth’s continental crust—critical for water security—are well estimated. Beyond these depths, a vast body of largely saline and non-potable groundwater exists down to at least 10 km—a volume that has not yet been quantified reliably at the global scale. Here, we estimate the amount of groundwater present in the upper 10 km of the Earth’s continental crust by examining the distribution of sedimentary and crystalline rocks with depth and applying porosity-depth relationships. We demonstrate that groundwater in the 2–10 km zone (what we call “deep groundwater”) has a volume comparable to that of groundwater in the upper 2 km of the Earth’s crust. These new estimates make groundwater the largest continental reservoir of water, ahead of ice sheets, provide a basis to quantify geochemical cycles, and constrain the potential for large-scale isolation of waste fluids. %R 10.1029/2021gl093549 %U https://gwf-uwaterloo.github.io/gwf-publications/G21-106001 %U https://doi.org/10.1029/2021gl093549
Markdown (Informal)
[Crustal Groundwater Volumes Greater Than Previously Thought](https://gwf-uwaterloo.github.io/gwf-publications/G21-106001) (Ferguson et al., GWF 2021)
- Crustal Groundwater Volumes Greater Than Previously Thought (Ferguson et al., GWF 2021)
ACL
- Grant Ferguson, Jennifer C. McIntosh, Oliver Warr, Barbara Sherwood Lollar, C. J. Ballentine, J. S. Famiglietti, Jihyun Kim, J. R. Michalski, John F. Mustard, J. D. Tarnas, and Jeffrey J. McDonnell. 2021. Crustal Groundwater Volumes Greater Than Previously Thought. Geophysical Research Letters, Volume 48, Issue 16, 48(16).