Groundwaterscapes: A global classification and mapping of groundwater's large-scale socioeconomic, ecological, and Earth system functions

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dc.contributor.authorHuggins, Xander
dc.contributor.authorGleeson, Tom
dc.contributor.authorVillholth, Karen G.
dc.contributor.authorRocha, Juan C.
dc.contributor.authorFamiglietti, James S.
dc.date.accessioned2025-09-22T16:20:51Z
dc.date.available2025-09-22T16:20:51Z
dc.date.issued2024
dc.description.abstractGroundwater is a dynamic component of the global water cycle with important social, economic, ecological, and Earth system functions. We present a new global classification and mapping of groundwater systems, which we call groundwaterscapes, that represent predominant configurations of large-scale groundwater system functions. We identify and map 15 groundwaterscapes which offer a new lens to conceptualize, study, model, and manage groundwater. Groundwaterscapes are derived using a novel application of sequenced self-organizing maps that capture patterns in groundwater system functions at the grid cell level (∼10 km), including groundwater-dependent ecosystem type and density, storage capacity, irrigation, safe drinking water access, and national governance. All large aquifer systems of the world are characterized by multiple groundwaterscapes, highlighting the pitfalls of treating these groundwater bodies as lumped systems in global assessments. We evaluate the distribution of Global Groundwater Monitoring Network wells across groundwaterscapes and find that industrial agricultural regions are disproportionately monitored, while several groundwaterscapes have next to no monitoring wells. This disparity undermines the ability to understand system dynamics across the full range of settings that characterize groundwater systems globally. We argue that groundwaterscapes offer a conceptual and spatial tool to guide model development, hypothesis testing, and future data collection initiatives to better understand groundwater's embeddedness within social-ecological systems at the global scale.
dc.description.reviewstatusReviewed
dc.description.scholarlevelFaculty
dc.description.sponsorshipX.H. was supported by an Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada.
dc.identifier.citationHuggins, X., Gleeson, T., Villholth, K. G., Rocha, J. C., & Famiglietti, J. S. (2024). Groundwaterscapes: A global classification and mapping of groundwater’s large‐scale socioeconomic, ecological, and Earth system functions. Water Resources Research, 60(10). https://doi.org/10.1029/2023wr036287
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR036287
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1828/22787
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherWater Resources Research
dc.rightsCC BY 4.0
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectarchetype analysis
dc.subjectgroundwater systems
dc.subjectself-organizing maps
dc.subjectsocial-ecological systems
dc.subjectsystem classification
dc.subject.departmentSchool of Earth and Ocean Sciences
dc.subject.departmentDepartment of Civil Engineering
dc.titleGroundwaterscapes: A global classification and mapping of groundwater's large-scale socioeconomic, ecological, and Earth system functions
dc.typeArticle

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