Groundwater quality refers to the physicochemical, biological, and radiological characteristics of subsurface water that determine its suitability for specific uses and its impacts on ecological and human health. It is governed by source geology, residence time, redox conditions, and hydrologic flow paths, as well as anthropogenic inputs such as agricultural fertilizers, industrial effluents, mining activities, and urban wastewater. Key parameters include major ions, trace metals, nutrients, organic contaminants, pathogens, and emerging pollutants (e.g., pharmaceuticals, PFAS), commonly assessed via monitoring networks, hydrochemical modeling, and risk assessment frameworks to support resource management, remediation strategies, and regulatory standards.
Thanks to upstream diversions and climate change, Utah's Great Salt Lake has shrunk by 70% since 1989, exposing about 800 square miles of playa and mudflats—along with numerous curiosities. While a potential environmental ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 12, 2026
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68
A Stanford Law report reveals California's inadequate monitoring of dairies and feedlots, highlighting the need for stronger regulatory enforcement to protect groundwater quality and community health.
Environment
Mar 6, 2026
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19
Pesticides can harm aquatic ecosystems and human health, so scientists need to understand how they move from farm fields into streams. A management tool commonly implemented is riparian buffers—strips of vegetation, like ...
Environment
Feb 24, 2026
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10
California doesn't have a water scarcity problem. It has a distribution problem, according to Nícola Ulibarrí, whose new research is reshaping how policymakers think about one of the state's most pressing challenges.
Environment
Feb 6, 2026
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21
A research team led by Prof. Xiao Kai from the Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has systematically elucidated the transformation and transport processes of nutrients in intertidal ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 5, 2026
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10
Every year at Grand Canyon National Park, millions of visitors from all over the world stop at one of a dozen water spigots. Most people are on a rim, seeing the canyon's majesty for the first time, when they step off the ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 5, 2026
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223
The world is looking for more clean water. Intense storms and warmer weather have worsened droughts and reduced the amount of clean water underground and in rivers and lakes on the surface.
Environment
Feb 4, 2026
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14
Deep beneath the Earth's surface, in the pores and crevices of rock, live huge communities of microorganisms. They are invisible to the naked eye—yet they play a central role in the quality of our groundwater and in global ...
Ecology
Feb 2, 2026
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13
Kristen Hanneman made a small decision in 2022 that would upend life for her entire town.
Environment
Feb 2, 2026
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100
No matter where you live in the United States, you have likely seen headlines about PFAS being detected in everything from drinking water to fish to milk to human bodies.
Environment
Jan 29, 2026
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