a few weeks later Nearly constant rains and flooding are finally starting to dry California, but hopefully it doesn’t work that too The state is dry because it needs all the rain it can get to pull it out of its historic drought. This is California at its most frenetic and contradictory. Climate change has made both dry seasons and storms more intense, with the state’s water system ping-pong between critical water shortages and deluges that blanket the canals.
A simultaneous solution to both extremes is the aquifer beneath the feet of the Californians. Aquifers consist of subterranean layers of porous rock and sediments, such as gravel and sand, that are filled with rainwater that seeps into the soil above. This water can naturally come to the surface to form springs or be tapped by digging wells. In modern times, powerful pumps draw water from hundreds of feet deep.
California’s Central Valley is home to a wealth of aquifers that can hold approximately 46 trillion gallons of water, three times more than all of the state’s reservoirs. But this part of the state has long over-exploited them. The 20,000-square-mile valley, rich in agriculture, grows his 40% of the country’s fruits, nuts, and other table foods. (Generally, agriculture accounts for 80% of all water use in California.) In extreme cases, this can crumple the land and reduce elevation by tens of feet in some parts of California. Did.
Graham Fogg, a hydrogeologist at UC Davis who studies aquifers in California, says this leads to dramatic imbalances. “Civilizations around the world have been good at sucking groundwater virtually out of control, but we’ve been bad at getting it back to the ground,” he says. “It’s like mismanagement of a bank account: good at withdrawing money but ignoring deposits for decades.”
To make matters worse, the payment deadline for California’s ever-growing water debt is looming. The state’s outdoor reservoir system is designed to collect water during the wet season and distribute it during the dry, Mediterranean-style summers. However, during droughts, the levels of these reservoirs drop to critical levels, like before the recent atmospheric rivers that occurred in late December and he early January. On top of that, the higher the temperature, the more water will evaporate.
But Mr. Fogg and his colleagues have plans to balance the state’s water balance. It uses giant sensors suspended from helicopters and towed behind ATVs to strategically target specific areas for aquifer recharge.
Fogg and his The team is looking for an ancient feature called Furuya.
The Central Valley’s underground waterways are interestingly created by water currents. Moreoverground. The Sierra Nevada Mountains bordering the eastern edge of the valley were once capped by glaciers. As the ice melts, rivers cut open channels and spew out different types of sediment, which accumulate in layers. These are old valleys up to 1 mile wide and 100 feet deep. They are very good at running water underground.
