Groundwater drought and anthropogenic amplifiers: A review of assessment and response strategies in arid and semi-arid areas

IF 8.2 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Science of the Total Environment Pub Date : 2025-04-17 DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179406

Abedulla Elsaidy , Estifanos Addisu Yimer , Yunes Mogheir , Marijke Huysmans , Lorenzo Villani , Ann van Griensven

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Abstract

Groundwater drought, a prolonged period of abnormally low groundwater levels, poses a significant threat to the environment, society, and economy. Drought impacts are particularly severe in (semi) arid regions, home to over two billion people, where precipitation is scarce and unevenly distributed. Despite extensive research on droughts, groundwater drought assessment and related responses remains underexplored, especially in addressing groundwater quality. This review addresses this gap by systematically investigating groundwater drought in arid and semi-arid regions. The process involved formulating a search query, identifying relevant articles, and filtering them based on selection criteria. As a result, 146 relevant studies retrieved from the SCOPUS database were fully reviewed. The results were then analyzed using the Drivers, Pressures, State, Impact, and Response (DPSIR) framework. This review explores natural and human drivers of groundwater drought and their interactions, focusing on environmental, societal, and economic impacts. Assessment studies often prioritize water quantity over quality and typically indicate a declining trend in groundwater levels, with a heavy reliance on field data rather than remote sensing. <40 % use advanced techniques like physical models or artificial intelligence. Responses include management, policy, and community strategies, technological and nature-based solutions. The studies mainly focus on water management, policy, and community frameworks. Challenges faced include stakeholder engagement, public perception, reliable data scarcity, and high costs. Further research is needed to model the connections between drivers and impacts, understand groundwater dynamics, and develop adaptive strategies. This research promotes artificial intelligence and remote sensing for studying groundwater drought, while encouraging international research cooperation.

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地下水干旱与人为因素：干旱和半干旱地区评估与应对策略综述

地下水干旱是指地下水水位长期处于异常低水平，对环境、社会和经济构成重大威胁。干旱对（半）干旱地区的影响尤其严重，这些地区有20多亿人口，降水稀少且分布不均。尽管对干旱进行了广泛的研究，但地下水干旱评估和相关响应仍未得到充分探索，特别是在处理地下水质量方面。本文通过对干旱和半干旱地区地下水干旱的系统调查，弥补了这一空白。这个过程包括制定一个搜索查询，识别相关文章，并根据选择标准对它们进行过滤。因此，从SCOPUS数据库中检索的146项相关研究得到了全面审查。然后使用驱动因素、压力、状态、影响和响应（DPSIR）框架分析结果。这篇综述探讨了地下水干旱的自然和人为驱动因素及其相互作用，重点是环境、社会和经济影响。评估研究往往优先考虑水量而不是水质，通常表明地下水水位下降的趋势，严重依赖实地数据而不是遥感。40%的人使用先进的技术，如物理模型或人工智能。应对措施包括管理、政策和社区战略、技术和基于自然的解决方案。这些研究主要集中在水管理、政策和社区框架方面。面临的挑战包括利益相关者参与、公众认知、可靠数据稀缺和高成本。需要进一步的研究来模拟驱动因素和影响之间的联系，了解地下水动力学，并制定适应策略。本研究促进地下水干旱研究的人工智能和遥感，同时鼓励国际研究合作。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Science of the Total Environment 环境科学-环境科学

CiteScore

17.60

自引率

10.20%

发文量

8726

审稿时长

2.4 months

期刊介绍： The Science of the Total Environment is an international journal dedicated to scientific research on the environment and its interaction with humanity. It covers a wide range of disciplines and seeks to publish innovative, hypothesis-driven, and impactful research that explores the entire environment, including the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and anthroposphere. The journal's updated Aims & Scope emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary environmental research with broad impact. Priority is given to studies that advance fundamental understanding and explore the interconnectedness of multiple environmental spheres. Field studies are preferred, while laboratory experiments must demonstrate significant methodological advancements or mechanistic insights with direct relevance to the environment.