Groundwater drought and anthropogenic amplifiers: A review of assessment and response strategies in arid and semi-arid areas.
Journal:
The Science of the total environment
Published Date:
Apr 17, 2025
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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