Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Groundwater and Society Workshop: Transdisciplinary collaborations for sustainable management of an “Invisible Resource”.

PRESENTERS:
To attach your poster or presentation:

E-mail your file for upload
Authors

Lead Presenter

Co-Author

Abstract

The Groundwater and Society Workshop, held at Pennsylvania State University from May 8-10, 2024, was organized by the University of New Hampshire and the Pennsylvania State University. By evaluating the existing status of connected human-groundwater systems, motivating advancements driven by human-related problems, and promoting transdisciplinary collaborations, the workshop aimed to stimulate research on the multi-sector dynamics of groundwater use. The workshop brought together 43 researchers from 17 institutions, primarily at the early career stage, and was organized into plenary presentations and active breakout sessions. Experts in groundwater modeling, environmental economics, and social sciences proposed and led five working sessions: (1) Defining sustainable groundwater use; (2) Groundwater and global change; (3) Understanding the potential impacts of lithium mining on groundwater resources and the economy; (4) Groundwater and trade; and (5) Model to management: what are the pathways for science to become policy? Following the session discussions, eight papers were launched, with abstracts and manuscript development plans presented on the last day of the workshop. These manuscripts will be included in the special issue "Focus on Groundwater and Society: Sustainably Managing an "Invisible" Resource" in Environmental Research Letters (ERL).  Feedback was collected post-workshop where we learned the workshop met its goals but that engaging with researchers studying governance and institutions would be a good future direction for similar workshops. The Program on Coupled Human and Earth Systems (PCHES) provided funding for this event. Our special ERL issue, which is now welcoming additional contributions from all authors, has a submission deadline of January 31, 2025. Manuscripts can be written entirely within one field, but submissions that advance techniques and knowledge in the multidisciplinary field of groundwater and society are especially encouraged.

Category
Water Cycle and Hydroclimate
Funding Program Area(s)