Twin GRACE satellites, launched by NASA in 2002, provided data
for a study of the world's 37 largest aquifers, which found that more than a third of them are being
used at unsustainable rates — they are being drained far faster than natural
processes can restore them. 13 of the 37 aquifers, from California to the
Middle East to China, are running out of water.
Eight of the 13 were determined
to be overstressed, with no replenishment at all. Five were declared extremely
stressed or highly stressed, with some replenishment but not enough to sustain
their use. The Arabian Aquifer System supplies water to 60 million people in
the Middle East and was declared in the study to be the most overstressed water
supply in the world. The Indus Basin aquifer in India and Pakistan is the second
most overstressed system. The satellites showed that the California needs 11 trillion gallons of water to fall as
rain or snow to recover, which is 50% more than the largest aquifer in the
United States can hold. Read more at http://www.businessinsider.com/
