Extreme climate events endanger groundwater quality and stability, when rain water evades natural purification processes in the soil. This was demonstrated in long-term groundwater analyses using new analytical methods, as described in a recent study in Nature Communications. As billions of people rely on sufficient and clean groundwater for drinking, understanding the impacts of climate extremes on future water security is crucial.
Groundwater-containing rock formations, termed aquifers, are commonly recharged through precipitation seeping through the soil. During this passage, substances taken up at the surface are removed from the water via sorption to soil minerals or they are metabolized by soil microorganisms. This natural filtering process results in highly purified groundwater resources. However, rainfall can sometimes quickly flow into deeper soil layers thereby evading purification and transporting large amounts of dissolved substances from the surface and upper soil layers into groundwater aquifers.
