GROUNDWATER-PRODUCTION WELLS AS A NOVEL APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING SEDIMENTARY BASINS (Invited Presentation)

Groundwater is a critical but complicated resource to manage; subsurface activities with the potential to pollute and groundwater depletion highlight the need for novel approaches to better understand local-scale hydrogeology across the globe. For the first time, we map groundwater-production wells—the very infrastructure fundamental to withdrawing water from the subsurface—across key sedimentary basins. These data provide a lens into the subsurface, strategically using patterns of well construction and well depths to juxtapose groundwater demand and subsurface pore space. Our work shows how production-well reports offer “big-data” of local relevance, providing vital insights into hydrogeological conditions and groundwater-user decision making across the globe.