6-Aug-2025
New study reveals how ancient groundwater is linked to past ice sheets and sea-level changes
Stockholm UniversityPeer-Reviewed Publication
A recent study in Nature Geoscience offers important new insights into the hidden role of ancient groundwater beneath the ocean floor – and how it may have interacted with ice sheets and rising sea levels during past climate changes. Groundwater is a vital source of fresh water, supplying nearly half of global domestic needs. But a large portion of this water – between 42 per cent and 85 per cent – is actually fossil groundwater, which flowed into the ground more than 11,700 years ago, before the start of the current geological period known as the Holocene. This ancient groundwater is not only difficult to replenish, but also increasingly vulnerable to modern pollution or salinization through seawater mixing. To protect this vital resource, it is important to understand how long it stays underground and how it moves and changes over time.
- Journal
- Nature Geoscience
- Funder
- Norwegian Financial Mechanism, European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Swedish Research Council, Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education, National Research Foundation of Korea, European Union through the ERC grant