Groundwater

	It is estimated that groundwater accounts for about 30% of the world’s total freshwater resources, and it is by far the largest available reservoir of liquid freshwater. Groundwater counts in average for one third of the freshwater consumed by humans, but at some parts of the world, this percentage can reach up to 100%. Climate change affects groundwater recharge rates through changes in precipitation and evapotranspiration. However, attributing observed groundwater change to climate change is difficult because of the influence of land-use change and groundwater abstraction. The extent to which groundwater recharge and storage has already been affected by climate change is widely unknown. Climate change can also affect groundwater through saltwater intrusion in coastal aquifers as sea level rises.
	Domain:	Terrestrial
	Subdomain:	Hydrology
	Scientific Area:	Hydrosphere
	ECV Steward:	Claudia Ruz Vargas, Andreas Güntner, Stephan Dietrich
	Products:	Groundwater volume change; Groundwater level; Groundwater recharge; Groundwater discharge; Wellhead level; Groundwater quality

Groundwater Level

Figure: Groundwater level time series of well 32_16, Sweden from 01/01/1976 until 23/01/2019, extracted from the Global Groundwater Monitoring Network (GGMN).