Vogelbacher et al. (2026) Groundwater Variability Is Strongly Linked to Soil Temperature Across Global Aquifers

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Identification

• Journal: Geophysical Research Letters
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-08-05
• Authors: Anastasia Vogelbacher, Milad Aminzadeh, Amir AghaKouchak, Kaveh Moezzi Madani, Nima Shokri
• DOI: 10.1029/2026gl123821

Research Groups

• Hydrology Group, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
• Earth System Science Department, University of California, Irvine (UCI)

Short Summary

This study investigates the global relationship between groundwater table depth fluctuations and various land-surface processes, revealing significant correlations with soil temperature, evaporation, heatwave frequency, and soil moisture.

Objective

• Investigate the covariation between groundwater table depth annual fluctuations and land-surface processes globally.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Global, covering 1,658 aquifers worldwide.
• Temporal Scale: 2000–2015 period of observation-based aquifer records and gridded groundwater table depth model outputs.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Gridded groundwater table depth (GWD) model outputs.
• Data sources: Observation-based aquifer records, satellite data, and reanalysis products.

Main Results

• Significant correlations between GWD annual fluctuations and land-surface processes: soil temperature (37%), evaporation (28%), heatwave frequency (22%), and soil moisture (13%).
• Different coupling patterns for declining vs. stable aquifers, with more negative relationships between GWD and evaporation and positive associations between GWD and soil temperature.

Contributions

• Provides new insights into the global importance of groundwater dynamics in assessing climate extremes and land-surface processes.
• Highlights the need to incorporate groundwater table depth fluctuations into assessments of climate-related phenomena.

Funding

• This research was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under grant number 1757363.

Citation

@article{Vogelbacher2026Groundwater,
  author = {Vogelbacher, Anastasia and Aminzadeh, Milad and AghaKouchak, Amir and Madani, Kaveh Moezzi and Shokri, Nima},
  title = {Groundwater Variability Is Strongly Linked to Soil Temperature Across Global Aquifers},
  journal = {Geophysical Research Letters},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1029/2026gl123821},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1029/2026gl123821}
}