Resilience of Food Production on Two North American Aquifers

Central Valley Aquifer

Water Depth Change

Mississippi River Valley Aquifer

High : >50
Low : <0

Both aquife rs h ave e ncounte re d

re m arkable wate r de pth ch ang e ove r
th e past 20ye ars.Th e Ce ntralValle y
Aquife r
s ave rag e g roundwate r le ve l
h as incre ase dfrom 76to 107ft,wh ich is
roug h lya40% de cline in wate r le ve l.
Eve n worse ,th e MississippiRive r Valle y
Aquife r
save rag e g roundwate r le ve lh as
snowballe dfrom 24to 46ft,a90%
de cline .

Future Rainfall Change

High : 4.0

Low : -3.5

Pre cipitation patte rns for th e 2080

s sh ow
sig nificant % de parture from th e curre nt
am ounts.Th e Ce ntralValle yAquife r will
unde rg o am ore drasticpre cipitation
ch ang e th an th e MississippiRive r Valle y
Aquife r.Th is couldprom pt th e U.
S.to
re locate anotable am ount of California
s
ag riculture to alocation th at is m ore
suitable during th is pe riod,such as
Alabam a
s fe rtile Black Be lt.

Predominant Crops
Grains

Nuts/
Se e ds
Fruits

Ve g e table s
Be ans

130Mile s

Source s:NO AA,NASS,USGS,

Th e Nature Conse rvancy
,Esri,
HERE,De Lorm e ,Mapm y
I
ndia,GI
SCom m unity
.
Coordinate Syste m :GCSWGS1984
Datum :WGS1984

Th e two aquife rs are distinctlydiffe re nt from one anoth e r,from th e crops th e yg rowto th e g roundwate r le ve land
future rainfallch ang e s.Th e Ce ntralValle yAquife r
s crops are am ixof m ostlyfruits,ve g e table s,andnuts/
se e ds,
wh ile th e MississippiRive r Valle yAlluvialAquife r pre dom inantlyconsists of be ans andg rains.
Th e wate r de pth
ch ang e ove r 20ye ars was inte rpolate dbyKrig ing .An incre ase de note s th at th e aquife r wate r le ve lh as
dim inish e d,andade cre ase in th e wate r le ve lin re lation to th e top soilsig nifie s arise in g roundwate r le ve l.
Roug h ly45% of th e CVAis de vote dto ag riculture ,wh ilst th e MRVAboasts an e ve n g re ate r num be r of 57%.Th is
diffe re nce couldbe due to m ore g roundwate r be ing available in th e MRVA.Californiais notorious for its sporadic
pre cipitation,but th e de m andfor ag riculture in th is re g ion continue s to g row.Th is is le ading to g roundwate r de ple tion
for th e CVA,be cause rainfallcannot sustain th e crop
s ne e ds in th is are a.Th e MRVA
s g roundwate r is de ple ting at an
e ve n faste r rate due to ag riculture .Th is is like lydue to th e farm e rs not h aving e noug h wate r from rive r dive rsion to
g rowth e ir h ig h wate r re quiring crops,such as rice ,cotton,andwh e at.Th e CVA
s future pre cipitation ch ang e willnot
Auth or:Matth e wWh ittle
re ch arg e th e g roundwate r le ve ls.Wh ile m ost of th e MRVAis pre dicte dto re ce ive h ig h e r rainfallin th e 2080
s,Iam
m w0038@uah .
e du
not assure dth at th is willbe e noug h to re ch arg e th e g roundwate r le ve ls e ith e r.Myh ypoth e sis is th at,are as such as
Date :1
1/
30/
2015
th e Black Be lt willbe re quire dto take on ag re ate r role in ag riculture ,wh ich luckily
,are h ardlybe ing put to use .

75Mile s