The expansion of reservoirs to cope with droughts and water shortages is hotly debated in
many places around the world. We argue that there are two counterintuitive dynamics that …

Abstract Sand and Dust Storms (SDS) are a natural phenomenon with important impacts on
ecosystems and human society. SDS hotspots are mostly located in drylands, however their …

Groundwater recharge feeds aquifers supplying fresh-water to a population over 80 million
in Iran—a global hotspot for groundwater depletion. Using an extended database …

Traditional, mainstream definitions of drought describe it as deficit in water‐related variables
or water‐dependent activities (eg, precipitation, soil moisture, surface and groundwater …

Using publicly-available average monthly groundwater level data in 478 sub-basins and 30
basins in Iran, we quantify country-wide groundwater depletion in Iran. Natural and …

Iran is currently experiencing serious water problems. Frequent droughts coupled with over-
abstraction of surface and groundwater through a large network of hydraulic infrastructure …

Lake Urmia—a shallow endemic hypersaline lake in northwest Iran—has undergone a
dramatic decline in its water level (WL), by about 8 m, since 1995. The primary cause of the …

Recent studies have highlighted the reliance of global food production on unsustainable
irrigation practices, which deplete freshwater stocks and environmental flows, and …

Lake Urmia is one of the largest hypersaline lakes on earth with a unique biodiversity. Over
the past two decades the lake water level declined dramatically, threatening the functionality …

Water scarcity exacerbated by growing demand in different sectors has created
environmental, social, and economic challenges in the Urmia Lake Basin, Iran. Tackling this …