This site is a US Global Change Research Program Seminar, dated 23 November 1998. It consists of a series or reports that help students to understand how water has been used to transform desert regions into productive and livable environments. Full description.

This project examines the entire water system of an ancient city, including supply, distribution, use, and drainage. Until now, individual water system elements have been studied as archaeological objects, but infrequently subjected to analysis by such disciplines as fluids engineering and urban history. This work is part of two larger long-term studies, the first concerning the relationship between ... Full description.

This publication provides an overview of groundwater occurrence and of the main issues affecting its quantity and quality. It shows how the resource is used in our cities, in industry and mining, in agriculture and rural water supply; how it sustains many of our wetlands; how in its own undramatic way groundwater has become an integral part of billions of people's lives. Numerous examples illustrate ... Full description.

Research in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas all point to the same conclusion: climate change is causing the world's glaciers to melt at an increasingly rapid pace. It is a phenomenon that may prove catastrophic for the millions of people in the world who depend on ice melt for their fresh water supply. This transcript of a broadcast story from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty summarizes the ... Full description.

NASA and Russian scientists have been selected to take the search for life in the solar system to the frozen reaches of Earth. Life forms (from diatoms and bacteria to mammoths) preserved in the Siberian permafrost can yield evidence about how life has changed on the molecular level and provide a treasure trove of ancient enzymes, proteins, and biochemicals. The ecosystems of the ice and permafrost ... Full description.

The world's food production depends on the availability of water, a precious but finite resource. Users can learn about the need for more efficient usage of water for irrigation, and about the activities of the Water Resources Development and Management Service, which is concerned with sustainable use and conservation of water in agriculture. Links to other sites related to irrigation practices and ... Full description.

This article deals with the phenomena of El Nino and La Nina. Topics include the apparently widespread effect of these phenomena on weather systems around the Earth and new methods to detect their arrival and departure. There is a discussion of the use of SeaWIFS satellite data to detect changes in the distribution of oceanic algae (phytoplankton) which occur when warm or cool water masses move, as ... Full description.

Supplemental to The World's Water book by Peter Gleick, this site offers data on the world's freshwater resources and uses. Tables and maps provide information on quantity and quality issues including data on access to safe drinking water; waterborne disease outbreaks; desalination capacity; as well as hydroelectric capacity and production. There is also a unique chronology documenting the historical ... Full description.

The World Water Council is a non-profit, non-governmental think tank with a mission to promote awareness and build political commitment on critical water issues at all decision-making levels. The concept for the Council arose at a 1977 UN conference. Their programs emphasize efficient conservation, protection, development, planning, management and use of water. Available resources include press releases, ... Full description.

The Deep Biosphere Laboratory at Goteborg University consists of about 10 people whose unifying interest is in microbial life in underground and sub-seafloor environments. Visitors to the site can access summaries of research projects, personnel information, and links to publications on the topic of underground and sub-seafloor microbes. Research topics include microbes in deep Swedish and Finnish ... Full description.