ABSTRACT
The two great stores of freshwater, frozen resources and groundwater, are both suffering a steep decline. The icecaps and glaciers are suffering mainly because of climate change. Groundwater reserves are suffering mainly as a result of human exploitation. The loss of land ice is receiving wide media attention, while groundwater hardly gets a mention. Land ice may still hold the largest store of freshwater (Figure 12.1), but while ice masses are a vital source of water in some countries in mid-and low latitude, most especially around the Himalayas and Tibetan plateau, the Rockies and Andes, large-scale exploitation of arctic and antarctic resources is still merely a long-term possibility (see Exploiting the cryo-sphere in Chapter 14). In contrast, groundwater is a vital resource for many more people throughout the world. As surface water supplies diminish, so people and companies are increasingly turning to groundwater.
