ABSTRACT
Intensive groundwater use in agriculture has become a dominant, yet underperceived aspect of contemporary water use. While the use of groundwater has its roots in many ancient civilizations, it has grown exponentially in scale and intensity over recent decades. Global abstraction of groundwater grew from a base level of 100–150 cubic kilometers in 1950 to 950–1,000 cubic kilometers in 2000. The bulk of this growth is concentrated in agriculture, particularly in Asia [established but incomplete].
