Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID PA_2025_Shen

Joint Learning of Groundwater and Water Use with a Geoscience Foundation Model

Institute: Pennsylvania
USGS Grant Number:
Year Established: 2025 Start Date: 2026-08-01 End Date: 2027-07-31
Total Federal Funds: $35,593 Total Non-Federal Funds: $35,593

Principal Investigators: Chaopeng Shen

Project Summary: Groundwater is one of our most important natural resources, supplying drinking water for communities, irrigation for farms, and support for ecosystems. Yet information on groundwater levels and water use is often incomplete, inconsistent, and hard to compare across regions. This makes it difficult for decision-makers to respond quickly to droughts or plan for long-term water security. This project will use new advances in artificial intelligence to provide clear, reliable, and high-resolution information on both groundwater supply and groundwater use. By combining national monitoring records with climate, soil, and landscape data, the model will produce monthly maps that show how much water is in the ground and how much is being used. It will also identify areas where climate change and human use put aquifers at risk. The results will directly support farmers, water managers, communities, and conservation groups who need trustworthy information to safeguard groundwater for the future.