Adequate quantities of clean drinking water are essential for human life. Natural groundwater systems are the most important drinking water resources. Their capacities are increasingly endangered by high withdrawal rates and the impact of numerous anthropogenic activities. Unpolluted groundwater is already a rare commodity in many countries around the world.

The sustainable utilization of these vital resources requires a detailed understanding of the size of groundwater bodies and the processes which affect them. The aim of this focal research field is to enhance our knowledge of both.

The Leibniz Institute for Applied Geosciences is currently conducting geophysical surveys of buried subglacial valleys in northern Germany to develop aquifer models applicable to other areas. The intrusion of salt water into freshwater aquifers along the coast is being studied. Interdisciplinary studies, including numerical modelling, are conducted in order to be able to predict the development of groundwater systems at various spatial and time scales. The investigations utilize methods such as pumping tests, seismics, gravimetry, and helicopter-borne electromagnetics to determine the structure of the subglacial channels, temperature measurements to identify subsurface flow, and DC resistivity surveys to determine the occurrence of salt water in aquifers.