Abstract
Groundwater quality research is extremely important for supporting the safety of the water supply and human health in arid and semi-arid areas of China. This review article was constructed to report the latest research progress of groundwater quality in western China where groundwater quality is undergoing fast deterioration because of fast economic development and extensive anthropogenic activities. The opportunities brought by increasing public awareness of groundwater quality protection were also highlighted and discussed. To guide and promote further development of groundwater quality research in China, especially in western China, ten key groundwater quality research fields were proposed. The review shows that the intensification of human activities and the associated impacts on groundwater quality in China, especially in western China, has made groundwater quality research increasingly important, and has caught the attention of local, national, and international agencies and scholars. China has achieved some progress in groundwater quality research in terms of national and regional laws, regulations, and financial supports. The future of groundwater quality research in China, especially in western China, is promising reflected by the opportunities highlighted. The key research fields proposed in this article may also inform groundwater quality protection and management at the national and international level.
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Acknowledgments
The main viewpoints are derived from the dissertation of the first author, and the research is jointly funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41502234 and 41602238), the Foundation of Outstanding Young Scholar of Chang’an University (310829153509), the Research Funds for Young Stars in Science and Technology of Shaanxi Province (2016KJXX-29), the General Financial Grant from the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2015M580804 and 2016M590911), the Special Financial Grant from the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2016T090878), the Special Financial Grant from the Shaanxi Postdoctoral Science Foundation, the Joint Foundation of Key Laboratory of Institute of Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences (KF201601), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (310829151072). We are grateful to Wei Feng, Yuting Zhang, Siting Wang, Yinghao Li, Xuejing Zhang, Zeyuan Zhang, and Bingxue Du for their help in the data analysis and project implementation. Anonymous reviewers and the editors are sincerely acknowledged for their constructive suggestions which are useful for improving the quality of the paper.
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Li, P., Tian, R., Xue, C. et al. Progress, opportunities, and key fields for groundwater quality research under the impacts of human activities in China with a special focus on western China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 13224–13234 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8753-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8753-7