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In northern Saudi Arabia, GRACE detected a dramatic decrease

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in fresh water stored in aquifers. Images taken by NASA’s

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Landsat program show a rapid increase in irrigated cropland,

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supported by water pumped from those aquifers.

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Most of that water is non-renewable on human timescales, but in 2014

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the Saudi government ended a domestic wheat farming program, and GRACE data

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suggest that aquifer levels may be stabilizing.