Groundwater flow dynamics in cold environments under a changing climate

地下水是许多加拿大人的重要淡水来源。在北方环境中，地下水稀缺，因为它大多冻结在永久冻土中，不能随时用于供水。由于气候变化和相关的气温上升，永久冻土正在全球范围内融化。其结果是，水被释放，地下水可能成为一种重要的新资源，因为它通常比地表水更安全、更可靠、更便宜，而地表水是加拿大北方社区最常见的饮用水来源。在加拿大南部和世界其他地方，现有的地下水资源大部分是数千年前在寒冷的环境中沉积的。这些沃茨中的一部分起源于大约21，000年前覆盖北方大部分地区的冰盖融化。在爱沙尼亚等地，冰川形成的地下水是不可再生淡水的重要来源。

Groundwater is an important source of freshwater for many Canadians. In northern environments, groundwater is scarce as it is mostly frozen within permafrost and cannot be readily used for water supply. As a consequence of climate change and associated increases in air temperatures, permafrost is thawing on a global scale. The consequence is that water is released and groundwater may become an important new resource as it is generally safer, more reliable and less expensive than surface water, which is the most common source of drinking water for communities in northern Canada. In southern Canada and elsewhere in the world, much of the existing groundwater resources were emplaced thousands of years ago in colder environments. Some of these waters originated from the melting of ice sheets that covered extensive parts of the northern hemisphere landscape about 21,000 years ago. In some locations like Estonia, groundwater of glacial origin is an important source of non-renewable freshwater.