Water Resources Discovered under Earth’s Hottest Spot

Aghakouchak, an associate professor at the University of California, is one of the most renowned researchers and experts in hydrologic sciences and has managed key research projects in the field of hydrology, including drought.

The results of his surveys have been published in well-known magazines.

In an interview with the Persian-language Khabar Online news agency, the researcher weighed in on a whole range of issues related to his expertise, including reports that he has discovered subterranean water resource in Iran’s Lut Desert.

Aghakouchak said he along with a research team had toured the desert several times to conduct research work.

He says they learned that underground water resources existed in some areas in Lut, but that, “We don’t know the volume and size of these desert water resources.”

He says the Lut Desert is one of the “exceptional” places in the world and has “special features.”

“From a hydrologic point of view, [the desert] has been identified as the hottest place on earth,” he says.

Highlighting that water consumption is on the rise in today’s world, the researchers said measures should be adopted to meet people’s need for water such as investing in new technologies and improving the consumption pattern.

Aghakouchak recently won the prestigious 2017 Hydrologic Sciences Early Career Award of the American Geophysical Union. He is the first Iranian who has won the prestigious award.