Depleted groundwater threatens communities, agriculture, and ecosystems in California’s Central Valley, which produces much of the nation’s fruit, vegetables, and nuts. But the same acres where farmers have long cultivated thirsty crops might be critical for refilling aquifers, Stanford scientists have found. In a paper published April 17 in Earth and Space Science, the researchers used electromagnetic geophysical data to identify areas across the Central Valley where water released on the surface could rapidly flow into aquifers to “recharge” groundwater. “We were hoping to see a relatively big portion of agricultural land that’s suitable for recharge, and that’s what we’re seeing,” said lead study author Seogi Kang, who worked on the research as a postdoctoral scholar in geophysics in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability and is now an assistant professor at the University of Manitoba.