The USGS High Plains Unsaturated-Zone Research Network (fig. 1) is designed to address important questions about recharge, chemical transport, and chemical reservoirs in the unsaturated zone beneath important land-use settings and climate gradients across the High Plains aquifer (174,000 mi²). Currently, each of the eleven sites (fig. 2) within the network contains an instrumented borehole and monitoring well, and many sites have weather stations to provide information that will help scientists and resource managers better understand water and chemical responses in the unsaturated zone to natural climate variability, climate change, and human activities.

The High Plains Unsaturated-Zone Research Network provides instrumentation, long-term monitoring, and collaborative research opportunities for scientists and resource managers to address climatic and hydrologic processes and land-use activities that are important for the long-term stewardship and sustainability of groundwater resources in the High Plains aquifer.