As sea levels rise, coastal communities could lose up to 50 percent more of their fresh water supplies than previously thought, according to a new study from Ohio State University.

Scientists previously assumed that, as saltwater moved inland, it would penetrate underground only as far as it did above ground. But new research shows that when saltwater and fresh water meet, a zone of mixed, or brackish, water can extend 50 percent further inland underground than it does above ground.