Author(s): Claudia Meisina; Roberta Boni; Laura Pedretti; Michelle Rygus; Pietro Teatini; Claudia Zoccarato; Yueting Li; Carolina Guardiola-Albert; Pablo Ezquerro; Guadalupe Bru; Roberto Tomas; Javier Valdes-Abellan; Conception Pla; Maria Ines Navarro Hernandez; Alper Elci; Baris Caylak; Ali Oren; E. A Batkan; Khaldoun Shatanawi; Al Sharifa Hind Mohammad; H. Abu Hajar; Tommaso Letterio; Roberto Genovese; Hazem Hreisha; Qamar Mimi

Linked Author(s): Claudia Meisina, Michelle Rygus

Keywords: Groundwater management; Earth Observation; Mediterranean basins

Abstract: In Mediterranean areas groundwater resources are assuming an increasingly prominent role in fresh water supply under the conditions of climate change. Urban and agricultural groundwater demand is rising as a consequence of urban growth and food demand, respectively, whereas climate change is affecting the timing and the distribution of precipitation and heat waves. The lack of relevant information on groundwater resources (e.g. groundwater levels, aquifer storage, recharge, and pumping rates) in Mediterranean basins, represents a critical drawback for an integrated and optimized management of water resources. This kind of knowledge is fundamental to an in-depth understanding of the current status of aquifer systems, to identify the impacts of climate change on water availability, and to set up adaptation and mitigation measures coping with future potential threats. Earth Observation technology can help to fill this gap by assessing and monitoring various environmental features associated with subsurface water resources at adequate temporal and spatial scales, with low-cost and non-invasive approaches. The RESERVOIR project, financed by the PRIMA Foundation, will provide new products and services for an efficient and sustainable management of groundwater using Earth Observation technology. Four water-stressed Mediterranean basins (the coastal aquifer of Comacchio in Italy, the Alto Guadalentin basin in Spain, the Gediz River basin in Turkey and the Azraq basin in Jordan) are selected as pilot sites. In these sites, agriculture is traditionally the most important economic activity, but it is being progressively replaced by urban and touristic activities, which also have a significant impact on groundwater resources. The objectives of RESERVOIR project are the following: 1. to develop an innovative methodology for the hydrogeological characterisation of large-scale aquifer systems using low-cost and non-intrusive data such as satellite-based Earth Observation techniques; 2. to integrate advanced Earth Observation techniques into numerical groundwater flow and geomechanical models aimed at improving the knowledge about the current capability of an aquifer to store water and the future response of aquifer systems to natural and human-induced stresses; 3. to enhance the knowledge on the impacts of agricultural and tourist activities on water resources by quantifying land displacement; 4. to engage water management authorities and provide models for an optimal management of the aquifer systems. In this work, the preliminary results of the project will be presented. Firstly, stakeholders in each pilot site were engaged with the aim to discuss the knowledge gaps in relation to sustainable groundwater management. Engagement consisted of interviews with local authorities, farmers, and technicians and the distribution of questionnaires to investigate user requirements. At this time, low-cost and non-invasive Earth Observation data (A-DInSAR) are processed to obtain ground displacement maps of the pilot sites. This information will be used for aquifer characterisation and modeling.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3850/IAHR-39WC2521711920221512

Year: 2022