Hossein Hashemi

Artificial recharge by floodwater spreading estimated by water balances and groundwater modelling in arid Iran

Abstract Water harvesting and artificial recharge have been a traditional solution to water scarcity problems in the arid and semi-arid Middle East for thousands of years. These techniques are increasingly being encouraged, and recently there has been renewed interest to find improved methods for water harvesting and artificial recharge in many arid countries. In this study, water balance calculations and groundwater modelling were utilized to investigate the performance and hydrological function of an improved water harvesting technique, referred to as the floodwater spreading system, in arid Iran. The recharge amount in the floodwater spreading system studied varied from a few hundred thousand cubic metres per month during drought periods to about 4.5 × 106 m3 per month during rainy periods. However, the gain through artificial recharge was diminished by excessive groundwater abstraction by numerous newly drilled pumping wells. Hence, the groundwater declined in spite of the artificial recharge. However, this research showed that, with balanced pumping, the floodwater spreading system could be an efficient way to increase groundwater resources in arid and semi-arid areas. Further research is needed to optimize the floodwater harvesting system to improve its management in view of the uncertain frequency and magnitude of inflow. Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor S. Faye

Steady-State Unconfined Aquifer Simulation of the Gareh-Bygone Plain, Iran : Steady-State Unconfined Aquifer Simulation

The first step of aquifer parameter and dependent variable estimation based on hydraulic modeling is generally to choose the best steady-state condition for the set time period. In order to define the best estimated hydraulic conductiv- ity and boundary condition for Gareh-Bygone Plain in arid southern Iran, ten different steady-state conditions were simulated and calibrated with limited field observations. The investigated area covers about 6000 ha with a floodwater spreading system that was established on about 2000 ha to artificially recharge the groundwater. The results showed a consistency over the 14-year simulation period with estimated hydraulic conductivity in a quite narrow range. This makes us believe that even if the modeling problem is to some extent over-parameterized the results appear quite robust. This is further strengthened by verification of the model results. Furthermore, the results showed that in the steady-state groundwater flow with no recharge from surface water, the system is mainly recharged by the fault which conducts water into the area from an upper sub-basin.

Coupled modeling approach to assess climate change impacts on groundwater recharge and adaptation in arid areas : Coupled modeling approach to assess climate change impacts on groundwater recharge

The effect of future climate scenarios on surface and groundwater resources was simulated using a model- ing approach for an artificial recharge area in arid southern Iran. Future climate data for the periods of 2010–2030 and 2030–2050 were acquired from the Canadian Global Coupled Model (CGCM 3.1) for scenarios A1B, A2, and B1. These scenarios were adapted to the studied region us- ing the delta-change method. A conceptual rainfall–runoff model (Qbox) was used to simulate runoff in a flash flood prone catchment. The model was calibrated and validated for the period 2002–2011 using daily discharge data. The projected climate variables were used to simulate future runoff. The rainfall–runoff model was then coupled to a calibrated groundwater flow and recharge model (MODFLOW) to simulate future recharge and groundwater hydraulic heads. As a result of the rainfall–runoff modeling, under the B1 scenario the number of floods is projected to slightly increase in the area. This in turn calls for proper management, as this is the only source of fresh water supply in the studied region. The results of the groundwater recharge modeling showed no significant difference between present and future recharge for all scenarios. Owing to that, four abstraction and recharge scenarios were assumed to simulate the groundwater level and recharge amount in the studied aquifer. The results showed that the abstraction scenarios have the most substantial effect on the groundwater level and the continuation of current pumping rate would lead to a groundwater decline by 18 m up to 2050. (Less)

Bias Correction of Long-Term Satellite Monthly Precipitation Product (TRMM 3B43) over the Conterminous United States

AbstractThe Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) has provided a valuable precipitation dataset for hydrometeorological studies (1998–2015). However, TMPA shows some differences when compared to the ground-based estimates. In this study, a correction model is developed to improve the accuracy of the TRMM precipitation monthly product by reducing the bias compared to the ground-based estimates. The TRMM 3B43 precipitation product is compared with the Parameter-Elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) and with gridded precipitation estimates acquired from the CPC Unified Precipitation Project, two ground-based precipitation estimates, in the conterminous United States. The bias between the satellite and ground-based estimates is compared with mean surface temperature and elevation, respectively. A weak linear relationship is observed between the bias and temperature but a moderate inverse linear relationship is observed between the bias and ...

Iran's Land Suitability for Agriculture

Increasing population has posed insurmountable challenges to agriculture in the provision of future food security, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region where biophysical conditions are not well-suited for agriculture. Iran, as a major agricultural country in the MENA region, has long been in the quest for food self-sufficiency, however, the capability of its land and water resources to realize this goal is largely unknown. Using very high-resolution spatial data sets, we evaluated the capacity of Iran’s land for sustainable crop production based on the soil properties, topography, and climate conditions. We classified Iran’s land suitability for cropping as (million ha): very good 0.4% (0.6), good 2.2% (3.6), medium 7.9% (12.8), poor 11.4% (18.5), very poor 6.3% (10.2), unsuitable 60.0% (97.4), and excluded areas 11.9% (19.3). In addition to overarching limitations caused by low precipitation, low soil organic carbon, steep slope, and high soil sodium content were the predominant soil and terrain factors limiting the agricultural land suitability in Iran. About 50% of the Iran’s existing croplands are located in low-quality lands, representing an unsustainable practice. There is little room for cropland expansion to increase production but redistribution of cropland to more suitable areas may improve sustainability and reduce pressure on water resources, land, and ecosystem in Iran.

Artificial recharge efficiency assessment by soil water balance and modelling approaches in a multi-layered vadose zone in a dry region

ABSTRACT To assess recharge through floodwater spreading, three wells, approx. 30 m deep, were dug in a 35-year-old basin in southern Iran. Hydraulic parameters of the layers were measured. One well was equipped with pre-calibrated time domain reflectometry (TDR) sensors. The soil moisture was measured continuously before and after events. Rainfall, ponding depth and the duration of the flooding events were also measured. Recharge was assessed by the soil water balance method, and by calibrated (inverse solution) HYDRUS-1D. The results show that the 15 wetting front was interrupted at a layer with fine soil accumulation over a coarse layer at the depth of approx. 4 m. This seemed to occur due to fingering flow. Estimation of recharge by the soil water balance and modelling approaches showed a downward water flux of 55 and 57% of impounded floodwater, respectively.

Climate Change and the Future of Water Management in Iran

Iran is a large country in the Middle East, which is an extremely arid region. Like its neighbors, severe droughts and population growth have intensified Irans water shortage problems in the past two decades. Furthermore, climate change has the potential to impose additional economic and social pressure on it and all Middle Eastern countries. Thus, how future climate change will interact with socioeconomic and political conditions in the region is an important issue. In this article I discuss the influence of climate change, plans for mitigation of climate change, and projects of water resilience for the period 2010–2050 in southern Iran. I suggest ways to improve indigenous participation in crafting economic solutions to climate change, as climate change impacts directly on water resources at the local level. I also discuss how local level water solutions may affect regional and national water policy in the future.

Traditional irrigation techniques in MENA with a focus on Tunisia

ABSTRACT Due to their efficiency, revitalized traditional techniques for irrigation management of scarce water resources have been suggested as a way to at least partially cope with the present water crises in the Middle East. A better irrigation management includes re-using treated wastewater in agriculture. Treated wastewater should also be used in industrial processes, thus contributing to a more efficient overall water management. However, the most important change leading to better water management is improving water efficiency in agricultural irrigation. Traditional water management techniques have an important role in many Middle East and North African (MENA) countries. Besides bringing more water to a thirsty population, they can also contribute to the societal awareness, and recognition of the great diversity of cultural and social values water has to human civilization. EDITOR D. Koutsoyiannis; ASSOCIATE EDITOR P. Hubert

Groundwater Augmentation through the Site Selection of Floodwater Spreading Using a Data Mining Approach (Case study: Mashhad Plain, Iran)

It is a well-known fact that sustainable development goals are difficult to achieve without a proper water resources management strategy. This study tries to implement some state-of-the-art statistical and data mining models i.e., weights-of-evidence (WoE), boosted regression trees (BRT), and classification and regression tree (CART) to identify suitable areas for artificial recharge through floodwater spreading (FWS). At first, suitable areas for the FWS project were identified in a basin in north-eastern Iran based on the national guidelines and a literature survey. Using the same methodology, an identical number of FWS unsuitable areas were also determined. Afterward, a set of different FWS conditioning factors were selected for modeling FWS suitability. The models were applied using 70% of the suitable and unsuitable locations and validated with the rest of the input data (i.e., 30%). Finally, a receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve was plotted to compare the produced FWS suitability maps. The findings depicted acceptable performance of the BRT, CART, and WoE for FWS suitability mapping with an area under the ROC curves of 92, 87.5, and 81.6%, respectively. Among the considered variables, transmissivity, distance from rivers, aquifer thickness, and electrical conductivity were determined as the most important contributors in the modeling. FWS suitability maps produced by the proposed method in this study could be used as a guideline for water resource managers to control flood damage and obtain new sources of groundwater. This methodology could be easily replicated to produce FWS suitability maps in other regions with similar hydrogeological conditions. (Less)

Soil water movement through vadose zone as influenced by a flooding event in Gareh Bygone (saturated phase)

Andreas Schmid has a Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering-Environmental Engineering and now is a full Professor in water and wastewater treatment at the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Applied Sciences Hof, Germany. More than 20 years of working experiences in industry built the fundament to derive applied sciences at his current position. He received several awards for his research in the water and wastewater sector and holds a couple of national and international patents in environmental techniques. At present his research focus concentrates on cavitation technologies and relating applications in environmental engineering especially elimination of industrialand micro-pollutants. Improving mass transfer in gas-liquid systems by “supercavitation”Zhaodong Feng obtained his Ph.D. from University of Kansas (1992), M.S. from University of Washington (1987) and M.A. from Lanzhou University (1982). He did two-year postdoctoral study at Columbia University (1992-1994) and was a Professor at Montclair State University (1996-2008). He was a Yangtze-Scholar Professor at Lanzhou University (2000-2010) and Tianshan-Scholar Professor at Xinjiang University (2011-2013). Surface runoff responses to climate change and LUCC in the Asian arid zoneM scientists throughout the world have been analyzing the climate and environmental factors that can affect our health or ecology, and the level of risk. Every year Nepal experiences natural calamities such as draughts, and Glacier Lakes Outburst Floods (GLOF) etc. Likewise the impacts of global warning are felt in agriculture, energy production, and pollution also, which ultimately affects the economy of the nation. Research recommends a sustainable policy framework on how the imbalance of climate change could significantly be reduced by using different appropriate measures.The goal of this study is to develop different scenarios of water resource availability in near upstream of Kaligandaki River basin, under climate change-induced parameters such as precipitation and temperatures variability, rainfall extreme floods, droughts etc. Climate models suggest that global warming could bring warmer, drier conditions to Nepalese high Mountains due to the large topographical differences of the climate parameters. A detailed knowledge of mass-balance observation and discharge measurement are considered and the combination of both will be analyzed by means of either Water Balance Model (WatBal) or General Climate Model (GCM) with multicriteria model performance evaluation. For this discharge measurements should be taken during the melting season which demonstrates that timing of runoff. Mostly, the Water Balance Model CLIRUN3 was combined with years of basic climate information records (precipitation, potential evapotranspiration and water flow) to simulate monthly river runoff in the river basin. If both temperature and precipitation increase, the mean runoff value in the region will be reduced by considerable amount from monsoon to non-monsoon season., this will help to formulate numerical flow line glacier model on high Mountains of Nepal at upstream of Kaligandaki river and forcing mechanisms for flows in the next few decades. This is an indication that with extreme events, hydro hazards, depleting permafrost areas and glacier melts have close links with river flows and sediment. At the end, in next few decades in climate continue changing more than at present rate. Lekha Nath Bagale, Hydrol Current Res 2013, 4:2 http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2157-7587.S1.008A daily water balance model was developed using daily rainfall data, contributing roof area, leakage/evaporation loss factor, available storage volume, tank overflow and rainwater demand. In order to assess reliability of domestic rainwater tanks in augmenting partial household water demand in Sydney area, the developed water balance model was used for three different climatic conditions (i.e. dry, average and wet years). The traditional practice of rainwater harvesting volume/size design is based on historic annual average rainfall data. However, design of rainwater harvesting volume based on annual average rainfall data is not realistic. As a stormwater harvesting system designed considering average rainfall will not provide much benefit for a critical dry period. In several earlier studies, a single representative year was selected for each of the dry, average and wet years. Dry, average and wet years were defined for the years having an annual rainfall of 10 percentile, 50 percentile and 90 percentile values respectively. However, as a particular year may have an unusal rainfall pattern, this study considered five respective years for each of the dry, average and wet years. Model was used for selected five years and average outcomes were calculated. To assess the spatial variablity, the model was used for the performance analysis at four different regions of Sydney (Australia); North, Central, South-East and South-West. These four different regions of Sydney are characterised by notable different topography and rainfall characteristics. Reliability is defined as percentage of days in a year when rainwater tank is able to supply the intended partial demand for a particular condition. For the three climatic conditions, a number of reliability charts were produced for domestic rainwater tanks in relations to tank volume, roof area and number of people in a house (i.e. water demand). It is found that for a relatively small roof size (100m 2 ), 100% reliability cannot be achieved even with a very large tank (10,000L). Reliability becomes independent of tank size for tank sizes larger than 4,000~7,000L depending on the location. This is defined as threshold tank size, relationships with threshold tank sizes and annual rainfall amounts are then established for all the locations.