The countries on the Arabian Peninsula suffer from water scarcity. Because there are no permanent natural rivers and only little recharge, large parts of the subcontinent rely on fossil groundwater for public water supply and agriculture. Aiming at a better understanding of the hydrogeology of the region, we apply a range of methods (mainly modelling well as hydrochemical and isotope techniques) to study the key components of the water cycle.
Our work addressed, for instance, precipitation, particularly its chemical and isotopic composition () and the unsaturated zone. Here, we studied groundwater recharge through sand dunes ( Michelsen et al. 2015, Pfletschinger et al. 2012) and in karst areas ( 2014), partly with unconventional techniques ( Schulz et al. 2016). Michelsen et al. 2016
Moreover, we investigated principle aquifers of the Lower and the Upper Mega Aquifer System (, Rausch et al. 2014, Al-Ajmi et al. 2014). While the mentioned publications largely focused on groundwater quantities, ongoing work deals water quality aspects (including natural groundwater radioactivity) and mean residence times. Schulz et al. 2017
In addition, groundwater discharge in salt pan areas was studied through a combination of remote sensing, field work, and column experiments in the laboratory (). Schulz et al. 2015
During our activities on the Arabian Peninsula, we received substantial support by our cooperation partners – the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA), the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and Dornier Consulting.
Country, Continent: Arabian Peninsula, mainly Saudi Arabia
Funding agency: BMBF (IPSWaT, IWAS)
Years of activity: 2012 -…
Responsible persons: Nils Michelsen, Stephan Schulz, Randolf Rausch, Christoph Schüth