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ET applications in the Middle East and North Africa

ET applications in the Middle East and North Africa. Ben Zaitchik Johns Hopkins University. Water in MENA. The scarcity of freshwater in most countries of the region is an increasingly acute problem 14 of 20 nations are in water deficit today Rapid population growth

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ET applications in the Middle East and North Africa

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  1. ET applications in the Middle East and North Africa Ben Zaitchik Johns Hopkins University

  2. Water in MENA • The scarcity of freshwater in most countries of the region is an increasingly acute problem • 14 of 20 nations are in water deficit today • Rapid population growth • The MENA region is also particularly vulnerable to climate change • IPCC model consensus indicates reduced precipitation for much of the region • Increased variability is a significant challenge for rainfed agriculture and livestock • Real and perceived competition for water between countries engenders political tension • More than 60% of MENA’s water supply flows across international borders PERSIANN annual precipitation estimate (figure credit: J. Bolten)

  3. Challenges: Data • Meteorological and hydrological observatories are scarce • Hydrological data are closely guarded on the national level • Information on water withdrawals and irrigation efficiency can be even harder to obtain “I am not worried that the Egyptians will suddenly invade Ethiopia. Nobody who has tried that has lived to tell the story. I don’t think the Egyptians will be any different and I think they know that.” – Ethiopian PM Meles, Nov 2010 “Both Egypt and Sudan have gone as far as to say that they will go to war if the right to use [the Nile] is blocked.” – Foreign Policy, 2010 “We welcome this war if it is imposed to us.” – Egyptian Parliamentarian, 2010

  4. Challenges: Complex systems IWMI (2005)

  5. The Value of ET Measurements • A direct estimate of water consumption: • Allows for integrated analysis of SW + GW use • Required to close the distributed water balance • Key to water use efficiency estimates • If obtained from satellite: data are spatially complete and openly available • Applicable to natural as well as agricultural systems • Drought monitoring

  6. Current Work: NASA’s Project Nile Goal: improved hydrometeorological information for research, planning, and water management • Components: • Customized Land Data Assimilation System • Land cover mapping and simulation • Satellite-derived evapotranspiration • Integration to Decision Support

  7. ALEXI  LSM TugrulYilmaz, USDA

  8. MENA LDAS(Matt Rodell, John Bolten, et al.) • NASA is partnering with USAID (OMEP) to develop a Land Data Assimilation System for the MENA, which will provide regional water balance assessments to address: • water availability • patterns of variability • aquifer monitoring • evapotranspiration mapping ET (mm/day) for April 2006

  9. Irrigation Mapping(MutluOzdogan – University of Wisconsin)

  10. Opportunities • Enormous interest in consumption-based estimates of the water balance • Opportunities for collaboration on in situ measurement and RS validation • ET can be a core product of shared water information databases • Contribute to informed discussion of transboundary water resources

  11. Thank You

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