GEO4AFRICA_LALA_ELHOUMMAIDI.pdf

Water is taken up by the plants’ roots through the process of osmosis, which includes the flow of water from areas of low salt concentration (such as the soil) to areas of high salt concentration (such as the inside of root cells). Whenever the salt concentrations in the soil reach high levels, the flow of water from the soil to the root becomes slow. However, whenever the salt concentrations in the soil are much higher than inside the root cells, the soil will draw water from the root, and the plant will shrink and die. This is the basic way in which salinization influences plant production.

The damaging effects of salt on plants are caused by osmotic forces, as well as by poisonous levels of chloride and sodium. Organic product yields are particularly sensitive to elevated amounts of these elements. Likewise, the high pH value (acid/alkaline balance) originated by excess of sodium could lead to micronutrient deficiencies.

The PHD research as the main reference of this paper has an ultimate goal of studying the effects described earlier of salts on plants using the latest GIS technology and the administrative records collected from governmental organizations. Hence, the final output of the research is a web mapping solution enabling the simulation and dissemination of results on maps, graphs and charts along with coupled groundwater/surface-water modules, variable-density flow (including saltwater), aquifer-system compaction and land subsidence, parameter estimation, and groundwater management.

Such approach is carried out through the automation of the MODFLOW processes published into web services that are supported by a mobile application fed by field survey entered data. Accordingly, a thematic maps tool is disseminating the results on maps and graphs accessible by multiple users who could be environmental agencies, Water Resources experts / specialists, Students /researchers, agricultural agencies …etc.

As a result, this web mapping application can process historical wells data to predict and simulate pressures, temperatures, sodium and other water related conditions in order to prevent non-controlled and harmful drilling procedures.

Given, the significance of the coordinated effort between Abu Dhabi Governments to collect and share data related to water resources in the Emirate, the task of establishing an integrated solution for simulating and predicting groundwater conditions and groundwater/surface-water interactions is quite interesting and important. In fact, Abu Dhabi government has established a clear agenda for the implementation of necessary framework of policies, partnerships, standards, data, procedures, technology and institutional capabilities that collectively comprise the Abu Dhabi Spatial Data Infrastructure which is actually the main data source for this research enabling access to more than 600 spatial data layers supporting the research results. Indeed, the data used during this research had been collected from Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi, Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi, Department of Municipal Affairs, Abu Dhabi Distribution Company, and Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority.