Satellite data for studying underground water in Malta : the DEMUWA Project

Abstract

he management of groundwater resources, especially in arid and semi-arid regions, forms a crucial component of national policy. Mediterranean countries are experiencing crises in groundwater availability as a result of a number of economic, social and environmental conditions. Therefore, efficient management of groundwater resources is dependent on accurate knowledge and understanding of the behavior and variability of the aquifers. Such knowledge is often lacking or limited to sparse and highly localized information. DEMUWA, a multi-scale, multi-disciplinary, geophysical and hydrological investigation on groundwater proposes to use satellite data with additional physical constraints, to improve continuous monitoring of underground water reservoirs. In particular, the DEMUWA project aims at monitoring the upper water table within the Maltese islands. One of the key benefits of the project is to the agricultural sector by ensuring the establishment of low cost and effective monitoring system to monitor the quantitative status of groundwater bodies used for irrigation (especially in the northern part of the Maltese archipelago), thus ensuring that problems are identified as early as possible to enable policy makers to address them on time. Changes in the water content, for example, the replenishing and depletion of aquifers due to seasonal effects or anthropogenic intervention, can result in changes which, in principle, can be measured in an automated manner, complementing on-site, single-measurement investigations.