article · International Journal of Remote Sensing
Remote sensing offers practical methods for monitoring water resources and eco-hydrological dynamics across semi-arid Mediterranean catchments facing climate and demand pressures. In Morocco's Tensift Basin, research demonstrated several remote-sensing approaches to track the water cycle from mountainous sources to agricultural lowlands. Key developments include extracting kilometre-scale soil moisture data in snow-covered regions using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer imagery, alongside integrating satellite observations with land-surface models to track evapotranspiration. In addition, time series of satellite data enabled phenomenological modelling to forecast cereal yields. To bridge research and practice, collaborative initiatives produced two remote sensing-based tools designed alongside partners in water management and irrigation planning, establishing practical applications for Earth observation data in water-scarce agricultural environments.
Semi-arid regions face severe pressure from climate shifts and expanding agricultural water demand. By delivering accurate, catchment-wide data on mountain water reserves, soil moisture, and crop water use, remote-sensing methods give water authorities better insight to anticipate shortages. This helps protect vital freshwater supplies and maintain food security in vulnerable river basins.
The work has resulted in applied tools created directly with partners in water management and irrigation planning, indicating an applied and tested stage of development. These remote sensing-based tools can be used by regional water basin agencies, irrigation authorities, and agricultural planners seeking operational solutions to monitor water distribution, manage irrigation allocations, and forecast cereal crop yields.
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Monitoring of water resources and a better understanding of the eco-hydrological processes governing their dynamics are necessary to anticipate and develop measures to adapt to climate and water-use changes. Focusing on this aim, a research project carried out within the framework of French–Moroccan cooperation demonstrated how remote sensing can help improve the monitoring and modelling of water resources in semi-arid Mediterranean regions. The study area is the Tensift Basin located near Marrakech (Morocco) – a typical Southern Mediterranean catchment with water production in the mountains and downstream consumption mainly driven by agriculture. Following a description of the institutional context and the experimental network, the main recent research results are presented: (1) methodological development for the retrieval of key components of the water cycle in a snow-covered area from remote-sensing imagery (disaggregated soil moisture from soil moisture and ocean salinity) at the kilometre scale, based on the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS); (2) the use of remote-sensing products together with land-surface modelling for the monitoring of evapotranspiration; and (3) phenomenological modelling based only on time series of remote-sensing data with application to forecasting of cereal yields. Finally, the issue of transfer of research results is also addressed through two remote sensing-based tools developed together with the project partners involved in water management and irrigation planning.
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DOI: 10.1080/01431161.2015.1093198
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