UM6P CEDOC- IWRI : Remote sensing for accurate estimation of groundwater storage changes in a semi-a - Benguerir

In semi-arid region, the scarcity of surface water due to climate variability has resulted in the excessive exploitation of groundwater to meet the various demands. The increasing number of boreholes being drilled is a concerning issue. These boreholes are meant to fulfil the needs of the agriculture sector that is experiencing an increasing deficit. Therefore, over the past 30 years the piezometric level has drastically dropped in several regions.

Faced with this worrying situation, this PhD thesis proposition aims to understand the hydrological processes in order to develop a tool allowing the monitoring and control of groundwater withdrawals using hydrologic models forced by remote sensing data and the modelling of the water balance components.

Key duties

The proposed research includes the following tasks:

-           Development of robust remotely sensed data pre-processing framework.

-           Experimental field work, including in situ measurements and sampling.

-           Monitoring of groundwater withdrawals.

-           Accurate estimate of groundwater storage changes (?Sgw) using remote sensing data.

-           Calibration of the calculated ?Sgw and evaluation of their ability to capture long-term net changes, accelerated depletion during droughts, recovery during wet years and seasonal fluctuations.

-           Study of the groundwater-surface water interactions.

-           Designing and developing, using a participatory approach with stakeholders, a dashboard on the monitoring of groundwater withdrawals and the variation in groundwater storage.

In addition, the PhD student will be expected to work in collaboration with the IWRI and CRSA teams or other UM6P departments, in particular other PhD students, both in the field and in the laboratory.

The Research work will be conducted in collaboration with the stakeholders operating in water resources in the investigated area.

Criteria of the candidate

Master's or engineer degree in earth or environmental or remote sensing sciences or equivalent topic related to water resources management under global changes.

Skills

Candidate should be/have :

-           Familiar with remote sensing techniques and data series analysis.

-           Good skills in computer programming tools (e.g., Matlab, python, R), GIS techniques and mathematical modelling.

-           Goode knowledge in hydrogeology and hydrology disciplines.

-           Experience in handling and analysing large amounts of complex data.

-           Knowledge in applying machine learning approaches.

-           Field work experience and monitoring.