Possible Impacts of Climate Changes on Freshwater in Coastal Aquifers

Authors

  • Mohsen M Sherif Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, College of Engineering, UAE University
  • Ahmed Sefelnasr Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Assiut University, 71516 Assiut, Egypt
  • Abdel Azim Ebraheem Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Assiut University, 71516 Assiut, Egypt
  • Akbar Javadi School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QF, UK

Abstract

Groundwater resources in coastal aquifers constitute a main source of freshwater in many regions around the globe. This is typically true in arid and semi-arid regions where rainfall is scarce and infrequent and the surface water resources are almost absent. The consequences of climate changes and global warming on the freshwater in coastal aquifers have been investigated by several researchers over the last two decades. Due to the expected increase in the global temperature and the associated expansion of water in oceans and seas, the seawater is expected to rise. This seawater rise would lead to land submergence along the coastline and also an increase in the hydraulic head of seawater at the seaside boundary. Investigations revealed the seriousness of the problem and undesirable possible consequences on land loss and degradation of groundwater quality in coastal areas. In addition, groundwater in would be subjected to extensive pumping which may lead to depletion of aquifers. This paper investigates  the possible impacts of climate change on two coastal aquifers located in arid regions; namely, the Nile Delta Aquifer, in Egypt and the Wadi Ham aquifer in United Arab Emirates. For the case of the Nile Delta aquifers and due to the low altitude and flat nature of the coastal zone, vast areas will be submerged was seawater. A numerical model, FEFLOW was used to simulate the possible impacts of seawater rise under different pumping scenarios. It is concluded that the groundwater in both aquifers will be affected but with significantly different degrees.

Author Biography

Mohsen M Sherif, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, College of Engineering, UAE University

Dr. Sherif joined the UAE University in August 2001 and is occupying the position of Director of the Academic Personnel Office Since September 2011. He occupied the positions of Professor of Water Resources, and Director of the Water Resources Master Program, College of Engineering, UAE University since 2001. He was also appointed as Chair of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, 2007-2011. Prior to his affiliation to UAE University, he held the positions of Research Scientist, Hydrology Department, Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research, Professor of Hydraulics, Cairo University, Egypt and Visiting Associate Professor, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. He received two Fulbright Scholarships in 1994 and 1997, Khalifa Award for Research, 2008 and was awarded the Water Diplomat recognition, Water Resources Engineer, ASCE, 2011.

Downloads

Published

2014-08-04

Issue

Proceedings of the International Conference on Marine and Freshwater Environments (iMFE 2014) - Our Water, Our Future

Section

Climate Change, Energy Systems and Emission Reduction (CCE)

License

Authors who publish with this conference agree to the following terms: Authors retain copyright and grant the conference right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this conference. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the conference's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this conference. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).