Assessment of the Impact of Date Production on Water Resources Using Remote Sensing Techniques, a Case Study for Madinah, Saudi Arabia

In Saudi Arabia, the scarcity of surface water and limited renewable groundwater, heavily used in irrigation, raises concerns for future water management. Due to the limitations of in-situ observations, an accurate estimation of the condition of water resources poses a significant challenge. However, remote sensing platforms provide a mean to fill that gap by providing global estimates of several water components, such as, groundwater storage (GWS), evapotranspiration (ET) and precipitation. This study employs the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite for estimating variations in GWS across Madinah. Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) is also applied to estimate agricultural water consumption through ET, while the Integrated Multi-Satellite Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (IMERG) algorithm is used to derive monthly precipitation values. Results show the average annual decline in GWS is -6.7 mm/year, alongside an average annual precipitation rate of approximately 73 mm, while ET in the irrigated area reaches 1715.5 mm/year. Initial findings highlight a downward trend in GWS results, emphasizing the influence of irrigation practices, as revealed by the ET results, and the impact of climate change, as indicated by low rainfall rates.