2023/05/06

5. The Hydrological Cycles

and Water Problems in Arid and
Semi-Arid Environments
ARID AND SEMI-ARID ENVIRONMENTS
(ASAE)
3rd Year Environmental Studies

Contents
• The Hydrological cycle
• Water balance in ASAE
• Sources of water in ASAE
• Drainage Patterns
• Water problems in the arid environments
• Reference:
• Hill (2002)
• Ferguson (2015). Arid and semi-arid environments
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The hydrological cycle in arid environments

• In arid environments rainfall is low and sporadic.

• Rain water filtrate down to aquifers; and some are

lost through evaporation.

• Impermeable soils and rocks prevent rain water

from infiltration, exposing it for evaporation.

• Such amount of water is equivalent to the ‘Actual

Evapotranspiration’.
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• But in the absence of rainfall the amount

of water that would have evaporated if
water was available, is called potential
evapotranspiration.

• The potential evapotranspiration in arid

areas is high; can reach up to ten times
the annual precipitation totals and thus
called ‘the heat trap’.

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• It is responsible for loss of rain water in the

early rainy season till the area gets
saturated with moisture.

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Evapotranspiration
Clouds
Rainfall Filtration in soil

Surface run-off

Evaporation

Condensation
Transpiration
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• Annual variations in rainfall totals in arid areas

affect rates of evaporation and infiltration
affecting the hydrological cycles mechanisms.

• Water from aquifers are used for irrigation and

become available through springs or wells.

• Thus cause fluctuations in water tables which,

affect cultivation and food production in the
ASAE.
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The Water balance in ASAE

• Water balance is the relationship between
rainfall and evaporation and how that influence
the need for irrigation.

•When evaporation exceeds the rainfall the

result is water shortage most of the year,

•affecting water supply for domestic, cultivation

and industrial uses.
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• Agriculture is the most water-demanding sector in

the developing countries, followed by urban
development.

• This has been addressed through hydrology

engineering.

• That provided good irrigation systems and supply

networks in most of arid countries e.g. in Middle East
and North Africa.

• Examples of irrigation systems in ASAE include:

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Beirut:
−A Mediterranean climate
−lower rainfall <517 mm
−its aquifer is recharged during wet winter,
where evaporation is low
−soil moisture remain Dec - May
−drought starts in Jun where irrigation begins.

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Tripoli:
−Mediterranean climate
−low rainfall <384mm
−higher evapotranspiration.

−winter water is used up by April as summer

drought begins which requires irrigation.

−This has been addressed by the creation of

the great artificial river in Libya.
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- Baghdad:
within continental location,

rainfall <123 mm thus it is a hyper arid area,

higher summer temperature,

leads to more moisture deficit,

thus irrigation needed throughout the year.

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- Cairo:
•has unreliable rain <24 mm,

•therefore can not replenish natural aquifers,

•thus its rich agriculture depends on the River Nile.

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QUESTIONS

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Sources of Water in the ASAE

•There are 8 main sources of water supply.
Their uses differ from one area to another
depending on:
- local hydrological sources
- geological structures
- proximity to water bodies “sea/oceans”
- levels of the national wealth, and
- technological know how.

•These sources include the following:

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1. Large perennial rivers:

•These are generally exogenous rivers
originate outside the arid areas but flow
through it. e.g.
- River Nile in Egypt (originates in
Ethiopia/Uganda)
- River Tigris and Euphrates in Iraq (flow from
Turkey)
- Colorado River in southwest USA (from Rocky
Mountains)
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•These rivers are managed for agriculture

through:
−dams
−Reservoirs
−irrigation canals

•giving them national and international

importance.

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2. Semi-perennial rivers:
−They have limited water discharge,
therefore, are of local or regional
importance.

−They are mostly exogenous.

−Examples include: Yarmuk and Zarga

rivers which are tributaries of River
Jordan in the Middle East.
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3. Wadis:
• These are the dry river beds; found in arid and
semi-arid areas throughout the world.

• Most wadis originate within the ASAE areas.

• But some wadis have their sources outside

(thus are called allogenic wadis)

• flowing into the arid areas, where

evaporation exceeds discharge, leading to
quick drying up of all running water.
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• Wadi water is lost through evaporation

and infiltration in the soil, unless some
water trapping mechanisms put in place
e.g.

- in Saudi Arabia 60% of dams are put along

wadis in the Arabian desert.

-In Australia cattle ranches are situated

around dams built in dry river beds.
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• Wadis often flow with water after sporadic or

heavy rain storms.

• Wadis are important for water catchments.

• Some countries have developed them for

better use of scarce water e.g.
-In Tunisia old water catchment dams across
wadis (called Jessours) have been replaced
with bigger and stronger structures for better
irrigation projects.
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4. Shallow aquifers:
• Aquifer is underground water reservoir.

• Occur in various depths

• Replenished through rainfall.

• Aquifers that are closer to the earth surface

are usually exploited for domestic and
irrigation use.
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•Beneath limestones and rocky hills in

deserts there are plenty of water resources
that can be exploited e.g.
−the Atlas Mountain in north Africa
(Morocco)
−Jebel Akhdar in Oman
−Serra Nevada in South West USA.

•They have shallow aquifers that can be

exploited to supply water for various uses.
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• Aquifers have practical sustained yield to be used.

• But can be depleted through over exploitation if

more water is taken than what can be replenished.

• Examples are from Libya and Israel: where

−high population growth led to over exploitation
of shallow aquifers

−that caused aquifers contamination with the

sea water.

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5- Deep fossil water aquifers:

• These are great underground reservoirs of water
which cover thousands of squared Kilometres.

• They are more abundant than shallow aquifers

in many arid areas e.g.
- Riyadh and Rub al-khali deep aquifer basin
in the Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia).

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- Numerous deep aquifers beneath the Kufra in

the Sahara Desert covers 60% of Egypt, Libya
and Sudan.

- The Artesian basin in Australia covering 1.7

million km2

•Fossil water can be depleted by over-

exploitation.
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6. Direct interception of coastal mists and fogs:

•Regular mists and fogs in hyper-arid areas
has been said to account for equivalent of
30-50 mm of rainfall.

•If this can be exploited it could supply

water by up to 500% to these arid areas,
which have no reliable precipitation.

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• A fog harvesting project is on trial in Chile.

• Where air moisture being sucked into storage

tanks and subjected to condensation and
draining into pipelines for use.

• Will be developed further with research and

technology!

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7. Sea water desalination:

• Desalination of sea water can provide long
term solution to arid areas.

• Expensive operation, can only be done at a

large scale, thus affordable in wealthier
countries.

• e.g. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Libya, etc. could

be developed and expanded to other countries
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8.Snow and ice:

• Melting of snow and ice feed streams that
provide important source of water in arid areas.

• e.g. streams closer to high mountain ranges

5,000 meters above the sea level, with possible
snow falls and ice deposition.

• This is important in arid areas with large sow

deposition such as:
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− The Gobi Desert in Central Asia.

− Beirut near Turkish highlands.

− Kilimanjaro ice also provides clean water to

its surroundings in Tanzania and Kenya.

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B R E A K

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Drainage Patterns (channels)

• Running water in arid areas creates water
patterns over large areas.

• just like in the humid areas

• that give indication of water runoff at some

stage.

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• Drainage patterns develop where surface

runoff is enhanced and the earth materials
provide the least resistance to erosion.

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• Large wadis have vast plains of sand and

gravel beds that can change each time they
are run with water.

• Changes in slopes influence the way materials

are being deposited by wadis thus appear in
their patterns

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• In areas closer to sea drainage patterns

appear moving out of the sea moving into the
arid area resembling the patterns in humid
areas.

• The great sand sea with the high porosity of its

sandy materials, is the only arid area devoid of
drainage patterns

• because rain water infiltrate quickly.

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•Internal basins are unique in patterns

where about 50% of runoff drain into
wadies than flow into seas and oceans.

• The high evaporation rates in the desert

interior makes the drainage patterns to be
moving inwards than outwards to the sea.

• This phenomenon is known as endoergic

drainage e.g.
• the Salt Lake in USA and
• Lake Chad of the Sahara
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Water problems in the arid environments

• In the Middle East and North Africa there are
economic and political problems caused by:
• high population growth
• limited resources; and
• un-even distribution of wealth.

• Some of these conflicts degenerated to full scale

wars e.g. the Gulf wars (Iraq Vs Kuwait) and others

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• Such conflicts were over territory, rights of

access to resources such as waterways and oil
supplies.

• New increasing tensions over water resources

e.g. Egypt/Ethiopia/Sudan; over the Blue Nile.

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End of Session

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