Term Project Outline
CE 394K Surface Water Hydrology
University of Texas at Austin
Surface Water Modelling of the Souss Basin
by Kris Martinez
The Souss basin is located in Morocco, East of Agadir, a city
that is located on the Atlantic coast. The basin's groundwater
table is being seriously depleted by the pumping of water for
irrigation use. In the last few decades, the area has become a
center of agricultural activity. Unfortunately, the climate is
arid in the region, and the land is very dry in its natural
state. An enormous amount of water is required for farming in
this type of environment. The situation is similar to the
Edwards Aquifer, in that more water is being pumped from
underground than is being recharged. The water table has been
depleted as much as 100 m in some places.
Information Resources:
Dr. Maidment and his associates have collected a great deal of
information regarding the Souss basin. This includes a digital
elevation model (DEM) created by the USGS and average annual
precipitation data compiled by the Australian National
University (ANU). Using these and other resources, Team Maidment
has determined the relationship between the amount of rainfall
and runoff. Mass balances have also been developed.
Objectives:
I would like to work with the existing data and flow models to
gain a better understanding of hydrologic modelling. I will be
using Arcview extensively. Consequently, I will be developing a
sense of the power of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in
environmental engineering. Finally, I will be applying my
developing knowledge to an actual problem, the depletion of water
resources in the Souss basin. By doing so, I will be gaining
important practical experience in the science of hydrology.
If anyone has any questions or comments regarding this project,
please e-mail me.
k_martinez@mail.utexas.edu
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