Page et al. (2025) The proliferation of tiny irrigation tanks observed by remote sensing is in phase with groundwater depletion in Morocco

Identification

• Journal: Groundwater for Sustainable Development
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-07-22
• Authors: Michel Le Page, Lahoucine Hanich, Lahcen Benaabidate, Ikram El Hazdour, Anas El Ouali, Ouiaam Lahnik, Marielle Montginoul, Jalal Moustadraf, Sylvain Ferrant, Ali Rhoujjati, Houria Tadderat, Mehrez Zribi, Lionel Jarlan
• DOI: 10.1016/j.gsd.2025.101495

Research Groups

• CESBIO, University of Toulouse, IRD/CNRS/UPS/CNES, France
• L3G Laboratory, Earth Sciences Department, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco
• Laboratory of Geo-Resources and Environment, University of Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, Fes, Morocco
• Department of Geomorphology and Geomatics, Scientific Institute, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco
• INRAE UMR G-Eau, Montpellier University, France
• Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Geology and Sustainable Mining Institute (GSMI), Morocco

Short Summary

The study utilizes satellite remote sensing to quantify the proliferation of small irrigation tanks in four Moroccan aquifers, finding that the increase in these reservoirs serves as an indirect proxy for groundwater depletion.

Objective

• To demonstrate that the number and surface area of small irrigation reservoirs can be used as an indirect proxy for groundwater dynamics and depletion in overexploited aquifers.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Four overexploited aquifers in Morocco: Errachidia, Haouz, Saïss, and Zagora.
• Temporal Scale: Time series of satellite observations (recent years).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Remote sensing-based counting and surface area estimation of irrigation tanks.
• Data sources: Time series of satellite observations.

Main Results

• Remote sensing provides an accurate method for counting tiny water tanks.
• A significant increasing trend in the number of tanks was identified across all four studied aquifers.
• The increase in the number of tanks is in phase with the decrease of the groundwater table and the drying of natural water sources.

Contributions

• Establishes a novel indirect proxy for monitoring groundwater depletion by linking the proliferation of small-scale irrigation infrastructure (tanks) to aquifer decline via remote sensing.

Funding

• Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Page2025proliferation,
  author = {Page, Michel Le and Hanich, Lahoucine and Benaabidate, Lahcen and Hazdour, Ikram El and Ouali, Anas El and Lahnik, Ouiaam and Montginoul, Marielle and Moustadraf, Jalal and Ferrant, Sylvain and Rhoujjati, Ali and Tadderat, Houria and Zribi, Mehrez and Jarlan, Lionel},
  title = {The proliferation of tiny irrigation tanks observed by remote sensing is in phase with groundwater depletion in Morocco},
  journal = {Groundwater for Sustainable Development},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1016/j.gsd.2025.101495},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsd.2025.101495}
}