In the coming years, agricultural and urban groundwater demand will increase as a consequence of expected global urban growth, whereas climate change will affect timing and distribution of groundwater resources. Therefore, groundwater governance requires tools that allow the assessment and quantification of potential adverse impacts of groundwater extraction, such as land subsidence, declining trends in aquifer storage, seawater intrusion. The lack of relevant information on aquifer systems represents another critical drawback for integrated and sustainable groundwater resource management, which challenges our understanding of the current status of groundwater resources, impacts of climate change in terms of groundwater availability, and the possibility of planning adaptation and mitigation measures to cope with future potential threats.
Remote Sensing (RS) technology can help us to fill this information gap by assessing and monitoring environmental variables related to groundwater resources at adequate temporal and spatial scales and quantifying the impacts related to groundwater extraction.
This session aims to collect contributions on the state of the art and perspectives on the use of RS products in the framework of the impacts of groundwater extraction. The main topics of interest include (but are not limited to):
• Identification of the impacts of groundwater overexploitation through the use of Remote Sensing data (in particular, InSAR data) , e.g. mapping, monitoring, and predicting ground deformation due to groundwater extraction;
• Innovative methodologies for the hydrogeological characterisation of large-scale overexploited aquifer systems using satellite-based Remote Sensing products (e.g. groundwater storage);
• Development of novel methods for the interpretation of RS products using Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques;
• Novel methods for unraveling processes of ground movements not related to groundwater extraction (e.g., shallow natural compaction, drainage of urban areas and farmlands, new urbanizations, and hydrocarbon production).
• Assimilation of Remote Sensing data into groundwater flow modelling and geomechanical modelling of aquifer systems to simulate future scenarios as a constraint to limit groundwater withdrawal;
• Past and present experiences of integrating Remote Sensing analysis outcomes into management plans for aquifer systems.