Constructing Water Balance along Oman/UAE Border by Tracing and Dating Groundwater

The envisaged research proposal aims at constructing water balance along the Oman/UAE border using isotopes and modeling approaches. Groundwater dating and tracing along the recharge-discharge flow path will be conducted using high resolution spatial and time series analysis of d18O and dD, Tritium-Helium dating of young or modern groundwater and radiocarbon dating of relatively older groundwater, Nobel gases and conventional chemical analysis. The isotopes as important tracers of groundwater will provide information on recharge/discharge relations, residence time, recharge elevation and past climate conditions. Complemented by a full suite of geochemical parameters the isotopes will also characterize the salinity and geochemical nature of the shallow and deep groundwaters. Continuous monitoring of hydraulic heads, EC and temperature during the course of study integrated with information driven from isotopes will be used to develop a groundwater model that primarily estimates water budget components and determines the safe yield. A water balance and water audit will thus be established with the objective of maximizing the return from water uses for both parties sharing the resource.