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Determining Temporary Small Water Bodies Via Remote Sensing: The Case of Guelta

2023; Associação Interciencia; Linguagem: Inglês

10.59671/mubzm

0378-1844

Omer Alrwais,

Historical and Architectural Studies

A guelta is a small body of water that accumulates in the wadis, or drainage channels of the Sahara or desert after rainfall. These gueltas are used mainly by wild animals for drinking and plants that grow near them. Identifying these gueltas in areas with short water supply is of most importance. Identifying them on the ground requires enormous resources, experience and knowledge. Geographic Information System (GIS) is an incredibly powerful tool for analyzing an area and it is used in many ways, such as mapping the size of a Guelta or predicting where water will flow during devastating storm events. In this paper we review published work that combined Guelta determination with GIS or remote sensing technology. The aim is to establish a comprehensive reference where researchers can start from. Relevant research is scarce and basic. There is plenty to be learnt from research on surface water detection (wetlands) and applied to Guelta research.