Le SASS couvre une superficie d’environ 1000000 km², ilest partagé parl’Algérie, la Libye et la Tunisie. Il est situé dans une zone hyper aride avec unerecharge actuelle minime mais un grand volume stocké, évalué entre 20000 et31000 km3.Depuis 1970 à nos jours, l’exploitation du SASS est passée de 0,6 àplus de2,5milliards m3/an., d’oùdesrisques majeursdesalinisation des eaux,deréduction de l’artésianisme,detarissement des exutoires naturels,debaisse dela piézométrie,d’augmentation des rabattements oud’interférencesdespérimètres de captageentre pays...Ce qui menace à terme la durabilité dudéveloppement socio-économique engagé dans l’ensemble de la zone.Pour parer aumieux à ces risques et surtout pour mieux s’enprémunir, unprocessus de coopération a été initiédepuis 1998sous l’égide de l’observatoiredu Sahara septentrional(OSS)en partenariat avec les institutions en charge desressources en eau dans les 3 pays.L’importance de cet immense réservoir pour le développement de la zone SASSet la nécessité de sa gestion durable et concertée a amené à une entente pour sonétude enplusieurs phases: la caractérisation hydrogéologique du systèmeaquifère et sa modélisation, l’identification des risques environnementaux etl’inclusion de l’aspect socio-économique dans des scénarios de développement.Les ressources en eau du SASS sont très faiblement renouvelables,environ1milliard dem3/an, vis-à-vis des prélèvements actuels estimés à 2,5 milliards dem3/an. La prise en compte de cette donnéea été déterminante pour pousser lesscientifiques à établir la meilleure modélisation conceptuelle possible dusystème qui soit à même de permettre d’envisager différents scénariosd’exploitation de la ressource tout en tenant compte des perspectives dedéveloppement socio-économique de chacun des 3 pays.Les données actuelles, quoique rassurantes, ne signifient pas l’inexistence, àcourt ou moyen terme, d’un risque de conflit autour de ces eauxtransfrontalières. En effet, le problème mérite d’être analysé à travers plusieursindicateurs qui ont un impact sur ce risque.L’objectif de cette note est d’évaluer le risque de conflit autour des eaux duSASS à travers un indice global exprimé numériquement sur la base de lacombinaison de poids et de cotes de plusieurs indicateurs qui ont, directementou indirectement, un impact sur le risque de conflit.L’indice global de risque de conflit obtenu pour le cas du SASS semble reflétercorrectement la situation quiyprévaut actuellement.La comparaison de cerésultat avec ceux obtenus pour les eaux transfrontalières du bassin du Jourdain(risque élevé) et ceux du système aquifère du Guarani (risque faible), confortel’échelle des valeurs adoptée dans cette méthode d’indexation numérique.
Accessibility of fresh water, the nature's gift wheels the foremost part of the world economy. The sufficient supplies of water are essential for agriculture, human intake, industry as well as regeneration. The Oued Righ region is located in Algeria's South-East, specifically in the NorthEast of the Sahara, on the Northern edge of the Grand Erg Oriental and the Southern border of the Aures massif. This area appears as a lower Sahara synclinal basin and is part of a broad North-South trending ditch. It is famous for its date palms, the development of the date culture in this region is attributed not only to the population’s efforts, but above all to the particular climatic conditions, the favorable soil characteristics and the existence of significant groundwater. The aim of this study is to understand the results obtained from using different approaches of water hydrodynamics in the Complex Terminal aquifer. The aquifer’s hydrodynamic characterization was carried out using hydrodynamic parameters and piezometry. As a result, the transmissivity and permeability obtained data using traditional Cooper-Jacob method showed that the flow capacities of the aquifer environment and the productivities of the structures are important in the studied zone where, the highest value of transmissivity equal 2.36× 102-m 2 /sis found in the central part of the study area in El-Meghair. The establishment of piezometric maps reveals a flow direction oriented toward the chott.
The relative scarcity of water resources in Algeria and their unequal distribution induce a rational use of available resources. The Zana-Gadaïne plain appears as an exemplary case study, where the difficulties posed by the problem of crop water needs versus the availability of water resources appear. This article, based on field surveys and in-situ measurements, aims to identify the pressure of irrigation on water resources and the optimization of their use in an agricultural area, where irrigated agriculture represents 85% of the water consumption of the Zana-Gadaïne plain. The piezometric study in correlation with hydrogeological data reveals that groundwater resources are limited, aggravated by wastage resulting in a consequent drawdown of 24 meters over 11 years. The analysis of interannual climate variability has enabled us to draw rainfall maps characteristic of the evolution of rainfall over the past decades where we observe a net deficit in precipitation. We calculated the evapotranspiration and the requirements in irrigation water for each crop in order to compare them with the available hydric resources and the establishment of irrigation schedules for the principal irrigated crops. The analysis of interannual climate variability has enabled us to draw rainfall maps characteristic of the evolution of rainfall over the past decades where we observe a net deficit in precipitation. We calculated the evapotranspiration and the requirements in irrigation water for each crop in order to compare them with the available hydric resources and the establishment of irrigation schedules for the principal irrigated crops.
Considering three sites under different climate conditions (arid, semi-arid, and subhumid), this study aims to use the vadose-zone water stable isotope profiles to estimate the groundwater recharge rate. High-resolution vertical subsurface soil sampling along the vadose zone of the investigated sites was conducted. The collected samples were analysed to determine their stable isotope ratios (δ2H and δ18O) that were used along with the piston displacement method to estimate recharge. Annual recharge rates of 0.2% (± 0.1%), 2.5%, and 18% of the total annual precipitation were obtained for the arid, semi-arid, and subhumid sites, respectively. Recharge rates at the semi-arid and subhumid sites are comparable to those previously estimated using water balance-based methods. The recharge rate at the arid site is lower than that previously estimated for that site using the water budget-based method, revealing difficulties in applying the piston displacement method under an arid regime.
Stratigraphic, sedimentological and magnetic study was performed on alluvial terraces, rich in archaeological tools, the region of OUM ALI, in north-eastern Algeria. The sedimentological points of view, the sediments are dominated by the sand fraction followed by the silt fraction; moderate concentrations of CaCO3 are the result of the dissolution of the surrounding limestone reliefs (Maastrichtian limestone). The morphoscopic observation of quartz grains with a dissecting microscope allows us to offer more or less significant changes, since they are often dull or sub-blunted. The results of the magnetic survey are consistent with those of the sedimentological study. The values of magnetic susceptibility are strong in the middle part of the stratigraphic section (just above the archaeological level) and decrease slightly at the top. Lower values are stored in the lower part. The dependence of frequency values of magnetic susceptibility (fd) are strong throughout the stratigraphic section and show the presence of a mixture of single-domain grain size (R), pseudo-single domain (PMD) and superparamagnetic (SP) (with a predominance of SP grains). The high concentration of SP grain size reveals the presence of significant soil formation during the implementation of the sediment