Remote Sensing of Groundwater Sustainability

Abstract

ABSTRACT Groundwater is one of the most important natural resources but its sustainability is increasingly under threat. Traditional methods used to monitor groundwater (like well measurements) are often limited in spatial coverage and costly. Recently, remote sensing technology has emerged as a powerful tool to assess groundwater sustainability over large regions. This review investigates how remote sensing is used to monitor groundwater resources, its strengths and weaknesses, and future directions. The paper provides a broad summary of major remote sensing techniques, such as satellite gravimetry, land surface temperature, vegetation indices, and microwave sensing, and discusses their application in groundwater assessment. It also highlights the integration of remote sensing with hydrological models and ground data. Despite challenges like coarse resolution and data interpretation, remote sensing provides valuable insights into groundwater variations across space and time. The review concludes with suggestions to improve the use of remote sensing for sustainable groundwater management.

KEYWORDS: Remote sensing, groundwater sustainability, satellite gravimetry, groundwater depletion, hydrological modelling, groundwater monitoring