Estimation of the soil hydraulic properties from field data by solving an inverse problem.

Estimating unsaturated soil hydraulic properties to predict water dynamics through a vertical soil profile under the effects of irrigation, drainage and evapotranspiration is imperative for managing soils in the arid regions. The aim of this work was to determine the soil water retention curve and the hydraulic permeability function of a bare soil profile in a Tunisian oasis threatened by salinization. The developed model combines a numerical inversion of the unsaturated flow equation with the BOBYQA optimisation algorithm.

Seawater Intrusion Impacts on the Water Quality of the Groundwater on theNorthwest Coast of Oman.

The groundwater aquifer in the coastal region of the northwest of Oman has been used extensively since the early 1980s for agricultural, industrial and municipal purposes. The over pumping of this reservoir has led to the intrusion of seawater and therefore to the deterioration of the groundwater quality. In this study, an investigation was carried out in the southern part of this region to identify the quality of groundwater, to understand the main sources of groundwater mineralisation, and to check the suitability of groundwater for drinking and irrigation.