Assessing Water Security in the Jordan River Basin: Temporal Changes for Precipitation, Evapotranspiration and Land Cover

Abstract

The Jordan River Basin is experiencing significant water security stress, primarily due to increases in population and agricultural demands. The complex geopolitical dynamics of the region pose challenges in collecting field data such as precipitation and evapotranspiration. Consequently, remote sensing data have emerged as indispensable tools for assessing water availability in the basin. The objective of this research study is to utilize data compiled from the water years of 2003 to 2021 to evaluate water availability in the basin. The water flux data, derived from satellite-observed precipitation (Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station data, CHIRPS) and evapotranspiration (Simplified Surface Energy Balance, SSEBop), offer a comprehensive summary of hydrologic information for each land use class and country. The annual land use maps were acquired from the European Space Agency Climate Change Initiative (ESA CCI). Results indicate an overall rise in evapotranspiration (3.2%) in the basin between the periods of 2003–2011 and 2012–2020. Increased water consumption, particularly in croplands and urban areas (42%), poses a significant future challenge. These findings can guide the development of effective water resource management policies to enhance water security in a region that is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.