Abstract
The Arabian Peninsula is an arid zone with a hot desert climate and severe water scarcity. The low humidity, elevated ambient temperatures, and high evaporation rates in the region deemed conventional surface irrigation unsustainable. The IoT-based subsurface smart irrigation systems can be essentially developed for these regions to avoid surface evaporation losses. In this research, the sandy soil conditions of western Saudi Arabia have been considered in numerical simulations to evaluate the performance of a subsurface smart irrigation system. The influence zone of saturation generated by subsurface diffusers in the target root region has been analysed for two different types of sandy soils. The simulation results generated by the COMSOL Multiphysics program reveal that the subsurface smart irrigation system can be effectively applied to simultaneously manage the target root zone at the ideal saturated conditions and prevent surface evaporation losses.
Highlights
The Arabian Peninsula is one of the world’s largest peninsulas
The Saq aquifer is one the largest groundwater sources in Saudi Arabia; the analysis of the aquifer done by using gravity recovery and climate experiment (GRACE) shows an alarming depletion rate of more than 2 km3/year [8]
The FEM base flow analysis recognizes the possibility of a complete subsurface smart irrigation system with the help of contemporary digital techniques
Summary
The Arabian Peninsula is one of the world’s largest peninsulas. The region lies on an arid to extremely arid subtropical climatic belt [1]. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the region and was chosen as the focus area for the study. The population of the area concentrates around oasis and spring regions with the possibility of irrigated agriculture [3]. Desert regions have very low availability of biological water [5], and most of the agricultural activities are irrigation dependent. The agriculture sector consumes the largest amount of water (about 88%) in the country by means of irrigation [6]. The Saq aquifer is one the largest groundwater sources in Saudi Arabia; the analysis of the aquifer done by using gravity recovery and climate experiment (GRACE) shows an alarming depletion rate of more than 2 km3/year [8]. To establish the recharge facility, the country has built more than three hundred dams to store the surface runoff; about 90% of these dams are used for groundwater recharge [9]
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