Badiaa Chulli,G. Favreau,N.Jebnoun,M. Bédir, Water Researches and Technologies Center, Georesource, bchoulli@yahoo.fr
Abstract:
The Merguellil catchment (central Tunisia) has undergone rapid hydrological changes over the last decades. The most visible signs are a marked decrease in surface runoff in the upstream catchment and a complete change in the recharge processes of the Kairouan aquifer downstream. Fluctuations in rainfall have had a real but limited hydrological impact. Much more important are the consequences of human activities such as soil and water conservation works, small and large dams, pumping for irrigation. Several independent approaches were implemented: hydrodynamics, thermal surveys, geochemistry including isotopes. They helped to identify the different terms of the regional water balance and to characterize their changes over time.
Key words: Climate Change; Hydrodynamics; Tunisia.