This book looks at the dynamics of international river basin management and describes the treaties between countries sharing water resources. Maps include information on the changes of boundaries between countries and describe the important use of GIS in visualizing and relating data, noting the interaction between location of headwaters, economic development, national water scarcity, dam sites, and agricultural land. Additionally, the maps allow readers to compare internationally the extent of agreements per river basin, gross domestic product, population distribution and density, climatic regions and land cover, irrigated areas, dam density, annual runoff, and relative water stress. These maps provide a comprehensive view of relevant information.

GIS Implementation Strategy in Oman: Past, Present and Future. http://proceedings.esri.com/library/userconf/proc03/p0163.pdf collected 8:09 AM, March 11, 2009.

This article addresses GIS in the Sutltanate of Oman, implemented during the late 1980s. The research reviewed the current strategies, identified the constraints of implementing GIS in Oman, and discussed how to enhance the current strategies for GIS implementation. The main purpose in introducing GIS in Oman was so that the Ministries could exchange information. Some of the problems experienced by the Ministries include the initial lack of digital maps, budgeting constraints, lack of qualified staff, and repetition in data that leads to difficulty in exchanging data. The continuing objective of GIS implementation is to link all participant organizations in a database by a wide area network (WAN).

The World Bank (2007) Making the Most of Scarcity. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank.

This book looks at the challenges facing the Middle East and North Africa related to the region’s water resources. It focuses specifically on how water and economic policies integrate. The maps, themselves, specifically relate information about the following categories: aridity zoning (precipitation divided by reference evapotranspiration), population density, rural versus urban areas, and areas equipped for irrigation. What is most useful about this resource is the ease in comparing the different nations visually. Understanding the specific conditions in these four areas help the political analyst make sense of the Omani government’s choices regarding its water resource management. Using these maps, it is easy to see the extreme aridity of my study country (Oman) in relation to the other nations, as well as the other features. In my opinion, what is lacking is the presence of other data that might give more insight, such as populations with access to clean water and groundwater (fresh water) locations. It would also be interesting to see data in this study on the instance of water degradation in all of the countries.

Al-Awadhi, T. and L. K. A. Azaz. (2005). Monitoring Urban Growth in Oman Using Remote Sensing and GIS, Seeb Wilayat Case Study. Poster Presentation, 3rd International Symposium Remote Sensing and Data Fusion Over Urban Areas. www.isprs.org/commission8/workshop_urban/al-awadhi.pdf.

This study aims to monitor and analyze urban growth in a community in Oman using satellite images and GIS between 1991 and 2003. Additionally, this study seeks to create a database of historical land use information for the understanding and prediction of urban growth throughout Oman. For this case study, Aerial Photos and satellite images were used to map urban growth. The results of this study show that the total built-up area has expanded by 27.93 % between 1991 and 2003, while the residential area has expanded by 64 % between 1991 and 2003. More than just describing the incredible increase in urban areas, these results show the possibilities for future application of GIS in measuring growth in other areas. IKONOS images for 2000 and 2003 were used. Maps showed an increase of about 30% in already urbanized areas. Residential land, itself, had the largest share of build-up. Local roads had the highest growth rate at 293% from 1991-2003 (annual growth rate was 24.4%). The research called to further study whether the road network or the residential expansion lead to such large growth. Interestingly, agricultural land reduced by 52.6%–which is consistent with the government’s economic plan to encourage industrialization and tourism in the country.

Bait-Ishaq, Hussain Jama Ismail and Philip Burden. (1997). “GIS Implementation in the Ministry of Water Resources in Oman.” CGIS conference paper at The Center for GIS, Qatar.

The Ministry of Water Resources has implemented information technology in order to manage and monitor Oman’s water resources. Oman organized its GIS Section into two units: the CAD unit and the GIS Unit. The hope of the country was to train in Omani Nationals to take over the jobs of “ex-patriots” in the field of GIS for the country. After pilot projects, database design, data capture and entry, Oman hoped to link the GIS information on-line for use around the nation. A few of the applications that used GIS in Oman were: identifying the distribution and quality of groundwater resources and getting them registered as part of the Nation Well Inventory Project; planning a dam site for the Wadi Day qah; and mapping flood risk.

Most interesting about this analysis was the call for “Arabization” of GIS. In other words, the problem of there being no Arabic computer standard used on all the computer platforms needs to be resolved.

Harris R. (2003). “Remote sensing of agriculture change in Oman.” International Journal of Remote Sensing 24(23): 4835-4852.

Landsat Mult-Spectral Scanner (MSS) data from 1978 and Landsat Enhance Thematic Mapper (ETM) data from 2000 are used to analyze the Batinah coast range of Oman–specifically looking at agriculture. Analysis of environmental and agricultural change was used to further understand the implications of change in the country since 1970–specifically the aggressive development plan of the Sultan Qaboos and the continued improvement of infrastructure.

Howari, Fares M., Mohsen M. Sherif, Vijay P. Singh, and Mohamed S. Al Asam. (2007). “Application of GIS and Remote Sensing Techniques in Identification, Assessment, and Development of Groundwater Resources” from Application of GIS and Remote Sensing Techniques in Identification,Assessment and Development of Groundwater Resources. Springer Netherlands.

This article looks at the development of groundwater resources using GIS and Remote Sensing (RS), as well as the problems associated with this. One aspect of the limitations of applying GIS and RS to groundwater exploration and development is a current incompatibility between hydrological and hydrogeological models. The article proposes looking for a common platform that is compatible with both GIS and hydrological/hydrogeological models. Other issues this article considers deal with investigation—in the areas of land surface temperature from thermal infrared data, surface soil moisture from passive microwave data, selecting groundwater recharge sites, simulation of groundwater systems, water quality using visible and near-infrared data, and estimating landscape surface roughness using radar.

Luedeling, E. (2007). Sustainability of mountain oases in Oman Effects of agro-environmental changes on traditional cropping systems. Kassel: Kassel Univ. Press.

The purpose of this chapter was to assess the natural resources of mountain oases using landscape analysis and improving an existing DEM of the Oman Mountains. Russian topographic maps were digitized and their altitude line interpolated in order to fill in data gaps. Buffers were constructed around data voids. Then TINs were created for each of the surfaces and converted to grids as a base surface for void areas. Finally, the base surface was subtracted from the DEM and the result added onto the base of the SRTM DEM. The use of both digital and hardcopy maps allowed for a better DEM than just using existing digital datasets. It was found that the water storage systems determined the hydrological sustainability of the Omani oases.

Luedeling, Eike, and Andreas Buerkert. (2008). “Typology of oases in northern Oman based on Landsat and SRTM imagery and geological survey data.” Remote Sensing Environment 112: 1181-1195.

The topographic, hydrologic and geologic characteristics as well as the locations of oases in Northern Oman were determined through use of remote sensing and image processing techniques. Interestingly, the study used Google Earth, as well as Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (complemented by digitized Russian military maps) and Index (NDVI) of Landsat images from all of northern Oman. Analyzed was the water concentration depending on geologic or topographic settings—old water resources that have been managed by farmers for thousands of years. Oasis community formation could only have happened with traditional systems and old technologies used for managing the scarce water resources. Relating the presence of specific variables such as geological, hydrological and topographical settings allowed for oases discovery using remote sensing and spatial data processing.

Sieberta, S., J. Haserb, M. Nagieba, L. Kornc, A. Buerkert. (2005). Agricultural, architectural and archaeological evidence for the role and ecological adaptation of a scattered mountain oasis in Oman. Journal of Arid Environments 62: 177–197.

This study focuses on the ecological adaptation of a “scattered agro-pastoral oasis.” Four major drainage systems in Oman are included in the study: Wadi Tiwi, Wadi Shab, Wadi Bani Khalid, and Wadi Khabbah. Additionally, this article analyzes the agricultural structure of the region as a function of topography and water availability. Ultimately, the study looks to understand the role of mountain oases as economic and cultural link between coastal and inland areas—something that might still be applied today as the divide between urban and rural regions grows. The process: researchers first digitalized topographic maps. Next, all major features of the area, including roads and plantations, were mapped using GPS. Additionally, measurements of all springs were taken and sampling was done to determine the age of the stored water. The researchers concluded that the region must have been central to trade and pastoral routes.