Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute
(QEERI)
The 2nd Advisory Meeting on Maintaining
an Integrated Household Surveys
Implementation Process
Dr. Rabi E. Mohtar
&
Dr.Yasir E. Mohieldeen
3 Oct 2012
Structure:
-
Introduction to QEERI
QEERI’s work
Data requirement
Data issues to be explored
QEERI Vision
To ensure sustainable development and
management of Qatar’s energy and
natural resources, preserving the quality
of life of future generations and making
Qatar a leader in cutting- edge energy
and environment research
QEERI Mission
To conduct and coordinate multidisciplinary research that will address
critical national priorities in energy and
the environment, by integrating
knowledge of the environment, food,
energy and water resources in ways
appropriate for Qatar and the region.
Strategic Plan Overview (2012-2016)
QEERI Projects
1) Air Quality modeling:
- With collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, The Supreme Council
of Health (SCH), Total & The Ministry of Energy/QP.
- Objective is to map and model spatial distribution of pollutants in Qatar.
- Will provide real time maps monitoring air quality.
- Currently a pilot project focusing on area in Doha- 20km centered at QF.
2) Solar Atlas
PI: Chmeissani, Darwish & El Gendy.
- Assess and map solar energy potentials in Qatar.
- Satellite imagery and ground measurements of solar radiation will be used:
Optical Thickness/depth, LIDAR.
- Modeling and interpolations techniques will be applied.
Why Solar Energy?
- Natural Gas and oil are finite and consumptions are excessively on rise.
- Cost
- This elongates the life of oil and natural gas resources,
- Keep the return income from their export
- Limits the emissions of Greenhouse
Gases & air polluting gases
3) Soil & Water modeling
(multi-scale hydrological modeling)
PI: E. Braudeau
Soil is « present » at all organizational levels of the agro- eco-systems
Geomorphological,
GLOBAL
landscape …,
SCALE
(Earth systems) mapping units
MACRO
SCALE
(soil mapping)
Agronomical,
pedological
Mapping units
HUMAN
SCALE
(soil surface)
PEDON
et soil surface
MICRO
SCALE
(Soil medium)
HYDRO-PEDOSTRUCTURE et BIO
Studies of processes in the organized soil medium
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ www.biologie.ens.fr/bioemco
Challenge: coupling soil bio-geo-chemical and physical models with the
organized soil system
Three fundamental questions:
1. What is the appropriate soil typology to be used in representing the
system?
2. What soil hydro-structural properties to be used (characterization)?
3. What is the thermodynamics of this system including the living organisms?
The pedon, Representative
Elementary Volume of a soil
mapping unit
Many processes in soil
- Organic Mater
mineralization
- Roots dynamic and
growing
- Microbiology life
- N and C cycles
- Pesticides transfer,
accumulation etc.
- Plants feeding
Soil is a physical organized medium allowing
for life.
It interacts with water and air that surround the
solid phase of the soil structure.
Spatial modeling of the bio-soil
activity using soil mapping
4) Biodiversity:
PI: Dr. Aurora Castilla
Mapping of specific terrestrial plant
and animal species in Qatar:
- Inventory surveys
- GPS registration of species locations
- Habitat Suitability Analysis
Data Source: Ministry of Environment
4) Biodiversity… cont
Habitat Suitability Analysis modelling using GIS:
Thank You
Other layers will be included: climate, vegetation, ..etc
5) Water Quality
PI: Dr. Shomar
• Understanding the groundwater aquifer system in Qatar
• Identification the environmentally hotspots affecting
groundwater quality
• Establishment of groundwater monitoring strategy,
assessment and interpretation
• Mapping of groundwater quality in Qatar using GIS and RS
• Assessment of intrinsic vulnerability to contamination for
Qatar aquifer using Integrated GIS and Earth Observation
(EO) systems
• Use the results of the study in supporting policy and
decision making on water laws, acts, planning and
management
6) Soil Quality
PI: Dr. Shomar
•
Investigate the geochemistry of the topsoil in Qatar.
•
Identify the major natural and anthropogenic
inputs affecting soil quality.
Extract the spatial patterns of these inputs using GIS
and RS, field observations and laboratory analyses.
•
•
Provide sophisticated querying and visualization
tools at national scale.
•
Produced maps to develop and design priority soil management/land use planning
specifying the particular remedial measures that have to be applied on a
preventive, protective and restorative basis.
•
Develop a platform for the EIA of the activities above the
ground (industry, agriculture, tourism etc.) on the soil quality.
•
Use the results of the study in supporting policy and decision making on soil
related issues, planning and management.
Other studies
-
Dust storms modeling
Ecological mapping
Outreach and sustainability
Marine biodiversity
Energy Footprint
CO2
Water, Energy and Food Nexus (WEF)
Heat wave modeling in Qatar
Heat Wave modelling
2 years HWI projection
Data requirement
• Base maps: International & administrative boundaries; roads, cities,
villages, topography, …etc.
• Population census data
• Agriculture & Livestock: Production and export/import: livestock, food,
..etc
• Agricultural input: fertilizers (types & amount), water, energy
• Meteorology: temperature, rainfall, humidity, wind speed/direction,
solar radiation, …etc.
• Air quality data
• Soil data and maps
• Geology & Lithology
Data requirement …con
• Groundwater and wells: aquifers, locations, discharge, water chemical
and physical properties.
• Mangroves and Protected Area
• Utilities : water network, electricity & Qtel.
• Landuse
• Vegetation cover/map
• Water treatment plants: location, production, …etc.
• Environmental hot-spots
• Environmental Health: air/water/food borne diseases
• Energy and water consumption
• Awareness & conservation
Data requirement …con
•
•
Urbanization: projected plan.
Energy : Sources and usage
• Data request for WEF project
1. List of food products consumed in Qatar
2. Total Domestic production (ton) per food product [Total domestic production
under open agriculture (ton) and total domestic under protected conditions (ton), per
product]
3. Imports (ton) per food product
4. Countries of import and respective amounts (ton) per food product
5. Land requirements – for open and protected (ton/ha), per food product
6. Market price of domestic products (QAR/ton), per product
7. Market price of imported products (QAR/ton), per product
8. Fertilizer requirements per food products grown locally? (kg NPK/ton, other ?)…
9. Water requirements per food product grown locally (m3/ton) under open and
protected agriculture
10. Projections for population (10 year-20year)
11. Projections for food prices (10 year-20year)
Data requirement …con
• Data request for the CO2 emission
- houses by type (villas, apartments: small, medium, large)
-
cars (numbers and types)
households expenditures on fuel, electricity, water.
number of air conditions by house type.
CO2 emissions
Data Issues to be Explored
1) Data Quality measures
2) Data Quality and assurance measure and
mechanism
3) Meta-data : data about the data
4) Follow international standards for data
classification:
LCC, OGC, FAO soil classification, USGS soil, EPA,… etc
Example of bad practices:
- Farms and settlements are used as classes in the Soil map of
Qatar.
- Landuse classes don’t follow LCC standards.
- No meta-data describing the data, the date of collection,
errors, method of collection,..etc.