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Desalination of Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Seawater to Mitigate the Fresh Water Crisis in the Yemen Republic

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Book cover Oceanographic and Biological Aspects of the Red Sea

Part of the book series: Springer Oceanography ((SPRINGEROCEAN))

Abstract

By the year 2025 Yemen’s per capita water availability will be around 89 m3/year and the country will be highly water stressed. As a consequence, economic status of the farmers involved in qat (also referred as khat) cultivation, a product that supports 25% of the country’s GDP, will fall below the poverty line. With declining water table, the Mesozoic–Cenozoic aquifer of Yemen will be unable to support irrigation and the geothermal reservoir too will decline due to excessive withdrawal of water. A solution to this problem is to develop the geothermal resources around Damt and Dhamar to support desalination of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden seawater to generate fresh water to contribute to the country’s food and energy security. Damt and Dhamar silicic volcanic sites have the potential to generate more than 134 × 106 kW of electricity. Fresh water generated through desalination using geothermal sources and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) will give the country food and energy security and reduce dependence on food imports.

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Acknowledgements

This study was possible thanks to many organizations that have provided funds for travel in Yemen, including UNESCO and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Geological Survey of Yemen, namely its director Dr. Ismail Al Ghanad and Dr. Mohamed Mattash, are warmly thanked, especially the latter for all the work in the field in 2001, 2002, 2007 and 2008. The University of Sana’a is also thanked for providing a grant to M. F. Al-Dubai for travel to Italy. We thank Dr. Najeeb Rasul for inviting us to write this chapter and his patience in extending the time of submission.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CNR-Italian Council for Research, Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources, Via La Pira 4, 50121, Florence, Italy

    Angelo Minissale

  2. Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

    Dornadula Chandrasekharam

  3. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Sana’a University, Sana’a, Republic of Yemen

    Mohamed Fara Mohamed Al-Dubai

Authors
  1. Angelo Minissale
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  2. Dornadula Chandrasekharam
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  3. Mohamed Fara Mohamed Al-Dubai
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Correspondence to Angelo Minissale .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Marine Geology, Saudi Geological Survey, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    Najeeb M.A. Rasul

  2. Stewart Geophysical Consultants Pty. Ltd., College Park, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Ian C.F. Stewart

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Minissale, A., Chandrasekharam, D., Al-Dubai, M.F.M. (2019). Desalination of Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Seawater to Mitigate the Fresh Water Crisis in the Yemen Republic. In: Rasul, N., Stewart, I. (eds) Oceanographic and Biological Aspects of the Red Sea. Springer Oceanography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99417-8_12

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