Geophysical Relations

"Seven of the 25 participants were women, including two from the three-person delegation from China. This is the highest percentage of women we have ever had in a course such as this." Dr. Wakshal speaks with authority. He has participated in 16 of the 17 groundwater courses. "This may be a new trend," he says, "an indication of how more and more women are working outside their homes and at high-level, responsible positions in academic education and research."

The four-month course was organized by the Division of External Studies at the Hebrew University's Faculty of Agriculture in cooperation with MASHAV (The Centre for International Cooperation of Israel's Ministry for Foreign Affairs) and two centres at the Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences - the Leo Picard Groundwater Research Centre and the Seagram Centre for Soil and Water Sciences. For these organizers the ethnic, cultural and professional diversity of the participants posed particular challenges. "Essentially," explains Dr. Wakshal, "we had to make a tremendous effort to find a common ground for our presentations. We found, for example, that two-thirds of the participants were not computer literate, i.e., they had no background or experience with computers. The result: we included in our program of studies an introductory course on P.C. (personal computers)."

The organizers showed a similar sensitivity to the religious backgrounds of the participants, planning trips for the eight Muslims in the group to their holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem and to such places as Nazareth for the Christian participants. Notwithstanding the differences in background and training, the group evolved into a very cohesive body, forging close interpersonal ties of friendship and cooperation. Dr. Wakshal elaborates: "Basically the course had two main goals, both of which I think we achieved. First and foremost, we wanted to share Israel's know-how and experience in the exploration, exploitation and management of groundwater resources. In addition, we wanted the participants to share their experiences with us. And this they did. They were an extremely serious and conscientious group, with a keen interest in studying and acquiring knowledge. Their strong input was an important factor in contributing to the success of the course. There was a great deal of active participation, including the detailed reports they prepared and presented."

Both Dr. Wakshal and the participants agree that this was not an easy course, not with 350 hours of lectures covering different aspects of irrigation and soil science, as well as the techniques and methods relevant to the development and management of groundwater resources, including geological considerations for well-siting, geophysical methods, drilling techniques, techniques of pumping tests, methods of drawing up water balances and interpretation of chemical data and environment isotopes. It was definitely an intensive and in-depth look at many facets of an issue that transcends all boundaries - the need to continually investigate and update ways on how to more effectively and efficiently exploit groundwater resources for the good of every country on the globe.

The classroom experience was supplemented by work-oriented field trips, giving participants first-hand exposure to the techniques of groundwater exploration in the arid and semi-humid domain of Israel. Israel's researchers have coped with groundwater problems in climates ranging from Mediterranean to extremely arid; in coastal aquifers, inland basins and mountainous terrain; in folded structures and faulted blocks, and in a variety of aquifers made of sandstone, calcareous or igneous rocks. Thus, the country, with its variety of physiographical, climatic and geological conditions and its dense network of bore holes is a natural laboratory for groundwater studies. The field trips made good use of this "laboratory": they showed participants how to adapt various techniques to match the needs of different types of soils and rocks under varied climatic conditions.

Dr. Wakshal's observations about the course and its objectives, as well as his impressions regarding the social cohesiveness of the group, were echoed by Naima Bentoudja of Morocco.

Twenty-eight-year-old Bentoudja is now completing her requirements for her doctoral degree in applied mathematics at an engineering laboratory at the University of Rabat Mohamed V (Rabat, Morocco). Her doctoral thesis is on groundwater pollution - modelization and simulation of techniques on how to prevent groundwater from being contaminated. What brought her to this subject? Very simply she answers that in the last two or three years, "but not actually this year" Morocco experienced severe drought. "This led our academic people to begin to look seriously for ways that would help us cope with the periods when there is a scarcity of rain. I was one of those researchers who realized the significance and importance of this subject, aided by my professor, Driss Quazarunder, with whom I am working. He, as so many others in Morocco, is looking for ways to find water, to exploit all available resources, and groundwater is one of the most logical sources. As we worked, we realized that one of the best ways to find water is to reach deeply and use our groundwater resources, to pump this water and to clean it.

"And it was my professor who told me about this course. He told me that it would supplement my work which - until now - has been basically theoretical in nature. He said that this course, geared as it was to practical usage and applications, would be an interesting and educational experience for me and that it would give me the opportunity to acquire a global view of my subject and he was right."

Bentoudja is a soft-spoken person who, however, could not restrain her enthusiasm for what she had learned in Israel. "I gained so much from the course. The whole subject of hydrogeology, for instance, was new and fascinating for me. I'm not a geologist but I was able to follow and understand the principles of hydrogeology even though I didn't have any previous knowledge of this subject. I also learned so many new things about infiltration, about the path water takes to reach very deep into the surface and, of course, all this information is very helpful to me. Equally instructive was the way we learned what happens with the groundwater from the chemical side and how groundwater becomes contaminated if it is not properly cleaned.

"But the highlight of the course were the field trips for this was the first time that I had actually gone out into the field. Until coming to Israel, all my work had been done in the laboratory."

For Naima Bentoudja, whose only trips outside of her native Morocco had been to France, this visit to Israel was her first major journey abroad. "In fact, however," she notes, "I knew quite a bit about Israel before I came since there are joint research projects between Morocco and Israel (see related story in this issue). My own professor is himself engaged in such a project. He is working with Shaul Sorek at the Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research (located at Sde Boker Campus of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev). We are in daily contact via E-mail with Sorek since we are following his approach. In addition, Sorek, himself, has been to visit us in Morocco many times. And I will be staying on in Israel for an extra week in order to spend time at the Blaustein Institute."

Interviewed almost at the end of the course, Bentoudja, admits that initially she was hesitant about coming, "but my professor insisted. He knew about the work in groundwater research that is being done in Israel. He told me that the course would broaden my horizon - and it definitely has.

"When my professor and I talked about the course, we only talked about it from the point of view of my work, how it would help me professionally. But the visit here was more than just study. There was also exciting sightseeing, traveling all around the country - from the Lebanese border up north to the Egyptian border down south and so much inbetween - the Galilee, the Negev and Eilat. It was all so interesting. And for me, as a Muslim, it was very thrilling to visit our Holy Sites in Jerusalem.

"Basically, however, this was four months of very concentrated study, very compact lectures. We had four hours of lectures in the morning and another four hours in the afternoon. And late into the night we were busy doing all our assignments. It was a very exhausting period but one that was very worthwhile.

"And somehow, even with all the work, we got to know each other very well." Bentoudja feels that practically everyone in the course, as she says, "is now a friend."

Israel's reputation as a leader in groundwater research has long been internationally recognized. "And we willingly share our knowledge and expertise," says Dr. Wakshal, "but, in return, our participants also share their experiences with us, enhancing our own investigations as well as theirs."