Research Interests
My teaching vision is to motivate my students to develop their learning interests and critical thinking to establish a learner-centered environment in the classroom. Teaching a wide range of environmental and geoscience courses at the King Abdulaziz University has made me aware of the needs and interests of a scientifically and ethnically diverse student mind. As a result, I prepare lesson plans always considering the interconnection between the student’s knowledge, culture and learning abilities, the subject matter discussed in class, and current debates on social issues. I choose content and activities that are both significant and challenging for the students so that they are stimulated to think “beyond” their comfort zone and feel involved in their learning process. Similarly, the activities and class discussions I facilitate encourage students to make connections between my field of study and other disciplines. Collaborative learning is also central to my teaching philosophy to promote reflective thinking and improve the students’ communicative and trans-cultural skills. My commitment and approach to teaching have been rewarded with the highest teaching evaluations an instructor can receive in my institution particularly dedicated to outstanding teaching, I am consistently among the top 10% of all professors and teaching assistants.
During my teaching/advising duties in Saudi Arabia, I have supervised/ supervise eight postgraduate students. Six Master students in different aspects of sciences all related to Geoscience, Biodiversity, Environmental Management, Soil Pollution and Remote Sensing applications in Agriculture and Natural Resources Management. The two Ph.D. students are still undertaking their research work, and both are working under the frame of Water Resources Management in Arid Environment.
Over the past 10 years, I have been the recipient or co-recipient of approximately €700 thousand in research/scholarly funding from several entities, including the Hellenic Aid, INTERREG IIIB and the Dean of Scientific Research, King Abdulaziz University. Findings from the studies funded by these entities have been, and continue to be, disseminated in a variety of venues. Included herein are paper presentations at professional meetings and printed materials such as research reports to the sponsoring agency, Cooperative Extension/outreach education factsheets, and peer-reviewed journal articles.
I routinely publish my research results in several peer-reviewed journals, including the leading publications of three professional indexing: The Science Citation Index (SCI), Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), and SCOPUS. To this point in my career, most of my peer-reviewed publications have centered around two focal areas: Applications of RS/GIS in natural resources management, and watershed scale management. In addition to peer-reviewed journal articles, my research has led to the development of outreach educational and technical assistance programs/publications that address important issues relating to community and natural resources.
List of publication (59 in total)
2020 (9-articles)
59 Aljahdali, M. H., Elhag, M., Mufrreh,Y., Memesh, A., AlSoubhi, S. and Zalmot, I. S. (2020). upper Eocene Calcareous Nannofossil Biostratigraphy: A new Preliminary Priabonian record from northern Saudi Arabia. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research,Accepted and undergo publication.
58 Elhag, M. and Boteva, S. (2020). The Canadian versus the National Forest Fire Danger Rating Systems tested in Mediterranean forests fire Crete, Greece. Environment, Development and Sustainability, DOI 10.1007/s10668-020-00799-7.
57 Elhag, M. and Abdurahman, S. G. (2020). Advanced remote sensing techniques in flash flood delineation in Tabuk City, Saudi Arabia. Natural Hazards, doi: 10.1007/s11069-020-04135-0
56 Hategekimana, Y. , Allam, M., Meng, Q., Nie, Y. and Elhag, M. (2020). Quantification of Soil Losses along the Coastal Protected Areas in Kenya. Land, 9(5),137-146.
55 Elhag, M., Gitas, I. Othman, A. and Bahrawi, J. (2020). Effect of Water Surface Area on the Remotely Sensed Water Quality Parameters of Baysh Dam Lake, Saudi Arabia. Desalination and Water Treatment, Accepted and undergo publication.
54 Elhag, M. and Bahrawi, J. (2020). Deterioration of Shallow Coastal Environments Using Synthetic Aperture Radar Data. Desalination and Water Treatment, Accepted and undergo publication.
53 Bahrawi, J. and Elhag, M. (2020). Consideration of seasonal variations on water radiometric indices estimation of soil moisture content in arid environment in Saudi Arabia.Desalination and Water Treatment, doi: 10.5004/dwt.2020.25518.
52 Allam, M., Meng, Q. Y., Al-Aizari, H., Elhag, M., Yang, J., Sakr, M. and Wang, Z. (2020). Geo-Statistical Assessment of Ground Water Quality in Dhamar Basin, Yemen. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research, 18 (1), 625 – 644.
51 Elhag, M., Gitas, I. Othman, A., Bahrawi, J., Psilovikos, A. and Al Amri, N. (2020). Time series analysis of remotely sensed water quality parameters in arid environments, Saudi Arabia.Environment, Development andSustainability,doi: 10.1007/s10668-020-00626-z.
2019 (8-articles)
50 Elhag, M. and Bahrawi, J. (2019). Sedimentation mapping in shallow shoreline of arid environments using active remote sensing data. Natural Hazards 99 (2), 879-894.
49 Elhag, M. and Boteva, S. (2019). Conceptual assessment of energy input-output analysis and data envelopment analysis of greenhouse crops in Crete Island, Greece. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26 (35): 35283-35656.
48 Elhag, M., Gitas, I., Othman, A., Bahrawi, J. and Petros G. (2019). Assessment of Water Quality Parameters Using Temporal Remote Sensing Spectral Reflectance’s in Arid Environments, Saudi Arabia. Water, 11 (3), 556 - 570.
47 Elhag, M. and Bahrawi, J. (2019. Economic Evaluation of a Passive Solar Greenhouse Heating System in Crete, Greece. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research, 17 (2), 4431 - 4446.
46 Abdel-Reheem, A., Ylimaz, N. and Elhag, M. (2019). Consideration of onion solid by-products homogenate in phenolics decontamination of olive mill waste management. Desalination and Water Treatment, Accepted and undergo publication
45 Elhag M. and Shamsi, D. (2019). Integration of remote sensing and geographic information systems for geological fault detection on the island of Crete, Greece. Geoscientific Instrumentation, Methods and Data Systems 8 (1), 45-54.
44 Elhag, M. Kojchevska, T. and Boteva, S. (2019). EPM for Soil Loss Estimation in Different Geomorphologic Conditions and Data Conversion by Using GIS. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 221 (1), 012079.
43 Bahrawi, J. and Elhag, M. (2019). Consideration of Seasonal Variations of Water Radiometric Indices for the Estimation of Soil Moisture Content in Arid Environment in Saudi Arabia. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research, Applied Ecology and Environmental Research, 17 (1), 285-303.
2018 (7-articles)
42 Aldhebiani, A. Y., Elhag, M., Hegazy, A. K., Galal, H. K., and Mufareh, N. S. (2018). Consideration of NDVI thematic changes in density analysis and floristic composition of Wadi Yalamlam, Saudi Arabia, Geoscientific Instrumentation, Methods and Data Systems 7 (4), 297-306.
41 Elhag, M., Al-Ghamdi, A. A. M., Galal, H. K. and Dahlan, A. (2018). Evaluation of Aloe vera L. as Phytoremediator of Heavy Metals Contaminated Soils in Arid Environments. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research, 16 (5), 6033-6045.
40 Elhag, M., Yilmaz, N. and Dumitrache, C. A. (2018). Post-Fire Fuel and Vegetation Dynamics in an Ungrazed Phryganic Community of Crete, Greece. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research, 16(3):3289-3303.
39 Yilamz, N., Yuridia, C. H., Elhag, M. and Dumitrache, C. A. (2018). Phytoplankton Composition and Water Quality of Kamil Abdu¸s Lagoon (Tuzla Lake), Istanbul-Turkey. Water, 10 (5), 603-615.
38 Neznakomova, M., Boteva, S., Tzankov, L. and Elhag, M. (2018). Non-woven Textile Materials from Waste Fibers for Cleanup of Waters Polluted with Petroleum and Oil Products. Earth Systems and Environment, 1-8.
37 Elhag, M. and Bahrawi, J. (2018). Evaluation of The Transpiration Character of Juniperus macrocarpa as an Invasive Species in Western Crete, Greece. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research, 16(2),1659-1672.
36 Elhag, M. (2018). Understanding of Photosynthetically Active Radiation Index under Soil Salinity Variation Using Remote Sensing Practices in Arid Environments. Desalination and Water Treatment, 112, 171-178.
2017 (10-articles)
35 Elhag, M and Boteva S. (2017). Understanding of the Geomorphological Elements in Discrimination of Typical Mediterranean Land Cover Types. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 95 (4), 042041
34 Elhag, M. (2017b). Consideration of Landsat-8 Spectral Band Combination in Typical Mediterranean Forest Classification in Halkidiki, Greece. Open Geosci., 9:468–479.
33 Yilmaz, N., Elhag, M. and Yasar, U. (2017). Consideration of phytoplankton composition and water quality of Anamur (Dragon) Creek, Turkey. Desalination and Water Treatment, 91, 386-394.
32 Elhag, M., Galal, H. K. and Alsubaie, H. (2017). Understanding of Morphometric Features for an Adequate Water Resources Management in Arid Environments. Geoscientific Instrumentation, Methods and Data Systems, 6, 293-300.
31 Elhag, M., Bahrawi, A., Galal, H., Aldhebiani, A. and Al-Ghamdi, A. (2017). Stream network pollution by olive oil wastewater risk assessment in Crete, Greece. Environmental Earth Sciences, 76(7): 278-290.
30 Elhag, M., Al-Ghamdi A. A. M., Bahrawi J. A. and Hegazy A. K. (2017). Development of GIS Based Method for Risk Assessment of Olive Mill Wastewater in Crete, Greece. Global NEST Journal, 19(1): 82-93.
29 Elhag, M. (2017a). Efficiency concept under stochastic consideration of water value in irrigated agriculture land in Crete, Greece. Water Science and Technology: Water Supply, 17(4): 1185-1192.
28 Elhag, M. and Bahrawi, J. (2017c). Spatial Assessment of Landfill Sites Based on Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques in Tagarades, Greece. Desalination and Water Treatment, 91, 395-401.
27 Elhag, M. and Bahrawi, J. (2017b). Realization of Daily Evapotranspiration in Arid Ecosystems Based on Remote Sensing Techniques. Geoscientific Instrumentation, Methods and Data Systems, 6: 141-147.
26 Elhag, M. and Bahrawi, J. (2017a). Soil Salinity Mapping and Hydrological Drought Indices Assessment in Arid Environments Based on Remote Sensing Techniques. Geoscientific Instrumentation, Methods and Data Systems, 6: 149--158.
2016 (11-articles)
25 Elhag, M. and Boteva, S. (2016). Mediterranean Land Use and Land Cover Classification Assessment Using High Spatial Resolution Data. Earth and Environmental Science, 44: 042032.
24 Elhag, M. and Bahrawi, J. (2016b). Deliberation of Hilly Areas for Water Harvesting Application in Western Crete, Greece. Global NEST Journal, 18(3): 621-629.
23 Elhag, M. and Bahrawi, J. (2016a). Consideration of geo-statistical analysis in soil pollution assessment caused by leachate breakout in the municipality of Thermi, Greece. Desalination and Water Treatment, 57(57): 27879-27889.
22 Elhag, M. (2016e). Rehabilitation of Land Surface Minded for Coal in the Valley of Ptolemaida, Greece. Research Journal of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology, 1: 1-10.
21 Bahrawi, J. A., Elhag, M., Aldhebiani, A. Y., Galal, H. K, Hegazy, A. K. and Alghailani, E. (2016). Soil Erosion Estimation Using Remote Sensing techniques in Wadi Yalamlam basin, Saudi Arabia. Advances in Materials Science and Engineering, DOI.org/10.1155/2016/9585962.
20 Elhag, M. (2016d). Inconsistencies of SEBS Model Output Based on the Model Inputs: Global Sensitivity Contemplations. Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing, 44(3): 435–442.
19 Elhag, M. (2016c). Evaluation of Different Soil Salinity Mapping Using Remote Sensing Techniques in Arid Ecosystems, Saudi Arabia. Journal of Sensors, 2016: 96175-96175.
18 Elhag, M. Hegazy, A. K., Alatar, A. A., Mohamed, F., El-Bana, M., Bahrawi, J. A. and Al-Ghamdi A. A. M. (2016). Population Demography and Global Sensitivity Analysis of Avicennia marina in the Eastern and Western Coasts of Saudi Arabia. Koedoe, 57(1):1- 9.
17 Elhag, M. (2016b). Detection of Temporal Changes of Eastern Coast of Saudi Arabia for Better Natural Resources Management. Indian Journal of Geo-Marine Sciences, 45(1): 29-37.
16 Bahrawi, J. and Elhag, M. (2016). Simulation of Sea Level Rise and its Impacts on the Western Coastal Area of Saudi Arabia. Indian Journal of Geo-Marine Sciences, 45(1): 54-61.
15 Elhag, M. (2016a). Tropical Forests Mapping of Bioko Island Using Remote Sensing Techniques. Journal of King Abdulaziz University Meteorology, Environment and Arid Land Agriculture Sciences, (26)2: 95 - 109.
2015 (1-article)
14 Elhag, M. (2015). Characterization of a Typical Mediterranean Watershed Using Remote Sensing Techniques and GIS Tools. Hydrology: Current Research, 6(1): 197-204.
2014 (5-articles)
13 Elhag, M. and Bahrawi, J. (2014c). Potential Rainwater Harvesting Improvement Using Advanced Remote Sensing Applications. The Scientific World Journal, DOI: 10.1155/2014/806959.
12 Elhag, M. and Bahrawi, J. (2014b). Conservational Use of Remote Sensing Techniques for a Novel Rainwater Harvesting in Arid Environment. Environmental Earth Sciences, 72(12): 4995-5005.
11 Elhag, M. (2014b). Sensitivity Analysis Assessment of Remotely Based Vegetation Indices to Improve Water Resources Management. Environment Development and Sustainability, 16(6): 1209-1222.
10 Elhag, M. (2014a). Remotely Sensed Vegetation Indices and Spatial Decision Support System for Better Water consumption Regime in the Nile Delta. A Case Study for Rice Cultivation Suitability Map. Life Science Journal, 11(1): 201-209.
9 Elhag, M. and Bahrawi, J. (2014a). Cloud Coverage Disruption for Groundwater Recharge Improvement Using Remote Sensing Techniques in Asir Region, Saudi Arabia. Life Science Journal, 11(1): 192-200.
2013 (3-articles)
8 Elhag, M. (2013). Heavy Metals Pollution Assessment in Agricultural Soils. Lap Lambert Academic Publishing GmbH & Co. KG, Germany, ISBN: 978-3-659-53451-5.
7 Elhag, M., Psilovikos, A. and Sakellariou, M. (2013). Detection of Land Cover Changes for Water Recourses Management Using Remote Sensing Data over the Nile Delta Region. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 15(5): 1189-1204.
6 Psilovikos, A. and Elhag, M. (2013). Forecasting of Remotely Sensed Daily Evapotranspiration Data over Nile Delta Region, Egypt, Water Resources Management, 27(12): 4115-4130.
Before 2013 (5-articles)
5 Mnakos, I., Kalaitzidis, C., Elhag, M., Petropoulos, G. Manevski, K., Abou Hadid, A., El Dessouki, A., El Behairy, U., and Arafat, S. (2011). Geo-Information in Agriculture, A handbook for Geo-Information Application in Agriculture Management. ISBN: 978-960-7365-26-2.
4 Elhag, M. (2011). Land Suitability for Afforestation and Nature Conservation Practices Using Remote Sensing & GIS Techniques. Catrina Journal, 6(1): 11 – 17.
3 Elhag, M. and Takavakglou, V. (2011). Upgrading Groundwater Quality using Spatial Assessment of Pollution Impacts on Soil Resources in Tagarades area, Greece. International Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering, 1: 73-81.
2 Elhag, M., Psilovikos, A., Manakos, I. and Perakis, K. (2011). Application of the SEBS Water Balance Model in Estimating Daily Evapotranspiration and Evaporative Fraction from Remote Sensing Data over the Nile Delta. Water Resources Management, 25(11): 2731 - 2742.
1 Hegazy, A. and Elhag, M. (2006). Consideration of Demography and Life Table Analysis for Conservation of Acacia tortilis in South Sinai. World Applied Sciences Journal, 1 (2): 97 - 106, 2006.