<p>Proper assessment of water resources in arid and semiarid regions is a challenging task because of the lack of reliable hydro-meteorological measurements and the highly skewed nature of the water balance components. The combination of remote sensing, GIS tools, chloride mass balance and water balance models can provide an effective means to overcome such challenges. Groundwater recharge in the Karak Plateau, Jordan, a region characterized by a typical semiarid Mediterranean climate, was evaluated using a high spatial resolution daily water-balance model during the years 1997–2010. Model outputs were compared with the chloride mass balance across the study area. Simulated and observed data were in close agreement in most cases, lending strong support to the authenticity of the presented results. The results show that groundwater recharge exhibits a large spatial gradient that reflected the distribution of precipitation across the study area, with average annual recharge values ranging from 40&#xa0;mm in the mountainous areas, to values close to zero near the Dead Sea and the desert fringes. Groundwater recharge exhibits a substantial inter-annual variability during the study period, with values ranging from zero during very dry years to considerable values in wet years. The average annual groundwater recharge in the study area is close to 12.6&#xa0;mm/year. This investigation demonstrates the sensitivity of groundwater recharge to interannual precipitation variability, and thus warmer and drier climate conditions projected for the eastern Mediterranean will have adverse implications on the availability of water resources in this area in the near future.</p>