Multi-Sensor Remote Sensing Data and GIS Modeling for Mapping Groundwater Possibilities: A Case Study at the Western Side of Assiut Governorate, Egypt

Groundwater is an essential natural resource and it has a significant role in the development of dry lands. It is the main source of fresh water in arid and semi-arid regions. The present study investigates groundwater potentiality in the western part of Assiut Governorate, Egypt using adva...

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Main Authors: Ezz El Deen Khattab, Hassan Sabet, Mostafa AbuBakr, Taher Hassan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Union of Iraqi Geologists (UIG) 2023-03-01
Series:Iraqi Geological Journal
Online Access:https://igj-iraq.org/igj/index.php/igj/article/view/1254
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author Ezz El Deen Khattab
Hassan Sabet
Mostafa AbuBakr
Taher Hassan
author_facet Ezz El Deen Khattab
Hassan Sabet
Mostafa AbuBakr
Taher Hassan
author_sort Ezz El Deen Khattab
collection DOAJ
description Groundwater is an essential natural resource and it has a significant role in the development of dry lands. It is the main source of fresh water in arid and semi-arid regions. The present study investigates groundwater potentiality in the western part of Assiut Governorate, Egypt using advanced remote sensing and geospatial techniques along with hydrological data and field validation. The adopted method provides a low-cost and highly effective tool that can be combined with the conventional land-based approach for mapping Groundwater Potentiality. The study aims to determine the groundwater probability and recharging zones based on the contribution of some physiographic variables that influence groundwater storage. Therefore, multi-sensors remote sensing data from ASTER, Landsat-8, MODIS, Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), and Radarsat-1 were accustomed to extract several geospatial thematic layers (variables). These layers include elevation, slope, curvature, drainage density, topographic wetness index, surface roughness, frequency of thermal anomaly, accumulated precipitation, Land Use/Land Cover (LULC), and lineament density. The produced layers are then scaled and weighted based on their contributions to the recharge of near-surface (unconfined) groundwater aquifers through infiltration and percolation processes. The Simple Additive Weight (SAW) method was utilized to aggregate all the weighted layers for creating the Groundwater Potentiality map. This aggregated grouped map was then classified into 5 classes, from very high to very low groundwater potentiality zones. The results show that the high Groundwater Potentiality was associated with low terrain, high surface ruggedness, high drainage and lineament densities, and relatively close to thermal anomalies in wadi deposits, and adjacent sandy areas. The remote sensing results were validated using comprehensive field observations including, pumping tests, water wells data, and vegetation patterns in the study area. The study concluded that a groundwater possibility map based on geospatial techniques and remote sensing data can provide a robust tool in groundwater exploration, and consequently, it can be adopted elsewhere in arid regions.
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spelling doaj.art-3aea8b3d8ae14020bba7b161d76bf05e2023-04-03T00:02:34ZengUnion of Iraqi Geologists (UIG)Iraqi Geological Journal2414-60642663-87542023-03-01561C17619010.46717/igj.56.1C.12ms-2023-3-23Multi-Sensor Remote Sensing Data and GIS Modeling for Mapping Groundwater Possibilities: A Case Study at the Western Side of Assiut Governorate, EgyptEzz El Deen KhattabHassan SabetMostafa AbuBakrTaher Hassan Groundwater is an essential natural resource and it has a significant role in the development of dry lands. It is the main source of fresh water in arid and semi-arid regions. The present study investigates groundwater potentiality in the western part of Assiut Governorate, Egypt using advanced remote sensing and geospatial techniques along with hydrological data and field validation. The adopted method provides a low-cost and highly effective tool that can be combined with the conventional land-based approach for mapping Groundwater Potentiality. The study aims to determine the groundwater probability and recharging zones based on the contribution of some physiographic variables that influence groundwater storage. Therefore, multi-sensors remote sensing data from ASTER, Landsat-8, MODIS, Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), and Radarsat-1 were accustomed to extract several geospatial thematic layers (variables). These layers include elevation, slope, curvature, drainage density, topographic wetness index, surface roughness, frequency of thermal anomaly, accumulated precipitation, Land Use/Land Cover (LULC), and lineament density. The produced layers are then scaled and weighted based on their contributions to the recharge of near-surface (unconfined) groundwater aquifers through infiltration and percolation processes. The Simple Additive Weight (SAW) method was utilized to aggregate all the weighted layers for creating the Groundwater Potentiality map. This aggregated grouped map was then classified into 5 classes, from very high to very low groundwater potentiality zones. The results show that the high Groundwater Potentiality was associated with low terrain, high surface ruggedness, high drainage and lineament densities, and relatively close to thermal anomalies in wadi deposits, and adjacent sandy areas. The remote sensing results were validated using comprehensive field observations including, pumping tests, water wells data, and vegetation patterns in the study area. The study concluded that a groundwater possibility map based on geospatial techniques and remote sensing data can provide a robust tool in groundwater exploration, and consequently, it can be adopted elsewhere in arid regions.https://igj-iraq.org/igj/index.php/igj/article/view/1254
spellingShingle Ezz El Deen Khattab
Hassan Sabet
Mostafa AbuBakr
Taher Hassan
Multi-Sensor Remote Sensing Data and GIS Modeling for Mapping Groundwater Possibilities: A Case Study at the Western Side of Assiut Governorate, Egypt
Iraqi Geological Journal
title Multi-Sensor Remote Sensing Data and GIS Modeling for Mapping Groundwater Possibilities: A Case Study at the Western Side of Assiut Governorate, Egypt
title_full Multi-Sensor Remote Sensing Data and GIS Modeling for Mapping Groundwater Possibilities: A Case Study at the Western Side of Assiut Governorate, Egypt
title_fullStr Multi-Sensor Remote Sensing Data and GIS Modeling for Mapping Groundwater Possibilities: A Case Study at the Western Side of Assiut Governorate, Egypt
title_full_unstemmed Multi-Sensor Remote Sensing Data and GIS Modeling for Mapping Groundwater Possibilities: A Case Study at the Western Side of Assiut Governorate, Egypt
title_short Multi-Sensor Remote Sensing Data and GIS Modeling for Mapping Groundwater Possibilities: A Case Study at the Western Side of Assiut Governorate, Egypt
title_sort multi sensor remote sensing data and gis modeling for mapping groundwater possibilities a case study at the western side of assiut governorate egypt
url https://igj-iraq.org/igj/index.php/igj/article/view/1254
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