Enhanced Characterization of Water Resource Potential in Zaghouan Region, Northeast Tunisia
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Original Paper
Enhanced Characterization of Water Resource Potential in Zaghouan Region, Northeast Tunisia A. Hamed Ferjani,1,2 R. Guellala ,1,2,3 S. Gannouni,2 and M. H. Inoubli1 Received 15 June 2019; accepted 20 February 2020
This study presents a range of approaches to achieve enhanced characterization of the Zaghouan aquifer system (northeastern Tunisia). Existing water borehole data were analyzed to identify the different reservoir formations, while satellite imagery is analyzed to determinate the superficial lineaments affecting these formations. To define the deep structures determining the geometry of the Zaghouan aquifer system, lithostratigraphic correlations were constructed and analyzed supported by both quantitative and qualitative assessment of gravity measurements. The available lithological columns and their corresponding well logs reveal different carbonate and detritic reservoirs. The carbonate reservoirs consist of Jurassic, Cretaceous and Eocene limestones, whereas the detritic ones are composed of Oligo–Miocene sandstones and PlioQuaternary to Quaternary sands and gravels. The structural map obtained from processing the satellite imagery confirms several lineaments drawn on the geological map, such as the Zaghouan fault, but also reveals new ones hitherto unrecognized. The intersections of the detected lineaments explain the occurrence of many springs in the area offering potentially favorable opportunities for accessing water resources in fractured aquifers. Analysis of lithostratigraphic correlations shows notable variations in the thickness, depth and composition of reservoir formations. Gravity data interpretation gives more precision by highlighting buried structures and discontinuities with different directions and depths. The delineated tectonic features demonstrate an aquifer system compartmentalized in raised and subsided blocks. The raised compartments may constitute continental divide areas and preferential aquifer recharge zones, while the sunken ones contain a multilayer aquifer composed of Quaternary and Pliocene reservoirs overlying multiple permeable layers, Tertiary and/or Mesozoic in age. KEY WORDS: Zaghouan aquifer, Gravity measures, Satellite imagery.
INTRODUCTION Tunisia is characterized by highly constrained water resources resulting from a climate of low 1
Unite´ des Recherches de Ge´ophysique Applique´e aux Mate´riaux et Minerais, De´partement de Ge´ologie, Faculte´ des Sciences de Tunis, Campus Universitaire, 1060 Tunis, Tunisia. 2 Laboratoire de Ge´oressources, Centre de Recherches et de Technologies des Eaux, Technople de Borj Cedria, Tunis, Tunisia. 3 To whom correspondence should be addressed; e-mail: [email protected]
rainfall. Except for the extreme northwest, the country as a whole has a high deficit water balance (Arnould and Hotyat 2003). Already meager water resources are now further under strong pressure from recent socioeconomic development. Thus, Tunisia suffers from a significant disequilibrium between water needs and water availability. To reso
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