Mapping recharge potential zones and natural recharge calculation: study case in Sfax region
- PDF / 27,852,886 Bytes
- 19 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 102 Downloads / 219 Views
ORIGINAL PAPER
Mapping recharge potential zones and natural recharge calculation: study case in Sfax region Emna Boughariou & Salwa Saidi & Alae Eddine Barkaoui & Hafedh Khanfir & Yassin Zarehloul & Salem Bouri
Received: 14 March 2014 / Accepted: 11 June 2014 # Saudi Society for Geosciences 2014
Abstract The groundwater constitutes the major water resource in the study area of the current paper that is Sfax region. The latter is located in the south of Tunisia where the climate is arid. In fact, the natural groundwater recharge of the region is deeply affected by the lack of precipitations which affects its natural groundwater recharge. The aim of the current paper is to define recharge potential zones and to estimate the rainfall recharge of the shallow groundwater. Henceforth, the potential recharge map was established, based on the basin characteristics using lithology, topography, slope, and stream network parameters. Recharge estimations were based on the numerical methods: the Estimation of Recharge in Overexploited Aquifers (Estimación de la Recarga en Acuíferos Sobreexplotados) (ERAS) numerical model, the Schoeller equation, the Fersi equations, and the Direction Générale des Ressources en Eaux (General Administration of Water resources) (DGRE) coefficients. As a matter of fact, applying the Fersi equations and the DGRE coefficients on the potential zones allowed the deduction of a new spatial repartition of both favorable and unfavorable recharge zones.
Pi Ri Ti β M N I1 I2
Keywords Recharge . Groundwater . Potential recharge zones . Arid regions . Sfax . Water resources . Geographic information system (GIS)
Introduction
E. Boughariou (*) : S. Saidi : S. Bouri Laboratoire Eau, Energie et Environnement, ENIS, BP-W, 3038 Sfax, Tunisia e-mail: [email protected] A. E. Barkaoui : Y. Zarehloul Faculty of Science, University of Mohammed I, Oujda, Morocco H. Khanfir ARE, CRDA, Sfax, Tunisia
Abbreviations PET WTF GIS DEM R P C1 C2
Potential evapotranspiration Water table fluctuation Geographic information system Digital elevation model Recharge (mm/year) Average of annual precipitations (mm/year) Average concentration of chloride from rainfall (mg/l) Average concentration of chloride from groundwater (mg/l) The annual rainfall (mm) Annual recharge (mm) The average air temperature in (°C) Dimensionless calibration parameter Calibrated parameter Calibrated parameter Efficient infiltration for moderate permeability (mm) Efficient infiltration for low permeability
Water resources are considered to be the most important components in arid regions where rainfall is low and evapotranspiration is high (Tweed et al. 2011). This importance is especially heightened in the case of high consumption where groundwater is exploited for agricultural and industrial activities in addition to the urban use. Other factors can generally influence the groundwater availability such as global warming (Woldeamlak et al. 2007; Carneiro et al. 2009; Piao et al. 2010; Singh and Kumar 2010; Boughariou et al. 2013) and sea intrusi
