Contribution of ASTER-TIR indices with geophysical and geospatial data for groundwater prospecting in El-Qaa plain area,
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S. I. SCJGE-1 2019
Contribution of ASTER-TIR indices with geophysical and geospatial data for groundwater prospecting in El-Qaa plain area, Southern Sinai, Egypt Hatem Aboelkhair 1,2
&
Abd-Alrahman Embaby 1 & Mohamed Mesalam 1
Received: 18 May 2020 / Accepted: 7 October 2020 # Saudi Society for Geosciences 2020
Abstract El-Qaa plain in the South Sinai is one of Egypt’s promising regions for sustainable development. The groundwater forms the primary sources of development in this region. The present study aims to identify the groundwater resources in El-Qaa plain area, Southern Sinai, Egypt. ASTER-TIR indices (Carbonate Index, Quartz Index, and Mafic Index) combined for the first ones with geophysical and geospatial data using fuzzy overlay spatial model (FOSM) to define the potential zones of groundwater in the area of study. The resultant model was tested and validated using the available well data of groundwater in the area of study. The results revealed that over 65% of EL-Qaa area is high to moderate with groundwater potentiality. The favorable areas for groundwater storing are nearly situated in the areas of high infiltration (high pixel values of carbonate and quartz indices) in the northwestern part of EL-Qaa area. Also, the regions in the central western, mid, and northeastern portions of the area of study where fractured rocks are dominant and reasonably higher rainfall. The results demonstrated the potential capacity of ASTERTIR indices to assess groundwater potential in arid and semi-arid regions when integrated with other geospatial data as a reconnaissance tool. Keywords Sinai . El-Qaa plain . Remote sensing . GIS . Fuzzy overlay . Groundwater potentiality
Introduction The rising demand for water has put tremendous pressure on groundwater supplies in the regions where groundwater is the primary source of water. So, groundwater research planning using modern techniques is important for proper security, management, and utilization of this precious resource. For many decades, the groundwater potentiality has been studied using geophysical methods and aerial photo interpretation, but computer-based multidisciplinary analysis using
This article is part of the Topical Collection on Current Advances in Geological Research of Egypt * Hatem Aboelkhair [email protected] 1
Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Damietta University, New Damietta, Egypt
2
Center of Space Research and Applications (CSRA), Damietta University, New Damietta, Egypt
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has rarely been used in groundwater investigation in Egypt (Elewa and Qaddah 2011). Hence, there is a motivation for the present work, which focuses primarily on groundwater exploration in the El-Qaa plain using the integration of various research tools and techniques, such as geophysics, remote sensing, and GIS, rather than traditional hydrogeological mapping. Mapping of potential regions of groundwater has become an easy process with the advent of remote sensing, geophysical methods, and Geographic Information System (G
