Land use/land cover change impact on groundwater quantity and quality: a case study of Ajman Emirate, the United Arab Em
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Land use/land cover change impact on groundwater quantity and quality: a case study of Ajman Emirate, the United Arab Emirates, using remote sensing and GIS Samy Ismail Elmahdy 1 & Mohamed Mostafa Mohamed 1,2
Received: 18 August 2015 / Accepted: 18 October 2016 # Saudi Society for Geosciences 2016
Abstract Ajman is a rapidly urbanizing emirate with land development succeeding at a fast pace. This study aims to monitor land use/land cover changes and assesses the impact of these changes on groundwater quality and quantity of the shallow aquifer using multitemporal remote sensing data and geographic information system (GIS). To monitor the land use/land cover changes, the Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM) and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) algorithms were utilized. The obtained maps were correlated against a set of total dissolved solid (TDS); Mg, Cl, and NO 3 groundwater quality index; and depth to the groundwater table maps constructed from groundwater data. The spatial analysis revealed a sharp depletion in groundwater quality and quantity related to the increase in the land use/land cover classes. The mean total TDS is from 21,971 to 26,450 mg/L and depth to groundwater level from −12.33 to −17.2 m over a period of 15 years. Maps of normalized difference and groundwater quality sustainability showed that the eastern side of the study area has a high value of groundwater quality sustainability and normalized difference, while the western side of the study area has a minimal value of
* Samy Ismail Elmahdy [email protected] Mohamed Mostafa Mohamed [email protected] 1
Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, College of Engineering United Arab Emirates University, P.O. Box 15551, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates
2
Irrigation and Hydraulics Department, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, P.O. Box 12211, Giza, Egypt
groundwater quality sustainability and normalized difference. This study is of great assistance for decision makers and land developers to relate to municipal land allotment in rapidly developing regions such as Ajman. Keywords Ajman . Remote sensing . GIS . Groundwater quality . UAE
Introduction Groundwater is one of the most important sources of groundwater for drinking and human activities such as irrigation and industry in the Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Change detection is an essential process in monitoring urban changes and provides quantitative analysis of the spatial distribution of the region of interest (Schmitt and Brisco 2013). Water quality assessment involves estimating of the chemical and biological nature of water in relation to natural quality, human effects, and intended uses, particularly uses which may affect human health and the health of the aquatic system itself (UNESCO/WHO/UNEP 1996). The impacts of urban and land development on groundwater quality have been widely investigated using geographic information system (GIS) (e.g., Hirschberg 1991). Nas and Berktay (2008) and Mohamed and Elmahdy (2016) have studied
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