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Groundwater potential zone assessment in Wadi Watir area, Egypt using radar data and GIS

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Abstract

The exploration of new locations for possible groundwater potentiality is required to support the needs of urban and agricultural activities in arid regions such as Wadi Watir basin. The aim of this study is to locate new groundwater wells that can help overcome the water shortage. In order to define favorable zones for groundwater potentiality, several essential factors contributing to groundwater potentiality were identified. These factors include textural classification of alluvial deposits, lithological units, surface and subsurface structures, topographic parameters, geomorphological features and land use/land cover. A hydrogeological prospective model was developed using spatial data which represent these factors. For final groundwater potential map, all factors were converted to raster data to integrate spatially as important thematic layers based on weightage analysis. The groundwater potential map was classified to five classes including very poor to very good potential. The classes of groundwater potential map were checked against the distribution of the groundwater wells, Bedouin communities and agriculture areas, which present a general knowledge of groundwater potential in the study area.

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Acknowledgments

The author greatly thanks National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), for providing satellite image. I wish to express sincere gratitude and appreciation to Prof. Dr. Samir Khwasik, Professor of Structural Geology, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Egypt, for his encouragement and recommendations. I thank the Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research for his financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Spatial Analysis, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA

    Sara M. Abuzied

  2. Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt

    Sara M. Abuzied

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Correspondence to Sara M. Abuzied.

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Abuzied, S.M. Groundwater potential zone assessment in Wadi Watir area, Egypt using radar data and GIS. Arab J Geosci 9, 501 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-016-2519-2

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