Groundwater prospect map of Egypt's Qena Valley using data fusion

Abstract

Groundwater is a precious resource of limited extent in arid and hyper-arid regions. Over the last few years, the demand for water supply has increased because of increasing population, urbanisation and agricultural activities. This is particularly true in developing countries like Egypt. In this article, an integrated approach of remote sensing (RS) and geographic information systems (GIS) methodologies was used to delineate groundwater potential zones. The selected location is Qena Valley (Wadi Qena) in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. Landsat enhanced thematic mapper and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission data were employed to prepare a groundwater prospection map. This was done by integrating slope, drainage, geology–geomorphology and lineament density maps through GIS techniques. These thematic maps were integrated after assigning weight factors to identify features in each case depending on infiltration properties. This resulted in classifying the region into six categories of groundwater potentiality from excellent to very low. The alluvial and flood plains consisting of thick sand and gravel strata were proven to be the most favourable zones for groundwater exploration. Field information and existing geophysical data were employed to validate the groundwater potential map. The overall results demonstrate that RS and GIS techniques provide powerful tools for better assessing, planning and monitoring of water resources in arid regions.