Subsurface thermal regime to delineate the paleo-groundwater flow system in an arid area, Al Kufra, Libya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to understand the groundwater flow system in Al Kufra basin, Libya, as a case study of arid areas using subsurface temperature. The temperature-depth profiles and water levels were measured in eight boreholes in the area. Well 6 is considered a recharge type profile with low geothermal gradient (0.0068°C/m) and an estimated paleo-temperature around 19.5°C. The other profiles are of discharge type with higher geothermal gradient (0.0133 to 0.0166°C/m). The constructed horizontal 2D distribution maps of the hydraulic heads and the subsurface temperature measurements reveal that the main recharge area is located to the south with low temperature while the main discharge area is located to the north with higher temperature. Vertical 2D distribution maps show that location of well 4 has low hydraulic heads and higher temperature indicating that the fault defined in the area may have affected the groundwater flow system. The estimated groundwater flux ranges from 0.001 to 0.1mm/day for the recharge area and from −0.3 to −0.7mm/day in average in the discharge area.