Investigation of Groundwater Potential Zones in Hard Rock Terrain, Wadi Na'man, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

In arid and hyper‐arid zones, groundwater exploration is one of the most significant ways to locate potential new water supplies. Geophysical prospecting is currently the most successfully used method for locating new supplies, but it is rather costly. Satellite remote sensing (RS) detection, however, with its integration of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provides the best chance for identifying and initially evaluating water‐bearing formations. In the western part of Saudi Arabia, Wadi Na'man has for centuries been one of the major water sources for the city of Makkah Al‐Mukarramah. It is therefore very important to find appropriate groundwater potential (GP) zones in this wadi for water supply. This study utilizes RS and GIS techniques, and also studies the hydrogeological, geological, and geomorphological characteristics that have significant impact on groundwater occurrence in Wadi Na'man. Representative layers are generated for each component and each given a weight ratio that depends on the level of influence. The overlay and integration of these thematic layers was used to produce a map that shows the most promising potential groundwater areas and classifies local potentials as either low, medium, or high. The results also reveal that the areas overall‐rated as “promising” (i.e., classified as medium or high) represent approximately 17‐25% of the total basin area and consist mainly of Quaternary sediments and connected fractured rock areas.

Mapping of Groundwater Potential Zones in Crystalline Terrain Using Remote Sensing, GIS Techniques, and Multicriteria Data Analysis (Case of the Ighrem Region, Western Anti-Atlas, Morocco)

“…This confirms that in the middle of the crystalline basement only the fractures are the real underground water corridors. These results are matching with the work of [27][28][29][30].…”

Integration of GIS-based Multi-criteria Analysis Techniques for the Delineation of Groundwater Potential Zones in Oyo state, Nigeria using Bayes’ Approach

“…Table 3 shows the normalised weights of the thematic layers and the sub-classes. The ranking of the thematic layers is in line with the study of Algaydi et al (2019) carried out in similar terrain. The sub-classes were ranked according to Arulbalaji et al (2019) and Jesiya and Gopinath (2020).…”

Modeling phreatic levels in a rural watershed in Lontras, High Itajaí Valley, SC-Brazil

“…A elevação dos níveis do PZ2127, localizado no exutório da bacia hidrográfica, está relacionada a menor declividade encontrada nesta área, que tende a intensificar o processo de infiltração da água no solo. Resultado semelhante foi obtido por Algaydi et al (2019) que identificaram que áreas mais propensas a elevação dos níveis freáticos e armazenamento de água subterrânea são aquelas com menores declividades.…”