Morphotectonic controls on hydro-environmental hazards in rift basins: a case study from Southern Suez Canal Province, Egypt

Abstract

Background The Southern Suez Canal Province (SSCP) has recently encountered hydro-environmental hazards such as water logging and soil salinization, both of which impede the efficient land use planning. Purpose This study aims to assess the hydro-environmental threats to SSCP and identify the key factors that contribute to their occurrence. Previous research has demonstrated that the Gulf of Suez Rifting-related tectonic movements have a significant impact on the entire SSCP region. The influence of tectonic setting on the development of hydro-environmental dangers was not examined in almost any studies. Methods Remote sensing, GIS, hydrogeological, and geophysical techniques are used to identify and assess topographic, hydrogeological, and tectonic variables that affect hydro-environmental hazards in the SSCP. Results This study found that the distributions of water logging, saturated soil salinization, urban areas, and vegetation cover changed more dramatically between 1984 and 2015. The expansion of water logging area (+10.68 km2 rating +0.35 km2/y), saturated saline soil (+24.40 km2 rating +0.79 km2/y), and urbanized area (+58.43 km2 rating +1.89 km2/y) is strongly associated to the expansion of vegetation cover (+188.13 km2 at a rate of 6.07 km2/y). This could imply that growing agricultural expansion and urbanization are influencing the dominance of hydro-environmental hazards in SSCP. The distribution of water logging features identified on the land cover map corresponds closely to a buried horst structure dominating the middle part of the surveyed area. Conclusion The lowland water logging features of the SSCP provide support for the hypothesis that the buried horst structure that dominates the Miocene and pre-Miocene strata has an impact on the thickness and groundwater flow regime of the quaternary aquifer that lies above. The present study came to the conclusion that the shallow depth of groundwater, the vast expanse of newly cultivated lands, the impervious clay layer beneath the thin topsoil layer, and the low topography are the key factors influencing the development of water logging and soil salinization features in SSCP.