Quantitative hydro-geophysical analysis of a complex structural karst aquifer in Eastern Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The Umm er Radhuma (UER) Formation is a major karst aquifer in Saudi Arabia. This study investigated the hydraulic and petrophysical characteristics of the folded UER carbonate aquifer using integrated hydrological and geophysical logging datasets to understand its complex hydraulic setting as well as detect possible water flow. Petrophysical analysis showed that the UER aquifer has three zones with different lithologic and hydraulic properties. The upper zone attains the best properties with average values of 20%, >100 mD, 3.30 × 10 −5 –1.34 × 10 −3 m/s, and 1.49 × 10 −3 –6.04 × 10 −2 m 2 /s, with respect to effective porosity, permeability, hydraulic conductivity and transmissivity. The gamma-ray logs indicate a good fracture system near the upper zone of the UER Formation. Pumping test measurements of transmissivity, hydraulic conductivity and storage coefficients were matched with those from geophysical logs and found to be within the expected range for confined and leaky aquifers. Hydrogeological properties were mapped to detect possible groundwater flow in relation to the dominant structure. The underground water of the folded UER aquifer was forced along meandering flow patterns from W-E to SW-NE through the anticlinal axes. The integrated approach can be further used to enhance local aquifer models and improve strategies for identifying the most productive zones in similar aquifer systems.

Assessment of Hydrogeochemical Characteristics and Seawater Intrusion in Coastal Aquifers by Integrating Statistical and Graphical Techniques: Quaternary Aquifer, West Nile Delta, Egypt

“…The obtained chemical data are listed in Table 2. Multivariate statistical analyses were used to provide a quantitative measure of water quality parameters relative to each other and to estimate correlations between chemical parameters and groundwater samples [50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57]. Hierarchical cluster analysis HCA using Ward's linking method and squared Euclidean distance as a dissimilarity metric was used to group parameters by multivariate similarities.…”

Characteristics and Assessment of Groundwater

“…In the short time available, RS and GIS cover a vast and unacceptable region of the earth's surface to assess areas of possible groundwater and to identify natural recharging locations [31]. RS and GIS information are valuable for many geological resources including mineral exploration, hydrogeology conditions, structural, geomorphological, lithological features, depth, and thickness of the aquifer system and other geological areas [32]. Furthermore, in the area of groundwater studies, researchers have used thematic layers such as geomorphology, geology, drainage patterns, lineaments, vegetation, intensities of rainfall, and slopes [33].…”

Assessing heterogeneous groundwater systems: Geostatistical interpretation of well logging data for estimating essential hydrogeological parameters

“…The successful application of this method necessitates the interpretation of geophysical logs sensitive to lithology and water saturation 27 . The main advantage of well logging-based methods is their ability to give continuous profile estimation for petrophysical and hydrogeological parameters crucial to simulating and understanding the hydrodynamic conditions of the heterogeneous groundwater systems 28 , 29 .…”