Groundwater resources evaluation in calcareous limestone using geoelectrical and VLF-EM surveys (El Salloum Basin,Egypt)

Understanding and developing groundwater resources in arid regions such as El Salloum basin, along the northwestern coast of Egypt, remains a challenging issue. One-dimensional (1D) electrical sounding (ES), two-dimensional (2D) electrical resistivity imaging (ERI), and very low frequency electromagnetic (VLF-EM) measurements were used to investigate the hydrogeological framework of El Salloum basin with the aim of determining the potential for extraction of potable water. 1D resistivity sounding models were used to delineate geoelectric sections and water-bearing layers. 2D ERI highlighted decreases in resistivity with depth, attributed to clay-rich limestone combined with seawater intrusion towards the coast. A depth of investigation (DOI) index was used to constrain the information content of the images at depths up to 100 m. The VLF-EM survey identified likely faults/fractured zones across the study area. A combined analysis of the datasets of the 1D ES, 2D ERI, and VLF-EM methods identified potential zones of groundwater, the extent of seawater intrusion, and major hydrogeological structures (fracture zones) in El Salloum basin. The equivalent geologic layers suggest that the main aquifer in the basin is the fractured chalky limestone middle Miocene) south of the coastal plain of the study area. Sites likely to provide significant volumes of potable water were identified based on relatively high resistivity and thickness of laterally extensive layers. The most promising locations for drilling productive wells are in the south and southeastern parts of the region, where the potential for potable groundwater increases substantially.

     

Evaporitic sedimentation and microbial mats in a salina system (Port Fouad,Egypt)

A salina system along the Mediterranean coast of Egypt was investigated. Five sedimentary facies are described. For each facies, the evaporitic sedimentation and the biological conditions are considered. Comparisons of evaporite precipitates in the salina with ancient deposits are made.     

Use of remote sensing, GIS and groundwater monitoring to estimate artificial groundwater recharge in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

This study aims to estimate artificial recharge of groundwater by using remote sensing technology, geographical information systems, and groundwater surveys. This study is part of the King Fahd project for rainfall and runoff water harvesting, within the premises of Alilb Dam in Diriyah to the west of Riyadh. Digital elevation models were obtained with the help of aerial photography from the year 2007. These models were used to delineate watershed. Average rainfall was calculated using isoheytal method, and the area of each of the storage lakes was measured using SPOT 5 satellite images from 2007. Fluctuations in groundwater levels, evaporation, and infiltration rates were used to determine the water balance for the purpose of estimating of artificial recharge. Artificial recharge rates were found to surpass natural recharge from rainfall. Recharge wells caused a reduction in the effect of evaporation on storage lakes and helped in supplying water to the groundwater reservoir. Moreover, 80% and 86% of the rainwater was found to be available for artificial recharge in Alilb at 2005 and 2007, respectively. The study recommends the establishment of strategic projects for water storage using artificial recharge wells, an increase in the number of monitoring wells around the dams, and the monitoring of hydrochemical changes in groundwater both before and after the artificial recharge. It also recommends the erection of a weather station in the northwest of Wadi Hanifa.     

Factors controlling mechanisms of groundwater salinization and hydrogeochemical processes in the Quaternary aquifer of the Eastern Nile Delta, Egypt

In this study, combining interpretations of conservative dissolved ions and environmental isotopes in water were used to investigate the main factors and mechanisms controlling groundwater salinization and hydrogeochemical processes in the Eastern Nile Delta, Egypt. Hydrogeochemical and isotopic study has been carried out for 61 water samples from the study area. Total dissolved solid (TDS) contents of groundwater are highly variable rising along flowpath from the south (410 mg/L) to the north (14,784 mg/L), implying significant deterioration and salinization of groundwater. Based on TDS and ionic ratios, groundwater samples were classified into three groups. In low-saline groups, water chemistry is greatly influenced by cation exchange, mineral dissolution/precipitation, anthropogenic pollutants and mixing with surface water. Whilst, in high-saline groups, water chemistry is affected by salt-water intrusion, reverse cation exchange and evaporation. The chemical constituents originating from saline water sources, reverse ion exchange and mineral dissolution are successfully differentiated using ionic delta and saturation index approaches. The δ¹⁸O–δ²H relationship plots on a typical evaporation line, suggesting potential evaporation of the recharging water prior to infiltration. Isotope evidence concludes that the groundwater have been considerably formed by mixing between depleted meteoric water recharged under different climatic conditions and recently infiltrating enriched surface water and excess of irrigation water. The δ¹⁸O data in conjunction with chloride concentrations provide firm evidence for impact of dissolution of marine-origin evaporite deposits, during past geologic periods, on groundwater salinity in the northern region. Moreover, the relation between ¹⁴C activities and Cl^? concentration confirms this hypothesis.     

Complex impact assessment of coastal development in the United Arab Emirates using GIS: a case study of Wurayah Biosphere Reserve

Wadi Wurayah area is one of the major wadis originating and running on the Oman Mountains and drains into the Oman Gulf. These wadis in general and Wadi Wurayah in particular are characterized with a rich diversity of rare and mountainous and freshwater habitats and species. These wadis contain unequal, representative, and sensitive areas of the dry lands ecosystem with natural, outstanding landscapes and cultural heritage, while the socioeconomic situation indicates that it has enough socioeconomic infrastructures to develop new alternatives ecologically and economically sustainable. As most of the United Arab Emirates and the region, the study area is undergoing dramatic changes linked to economic diversification and promotion of tourism. Established under the UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Program, Wurayah Biosphere Reserve represents protected areas intended to demonstrate well-balanced relationship between conservation of biodiversity and an appropriate local development. The main objectives of this study are to develop an environmental information system to understand the dynamics of human activities associated to land use in the study area, highlight the threats to the environment, educate people about the basic environmental issues and positive traditional practices, and promote tourism. Based on the gained results, the concept of biosphere reserve as a model is to implement ideas of sustainable land use in practice.     

Stratigraphy of the Cenomanian–Turonian Oceanic Anoxic Event OAE2 in shallow shelf sequences of NE Egypt

Two shallow water late Cenomanian to early Turonian sequences of NE Egypt have been investigated to evaluate the response to OAE2. Age control based on calcareous nannoplankton, planktic foraminifera and ammonite biostratigraphies integrated with δ¹³C stratigraphy is relatively good despite low diversity and sporadic occurrences. Planktic and benthic foraminiferal faunas are characterized by dysoxic, brackish and mesotrophic conditions, as indicated by low species diversity, low oxygen and low salinity tolerant planktic and benthic species, along with oyster-rich limestone layers. In these subtidal to inner neritic environments the OAE2 δ¹³C excursion appears comparable and coeval to that of open marine environments. However, in contrast to open marine environments where anoxic conditions begin after the first δ¹³C peak and end at or near the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary, in shallow coastal environments anoxic conditions do not appear until the early Turonian. This delay in anoxia appears to be related to the sea-level transgression that reached its maximum in the early Turonian, as observed in shallow water sections from Egypt to Morocco.     

Electrical and electromagnetic surveys to locate possible causes of water seepage to ground surface at a quarry open pit near Helwan city,Egypt

Water seepage to ground surface at a limestone quarry located at Wadi Garawy about 20 km south-east of Helwan city in Egypt posed a real threat to the mining activity at the quarry. The quarry area is known to be very dry for decades and away from water utilities and infrastructures that may cause water leaks to the quarry. Geophysical investigation including 1D Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES), 2D Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) and 1D Transient Electromagnetic (TEM) surveys were conducted to characterize the rock sequence and locate what could be a possible source of water seepage to the quarry. The resistivity profiles generated from the VES and TEM surveys mapped the rock units in the area down to depths exceeded 100 m. The ERT profiles acquired from the quarrying zone close to the water seepage spot have imaged the top of groundwater level at few meters below the ground surface at the quarry open pit. The spot of groundwater seepage seemed to occur at an area of limestone dissolution that were filled by finer sediments. The finer sediments acted as a hydrological conduit that allowed an upward seepage of groundwater to ground surface under the capillary action effect.     

Engineering geology of Mokattam city and vicinity, eastern Greater Cairo, Egypt

A highly jointed, highly fossiliferous, vuggy and sandy dolomitic limestone, the Ain Musa Bed, is the foundation bed rock of Mokattam city. The slopes southwestern sides of the Upper Plateau of Gebel Mokattam, where the city was built, have been affected by slope failure and retreat of the edge of the and a road have been damaged. A 55 m slope retreat took place between 1956 and 1989. A field model is proposed for the slope failure in this area where foundation bed rock are removed by erosion after swelling and flowing, which is due to saturation by leaking fresh and sewage water. The resulting unde bed rock leads to slope failure of large blocks where vertical joints act as potential failure surfaces. Several recommendations are proposed to decrea failure in the city.

The Upper Plateau of Gebel Mokattam is underlain by limestones of the Middle Plateau where a new suburb is being built. A comparison between the geolog properties of the foundation bed rocks of the Upper and Middle Plateaux indicates that the limestones of the latter are more suitable foundation bed ro with expansive clays and are composed of hard, micritic limestones with a few megafossils and no cavities. Rock mass properties are also different and are stable.     

Discussion of “Interfacing the geographic information system,remote sensing,and the soil conservation service-curve number method to estimate curve number and runoff volume in the ASIR region of Saudi Arabia” by Fawzi S. Mohammad,Jan Adamowski

The soil conservation service curve number (SCS-CN) method is one of the most commonly used methods to compute the direct runoff from a rainfall event. Since the method was established, numerous researches were undertaken to improve the method through accurate estimation of its parameter and especially the curve number (CN). However, the essence of the SCS method, as an event-based Hortonian mechanism method, remained unchanged. The main assumption of the method related to the rainfall input is that the rainfall is continuous in time and uniform over the watershed. Mohammad and Adamowski (2015) paper apparently used the SCS method to estimate the annual runoff using the annual rainfall as one cumulative rainfall input value, which is a violation of the event-based principle of the method and of the assumption of the continuity of the rainfall event.To re-estimate the average annual runoff more realistically for the Asir region, Saudi Arabia, daily rainfall data from 14 rainfall stations are used for calculating the resulting runoff depths, on a daily event-by-event rainfall basis, throughout the whole simulation period. The resulting runoff depths are added for each year, and the total cumulative annual runoff values for each year are averaged to get the average annual runoff. The runoff values based on the previously mentioned procedure are an upper limit of the actual average annual runoff as the underlying SCS equations discard evaporation and similar long-term losses. Nevertheless, the average runoff values obtained in the discussion paper are an order of magnitude (at least five to tenfold) lower than the ones of the original paper. An equation is proposed to obtain a more realistic estimate of the average annual runoff, to be used with the average annual rainfall as an input, if the annual value is the only available rainfall information.