TY - JOUR
T1 - Relationship between geological structures and groundwater flow and groundwater salinity in Al Jaaw Plain, United Arab Emirates; mapping and analysis by means of remote sensing and GIS
AU - Elmahdy, Samy Ismail
AU - Mohamed, Mohamed Mostafa
PY - 2014/3
Y1 - 2014/3
N2 - Geological structures can be of great influence groundwater movement and accumulation in the surface and subsurface, and should therefore be taken into consideration in studies related to groundwater contamination impact. This study attempts to investigate the influence of geological structures on groundwater flow and groundwater salinity in Al Jaaw Plain, United Arab Emirates. A set of thematic maps derived from digital elevation model (DEM), LANDSAT, and Spaceborn Imagine Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar were enhanced by applying Soble filter with 10 % threshold and equalization enhancement to reveal and map geological structures crosscut the entire region. Drainage pattern was derived from DEM automatically using D8 algorithm. The algorithm determines in which neighboring pixel any water in a central pixel will flow naturally. The trends of geological structures and drainage pattern extracted from remote sensing data were correlated with the spatial variation of hydraulic head, thickness aquifer, and groundwater salinity in the region. The results of the study reveal that the wadi courses, thickness of the aquifer, and topography are structural controlled by NNW-SSE, NE-SW, and ENE-WSW trending fault zones, significantly influencing the groundwater flow and groundwater contamination in Al Jaaw Plain.
AB - Geological structures can be of great influence groundwater movement and accumulation in the surface and subsurface, and should therefore be taken into consideration in studies related to groundwater contamination impact. This study attempts to investigate the influence of geological structures on groundwater flow and groundwater salinity in Al Jaaw Plain, United Arab Emirates. A set of thematic maps derived from digital elevation model (DEM), LANDSAT, and Spaceborn Imagine Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar were enhanced by applying Soble filter with 10 % threshold and equalization enhancement to reveal and map geological structures crosscut the entire region. Drainage pattern was derived from DEM automatically using D8 algorithm. The algorithm determines in which neighboring pixel any water in a central pixel will flow naturally. The trends of geological structures and drainage pattern extracted from remote sensing data were correlated with the spatial variation of hydraulic head, thickness aquifer, and groundwater salinity in the region. The results of the study reveal that the wadi courses, thickness of the aquifer, and topography are structural controlled by NNW-SSE, NE-SW, and ENE-WSW trending fault zones, significantly influencing the groundwater flow and groundwater contamination in Al Jaaw Plain.
KW - Al Ain
KW - Al Jaaw Plain
KW - GIS
KW - Groundwater
KW - Remote sensing
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84896730622&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84896730622&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s12517-013-0895-4
DO - 10.1007/s12517-013-0895-4
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84896730622
SN - 1866-7511
VL - 7
SP - 1249
EP - 1259
JO - Arabian Journal of Geosciences
JF - Arabian Journal of Geosciences
IS - 3
ER -