There is an urgent need for greater water resources to support sustainable development in Ras Gara area of southwestern Sinai. Determining the water-bearing zones of the shallow Quaternary aquifer of the Araba Formation in the study region is therefore the main objective of the research. This will be done by using a variety of geophysical techniques, such as DC resistivity sounding and shallow seismic refraction surveys. Using the Schlumberger array (max. AB = 1200 m), the DC data were gathered at 27 VES locations along five primary profiles. At the same locations, 27 spreads totaling 115 m in length of seismic data were also performed. One-dimensional laterally constrained (1D-LCI) inversion is only applied to the DC data in order to generate a best-fit model, whereas 2D inversion is applied to other datasets. The area is divided up into five geo-electrical layers based on the results of 1D-LCI inversion of DC data, and the aquifer is classified into fresh (third layer) and saline bearing-zones (fourth layer). The resistivity values of the fresh-zone range from 8.7 to 26.7 Ω.m, with only low values (5–7.5 Ω.m) found at some VES sites, while the resistivity values of the saline-zone range between 0.9 and 3 Ω.m, except for (14.4 Ω.m) at VES-04. At depths of (2.4–15.6 m) and (8.7–28.5 m) for the fresh and saline zones, respectively. In this region, the shallow low resistive (about 10–100 Ω.m) and intermediate high conductive (< 10 Ω.m) layers of the 2D-DC inverted model represent the fresh and saline zones of the aquifer, respectively. The basement rocks were represented by a deep, extremely high resistive layer that can reach 40,000 Ω.m. Three subsurface layers are identified from the results of the 2D inversion of seismic data (VP1 = 400–1100 m.s−1, VP2 = 1200–1900 m.s−1 and VP3 = 2400–5400 m.s−1). The saturated zone of this aquifer is represented by the second layer (depth, 3.7–20.5 m). The basement rocks are also reflected in the last layer of high velocity. The inversion results and the previously available hydro-geological map data show a good degree of concordance. In the eastern portion of the study area, additional water wells could be drilled for additional water resources.
In the arid climate area north of Tenth of Ramadan City, southeast of the Nile Delta, Egypt, it is necessary to search for additional water resources for sustainable developments such as agricultural and industrial activities. Thirty two vertical electrical soundings (VES) of a electrical resistivity (DC) survey were carried out along four main profiles by using the Schlumberger array with electrode distances (AB/2) up to 500 m, to explore the shallow Pleistocene groundwater aquifer. The collected data was interpreted by a one-dimensional laterally constrained inversion (1D-LCI) and two-dimensional inversion algorithms to derive a best fit layered-earth resistivity model. The derived resistivity sections are geologically well interpreted based on information taken from the available water boreholes (P2-Well and P3-Well). The lateral constraints are part of the inversion where all data sets are inverted simultaneously, and consequently the output models are balanced between the constraints and the data-model fit. The 1D-LCI offers good analysis of the model parameters, which was successfully used to characterize a zone of groundwater aquifer, as it produces a laterally smooth model with sharp layer boundaries. The 1D-LCI inversion results show that the study area is subdivided into five geo-electrical layers of varied resistivity and thickness. In particular, the resistivity values of the last layer range between 9.3 and 110 Ωm representing the existing shallow Pleistocene aquifer located at depths between 134.5 and 118.4 m. Such results are tied and confirmed well with the results of the 2D inversion of the DC data. It reveals three interpreted geo-electric layers along the four profiles and shows that the area is affected by some normal faults striking nearly in the E–W direction. The very low resistivities of the groundwater aquifer beneath the agricultural part of the survey area probably indicates contamination due to the possible effect of irrigation operated in the cultivated lowlands. The results obtained could help the stakeholder to find additional information about the ground water aquifers in the newly reclaimed arid area and possible locations of new sites for drilling new water wells as additional water resources.
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