Investigation of Groundwater Potential Using Remote Sensing and Hydro-geophysical Techniques: A Case Study of the Telidjene Basin (Eastern Algeria)

Abstract

The present study aims to assess groundwater potential in the Telidjene Basin located in the semi-arid part of eastern Algeria, applying an innovative approach combining both remote sensing and hydrogeophysics methods. A re-interpretation of geophysical data and vertical electrical sounding (VES) measurements were applied and calibrated with the borehole data to map the deep structures that may control the presence of groundwater and identify the geological and hydrogeological setting. Morphometric factors affecting recharge were mapped using several types of remote sensing data (SRTM DEM, Landsat-8). Thematic maps were overlaid using the multicriteria method and GIS to detect potential recharge areas. The results show that the main factors influencing recharge are fracturing and drainage density. Four potential recharge areas were identified over a 547 km² area of the basin. 20% of the area falls in the weakest class, 32% in the weak class, 3% in the moderate, and 16% in the strongest. Furthermore, the study reveals that an alluvial aquifer with a thickness of up to 60m, spreading over the surface, along the Wadi Telijene and the alluvial soil, is deposited unconformably on Cretaceous terrain containing aquifer horizons of varying thickness and different electrical resistivities (10–150 Ωm), drawing an anticlinal structure with lithostratigraphy interrupted by a series of faults and spurs of Aptian and Triassic age. The south-western part of the basin has a high to moderate recharge and storage capacity. Its alluvial cover is directly fed by precipitation and fractured limestones deposited in a syncline outcropping on the edges forming an alluvial and carbonate bilayer aquifer. This study concluded that an integrated approach, involving recent, efficient, and inexpensive technology, such as remote sensing and conventional geophysical method, can be successfully used to identify groundwater potential in the study area.