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Groundwater exploration using drainage pattern and geophysical data: a case study from Wadi Qena, Egypt

Groundwater exploration using drainage pattern and geophysical data: a case study from Wadi Qena,... In the Wadi Qena region, the digital elevation model (DEM), aeromagnetic, and magnetotelluric data are processed and examined to outline surface water flow patterns, the subsurface structures, demonstrate their effects on the groundwater flow direction, and assess the groundwater aquifer thickness and the relationship between subsurface structures and the inherited surface water flow (drainage pattern). Wadi Qena’s drainage pattern and watershed basins were delineated using satellite digital elevation data in order to accomplish these objectives. The first vertical derivative transformation was used and examined to determine the prevailing northwest-southeast and northeast-southwest structural trends impacting the region. In order to handle aeromagnetic data, it is necessary first to reduce the observed magnetic data such that they correspond to the reduced magnetic pole (RTP). The two-dimensional analytical signal technique was used to discover that the depth of the basement rocks, which in the research region serve as the bedrock of the overlying groundwater aquifer, ranges from 101 to − 1165 m relative to sea level. This information was obtained by measuring the distance from the earth’s surface to the bedrock. To further define the accurate subsurface geological model in the region, the conducted magnetotelluric survey in the area was interpreted using the 1-D inversion technique, and the results were coupled with the existing drill data. The base of the groundwater aquifer was discovered to be between 350 and 410 m deep. Finally, the results are reliable and closely related to earlier geological and geophysical investigations in the studied area. Keywords Magnetic · Magnetotelluric · Groundwater potentiality · Wadi Qena · Egypt Introduction in the opposite direction of the Nile River, eventually joining it at Qena Bend. The Wadi Qena drainage system takes occa- In Egypt’s Eastern Desert, Wadi Qena is a significant geologi- sional rainfall from numerous catchment regions and runs it cal feature that may be found. One of the wadis in the Eastern till it enters the mainstream. The research region is northeast Desert that has the most considerable length, this valley in of Qena Government, between latitudes 28° 00′ and 26° 30′ Egypt runs from north to south and has a breadth of about N and longitudes 32° 15′ and 33° 45′ E. 40 km, making it one of the longest wadis in the region. This This area has been the subject of numerous prior stud- wadi was developed along an unconformable contact between ies to understand better the geological, geomorphological, the Red Sea mountains of Precambrian basement rocks in the and hydrological settings of Wadi Qena. For example, to east and sedimentary rocks in the west. Wadi Qena encom- identify locations with groundwater resources in the Wadi passes around 18,000 km of land. The valley extends south Qena basin, Hussien et al. (2016) used integrated remote sensing, geophysical, and geological field research, as well as geochemical and isotopic methods. Abdelkareem and Responsible Editor: Narasimman Sundararajan El-Baz (2015) evaluated different types of satellite data, including imagery, radar, multi-spectral data, and enhanced * Arwa Alkholy thematic mapper to present an overall picture of the Wadi [email protected] Qena region’s origin. National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics, Many authors have employed remote sensing data signi- Helwan, Cairo, Egypt fied by the DEM data in groundwater research; for exam- Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Mansoura ple, Elmahdy and Mohamed (2014) evaluated the influence University, Mansoura, Egypt Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 92 Page 2 of 14 Arab J Geosci (2023) 16:92 of geological formations on groundwater accumulation and development. Boubaya (2017) also made use of drilling movement direction in Al Jaaw Plain using DEM data. logs, hydrogeological data, magnetic data, vertical elec- A similar application was given by Taha et  al. (2021), trical sounding (VES), and other methods to identify the Meneisy and Al Deep (2021), Al Deep et  al. (2021), existence of groundwater in the western Algerian region Mohamed et al. (2022), and Meneisy and Al Deep (2021). known as the Maghnia Plain. For groundwater investigation in regions with low rates On the other hand, Agyemang (2020) outlined the high of precipitation, Khodaei and Nassery (2011) employed groundwater potential zones in the Ghanaian district of the Landsat ETM, IRS (pan), SPOT, and digital elevation Agona East using the magnetotelluric (MT) data. Addi- model (Southwest of Urmieh, Northwest of Iran). The tionally, Li et al. (2017) evaluated the fracture zones in the magnetic data are used for many propose, as represented Boshan region of Shandong Province, China, that have a by Meneisy et  al. (2021), which used the aeromagnetic low resistivity and may be a water-bearing medium by con- data to determine the Nubian aquifer’s thickness and sedi- ducting a controlled source audio-frequency magnetotelluric mentary cover. In their 2018 study, Saleh et al. defined the (CSAMT) survey throughout the river valley. Giroux et al. shear zones, basement depth, and geological lineaments (1997) used the findings of nine MT-sounding profiles to at the Barramiya gold mine and the neighboring Eastern calculate the effective porosity of the Maastrichtian aquifer Desert of Egypt using gravity and aeromagnetic data. and offer a valuable description of the geometry at the bot- Ghazala et al. (2018) used potential field data to detect tom of the aquifer. subsurface structures in the Sohag Governorate for urban Fig. 1 Geological map of the study area shows the principal geological formations and the major surface structures, modified after EGSMA (1981) 1 3 Arab J Geosci (2023) 16:92 Page 3 of 14 92 mentioning that the groundwater of this aquifer occurs under Geological setting confined conditions (El-Sawy et al. 2011; Moneim 2014). The Cretaceous rocks enclosed two assembles; the first is Sedimentary rocks are observable in the study area’s west. the formations that belong to the Lower Cretaceous, which In contrast, basement rocks are noticeable in the area’s east, belongs to the Nubian aquifer. The second is the Upper Cre- as illustrated in Fig. 1. The Red Sea mountains, in particular, taceous rocks intercalated with the Nubian Sandstone strata, reveal the earliest units. Sedimentary layers cover these base- primarily limestone, chalk, and shale. In Wadi Qena, marine ment rocks from the Nubian and Post-Nubian deposits. The and near-shore sediments were submerged by sea transgres- Red Sea mountains, which originate from the Pre-Cambrian sion from the late Cretaceous to the Tertiary (Klitzsch et al. era, are located on the eastern side of Wadi Qena, where the 1990). This period was sporadic by an erosional phase that igneous and metamorphic basement rocks are exposed. At removed most limestone and chalks from the wadi. After the same time, the overlaying sedimentary rocks in wadis that and during the Tertiary, the marly chalk and limestone like Wadi Qena and intramountainous regions are between of Paleocene and Eocene time were deposited before the the Paleozoic and Quaternary. The structural configuration regression associated with the closure of the Neo Tethys. of the Pre-Cenomanian period was the primary factor that Quaternary deposits covered a large area of Wadi Qena. determined the distribution of Paleozoic rocks. During the Pleistocene epoch, Egypt was marked by numer- These Paleozoic sediments are in the south of Egypt and ous dramatic events, where it prevailed by an aridity climate outcropped in the investigation area’s northern and western with some fluctuations. Laterally, the conglomerates and parts. In most of Egypt, the Nubian Sandstones serve as sands were deposited in a short pluvial time. This period the country’s most notable groundwater aquifer, spreading was sporadic by a hyper-arid phase during which the Nile continuously on top of the basement from surface exposures deposited silts (Said 1990; Abdalla et al. 2009). to the deepest subsurface in the north of the western desert. The research area is in Egypt’s stable shelf regions, which Depending on the geological and structural conditions, are somewhat flexure and where folding slightly affects the the Nubian Sandstone’s thickness frequently changes and region’s structure (Said 1962). The limestone plateau is rises in the direction to the north. It ranges from about 14 highly affected by the Wadi Qena structures. Wadi Qena in the south to 403 m thick (El-Shamy 1992). It is worth Fig. 2 a Surface structural lineaments of the study area as traced from the geological map of Egypt (EGSMA 1981). b Rose diagram of the sur- face structural lineaments illustrates the azimuth frequency (bearing %) and the percent of total lineation lengths (length %) 1 3 92 Page 4 of 14 Arab J Geosci (2023) 16:92 Fig. 3 a Drainage system map of Wadi Qena and surrounded wadis, plotted over the surface topography map of the study area. b Stream order of Wadi Qena with MT station locations Fig. 4 a The shaded color map of the total magnetic field intensity of the study area after AerService (1983). b The shaded color reduced to the north magnetic pole (RTP) map 1 3 Arab J Geosci (2023) 16:92 Page 5 of 14 92 structures are considered an anticline fold by many authors, Mission (SRTM), is employed. The research region’s terrain, i.e., Hume (1929), Billings (1954), Stern and Hedge (1985), morphology, drainage system, and stream order have been El Gaby et al. (1988), Abdel Ghany (2011), El-Sawy et al. extracted and mapped using DEM data NASA JPL (2013). (2011), Moneim (2014), and Abdel Moneim et al. (2015). It We employ the ArcGIS Hydro tool to create a drainage is one of the oldest geological formations on Egypt’s stable network system from the DEM data. In this tool, the D-8 algo- tectonic shelf. This anticline fold is disturbed by a different rithm introduced by O'Callaghan and Mark (1984) is applied fault system, especially those bounded by the depression of to the data. Moreover, the drainage pattern can be analyzed Wadi Qena from the west (Aggur 1997). In the study region, to calculate the stream order, which numerically represents several surface structural lineaments representing surface each stream’s size. In order to collect the aeromagnetic data faults that have been geologically mapped are illustrated in for the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, the Western Fig. 2a. Geophysical Company of America used an aircraft proton- These faults are identified using the scaled geological free precision magnetometer with a sensor that had a very map of Egypt shown in Fig.  1 (1:2,000,000), which was high sensitivity at the time of approximately 0.01 nT (Aer- released in 1981 by the Egyptian Geological Survey and Service 1983). The sensor was attached to the tail stinger of Mining Authority (EGSMA). A graphic depicts these sur- the aircraft (sheets 1A and 1B) with a scale (1:50,000) are face faults’ azimuth and frequency relationships. According used. These aeromagnetic maps represent the total magnetic to the rose diagram, the NNW-SSE, NE-SW, and ENE-WSW intensity (TMI) field data at an altitude of 120 m above the tendencies are grouped in the main surface structural line- ground surface, with a contour interval of 10 nT. The TMI aments according to their abundance, as shown in Fig. 2b. data was digitized using ArcMap software for further pro- cessing and interpretation. The TMI data were transformed to the north magnetic pole after being corrected for the interna- tional geomagnetic reference field (IGRF) with the following Methodology geomagnetic parameters (total field strength of 42,425 nT; the inclination of 38.89°; and declination of 2.0°). The RTP In order to give high-resolution spatial data for the topog- reduction aims to eliminate the bias in the locations of the raphy of the earth’s surface, the digital elevation model magnetized sources in the areas of intermediate latitudes like (DEM), as measured by the Shuttle Radar Topography Fig. 5 a The first vertical derivative map illustrated with the faults (bearing %), and the blue petals represent the percent of total linea- plotted on the primary trend. b The Rose diagram represented the tion lengths (length %) main subsurface trends; the red petals display the azimuth frequency 1 3 92 Page 6 of 14 Arab J Geosci (2023) 16:92 the study area. The magnetic data may then be used to identify were made for models with various configurations (Talwani the layout of the subsurface structures and the main geologi- et al. 1959). Every one of the predicted magnetic profile’s ori- cal directions, as well as determine the depth of the basement entations extends westerly to the eastern ward direction. The rocks, which will allow one to have a comprehensive grasp of figure displays the locations of the modeled profiles in their the hydrogeological environment under the surface. respective environments (Fig. 8). In the investigated region, the In order to accomplish the structural interpretation of the geological succession comprises two primary rock types: sedi- RTP data, two essential methods are used. First, the struc- mentary cover, which primarily consists of wadi deposits, and tural analysis of the constructed first vertical derivative map basement rocks. In this particular instance, the most simplistic to detect the fault’s locations and directions. This method way to model this succession was to assume a two-layer earth is crucial for investigating groundwater because it may be model, in which the basement is the magnetized source layer. able to identify the primary subsurface water flow pathways. The magnetic susceptibility of the non-magnetized sediments The geological features significantly influence the geom- is assumed to be 0.0001 CGS units, whereas the magnetic etry, direction, and severity of the subsurface faults (Hall susceptibility of the highly magnetized basement is given to 1964). Many researchers have used the same technique, i.e., be 0.027 CGS units. Ghazala (1994), Saleh and Saleh (2012), Khattach et al. Collecting magnetotelluric (MT) data, the natural varia- (2013), Bakheit et al. (2014), and Araffa et al. (2018). The tions of the electric and magnetic natural e fi lds are recorded primary purpose of doing a trend analysis is to sketch out the simultaneously. The magnetic e fi ld is captured entirely, includ - primary structural trends that are responsible for regulating ing its horizontal and vertical components. On the other hand, the flow of groundwater. the only electric field components recorded are the horizontal The second approach makes use of the analytical signal ones. There are several kinds of devices available for use in methodology, which is derived from the data on the total the process of measuring MT data. A technological advance in magnetic field, in order to ascertain the location of the causal the MT recording system is required for simultaneous multi- bodies, which are, for the most part, basement rocks and channel data acquisition. The ADU-07e system is character- their depth. Such a technique is recently used as it is use- ized by a high sampling rate from 128 to 4096 Hz. ful to detect the base of the groundwater aquifer (Nubian The configuration of the equipment used to record the MT aquifer), which delineates the area of greater depth and has data consists of two geoelectric dipoles oriented north–south a greater water reserve. (E ) and east–west (E )with 50-m separation and three y x We used the analytical signal approach to conduct a quan- titative analysis of the TMI data. The amplitude A of the analytical signal may be determined with the assistance of the equation provided by Nabighian (1972, 1974): 2 2 M M M (1) = + + x y z where M is the magnetic field and x , y, and z are the unit vectors of the two horizontal and vertical directions. Following the lead of Roest et al. (1992), the following equation may be used to determine, based on the analytical signal, the depth (d) to the magnetized source bodies: A(x)  ∝ (2) 2 2 x + d where A is the magnetic field at point x. Direct and inverse modeling are two reversed operations typically performed sequentially in two-dimensional modeling. Geosoft Oasis Montaj was used for the 2-D modeling. During the inverse modeling process, a comparison is made between the observed potential effect and the estimated potential impact generated by the inferred potential models. However, using computer software, magnetic and gravitational effects for models with complicated forms have been predicted for every Fig. 6 The shaded color relief map of the analytical signal with con- tour line 0 nT/m delineating high magnetized igneous rocks two-dimensional polygon in the model. These predictions 1 3 Arab J Geosci (2023) 16:92 Page 7 of 14 92 magnetic sensors buried in the ground, which alignment to the may cause by the wind or other reasons, and protect them from north–south and east–west for the two horizontal sensors, and rising the temperature. the third one is buried vertically in the ground. The magnetic The formulation of the Maxwell equation to give the mathe- sensors (H , H , H ) are buried in the ground to protect them matical description of magnetotelluric principles was given by x y z from human and animal disturbance, avoid any movement that Vozoff (1972) as follows: the propagation of electromagnetic Fig. 7 a The selected profiles for analytic signal depth calculations. b Depth map generated from the 2D analytic signal. c 3D plot of Wadi Qena area surface topography and calculated depth 1 3 92 Page 8 of 14 Arab J Geosci (2023) 16:92 waves inside the rocks depends on many variables, i.e., con- and magnetic fields recorded at the surface, may be found ductivity and frequency. The depth where the strength of the by solving the following equations: −1 field is reduced to e is known as the skin depth : z() = (5) 2 x (3) z() =− (6) where  is the magnetic permeability of the vacuum space, 0 k is the earth conductivity, and  is the angular frequency. Assuming that the magnetic permeability  does not differ z() =− significantly in the earth, then the skin depth equation can be (7) approximated as in Eq. (4): (T) ≈ 500 T (4) z() =− i (8) where  = 1∕ (Ω m) is the apparent resistivity of the a a uniform half-space, and T = (s) is the period of electro- The impedance equation was rearranged to produce the magnetic waves. The impedance of the magnetotelluric Z apparent resistivity of medium  (Ωm) (Eq. 9): (m/s), which is represented by a ratio between the electric Fig. 8 Topographic map shows the study area with modeled 2-D magnetic profiles location, drainage network, MT stations, well logging data, and boundary of the basement rocks outcrops 1 3 Arab J Geosci (2023) 16:92 Page 9 of 14 92 2 are relevant to the Wadi Qena area using satellite (DEM) = z a (9) data as well as the subsurface structures using geophysical techniques, mainly aeromagnetic and magnetotelluric data. First, a look at the figure that determines the drainage pattern (Fig.  3a, b) demonstrates that surface water flow, Results and discussion which is produced by rainfall, drains downhill to the Nile Valley from steep limestone escarpments and the Red Sea The primary objective of this research is to establish the Hills in the western and eastern areas, respectively. This nature of the connection that exists between the waterways movement of water takes place in both of these locations. on the surface and the geological features on the surface that The use of aeromagnetic data has the benefit of allowing Fig. 9 Part 1: modeled magnetic profiles from 1 to 3. Part 2: modeled magnetic profiles from 4 to 6 1 3 92 Page 10 of 14 Arab J Geosci (2023) 16:92 for the delineation of the key underlying structural trends, in a direction that is generally north to south. The catchment which, as can be shown in figure, may affect the direction area covers around 15,568.3 km on its whole. that the drainage pattern and the stream order take in the The anomalies have a magnetic field with a strength rang- region (Fig. 3b). The most important findings that came out ing from 1204 nT. According to the entire magnetic intensity of this research point to the existence of a sizable surface map, up to 947 nT (Fig. 4a). Lower magnitudes are clustered water basin, which is highlighted by the drainage patterns. in the western half of the region, whereas larger magnitudes The overall length of the streams in the region under inves- are concentrated in the eastern and southern areas, indicat- tigation is 15,453.7 km, and the length of the mainline is ing highly magnetic sources (basement rocks). Generally, 79.4 km. The majority of the flow of surface water travels the most dominant long-extended magnetic anomalies are Fig. 9 (continued) 1 3 Arab J Geosci (2023) 16:92 Page 11 of 14 92 Fig. 10 a, b, c, and d are the electrical resistivity model calculated from magnetotelluric station no. 1, 2, 3, and 4 Table 1 Measured water table Well no Y X Water table Max depth (m) Basement and basement depth from well- (m) depth (m) logging data (after REGWA 2009) w2 26.736972 32.919528 24 405 395 w3 26.28725 32.781972 20 571 525 1 3 92 Page 12 of 14 Arab J Geosci (2023) 16:92 seen in the north–south, northeast-southwest, and northwest- in the NW–SE direction and runs parallel to the Red Sea, southeast directions. may be interpreted as the reactivation of a previous struc- The geographical position of the important anomalies ture trend. The axial plane of the Wadi Qena anticline is varies somewhat from that of the TMI map on the reduced- connected to the structural weakness that was present in to-the-pole map (Fig.  4b). The RTP map demonstrates a the basement rocks at the time of the emergence of the slight difference in the magnitude of the anomaly’s values Red Sea. In addition to this, there is a plethora of other that reaches up to 1802 nT. The majority of the small to buildings that exhibit the Gulf of Suez (NW–SE) and Gulf medium amplitude anomalies are dispersed on the map, of Aqaba trends (NE-SW). The depth values were calcu- while the highest anomalies of high values are concentrated lated from the level of observation (flight height) of the in the northeast and the middle of the map. This gives an magnetic data and then corrected by subtracting the flight impression about the location of the shallow magnetic height elevation from the calculated values. sources and/or basement uplift. Wadi Qena originated in the structural weakness area The first vertical derivative is depicted in Fig.  5a, which on the axial plane of the Wadi Qena anticline. The area illustrates the locations and extensions of the positive and contains a set of normal faults and a step of faults that negative closures reflected from shallow magnetic sources developed during the weathering process. The drainage and their faults and/or contacts. The results vary in magni- pattern of Wadi Qena may be seen to match with the depth tude from 3.53 to − 2.31 nT/m. of the basement map in Fig. 7b. The models that were cre- These anomalies extend mainly in the northwest-south- ated by 2-D magnetic modeling demonstrate that there is east direction, and there is another anomaly trending in the fluctuation in the basement relief surface, with the greatest northeast-southwest direction and finally to the east–west thickness of sedimentary cover being around 500 m. This direction. The rose diagram represents the structural line- is especially true under the Wadi Qena mainstream. The aments of the subsurface faults as they were realized from position of the magnetic profiles (Figs.  8 and 9 displays the first vertical derivative map and shown in Fig.  5b. This the 2-D models, whereas Fig. 10 displays the position of technique identifies fault trends based on the percentage of the magnetic profiles. all measurements or the percentage of total lineation lengths. The gathered drilling information includes two well According to the findings, the main fault trends affecting the logs: gamma-ray, resistivity, density, and caliper logs. study area are, in descending order, the NE-SW, NW–SE, The location and depth information is provided in and ENE-WSW. Comparing Figs. 3 and 5, we notice the Table  1. The location of these two wells is shown in similarity between the main structural trends and the main Fig.  8. Two well logs are available. According to the direction of Wadi Qena and its branches. well logging data gathered (REGWA 2009), the depth The analytic signal map (Fig. 6) shows a contour line of to the basement was found to increase to the south as a 0.1 nT/m. The high analytical signal represents the dimen- general trend. sions of the magnetized sources, while the studied area’s The geoelectric models generated by the MT inversion calculated basement depth values are shown in Fig. 7b. This (Fig. 10a to d) show that in most soundings, the low resis- depth ranges from 101 to − 1165 m relative to sea level; the tivity layer reaches a depth of more than 400 m. Most of location of the selected profiles for 2-D analytic signal depth the data models show four layers. In the first layer in most calculation is shown in Fig. 7a. For the quantitative calcula- of the models, the apparent resistivity is low in general. tion, we select profiles out of the areas where the basement However, the resistivity values that are often the greatest complex is presented to avoid errors in calculation. To dem- are typically associated with the basement surface, which onstrate the geometry of the Wadi Qena basin, a 3D plot is is the base of the groundwater aquifer. On the other hand, shown in Fig. 7c with a general decrease in basement depth a low resistivity suggests that the sediments are entirely to the west and center. This occurs at the same time as the saturated with water. existence of the step faults in the center and the crystalline hills of the Red Sea in the eastern section of the region. The depth of the magnetized rocks, as seen in Fig. 7, demon- Conclusion strates that the region is capable of being divided into sub- basins that are kept apart by discontinuous basement uplifts. This study aims to highlight the relationship between stream- The surface and subsurface structural characteristics lines generated along surface structures and the deep-seated that have been interpreted show that the surface faults that structures related to groundwater aquifers. The drainage pat- are cutting through the mountains made of Precambrian tern reveals that the direction of the surface water flow is crystalline rocks and the superimposing strata of the Phan- produced by rainfall and drains westward to the Nile Val- erozoic extend extensively into the subterranean succes- ley. The surface water is collected from the high limestone sion. The existence of the structure trend, which extends 1 3 Arab J Geosci (2023) 16:92 Page 13 of 14 92 Abdel Moneim AA, Seleem EM, Zeid SA, Abdel Samie SG, Zaki escarpment, and the Red Sea mountains are located in west- S, Abu El-Fotoh A (2015) Hydrogeochemical characteristics ern and eastern areas. The findings of the magnetic data and age dating of groundwater in the Quaternary and Nubian interpretation effectively delineate the principal subsurface aquifer systems in Wadi Qena Eastern Desert Egypt. Sustain structural trends and their influence on the direction of the Water Resources Manag 1(3):213–232. https://doi. or g/10. 1007/ s40899- 015- 0018-3 drainage pattern. The conventional order, with values (6 and Abdalla Fathy, Ahmed Ayman, Omer Adly (2009) Degradation of 7) being the highest in order, may be found in the boundary groundwater quality of quaternary aquifer at Qena, Egypt. Journal between highly magnetic basement rocks to the east and less of Environmental Studies 1(1):19–32 magnetized sediments to the west, as illustrated in figure. Abdelkareem M, El-Baz F (2015) Evidence of drainage reversal in the NE Sahara revealed by space-borne remote sensing data. J This order is the highest in order (7b). The data collected Afr Earth Sci 110:245–257. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. jafre arsci. from drilling indicates that the depth to the basement in 2015. 06. 019 Wadi Qena ranges from 400 to 525 m, which makes sense Mohamed M, Al Deep M, Othman A, Taha IA, Alshehri F, Abdel- considering its location close to the Red Sea mountains. rady  A (2022) Integrated geophysical assessment of ground- water potential in Southwestern Saudi Arabia. Front Earth Sci According to the geoelectric models, the average depth to 10937402. https:// doi. org/ 10. 3389/ feart. 2022. 937402 the aquifer base while moving southward and downstream of AerService D (1983) Aeromagnetic anomaly map of the Eastern Wadi Qena. Finally, integrating geological and geophysical Desert, Egypt; scale 1: 50,000, compiled by the Egyptian General approaches using structural settings could be beneficial in Petroleum Corporation. Aero Service Division, Houston, Texas, Six Volumes, Western Geophysical Company of America studying groundwater occurrences and sources of recharge. Aggur OA (1997) Impact of geomorphological and geological setting on groundwater in Qena Safaga district central eastern desert Acknowledgements The work that formed the basis of this paper was Egypt. Ph. D. thesis, Geology Dept. Faculty of Science, Ain funded by the Science, Technology, and Innovation Funding Authority Shams University, 355p (STDF) under Grant number 30116, and the support of NRIAG. We Agyemang VO (2020) Application of magnetotelluric geophysical sincerely appreciate the anonymous reviewers’ remarks and inquiries, technique in delineation of zones of high groundwater potential which greatly enhance our manuscript and unified findings. for borehole drilling in five communities in the Agona East District. Ghana Appl Water Sci 10:128. https://doi. or g/10. 1007/ Funding Open access funding provided by The Science, Technology & s13201- 020- 01214-2 Innovation Funding Authority (STDF) in cooperation with The Egyp- AL Deep M, Araffa SAS, Mansour SA, Taha AI, Mohamed A, Oth- tian Knowledge Bank (EKB). man A (2021) Geophysics and remote sensing applications for groundwater exploration in fractured basement: a case study Data Availability The data usedfor this research is available as, the from Abha area Saudi Arabia. J Afr Earth Sci 184:2021. https:// digital elevation model is available onpublic repository at https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. jafre arsci. 2021. 104368 lpdaac. usgs. gov/ produ ct_ searc h/? status= Opera tional, The magnetic Araffa SAS, Bohoty MES, Abou Heleika M, Mekkawi M, Ismail E, and Magnetotelluric data that support the findingsof this study are Khalil A, Abd El-Razek EM (2018) Implementation of mag- available from the corresponding author, [Arwa Alkholy], uponrea- netic and gravity methods to delineate the subsurface structural sonable request. features of the basement complex in central Sinai area. Egypt, NRIAG Journal of Astronomy and Geophysics 7:162–174. Declarations https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. nrjag. 2017. 12. 002 Bakheit AA, Abdel Aal GZ, El-Haddad AE et al (2014) Subsurface Conflict of interest The authors declare no competing interests. tectonic pattern and basement topography as interpreted from aeromagnetic data to the south of El-Dakhla Oasis, western Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons desert. Egypt Arab J Geosci 7:2165–2178. https:// doi. org/ 10. Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, 1007/ s12517- 013- 0896-3 adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, Billings MP (1954) Structural geology, 2nd edn. PrenticHall Inc, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the NJ, p 514 source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate Boubaya D (2017) Combining resistivity and aeromagnetic geophysi- if changes were made. 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Groundwater exploration using drainage pattern and geophysical data: a case study from Wadi Qena, Egypt

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Abstract

In the Wadi Qena region, the digital elevation model (DEM), aeromagnetic, and magnetotelluric data are processed and examined to outline surface water flow patterns, the subsurface structures, demonstrate their effects on the groundwater flow direction, and assess the groundwater aquifer thickness and the relationship between subsurface structures and the inherited surface water flow (drainage pattern). Wadi Qena’s drainage pattern and watershed basins were delineated using satellite digital elevation data in order to accomplish these objectives. The first vertical derivative transformation was used and examined to determine the prevailing northwest-southeast and northeast-southwest structural trends impacting the region. In order to handle aeromagnetic data, it is necessary first to reduce the observed magnetic data such that they correspond to the reduced magnetic pole (RTP). The two-dimensional analytical signal technique was used to discover that the depth of the basement rocks, which in the research region serve as the bedrock of the overlying groundwater aquifer, ranges from 101 to − 1165 m relative to sea level. This information was obtained by measuring the distance from the earth’s surface to the bedrock. To further define the accurate subsurface geological model in the region, the conducted magnetotelluric survey in the area was interpreted using the 1-D inversion technique, and the results were coupled with the existing drill data. The base of the groundwater aquifer was discovered to be between 350 and 410 m deep. Finally, the results are reliable and closely related to earlier geological and geophysical investigations in the studied area. Keywords Magnetic · Magnetotelluric · Groundwater potentiality · Wadi Qena · Egypt Introduction in the opposite direction of the Nile River, eventually joining it at Qena Bend. The Wadi Qena drainage system takes occa- In Egypt’s Eastern Desert, Wadi Qena is a significant geologi- sional rainfall from numerous catchment regions and runs it cal feature that may be found. One of the wadis in the Eastern till it enters the mainstream. The research region is northeast Desert that has the most considerable length, this valley in of Qena Government, between latitudes 28° 00′ and 26° 30′ Egypt runs from north to south and has a breadth of about N and longitudes 32° 15′ and 33° 45′ E. 40 km, making it one of the longest wadis in the region. This This area has been the subject of numerous prior stud- wadi was developed along an unconformable contact between ies to understand better the geological, geomorphological, the Red Sea mountains of Precambrian basement rocks in the and hydrological settings of Wadi Qena. For example, to east and sedimentary rocks in the west. Wadi Qena encom- identify locations with groundwater resources in the Wadi passes around 18,000 km of land. The valley extends south Qena basin, Hussien et al. (2016) used integrated remote sensing, geophysical, and geological field research, as well as geochemical and isotopic methods. Abdelkareem and Responsible Editor: Narasimman Sundararajan El-Baz (2015) evaluated different types of satellite data, including imagery, radar, multi-spectral data, and enhanced * Arwa Alkholy thematic mapper to present an overall picture of the Wadi [email protected] Qena region’s origin. National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics, Many authors have employed remote sensing data signi- Helwan, Cairo, Egypt fied by the DEM data in groundwater research; for exam- Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Mansoura ple, Elmahdy and Mohamed (2014) evaluated the influence University, Mansoura, Egypt Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 92 Page 2 of 14 Arab J Geosci (2023) 16:92 of geological formations on groundwater accumulation and development. Boubaya (2017) also made use of drilling movement direction in Al Jaaw Plain using DEM data. logs, hydrogeological data, magnetic data, vertical elec- A similar application was given by Taha et  al. (2021), trical sounding (VES), and other methods to identify the Meneisy and Al Deep (2021), Al Deep et  al. (2021), existence of groundwater in the western Algerian region Mohamed et al. (2022), and Meneisy and Al Deep (2021). known as the Maghnia Plain. For groundwater investigation in regions with low rates On the other hand, Agyemang (2020) outlined the high of precipitation, Khodaei and Nassery (2011) employed groundwater potential zones in the Ghanaian district of the Landsat ETM, IRS (pan), SPOT, and digital elevation Agona East using the magnetotelluric (MT) data. Addi- model (Southwest of Urmieh, Northwest of Iran). The tionally, Li et al. (2017) evaluated the fracture zones in the magnetic data are used for many propose, as represented Boshan region of Shandong Province, China, that have a by Meneisy et  al. (2021), which used the aeromagnetic low resistivity and may be a water-bearing medium by con- data to determine the Nubian aquifer’s thickness and sedi- ducting a controlled source audio-frequency magnetotelluric mentary cover. In their 2018 study, Saleh et al. defined the (CSAMT) survey throughout the river valley. Giroux et al. shear zones, basement depth, and geological lineaments (1997) used the findings of nine MT-sounding profiles to at the Barramiya gold mine and the neighboring Eastern calculate the effective porosity of the Maastrichtian aquifer Desert of Egypt using gravity and aeromagnetic data. and offer a valuable description of the geometry at the bot- Ghazala et al. (2018) used potential field data to detect tom of the aquifer. subsurface structures in the Sohag Governorate for urban Fig. 1 Geological map of the study area shows the principal geological formations and the major surface structures, modified after EGSMA (1981) 1 3 Arab J Geosci (2023) 16:92 Page 3 of 14 92 mentioning that the groundwater of this aquifer occurs under Geological setting confined conditions (El-Sawy et al. 2011; Moneim 2014). The Cretaceous rocks enclosed two assembles; the first is Sedimentary rocks are observable in the study area’s west. the formations that belong to the Lower Cretaceous, which In contrast, basement rocks are noticeable in the area’s east, belongs to the Nubian aquifer. The second is the Upper Cre- as illustrated in Fig. 1. The Red Sea mountains, in particular, taceous rocks intercalated with the Nubian Sandstone strata, reveal the earliest units. Sedimentary layers cover these base- primarily limestone, chalk, and shale. In Wadi Qena, marine ment rocks from the Nubian and Post-Nubian deposits. The and near-shore sediments were submerged by sea transgres- Red Sea mountains, which originate from the Pre-Cambrian sion from the late Cretaceous to the Tertiary (Klitzsch et al. era, are located on the eastern side of Wadi Qena, where the 1990). This period was sporadic by an erosional phase that igneous and metamorphic basement rocks are exposed. At removed most limestone and chalks from the wadi. After the same time, the overlaying sedimentary rocks in wadis that and during the Tertiary, the marly chalk and limestone like Wadi Qena and intramountainous regions are between of Paleocene and Eocene time were deposited before the the Paleozoic and Quaternary. The structural configuration regression associated with the closure of the Neo Tethys. of the Pre-Cenomanian period was the primary factor that Quaternary deposits covered a large area of Wadi Qena. determined the distribution of Paleozoic rocks. During the Pleistocene epoch, Egypt was marked by numer- These Paleozoic sediments are in the south of Egypt and ous dramatic events, where it prevailed by an aridity climate outcropped in the investigation area’s northern and western with some fluctuations. Laterally, the conglomerates and parts. In most of Egypt, the Nubian Sandstones serve as sands were deposited in a short pluvial time. This period the country’s most notable groundwater aquifer, spreading was sporadic by a hyper-arid phase during which the Nile continuously on top of the basement from surface exposures deposited silts (Said 1990; Abdalla et al. 2009). to the deepest subsurface in the north of the western desert. The research area is in Egypt’s stable shelf regions, which Depending on the geological and structural conditions, are somewhat flexure and where folding slightly affects the the Nubian Sandstone’s thickness frequently changes and region’s structure (Said 1962). The limestone plateau is rises in the direction to the north. It ranges from about 14 highly affected by the Wadi Qena structures. Wadi Qena in the south to 403 m thick (El-Shamy 1992). It is worth Fig. 2 a Surface structural lineaments of the study area as traced from the geological map of Egypt (EGSMA 1981). b Rose diagram of the sur- face structural lineaments illustrates the azimuth frequency (bearing %) and the percent of total lineation lengths (length %) 1 3 92 Page 4 of 14 Arab J Geosci (2023) 16:92 Fig. 3 a Drainage system map of Wadi Qena and surrounded wadis, plotted over the surface topography map of the study area. b Stream order of Wadi Qena with MT station locations Fig. 4 a The shaded color map of the total magnetic field intensity of the study area after AerService (1983). b The shaded color reduced to the north magnetic pole (RTP) map 1 3 Arab J Geosci (2023) 16:92 Page 5 of 14 92 structures are considered an anticline fold by many authors, Mission (SRTM), is employed. The research region’s terrain, i.e., Hume (1929), Billings (1954), Stern and Hedge (1985), morphology, drainage system, and stream order have been El Gaby et al. (1988), Abdel Ghany (2011), El-Sawy et al. extracted and mapped using DEM data NASA JPL (2013). (2011), Moneim (2014), and Abdel Moneim et al. (2015). It We employ the ArcGIS Hydro tool to create a drainage is one of the oldest geological formations on Egypt’s stable network system from the DEM data. In this tool, the D-8 algo- tectonic shelf. This anticline fold is disturbed by a different rithm introduced by O'Callaghan and Mark (1984) is applied fault system, especially those bounded by the depression of to the data. Moreover, the drainage pattern can be analyzed Wadi Qena from the west (Aggur 1997). In the study region, to calculate the stream order, which numerically represents several surface structural lineaments representing surface each stream’s size. In order to collect the aeromagnetic data faults that have been geologically mapped are illustrated in for the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, the Western Fig. 2a. Geophysical Company of America used an aircraft proton- These faults are identified using the scaled geological free precision magnetometer with a sensor that had a very map of Egypt shown in Fig.  1 (1:2,000,000), which was high sensitivity at the time of approximately 0.01 nT (Aer- released in 1981 by the Egyptian Geological Survey and Service 1983). The sensor was attached to the tail stinger of Mining Authority (EGSMA). A graphic depicts these sur- the aircraft (sheets 1A and 1B) with a scale (1:50,000) are face faults’ azimuth and frequency relationships. According used. These aeromagnetic maps represent the total magnetic to the rose diagram, the NNW-SSE, NE-SW, and ENE-WSW intensity (TMI) field data at an altitude of 120 m above the tendencies are grouped in the main surface structural line- ground surface, with a contour interval of 10 nT. The TMI aments according to their abundance, as shown in Fig. 2b. data was digitized using ArcMap software for further pro- cessing and interpretation. The TMI data were transformed to the north magnetic pole after being corrected for the interna- tional geomagnetic reference field (IGRF) with the following Methodology geomagnetic parameters (total field strength of 42,425 nT; the inclination of 38.89°; and declination of 2.0°). The RTP In order to give high-resolution spatial data for the topog- reduction aims to eliminate the bias in the locations of the raphy of the earth’s surface, the digital elevation model magnetized sources in the areas of intermediate latitudes like (DEM), as measured by the Shuttle Radar Topography Fig. 5 a The first vertical derivative map illustrated with the faults (bearing %), and the blue petals represent the percent of total linea- plotted on the primary trend. b The Rose diagram represented the tion lengths (length %) main subsurface trends; the red petals display the azimuth frequency 1 3 92 Page 6 of 14 Arab J Geosci (2023) 16:92 the study area. The magnetic data may then be used to identify were made for models with various configurations (Talwani the layout of the subsurface structures and the main geologi- et al. 1959). Every one of the predicted magnetic profile’s ori- cal directions, as well as determine the depth of the basement entations extends westerly to the eastern ward direction. The rocks, which will allow one to have a comprehensive grasp of figure displays the locations of the modeled profiles in their the hydrogeological environment under the surface. respective environments (Fig. 8). In the investigated region, the In order to accomplish the structural interpretation of the geological succession comprises two primary rock types: sedi- RTP data, two essential methods are used. First, the struc- mentary cover, which primarily consists of wadi deposits, and tural analysis of the constructed first vertical derivative map basement rocks. In this particular instance, the most simplistic to detect the fault’s locations and directions. This method way to model this succession was to assume a two-layer earth is crucial for investigating groundwater because it may be model, in which the basement is the magnetized source layer. able to identify the primary subsurface water flow pathways. The magnetic susceptibility of the non-magnetized sediments The geological features significantly influence the geom- is assumed to be 0.0001 CGS units, whereas the magnetic etry, direction, and severity of the subsurface faults (Hall susceptibility of the highly magnetized basement is given to 1964). Many researchers have used the same technique, i.e., be 0.027 CGS units. Ghazala (1994), Saleh and Saleh (2012), Khattach et al. Collecting magnetotelluric (MT) data, the natural varia- (2013), Bakheit et al. (2014), and Araffa et al. (2018). The tions of the electric and magnetic natural e fi lds are recorded primary purpose of doing a trend analysis is to sketch out the simultaneously. The magnetic e fi ld is captured entirely, includ - primary structural trends that are responsible for regulating ing its horizontal and vertical components. On the other hand, the flow of groundwater. the only electric field components recorded are the horizontal The second approach makes use of the analytical signal ones. There are several kinds of devices available for use in methodology, which is derived from the data on the total the process of measuring MT data. A technological advance in magnetic field, in order to ascertain the location of the causal the MT recording system is required for simultaneous multi- bodies, which are, for the most part, basement rocks and channel data acquisition. The ADU-07e system is character- their depth. Such a technique is recently used as it is use- ized by a high sampling rate from 128 to 4096 Hz. ful to detect the base of the groundwater aquifer (Nubian The configuration of the equipment used to record the MT aquifer), which delineates the area of greater depth and has data consists of two geoelectric dipoles oriented north–south a greater water reserve. (E ) and east–west (E )with 50-m separation and three y x We used the analytical signal approach to conduct a quan- titative analysis of the TMI data. The amplitude A of the analytical signal may be determined with the assistance of the equation provided by Nabighian (1972, 1974): 2 2 M M M (1) = + + x y z where M is the magnetic field and x , y, and z are the unit vectors of the two horizontal and vertical directions. Following the lead of Roest et al. (1992), the following equation may be used to determine, based on the analytical signal, the depth (d) to the magnetized source bodies: A(x)  ∝ (2) 2 2 x + d where A is the magnetic field at point x. Direct and inverse modeling are two reversed operations typically performed sequentially in two-dimensional modeling. Geosoft Oasis Montaj was used for the 2-D modeling. During the inverse modeling process, a comparison is made between the observed potential effect and the estimated potential impact generated by the inferred potential models. However, using computer software, magnetic and gravitational effects for models with complicated forms have been predicted for every Fig. 6 The shaded color relief map of the analytical signal with con- tour line 0 nT/m delineating high magnetized igneous rocks two-dimensional polygon in the model. These predictions 1 3 Arab J Geosci (2023) 16:92 Page 7 of 14 92 magnetic sensors buried in the ground, which alignment to the may cause by the wind or other reasons, and protect them from north–south and east–west for the two horizontal sensors, and rising the temperature. the third one is buried vertically in the ground. The magnetic The formulation of the Maxwell equation to give the mathe- sensors (H , H , H ) are buried in the ground to protect them matical description of magnetotelluric principles was given by x y z from human and animal disturbance, avoid any movement that Vozoff (1972) as follows: the propagation of electromagnetic Fig. 7 a The selected profiles for analytic signal depth calculations. b Depth map generated from the 2D analytic signal. c 3D plot of Wadi Qena area surface topography and calculated depth 1 3 92 Page 8 of 14 Arab J Geosci (2023) 16:92 waves inside the rocks depends on many variables, i.e., con- and magnetic fields recorded at the surface, may be found ductivity and frequency. The depth where the strength of the by solving the following equations: −1 field is reduced to e is known as the skin depth : z() = (5) 2 x (3) z() =− (6) where  is the magnetic permeability of the vacuum space, 0 k is the earth conductivity, and  is the angular frequency. Assuming that the magnetic permeability  does not differ z() =− significantly in the earth, then the skin depth equation can be (7) approximated as in Eq. (4): (T) ≈ 500 T (4) z() =− i (8) where  = 1∕ (Ω m) is the apparent resistivity of the a a uniform half-space, and T = (s) is the period of electro- The impedance equation was rearranged to produce the magnetic waves. The impedance of the magnetotelluric Z apparent resistivity of medium  (Ωm) (Eq. 9): (m/s), which is represented by a ratio between the electric Fig. 8 Topographic map shows the study area with modeled 2-D magnetic profiles location, drainage network, MT stations, well logging data, and boundary of the basement rocks outcrops 1 3 Arab J Geosci (2023) 16:92 Page 9 of 14 92 2 are relevant to the Wadi Qena area using satellite (DEM) = z a (9) data as well as the subsurface structures using geophysical techniques, mainly aeromagnetic and magnetotelluric data. First, a look at the figure that determines the drainage pattern (Fig.  3a, b) demonstrates that surface water flow, Results and discussion which is produced by rainfall, drains downhill to the Nile Valley from steep limestone escarpments and the Red Sea The primary objective of this research is to establish the Hills in the western and eastern areas, respectively. This nature of the connection that exists between the waterways movement of water takes place in both of these locations. on the surface and the geological features on the surface that The use of aeromagnetic data has the benefit of allowing Fig. 9 Part 1: modeled magnetic profiles from 1 to 3. Part 2: modeled magnetic profiles from 4 to 6 1 3 92 Page 10 of 14 Arab J Geosci (2023) 16:92 for the delineation of the key underlying structural trends, in a direction that is generally north to south. The catchment which, as can be shown in figure, may affect the direction area covers around 15,568.3 km on its whole. that the drainage pattern and the stream order take in the The anomalies have a magnetic field with a strength rang- region (Fig. 3b). The most important findings that came out ing from 1204 nT. According to the entire magnetic intensity of this research point to the existence of a sizable surface map, up to 947 nT (Fig. 4a). Lower magnitudes are clustered water basin, which is highlighted by the drainage patterns. in the western half of the region, whereas larger magnitudes The overall length of the streams in the region under inves- are concentrated in the eastern and southern areas, indicat- tigation is 15,453.7 km, and the length of the mainline is ing highly magnetic sources (basement rocks). Generally, 79.4 km. The majority of the flow of surface water travels the most dominant long-extended magnetic anomalies are Fig. 9 (continued) 1 3 Arab J Geosci (2023) 16:92 Page 11 of 14 92 Fig. 10 a, b, c, and d are the electrical resistivity model calculated from magnetotelluric station no. 1, 2, 3, and 4 Table 1 Measured water table Well no Y X Water table Max depth (m) Basement and basement depth from well- (m) depth (m) logging data (after REGWA 2009) w2 26.736972 32.919528 24 405 395 w3 26.28725 32.781972 20 571 525 1 3 92 Page 12 of 14 Arab J Geosci (2023) 16:92 seen in the north–south, northeast-southwest, and northwest- in the NW–SE direction and runs parallel to the Red Sea, southeast directions. may be interpreted as the reactivation of a previous struc- The geographical position of the important anomalies ture trend. The axial plane of the Wadi Qena anticline is varies somewhat from that of the TMI map on the reduced- connected to the structural weakness that was present in to-the-pole map (Fig.  4b). The RTP map demonstrates a the basement rocks at the time of the emergence of the slight difference in the magnitude of the anomaly’s values Red Sea. In addition to this, there is a plethora of other that reaches up to 1802 nT. The majority of the small to buildings that exhibit the Gulf of Suez (NW–SE) and Gulf medium amplitude anomalies are dispersed on the map, of Aqaba trends (NE-SW). The depth values were calcu- while the highest anomalies of high values are concentrated lated from the level of observation (flight height) of the in the northeast and the middle of the map. This gives an magnetic data and then corrected by subtracting the flight impression about the location of the shallow magnetic height elevation from the calculated values. sources and/or basement uplift. Wadi Qena originated in the structural weakness area The first vertical derivative is depicted in Fig.  5a, which on the axial plane of the Wadi Qena anticline. The area illustrates the locations and extensions of the positive and contains a set of normal faults and a step of faults that negative closures reflected from shallow magnetic sources developed during the weathering process. The drainage and their faults and/or contacts. The results vary in magni- pattern of Wadi Qena may be seen to match with the depth tude from 3.53 to − 2.31 nT/m. of the basement map in Fig. 7b. The models that were cre- These anomalies extend mainly in the northwest-south- ated by 2-D magnetic modeling demonstrate that there is east direction, and there is another anomaly trending in the fluctuation in the basement relief surface, with the greatest northeast-southwest direction and finally to the east–west thickness of sedimentary cover being around 500 m. This direction. The rose diagram represents the structural line- is especially true under the Wadi Qena mainstream. The aments of the subsurface faults as they were realized from position of the magnetic profiles (Figs.  8 and 9 displays the first vertical derivative map and shown in Fig.  5b. This the 2-D models, whereas Fig. 10 displays the position of technique identifies fault trends based on the percentage of the magnetic profiles. all measurements or the percentage of total lineation lengths. The gathered drilling information includes two well According to the findings, the main fault trends affecting the logs: gamma-ray, resistivity, density, and caliper logs. study area are, in descending order, the NE-SW, NW–SE, The location and depth information is provided in and ENE-WSW. Comparing Figs. 3 and 5, we notice the Table  1. The location of these two wells is shown in similarity between the main structural trends and the main Fig.  8. Two well logs are available. According to the direction of Wadi Qena and its branches. well logging data gathered (REGWA 2009), the depth The analytic signal map (Fig. 6) shows a contour line of to the basement was found to increase to the south as a 0.1 nT/m. The high analytical signal represents the dimen- general trend. sions of the magnetized sources, while the studied area’s The geoelectric models generated by the MT inversion calculated basement depth values are shown in Fig. 7b. This (Fig. 10a to d) show that in most soundings, the low resis- depth ranges from 101 to − 1165 m relative to sea level; the tivity layer reaches a depth of more than 400 m. Most of location of the selected profiles for 2-D analytic signal depth the data models show four layers. In the first layer in most calculation is shown in Fig. 7a. For the quantitative calcula- of the models, the apparent resistivity is low in general. tion, we select profiles out of the areas where the basement However, the resistivity values that are often the greatest complex is presented to avoid errors in calculation. To dem- are typically associated with the basement surface, which onstrate the geometry of the Wadi Qena basin, a 3D plot is is the base of the groundwater aquifer. On the other hand, shown in Fig. 7c with a general decrease in basement depth a low resistivity suggests that the sediments are entirely to the west and center. This occurs at the same time as the saturated with water. existence of the step faults in the center and the crystalline hills of the Red Sea in the eastern section of the region. The depth of the magnetized rocks, as seen in Fig. 7, demon- Conclusion strates that the region is capable of being divided into sub- basins that are kept apart by discontinuous basement uplifts. This study aims to highlight the relationship between stream- The surface and subsurface structural characteristics lines generated along surface structures and the deep-seated that have been interpreted show that the surface faults that structures related to groundwater aquifers. The drainage pat- are cutting through the mountains made of Precambrian tern reveals that the direction of the surface water flow is crystalline rocks and the superimposing strata of the Phan- produced by rainfall and drains westward to the Nile Val- erozoic extend extensively into the subterranean succes- ley. The surface water is collected from the high limestone sion. The existence of the structure trend, which extends 1 3 Arab J Geosci (2023) 16:92 Page 13 of 14 92 Abdel Moneim AA, Seleem EM, Zeid SA, Abdel Samie SG, Zaki escarpment, and the Red Sea mountains are located in west- S, Abu El-Fotoh A (2015) Hydrogeochemical characteristics ern and eastern areas. The findings of the magnetic data and age dating of groundwater in the Quaternary and Nubian interpretation effectively delineate the principal subsurface aquifer systems in Wadi Qena Eastern Desert Egypt. Sustain structural trends and their influence on the direction of the Water Resources Manag 1(3):213–232. https://doi. or g/10. 1007/ s40899- 015- 0018-3 drainage pattern. The conventional order, with values (6 and Abdalla Fathy, Ahmed Ayman, Omer Adly (2009) Degradation of 7) being the highest in order, may be found in the boundary groundwater quality of quaternary aquifer at Qena, Egypt. Journal between highly magnetic basement rocks to the east and less of Environmental Studies 1(1):19–32 magnetized sediments to the west, as illustrated in figure. Abdelkareem M, El-Baz F (2015) Evidence of drainage reversal in the NE Sahara revealed by space-borne remote sensing data. J This order is the highest in order (7b). The data collected Afr Earth Sci 110:245–257. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. jafre arsci. from drilling indicates that the depth to the basement in 2015. 06. 019 Wadi Qena ranges from 400 to 525 m, which makes sense Mohamed M, Al Deep M, Othman A, Taha IA, Alshehri F, Abdel- considering its location close to the Red Sea mountains. rady  A (2022) Integrated geophysical assessment of ground- water potential in Southwestern Saudi Arabia. Front Earth Sci According to the geoelectric models, the average depth to 10937402. https:// doi. org/ 10. 3389/ feart. 2022. 937402 the aquifer base while moving southward and downstream of AerService D (1983) Aeromagnetic anomaly map of the Eastern Wadi Qena. Finally, integrating geological and geophysical Desert, Egypt; scale 1: 50,000, compiled by the Egyptian General approaches using structural settings could be beneficial in Petroleum Corporation. Aero Service Division, Houston, Texas, Six Volumes, Western Geophysical Company of America studying groundwater occurrences and sources of recharge. Aggur OA (1997) Impact of geomorphological and geological setting on groundwater in Qena Safaga district central eastern desert Acknowledgements The work that formed the basis of this paper was Egypt. Ph. D. thesis, Geology Dept. Faculty of Science, Ain funded by the Science, Technology, and Innovation Funding Authority Shams University, 355p (STDF) under Grant number 30116, and the support of NRIAG. We Agyemang VO (2020) Application of magnetotelluric geophysical sincerely appreciate the anonymous reviewers’ remarks and inquiries, technique in delineation of zones of high groundwater potential which greatly enhance our manuscript and unified findings. for borehole drilling in five communities in the Agona East District. Ghana Appl Water Sci 10:128. https://doi. or g/10. 1007/ Funding Open access funding provided by The Science, Technology & s13201- 020- 01214-2 Innovation Funding Authority (STDF) in cooperation with The Egyp- AL Deep M, Araffa SAS, Mansour SA, Taha AI, Mohamed A, Oth- tian Knowledge Bank (EKB). man A (2021) Geophysics and remote sensing applications for groundwater exploration in fractured basement: a case study Data Availability The data usedfor this research is available as, the from Abha area Saudi Arabia. J Afr Earth Sci 184:2021. https:// digital elevation model is available onpublic repository at https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. jafre arsci. 2021. 104368 lpdaac. usgs. gov/ produ ct_ searc h/? status= Opera tional, The magnetic Araffa SAS, Bohoty MES, Abou Heleika M, Mekkawi M, Ismail E, and Magnetotelluric data that support the findingsof this study are Khalil A, Abd El-Razek EM (2018) Implementation of mag- available from the corresponding author, [Arwa Alkholy], uponrea- netic and gravity methods to delineate the subsurface structural sonable request. features of the basement complex in central Sinai area. Egypt, NRIAG Journal of Astronomy and Geophysics 7:162–174. 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Journal

Arabian Journal of Geosciences – Springer Journals

Published: Jan 1, 2023

Keywords: Magnetic; Magnetotelluric; Groundwater potentiality; Wadi Qena; Egypt

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