Integration of geophysical methods for groundwater exploration: A case study of El Sheikh Marzouq area, Farafra Oasis, Egypt

Newly, the Egyptian government initiated huge national projects for the reclamation and sustainable development of 1.5 million acres. Farafra Oasis is recognized as the focus of the first phase of this project where groundwater is the wellspring of the water for irrigation and drinking. Hence, exploration and assessment of groundwater aquifers are very essential in such area. A reconnaissance geophysical survey was conducted in the centre of Farafra oasis using Vertical Electric Sounding (VES), Transient electromagnetic (TEM), Audio-Magnetotelluric (AMT), Control-source Magnetotelluric (CSAMT), and Very Low Frequency (VLF) techniques for the investigation of shallow and deep groundwater reservoirs. In addition, geologic and stratigraphic information from the nearest well was utilized to confirm the geophysical outcomes. Integrated geophysical measurements succeeded to delineate the three zones A, B and C of the Nubian aquifer system in the investigated area. Also, several fault elements were delineated which control the influx and aggregating of the groundwater in both units; shallow and deeper one. Deeper aquifer (zone C) shows generally higher resistivity values, which consider the major aquifer of Nubian sandstone in the Western Desert of Egypt. Geochemical examinations of the groundwater sample show that the water is remarkable for all agriculture purposes (TDS = 95). (c) 2021 National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries. Hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).