Groundwater potentiality mapping in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, using remote sensing and GIS-watershed-based modelingCartographie du potentiel en eau souterraine de la Péninsule du Sinaï, Egypte, utilisant la télédétection et un modèle de contour de bassin versant basé sur SIGMapeo de la potencialidad del agua subterránea en la Península de Sinaí, Egipto, usando sensores remotos y modelado GIS basado en la cuencaتخريط إمكانات تواجد المياه الجوفية بشبه جزيرة سيناء، مصر، بإستخدام الإستشعار عن بعد ونظم المعلومات الجغرافية والنمذجة الحوضيةMapeamento dos recursos potenciais de água subterrânea na Península do Sinai, Egipto, utilizando detecção remota e modelação de bacias com suporte SIG

Systematic planning for groundwater exploration using modern techniques is essential for the proper utilization, protection and management of this vital resource. Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) images, a geographic information system (GIS), a watershed modeling system (WMS) and weighted spatial probability modeling (WSPM) were integrated to identify the groundwater potential areas in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. Eight pertinent thematic layers were built in a GIS and assigned appropriate rankings. Layers considered were: rainfall, net groundwater recharge, lithology or infiltration, lineament density, slope, drainage density, depth to groundwater, and water quality. All these themes were assigned weights according to their relative importance to groundwater potentiality and their corresponding normalized weights were obtained based on their effectiveness factors. The groundwater potentiality map was finally produced by WSPM. This map comprises five gradational groundwater potentiality classes ranging from very high to very low. The validity of this unbiased GIS-based model was tested by correlating its results with the published hydrogeological map of Egypt and the actual borehole yields, where a concordant justification was reached. The map declared that the Sinai Peninsula is generally of moderate groundwater potentiality, where this class encompasses an area of 33,120 km2 which represents 52% of its total area.