With ever increasing demands on water resources, Egypt is facing increasing water needs, demanded by a rapidly growing population, by higher standards of living and by an agricultural policys. West Nile Delta represents a new agricultural area where the reclaimed lands are irrigated with groundwater in addition to surface water. The evaluation of groundwater aquifers in West Nile Delta area requires information about the extension, depth and distribution and source of recharging these aquifers. In this work, an integrated study using geoelectric, geomagnetic, hydrogeologic and hydrochemistry investigations has been applied to evaluate groundwater aquifers and to delineate subsurface structures predominant in the basement rocks at El-Nubariya area, West Nile Delta, Egypt. Thirty-five Vertical Electrical Soundings (VES) have been applied to identify the subsurface geoelctric layers predominant in the study area. As well as a detailed land magnetic survey has been carried out along the study area using two automatic proton precession magnetometers with an accuracy of 1 nT. These surveys allowed us to establish the subsurface structures and their relation with the detected aquifers. The geoelectric results are illustrated along seven geoelectric profiles and correlated with the lithologic and hydrogeologic data of drilled wells. The third geoelectric layer represents the water saturated zone (aquifer) with thickness varies from 14 m to 58 m, increasing to east and southeast directions. The hydrchemisty anlysis shows that the salinity of the water aquifer ranges from 600 ppm in the southeast to 3900 ppm in the south. The major dominant dissolved salt is Nacl. In the east and southeast, the water type becomes more NaSO4 which refers to dissolution of gypsum in addition to fertilizers. The magnetic data have been analyzed using horizontal gradient and 3D magnetic modeling along the locations of geolectric profiles. The results indicate that the fault structures are trending in E-W, NW-SE and NE-SW directions. These faults confirm the results obtained from the well geolectric interpretation. These fault structures act as recharging paths from lower brackish to upper fresh water aquifers.
We report on the utilisation of a full polarimetric subsurface borehole radar measuring system for efficient characterisation of subsurface fractures. This system can measure the full polarisation (HH, HV, VV and VH) of electromagnetic waves for one borehole, and thus enables us to obtain more information about subsurface fractures compared to that obtained from conventional borehole radar systems, which usually use only single polarisation. Polarimetric datasets have been acquired at several sites, particularly at Mirror Lake, USA, which is a well known site for testing subsurface fractures. Nine fracture sets were observed in one borehole, FSE-1, in the Mirror Lake site. These were divided into four category fracture sets depending on polarimetric analysis of alpha, entropy and anisotropy decomposition analysis of scattering behaviour from fractures at frequency 30 MHz. We found that the characterised four fractures sets have the highest hydraulic permeable zones at depths of 24.75 m, and 47.80 m. The lowest hydraulic permeable zones were found to be at 28.50 m, 36.15 m and 44.80 m. These results show a good consistency with the hydraulic fractures permeability tracer test that was done by USGS. To validate these conclusions we implemented numerical simulation for a synthesised fractures property using the Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method. Here, we used a plane wave as an electromagnetic source with frequency ranging from 1 MHz to 200 MHz, and monitored the electromagnetic scattering for various fractures. We found that distributions of alpha, entropy and anisotropy polarimetric parameters differ with the fracture roughness property which validates the polarimetric analysis of the measured data.
Discriminating increaser species is important for mapping rangeland degradation. The main objectives of this paper were to (1) determine whether four increaser species could be discriminated from each other and (2) determine the key wavelengths that have high discriminatory power. Spectral data were taken at canopy level from Hyparrhenia hirta, Eragrostis curvula, Sporobolus africanus and Aristida diffuse from Okhombe rangeland, KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. A field portable analytical spectral device with spectral range from 350 nm to 2500 nm was used in the analysis. Three-tier hierarchical techniques of One-way ANOVA, stepwise discriminant function analysis and canonical function analysis were used. The results revealed that there were statistically significant differences in spectral reflectance among four species on 439 wavelengths. The most important eight wavelengths (665 nm, 729 nm, 848 nm, 895 nm, 1039 nm, 998 nm, 681 nm and 972 nm) that have been selected for spectral discrimination were largely located in the visible, red-edge and near-infrared regions of the spectrum. The three tiers of analysis yielded species discrimination with an overall accuracy of 83 percent and a KHAT value of 0.77. The use of the spectroscopic approach applied in this study indicated that the increaser species were spectrally different. Therefore, these results encouraged further investigation into the possibility of mapping increaser species as indicators of different levels of rangeland degradation.
Results of geothermal studies carried out at 149 onshore oil wells have been used in evaluation of temperature gradient and heat flow values of the eastern shore of the Gulf of Suez. The investigations included temperature logs in boreholes, calculation of amplitude temperature, geothermal gradients and heat flow. The results obtained indicate that geothermal gradient values are in the ranges of 0.02–0.044 °C/m and regionally averaged mean heat flow values are found to fall in the interval of 45–120 mW/m2. Temperature gradients and heat flow values change from low values eastward to high values toward the axial of Gulf of Suez rift. The result of this research work has been highly successful in identifying new geothermal resources eastward of the Gulf of Suez. Additionally, this study shows that the areas with relatively higher temperature gradients have lower oil window, mature earlier, than those with low gradient values. Thus, high temperature gradients cause to expedite the formation of oil at relatively shallow depths and narrow oil windows. On the other hand, low temperature gradient makes the oil window to be quite broad when locate at high depths.
Landmines represent a serious environmental problem for several countries as it causes severe injured and many victims. In this paper, the response of GPR from different parameters of the landmine targets has been shown and the data is correlated with observed field experiment made in 2012 at Miami Crandon Park test site. The ability of GPR for detecting non-metallic mines with different orientations was revealed and soil effect upon the GPR signal was examined putting into consideration the soil parameters in different locations in Egypt such as in Sinai and El Alamein. The simulation results showed that PMN-2 landmine was detected at 5 cm and 15 cm depths, even at the minimum radar cross section vertical orientation. The B-Scan (2D GPR profiles) of PMN-2 target at 15 cm depth figured out high reflectivity for Wadi deposits due to large contrast between PMN-2 landmine material and soil of sand dunes.
ABSTRACT This paper presents an archaeogeophysical prospection in Abydos, a rich archaeological site including royal monuments and tombs from multiple periods of Ancient Egypt. Abydos is the most important burial site of ancient Egypt, having a history extending back about 7500 years. Near‐surface geophysical techniques, particularly ground magnetic and ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) surveys, have been used to discover hidden ancient archaeological objects that will help with the site's long‐term development. The main objective of this work was the depth estimation and geometry determination of the buried archaeological objects southwest Seti I temple, such as walls, tombs and other features. A proton‐precession magnetometer (G‐857) and an SIR‐4000 equipment with an antenna of 200 MHz were used as instrumentation for the magnetic and GPR surveys, respectively. A final output is a total magnetic intensity (TMI) anomaly map, which has undergone extensive filtering to separate the residual components related to the shallow objects that could potentially serve as archaeological targets from the regional components of the deeper anomalies. Depth was estimated using source parameter imaging and 3D Euler deconvolution. The qualitative interpretation of the obtained magnetic maps reveals that there are clusters of anomalies that could indicate archaeological remains. On the other hand, the GPR findings reveal the presence of reflection hyperbolae within the measured profiles coinciding with the magnetic anomalies, supporting the probable existence of archaeological buried objects, which need to be confirmed by excavation. The main depths of these objects range approximately between 1 and 3 m. Our results bring new light on yet uninvestigated archaeological features at Abydos, paving the road to renewed archaeological research in this area.
Egypt’s southern region has significant economic and historical importance. However, due to the lack of data, this area has not gotten sufficient geodynamic research. Minor, to moderate earthquake activity along tectonic structures originating in the region from several faults is felt in southern Egypt. The study’s geographical scope includes the Red Sea coast, the Eastern Desert, the Western Desert, Aswan, and Nasser Lake, and it lies between 22° and 27° 30 N and 25° to 34° E. In this paper, the crustal deformation and earthquake events in the southern part of Egypt have been studied. The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) observations taken by Egyptian Permanent Geodetic Network (EPGN) have been processed and adjusted for the period 2010–2019 using Bernese v.5.2 software. In addition, we investigate the source mechanism of the significant earthquakes ≥3 magnitudes using the waveform data recorded by the Egyptian National Seismic Network (ENSN) during the period 2012–2019. The focal mechanisms of these earthquakes were constructed with high reliability based on the P-wave first motion polarities. The results show that the average residual velocity concerning Nubian fixed is about 0.5 ± 0.25 mm in the east direction and 1 ± 0.3 mm in the north direction.
With ever increasing demands on water resources, Egypt is facing increasing water needs, demanded by a rapidly growing population, by higher standards of living and by an agricultural policys. West Nile Delta represents a new agricultural area where the reclaimed lands are irrigated with groundwater in addition to surface water. The evaluation of groundwater aquifers in West Nile Delta area requires information about the extension, depth and distribution and source of recharging these aquifers. In this work, an integrated study using geoelectric, geomagnetic, hydrogeologic and hydrochemistry investigations has been applied to evaluate groundwater aquifers and to delineate subsurface structures predominant in the basement rocks at El-Nubariya area, West Nile Delta, Egypt. Thirty-five Vertical Electrical Soundings (VES) have been applied to identify the subsurface geoelctric layers predominant in the study area. As well as a detailed land magnetic survey has been carried out along the study area using two automatic proton precession magnetometers with an accuracy of 1 nT. These surveys allowed us to establish the subsurface structures and their relation with the detected aquifers. The geoelectric results are illustrated along seven geoelectric profiles and correlated with the lithologic and hydrogeologic data of drilled wells. The third geoelectric layer represents the water saturated zone (aquifer) with thickness varies from 14 m to 58 m, increasing to east and southeast directions. The hydrchemisty anlysis shows that the salinity of the water aquifer ranges from 600 ppm in the southeast to 3900 ppm in the south. The major dominant dissolved salt is Nacl. In the east and southeast, the water type becomes more NaSO4 which refers to dissolution of gypsum in addition to fertilizers. The magnetic data have been analyzed using horizontal gradient and 3D magnetic modeling along the locations of geolectric profiles. The results indicate that the fault structures are trending in E-W, NW-SE and NE-SW directions. These faults confirm the results obtained from the well geolectric interpretation. These fault structures act as recharging paths from lower brackish to upper fresh water aquifers.
This study examines the application of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to the detection of severe caverns and sinkholes in non-clastic rock formations. Due to the presence of vertically sloping bedrock, cavities, and sinkholes, geotechnical engineers face significant challenges when designing and constructing foundations in karstic formations such as limestone. The territory under investigation is located close to the Giza limestone plateau, the northern side of which has experienced severe stability issues. The ground-penetrating radar (GPR) method was used to identify the presence and extent of exposed caves and caverns in the studied region. The research area's geological and geomorphological background is explored, including the creation of primary and secondary caves, as well as solution caves generated by the breakdown of soluble rocks like limestone. Data collecting, processing, and interpretation procedures used in the GPR survey are described. GPR survey findings revealed the existence of a severe cave and many minor sinkholes in the studied region. GPR has shown to be a useful and efficient tool for determining geometric karst features in the subsurface, helping to a better evaluation of the dangers associated with this geological environment.