Geospatial analysis of soil resistivity and hydro-parameters for groundwater assessment

Abstract

Groundwater is a precious resource for irrigating the crops in developing countries. This research was governed in Faisalabad District of Pakistan to assess the groundwater strata using GIS cum geoelectric resistivity method approach. The IX1D computer model was calibrated with root mean square error (up-to 5%), to obtain true soil layers’ resistivities and thicknesses model for each VES point based on apparent resistivity data collected by ABEM SAS 4000 Terrameter using the most common Schlumberger electrode array setting. Knowledge of geo-hydraulic parameters (hydraulic conductivity, transmissivity, and porosity) aids in identifying the quality and potential of groundwater repositories, estimated based on modeling results (soil layers resistivities and thicknesses). Most common interpolation (inverse distance weighted) method in ArcGIS Pro was used for mapping the soil aquifer layers resistivities/thicknesses and geo-hydraulic parameters. Transmissivity, Porosity, and hydraulic conductivity values ranged from 365.46 to 1888.503 m 2 /day, 31.84 to 39.72% and 4.05 to 15.27 m/day for all surveys, respectively. Based on these results, aquifer layers with thicknesses 30 to 103.5 m, were distinguished as comprised of saline to low marginal quality (fine sand and clay formation), marginal to fresh quality (fine sand and gravel formation) and fresh quality groundwater (coarse sand and gravel formation). Graphical Abstract