An integrated approach for identification of potential aquifer zones in structurally controlled terrain: Wadi Qena basin, Egypt

Catena 149 (2017) 73–85

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An integrated approach for identification of potential aquifer zones in structurally controlled terrain: Wadi Qena basin, Egypt Hussien M. Hussien a,b,⁎, Alan E. Kehew a, Tarek Aggour b, Ezat Korany c, Abotalib Z. Abotalib a,d, Abdelmohsen Hassanein b, Samah Morsy c a

Department of Geosciences, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, USA Geology Department, Desert Research Center, Al Matariya, Cairo, Egypt Department of Geology, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt d Geology Department, National Authority of Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, Cairo, Egypt b c

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history: Received 15 March 2016 Received in revised form 14 July 2016 Accepted 22 August 2016 Available online xxxx Keywords: Water resources GIS Remote sensing Structural mapping Environmental isotope Arid environments

a b s t r a c t Wadi Qena basin represents one of the most promising regions for future development in Egypt. Fresh water supplies are crucial for such plans. We provide an integrated remote sensing (Landsat, ASTER DEM, Geoeye-1), geophysical (aeromagnetic), isotopic (δ18O, δ2H), field (stratigraphic and structural interpretation) and geochemical (major dissolved ions) approach to delineate zones of potential groundwater resources in Wadi Qena basin. Four water-bearing horizons were sampled: fractured crystalline aquifer, Nubian Aquifer System (NAS), Post Nubian Aquifer System (PNAS) and the Quaternary aquifer. Findings include: (1) spatial analysis of remote sensing data in a GIS environment indicates extensive structural deformation by dextral faults trending NE-SW (i.e. QenaSafaga shear zone [QS]) and sinistral faults trending NW-SE (i.e. Najd shear zone) and sufficient surface water supply from the east through Wadi Fattera sub-basin; (2) analysis of geophysical data indicates that these faults control the water-bearing horizons in the subsurface; (3) isotopic analysis reveals four isotopic groups including two end members, one mixed group and one mixed and evaporated group: group (I) highly depleted fossil Nubian waters (range: δ18O from −6.39 to −6.74‰ and δ2H from −48.21 to −52.46‰); group (II) modern waters in fractured basement (range: δ18O from −1.41 to −1.51‰ and δ2H from 5.46 to −6.04‰); group (III) a mixed cluster between NAS and modern waters (range: δ18O from − 4.82 to − 5.05‰ and δ2H from − 33.28 to − 38.54‰); and group (IV) samples which have both mixing between the Nubian and meteoric waters and also have a considerable deviation from the Global Meteoric Water Line (GMWL) (range: δ18O from −0.58 to − 4.69‰ and δ2H from − 19.59 to − 38.68‰), (4) samples with a mixed isotopic signature (in group III), which tap the NAS and are located along the main channel of Wadi Fattera (area 3600 km2) provide evidence for modern recharge along surface exposures of the NAS and enhanced infiltration along deep-seated faults; (5) samples with a mixed isotopic signature (in group IV), which tap the Quaternary and PNAS aquifers and are located along deep-seated faults provide evidence of artesian upward leakage from the deep NAS into the shallower Quaternary and PNAS aquifers. The present study improves our understanding of the role of structural control and modern recharge in exploration for aquifer potential in arid environments. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction The current water shortage in Egypt and the possibilities for additional deficits in River Nile water if the Nile Basin countries proceed with building dams is steering the Egyptian Government efforts to locate additional new water resources. The Nubian Aquifer System (NAS) is one of the largest aquifers in the world, encompassing areas ⁎ Corresponding author at: Department of Geosciences, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, USA. E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected] (H.M. Hussien).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2016.08.032 0341-8162/© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

in Egypt, Sudan, Chad and Libya. During previous Quaternary wet climatic periods, the aquifer received enhanced recharge on regional and local scales (Yan and Petit-Maire, 1994; Sturchio et al., 2004; Adelsberger and Smith, 2010). In response to the governmental efforts, several national mega projects have been launched to bridge the gap between the overpopulation problems and shortage of water resources. Examples of these projects are (1) Tushka project (226,800 ha; Sallam et al., 2014), (2) East Oweinate project (42,000 to 79,800 ha; Idris and Nour, 1990; Ebraheem et al., 2003). Wadi Qena basin is among the most promising areas in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. This is because groundwater recharge exceeds the amount in the Western Desert of Egypt; Wadi Qena basin receives an amount of 1.4 × 108 m3 of modern

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annual precipitation (Milewski et al., 2009). Furthermore, the downstream portion of Wadi Qena basin has (83,757 ha) of almost flat lands that are suitable for reclamation, (Moneim, 2014). Moreover, Wadi Qena is easily accessible through a road network, connecting the densely populated Nile Valley with the touristic Red Sea Province. As a part of the Eastern Desert of Egypt, the Wadi Qena basin was affected by several structural features (shear zones, faults, folds and fractures), which are attributed to the Pan African orogeny and a series of tectonic reactivations mostly during Cretaceous and Oligocene times (Stern, 1985; El Gaby et al., 1988; Sultan et al., 1988; Akawy, 2002; Akawy and Kamal El-Din, 2006). Despite the degree of structural control in Wadi Qena basin, a comprehensive understanding of the effects of structural control on groundwater flow is still poorly constrained. Generally, structural control of groundwater flow and potentiality for groundwater accumulation varies greatly, from providing high permeable pathways that preferentially force groundwater to pass through or providing low permeability barriers that hamper the groundwater flow. Four factors mainly control the effect of faults and fractures on the groundwater flow including: the aquifer lithology, the hydrological conditions of the aquifer, characteristics of the fault zones and their relation with the hydraulic gradient. Recently, Abotalib et al. (2016) report on the discovery of intensive groundwater discharge in the Sahara-Arabian desert belt along deepseated sub-vertical faults during the previous wet climatic periods. They stated that during the wet periods, groundwater table rose significantly and deep groundwater from the NAS accessed the faults and discharged along free faces excavating natural depressions and deep canyons. The regional groundwater table elevation involves areas occupied by three major Aquifers in the Sahara and Arabia including: the NAS, the North Western Sahara Aquifer System (NWSAS) in Libya, Tunisia and Algeria; and the Upper Mega-Aquifer System in Saudi Arabia. If this is the case, one would expect that the artesian upward leakage from deep aquifers to the surface could have been associated with a considerable mixing between deep and shallow aquifers in highly faulted regions which could be a continuous process even under the present day arid conditions. This necessitate a revision to the present understand of groundwater mixing patterns and the role of structural control on groundwater flow in the Saharan-Arabian desert belt. Remote sensing datasets over the Egyptian deserts enable the mapping of different lithological, structural and geomorphological features at different scales. Because of their multispectral capability and synoptic coverage (Siegal and Gillespie, 1980; Drury, 1987), Landsat and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) imagery has been widely used to map lithological and structural elements across the Eastern Desert of Egypt (Sultan et al., 1988, 2008a). Furthermore, integration of multispectral images with radar and elevation data contributed to a comprehensive understanding of the landscape evolution in this area (Abotalib and Mohamed, 2013; Abdelkareem and El-Baz, 2015a, b). In addition applications of remote sensing data to better understanding of the water cycle in the arid environment and groundwater-surface water interactions have been widely implemented (Sultan et al., 2008b, 2011b; Milewski et al., 2009) and satellite-derived rainfall data (e.g. Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission [TRMM]) could provide a reasonable alternative for the ground-based rainfall measurements (Milewski et al., 2009; Wagner et al., 2009). Airborne geophysical investigations provide regional imaging of subsurface structures. Magnetic susceptibility of different rock types could be used to delineate deep-seated structures along regional scales (Spector and Grant, 1970). Numerous studies have used aeromagnetic data to delineate subsurface structures in Egypt (Bayoumi and Boctor, 1970; Said and Ahmed, 1990; Meshref et al., 1992). Hydrogen and oxygen isotopes are sensitive to different physical processes (i.e. groundwater mixing, evaporation and atmospheric circulations). Therefore, they are considered as ideal environmental tracers to identify the origin and evolution of groundwater in different climatic settings (Dansgaard, 1964; Clark and Fritz, 1997). Furthermore, chloride

(Cl) is a conservative tracer because it is not subjected to adsorption or desorption during transport processes, so it is considered as a good geochemical tracers for solute sources (Fabryka-Martin et al., 1991). Consequently, the integration of geochemical and isotopic tracers could provide clues for differing origins of groundwater components (Sheppard, 1986). Several studies have been conducted using the integration of remote sensing, geophysical, stable isotope, and geochemical data to explore the groundwater aquifers in the Western Desert of Egypt (e.g. Zaher et al., 2009; Abotalib et al., 2016), Sinai (e.g. Becker et al., 2009; Mohamed et al., 2015) and Eastern Desert of Egypt (e.g. Sultan et al., 2007, 2008a, 2011a, b; Amer et al., 2012). In this paper, we provide a cost effective, interdisciplinary and cutting edge research approach to decipher the ambiguity of the control of structural elements (faults and shear zones) on the groundwater flow in Wadi Qena basin. The approach involves an integration of remote sensing, geophysical (aeromagnetic), stable isotope, chemical and field data to (1) delineate the distribution of structural elements, (2) investigate recharge mechanism to the different aquifers, (3) classify the nature of groundwater within each aquifer based on its isotopic composition, and (4) develop a conceptual model for the role of the structural elements on groundwater flow in the study area. The present study could potentially provide a framework for the developmental plans of Wadi Qena basin and in other similar areas elsewhere. 2. Site description Wadi Qena basin is located between the crystalline Red Sea Hills in the east and the Limestone Plateau (i.e. El Maaza Plateau) in the west (Fig. 1). The main channel of Wadi Qena basin runs for 246 km from north to south. It is an ephemeral stream that collects occasional rainfall from many watersheds draining the eastern and western highlands and occasionally it receives flash flood events (Moawad et al., 2016). The basin is floored by Cretaceous-Neogene successions of sandstones, shales and limestones. Wadi Qena basin (surface area: 15,455 km2) is a unique geomorphic feature in the Egyptian landscape, because it slopes opposite to the regional northward slope of Egypt. This enigmatic morphology was attributed to greater uplift of the northern parts of the Red Sea rift system compared to the southern parts (Garfunkel, 1988). During Miocene time, when a period of intensive erosion prevailed, the landscape of the Eastern Desert developed, giving rise to the formation of numerous valley networks cutting through the Red Sea Hills and El Maaza Plateau (Said, 1993). These valleys join the Wadi Qena master stream and ultimately drain into the River Nile. These drainage networks collect rainwater as a surface runoff in the main streams and as a groundwater recharge to the shallow alluvium aquifer (Sultan et al., 2007). Among 24 sub-basins in Wadi Qena basin, Wadi Fattera is the largest with a surface area of about 3600 km2 (i.e. about 23.6% of Wadi Qena basin). Along Wadi Qena basin, several lithological units ranging in age from Precambrian to Quaternary were exposed. The Precambrian crystalline basement complex forms a massive belt oriented parallel to the Red Sea. These rocks consist mainly of metamorphic, acidic and basic igneous rocks which underlie thick sandstones, shales and limestone successions of Phanerozoic age (Said, 1962, 1990; El Ramly, 1972). These successions include (from base to top) the Taref and Quseir Formations of the Nubian Group, Duwi Formation, Dakhla Shale, Tarawan Chalk, Esna Shale, Thebes Group, undifferentiated deposits of Pliocene age and Quaternary alluvium deposits (Klitzsch et al., 1987). In the eastern part of the study area, the Taref Formation, which constitute the bulk of the NAS lithology, crop out at the foot slopes of the Red Sea Hills and/or covered by a few meter thick alluvium deposits (Klitzsch et al., 1987). Wadi Qena basin was intensively affected by structural discontinuities (i.e. shear zones, faults, folds and fractures). Two prominent shear zones were reported in the study area including: Qena-Safaga shear zone (QS) and the Najd shear system. The QS trends NE-SW with a

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Fig. 1. (A) Regional map of Egypt showing the study areas in the Eastern Desert. (B) Location map showing the distribution of water samples from different aquifers in Wadi Qena basin, the watershed areas of Wadi Qena and Fattera sub-basin (green and pink outline, respectively), hydraulic head data of the NAS and Quaternary aquifers, flow direction from the NE to SW, (modified after GARPAD, 1985; Hamdan, 2013) and the location of the studied locales (black box refers to the aeromagnetic data coverage, cyan box refers to the Landsat mosaic coverage). (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

significant effect on the Nile course near the city of Qena (El Gaby et al., 1988) and it was considered as a westward extension of the Aqaba fault trend (Akawy, 2002). The Najd shear system is a NW-SE left lateral strike slip fault that originated in response to the continental collision after the closure of the oceanic tract associated with the end of the Pan-African Orogeny (Schmidt et al., 1978; El Gaby and El-Nady, 1983). In addition to the deep NAS, three water-bearing zones were identified in Wadi Qena basin, including: the fractured basement aquifer, the Post Nubian Aquifer System (PNAS) and the Quaternary Aquifer (Aggour, 1997). The NAS and the Quaternary aquifers are the most promising water-bearing formations in Wadi Qena, (Moneim, 2005). Detailed hydrological characteristics of these aquifers are summarized in Table 1.

3. Materials and methods 3.1. Materials Remote sensing data sources used in this work include: (1) falsecolor composite (blue: band 2; green: band 4; and red: band 7) Landsat 8 image was used as a base map and for deriving Principal Component Analysis (PCA) images (scenes: 4; spatial resolution: 30 m; acquisition year: 2015; source: USGS website1); (2) Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) for ratio image mosaic (scenes: 4; spatial resolution: 30 m; acquisition year: 1990; source: USGS website1); (3) ASTER digital elevation model (DEM) (scenes: 6; spatial resolution: 30 m; source: USGS

website1,2); (4) 3-hourly precipitation data (1998–2013) from the TRMM data v.7A to calculate the average annual rainfall over Wadi Fattera sub-basin; these data are available from the Goddard Space Flight Center website2; (5) aeromagnetic survey data covering the sedimentary sequence in the study area, which was conducted by the Western Geophysical Company of America under a joint venture between the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and the Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Authority (EGSMA) (AeroService, 1984). The aeromagnetic survey was conducted along parallel flight lines oriented in a NE-SW direction at 1.5 km spacing. The following maps were also utilized: (1) geologic map for the Eastern Desert (scale: 1:500,000; sheets: 3; Klitzsch et al., 1987); (2) five topographic maps for the Eastern Desert scale 1:250,000 including the sheets of Bir Umm Umayyid, Qena, El Ghardaqah (Hurghada), Gebel Gharib and El Qusayr. The first two sheets were published after the Egyptian Military Survey Authority (EMS, 1978) and the last three maps were produced by the Egyptian General Survey Authority (EGSA, 1997). 3.2. Methodology The methodology used in this study is summarized in the flow chart of Fig. 2. The Landsat images were assembled into a single mosaic covering the area of study using the ENVI V. 5.1 application. The mosaic then 1 2

http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov (accessing date 2015). http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov (accessing date 2015).

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Table 1 Main hydrogeological data of the different aquifers in Wadi Qena basin. Sample no.

Aquifer type

Lithologic composition

Total depth (m)

Depth to water (m)

Hydrologic condition

21 22 23 24 25 26 28 29 30 31 33 35 36 37 41 50 51 52 15 16 18 19 20 27 40 44 32 38 39 43 45 46 47 49 6 53

Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary (PNAS)a (PNAS)a (PNAS)a (PNAS)a (PNAS)a (PNAS)a (PNAS)a (PNAS)a (NAS)b Qena 1 (NAS)b (NAS)b (NAS)b Qena 2 (NAS)b NAS)b (NAS)b (NAS)b Qena 4 Open well (FB)c Open well (FB)c

Gravels and sand Gravels and sand Gravels and sand Gravels and sand Gravels and sand Gravels and sand Gravels and sand Gravels and sand Gravels and sand Gravels and sand Gravels and sand Gravels and sand Gravels and sand Gravels and sand Gravels and sand Gravels and sand Gravels and sand Gravels and sand Carbonates Carbonates Carbonates Carbonates Carbonates Sandstone Sandstone Sandstone Sandstone Sandstone Sandstone Sandstone Sandstone Sandstone Sandstone Sandstone Fractured granite Fractured granite

70 72 50 50 50 50 11 18 15 12 20 15 15 14 12

35 35

F.W.T F.W.T F.W.T F.W.T F.W.T F.W.T F.W.T F.W.T F.W.T F.W.T F.W.T F.W.T F.W.T F.W.T F.W.T F.W.T F.W.T F.W.T F.W.T F.W.T F.W.T F.W.T F.W.T Confined F.W.T Confined Confined Confined Confined Confined Confined Confined Confined Confined F.W.T F.W.T

54 40 110 72 100 96 145 105 655 550 560 548 170 265 622 443 23

36 10 18 14 10 18 10 12 12 9 28 24 54 65 41 49 38 60 25 Flowing Flowing Flowing G. surface 29 30 43.86 29 20 17.55

F.W.T = free water table. G = ground. a Post Nubian Aquifer System. b Nubian Aquifer System. c Fractured basement.

was used as a base map for a better display of the different lithological and structural units. PCA images, which were derived from the Landsat 8 images, were used to create uncorrelated output bands and to isolate noise components in specific bands. Six bands of PCA were derived from the original Landsat 8 images. PCA 1, 2 and 3, which have the least noise component, were selected to differentiate between different lithological and structural units in the study area. Also, Landsat TM ratio images (e.g. 5/7, 5/1 and 5/4 × 3/4 in RGB) were created. The ratios of bands 5/7, 5/1 and 5/4 × 3/4 are characteristic ratios to discriminate between the different rock types (e.g. ultramafic, mafic and felsic rocks) based on their chemical and mineralogical composition. Such ratios have been widely used in the lithological and surficial structural mapping of the Arabian-Nubian shield in the central Eastern Desert of Egypt (Sultan et al., 1986, 1987; Gad and Kusky, 2006). In order to map subsurface structures, separation of the total intensity magnetic map into its regional and residual components was conducted using the fast Fourier transform technique (Hildenbrand, 1983) in the Oasis Montaj TM package (version 7.1, 2010). Then, the low-pass filtering process was used to isolate the regional features from the local ones and to delineate the deepseated faults. The ASTER DEM data and Landsat mosaic were first re-projected and clipped to cover the whole area of Wadi Qena basin using the ENVI v.5.1 application, then imported into ESRI Arc Scene v.10.1 to create a 3D view for the study area. The 3D image was used to provide a better visualization of the landscape of Wadi Qena basin. Furthermore, the drainage networks and watershed boundaries were created from ASTER DEMs using the widely used D8 flow direction algorithms

(O'Callaghan and Mark, 1984) in the Arc Hydro tool (ESRI Arc GIS v.10.1). One single mosaic for the geologic maps (sheets: 3) covering the study area was generated using Arc GIS software v.10.1. This mosaic then was used in digitizing the structural features (e.g. faults and fractures) in the study area. The topographic maps were assembled in a single mosaic covering Wadi Qena basin using ESRI Arc GIS v.10.1. These sheets were used in the nomenclature of the different wadis in the study area. Thirty-six groundwater samples, representing four water-bearing horizons, were collected for isotopic and geochemical analyses (H, O and Cl) from Wadi Qena basin. These samples include: (1) two samples tapping the fractured basement aquifer, (2) eight samples tapping the NAS, (3) eight samples tapping the PNAS, and (4) eighteen samples tapping the Quaternary aquifer (Table 2; Fig. 1). Groundwater samples were collected in 100 mL polyethylene bottles and tightly capped. Isotope analyses were conducted using a Triple Liquid Isotopic Water Analyzer (Los Gatos) at the Isotope Laboratory, Geoscience Department, College of Arts and Science, Western Michigan University, USA. The chloride was conducted using Ion Chromatography device (DIONEX ICS-1100) at chemistry laboratory at the Desert Research Center, Cairo, Egypt. The relative isotopic ratios of hydrogen and oxygen are reported (Table 2) in terms of the conventional delta (δ) notation, in units of per mil (‰) deviation relative to Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water (V-SMOW; Coplen, 1996), whereby; δð‰Þ ¼ ½ðR sample=R standardÞ−1  103

ð1Þ

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Fig. 2. Flowchart showing the main materials and methods used in this study.

Table 2 Isotopic and geochemical data of groundwater samples from Wadi Qena basin. Sample no.

Longitude 00° 00′ 00″ E

Latitude 00° 00′ 00″ N

Aquifer type

TDS mg/L

Cl ppm

δ2H‰

δ18O‰

21 22 23 24 25 26 28 29 30 31 33 35 36 37 41 50 51 52 15 16 18 19 20 27 40 44 32 38 39 43 45 46 47 49 6 53

32 45 14.6 32 46 01.6 32 46 02.2 32 46 04 32 46 07.1 32 46 05.1 32 46 41.8 32 46 39.2 32 46 30.8 32 47 12.2 32 47 09.5 32 47 26 32 48 14.2 32 48 05.7 32 47 05.5 32 45 40.6 32 45 37.4 32 45 06.8 32 47 49.8 32 47 37.7 32 50 06.4 32 48 48.1 32 47 30.4 32 46 46.9 32 47 44.7 32 46 07.2 32 47 08.3 32 48 09.9 32 48 05.5 32 46 48.7 32 46 02.1 32 48 40.6 32 49 12.9 32 47 17.9 33 27 33.2 33 26 58.1

26 17 38.7 26 17 27.7 26 17 30.4 26 17 40 26 17 56.2 26 17 43.8 26 18 52.5 26 18 37.6 26 18 55.3 26 19 52.2 26 20 36.5 26 21 33.5 26 23 50.4 26 26 42.9 26 21 22.6 26 16 00.8 26 14 56.6 26 13 47.8 26 16 40.0 26 16 44.8 26 18 23.7 26 17 42.8 26 16 26.2 26 17 59.7 26 21 02.7 26 33 54.4 26 16 00.4 26 26 53 26 27 08 26 31 40.1 26 41 11.7 26 42 26 26 41 42.7 26 47 22.7 26 48 40.7 26 23 17.7

Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary (PNAS)a (PNAS)a (PNAS)a (PNAS)a (PNAS)a (PNAS)a (PNAS)a (PNAS)a (NAS)b Qena 1 (NAS)b (NAS)b (NAS)b Qena 2 (NAS)b (NAS)b (NAS)b (NAS)b Qena 4 Open well (FB)c Open well (FB)c

5765.24 5163.36 6008.53 7653.32 9194.46 7682.79 17,076.41 6619.03 11,515.44 10,329.26 10,072.01 4916.53 4028.89 5947.60 7227.96 6138.01 10,315.31 8983.99 5926.87 6618.20 8119.94 6326.67 11,401.54 4394.33 7995.04 2275.15 2046.87 2000.61 1821.32 1770.74 1755.09 1372.61 1300.69 2251.74 805.67 801.28

1858.90 1688.90 1902.31 2667.42 3407.46 2653.62 8783.15 2444.77 5355.17 4845.13 4095.10 1844.12 1437.15 2173.48 3131.90 2109.33 3480.77 3807.44 1987.96 2269.09 3278.86 2174.69 5323.45 1318.10 2631.53 826.04 668.56 665.40 616.63 640.47 541.05 377.35 621.06 869.26 113.17 47.20

−34.81 −34.74 −34.19 −33.36 −29.55 −32.79 −27.52 −33.49 −19.59 −32.88 −30.07 −30.24 −38.68 −32.61 −34.55 −35.97 −37.78 −25.22 −33.34 −34.82 −37.11 −37.22 −33.37 −36.67 −33.7 −37.72 −49.74 −50.92 −48.21 −38.17 −38.54 −33.28 −35.24 −52.46 −6.04 −5.46

−4.44 −4.04 −3.97 −3.92 −2.73 −3.72 −2.06 −4.08 −0.58 −3.43 −3.04 −1.89 −4.55 −3.8 −4.02 −4.43 −4.26 −1.4 −4.12 −4.38 −4.11 −4.6 −3.78 −4.51 −3.81 −4.69 −6.39 −6.74 −6.39 −5.26 −5.05 −4.82 −4.81 −6.72 −1.41 −1.51

a b c

Post Nubian Aquifer System. Nubian Aquifer System. Fractured basement.

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and R = 2H/1H or 18O/16O. Precision of δ2H and of δ18O values are ±1‰, ±0.1‰ respectively. 4. Results 4.1. Delineating the surface structural features based on ratio image In order to better understand the interaction between different structural units in the study area, we developed a geospatial analysis of the main shear zones in the study area (i.e. Najd and QS shear zones) in a GIS environment. Based on interpretation of the Landsat ratio mosaic (5/4 × 3/4, 5/1, and 5/7) together with geologic maps and field investigation, three major shear zone belts of the Najd shear zone were mapped (NJ1, NJ2 and NJ3 [Fig. 3]). The criteria used to identify these belts include: (1) lithologic discontinuities with a NW trend, which have widths of 10s of meters for faults and hundreds of meters for shear zones, (2) stretched outcrops of serpentinites, which are aligned with the fault traces, indicating that the deformation was accommodated through ductile behavior along the serpentinites, (3) old inherited structural trends and outcrop patterns of some rock units (e.g. serpentinites) which have changed their orientation and aligned with the NW trend of the shear zone and fault traces (Fig. 4A and B; Sultan et al., 1988). NJ1, NJ2 and NJ3 extend for distances of 52, 60, 120 km, respectively. The QS was mapped on the basis of its NE-SW trend and right-lateral displacement (El Gaby et al., 1988). Given

these criteria, another segment of the QS was mapped 50 km to the north of the main QS system. The northern QS intersects Wadi Qena basin at the main outlet of the Wadi Fattera sub-basin. Inspection of the ratio mosaic, PCA images and geologic maps indicates the presence of faults and/or fractures in young sedimentary rocks (Eocene to Pliocene in age) overlying areas affected by the Najd shear zone and the QS, and trending in the same direction. For example, along the mapped QS, Gebel Seri El Geir was displaced ~20 km westward from its original location where Gebel Abu Had is located (Fig. 3). Along the extension of the Najd shear zone, two major faults bounding the western and eastern sides of Gebel Abu Had were mapped. As an elevated ridge, the two faults isolate the Paleocene-Eocene carbonates and shales of Gebel Abu Had from the Cretaceous Nubian Sandstone in the east and the Pliocene-Quaternary terraces in the west (Fig. 3). Furthermore, Pliocene terraces juxtaposing the western side of the Gebel Abu Had ridge display local faulting linearly separating these terraces from the younger Quaternary terraces along the strike of the Najd shear zone (Fig. 4C). 4.2. Delineating deep seated faults using aeromagnetic total intensity data The low-pass magnetic component map (Fig. 5; the area covered by this map is delineated by box 1 on Fig. 3) shows that the study area is classified into basins with magnetic values that range from 41,995 to 42,093 nT separated by discontinuous uplifts ranging in amplitude from 42,331 to 42,502 nT. The high horizontal magnetic gradients

Fig. 3. (A) Color composite Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) band ratio (5/7, 5/1, 5/4 in RGB) over northern and central parts of the Eastern Desert, Egypt, showing regional distribution of lithological and structural features. Also shown are dotted black line representing Wadi Qena basin catchment. (B) Interpretation map of Fig. 2 showing the distribution of different lithological units, QS, Najd shear zone, and related faults. Inset is the rose diagram showing the dominant structural orientations in the study area. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.) Lithological and structural units were modified after Klitzsch et al. (1987).

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Fig. 4. (A) A close-up view of the color composite ratio image over Attala shear zone (northeastern part of the Najd shear system) showing different criteria for structural mapping of major shear zones. (B) Detailed interpretation map showing the distribution of Najd shear zone and its related faults and lithological units. (C) PCA Landsat 8 image showing relatively young fault cutting through the Pliocene terraces. Faults are modified from Klitzsch et al. (1987).

located between the basins and surrounding uplifts are interpreted as the locations of the deep-seated fault planes (Fig. 4). The major structural trends in the study area as revealed from the low-pass filtered map includes the NE-SW (QS trend) and the NW-SE trends (Najd shear system). Locations of the inferred basins and uplifts are consistent with the borehole data obtained from deep wells drilled along a N-S traverse (GARPAD, 1985) in the study area (Fig. 6). 4.3. Surface hydrological features The contribution of modern precipitation over the Red Sea Hills and the Limestone Plateau (El Maaza) to the groundwater aquifers in Wadi Qena basin was examined using satellite-based spatial and temporal precipitation (TRMM) data. We extracted the average annual precipitation from 3-hourly TRMM precipitation data over a period of 15 years (from 1998 to 2013) (Fig. 7A). Unfortunately, the lack of rain gauging stations (i.e. only one gauge located near Qena at the downstream of Wadi Qena master stream) impedes the proper calibration of TRMM data in the study area. Our analysis indicates that the highest values occur in the Red Sea Hills in the eastern part of the study area, which witnessed an annual precipitation of 13.43 mm/year whereas the

lowest values (2.78 mm/year) occur in the western parts of the study area. Given the expected underestimation of precipitation values by 15–30% from the TRMM data in arid environments (Chiu et al., 2006; Chokngamwong and Chiu, 2006), a conservative value of the average annual precipitation over Wadi Fattera sub-basin was estimated as 4.69 mm/year. The surface area of the sub-basin was calculated using the D8 flow direction algorithm as 3600 km2. The total amount of annual rainfall (V) that falls on Wadi Fattera sub-basin can be estimated from the following equation;

V m3 ¼ A m2  HðmÞ

ð2Þ

where (A) is the surface area and (H) is the average annual rainfall. Accordingly, the volume of precipitation over Wadi Fattera is 16.887 million m3 per year. Surface water modeling of the Eastern Desert basins, which have similar properties to the Fattera sub-basin, yields an average surface runoff of 11.2% and average transmission losses (recharge) of 20.76% (Milewski et al., 2009). Assuming the same values are applicable to Wadi Fattera watershed, where both locales share the same lithology, topography and climatic conditions, and given the results obtained from Eq. (2), the amount of surface runoff

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Fig. 5. (A) Regional magnetic component map of southern portion of Wadi Qena basin showing inferred subsurface tectonic framework from the magnetic data (dashed lines). Also shown are the well locations. Inset is the rose diagram showing the dominant structural orientations of the inferred subsurface faults.

and transmission loses are calculated as 1.902 million m3 and 3.505 million m3, respectively. These two components are expected to contribute to the overall recharge into the aquifers from Wadi Qena master stream (Fig. 7B). 4.4. Stable isotope data (δ2H and δ18O) Thirty-six groundwater samples were analyzed for geochemical and isotopic compositions (O, H and Cl), and were compared to reported data (6 samples) from the fractured basement aquifer (representing modern meteoric water in the Eastern Desert; Sultan et al., 2011a) (Table 2). The investigated samples could be classified into two end members, one mixed group and one mixed and evaporated group on the basis of their isotopic composition (Fig. 8). Group I samples were collected from wells tapping the NAS in Wadi Qena, and they have depleted δ2H and δ18O values (δ18O: −6.39 to −6.74‰; δ 2H: −48.21 to −52.46‰) similar to those previously reported from the fossil Nubian waters in the Eastern Desert (δ18O: − 7.5 to − 6.99‰; δ2H: − 58 to − 50.74‰; Hamza et al., 1999; Sultan et al., 2007; Moneim et al., 2015). Group II samples were obtained from the fractured basement aquifer with enriched isotopic composition (δ18O: −1.41 to −1.51‰; δ2H: −5.46 to −6.04‰) compared to Group I samples and are similar to that of the modern meteoric water, in the Eastern Desert (δ18O: − 1.1 to − 2.7‰; δ2H: − 1.9 to − 14.2‰; Sultan et al., 2011a). It is worth mentioning that we checked the Global Network of Isotopes in

Precipitation (GNIP) on the International Atomic Energy Agency website to gain insights on the isotopic composition of modern precipitation over three rain-gauge stations that surround Wadi Qena basin (i.e. Ras Banas, Aswan and Hurghada stations). Unfortunately, isotopic composition of the reported rainfall events in the three stations was not available. Group III samples were extracted from the NAS aquifer with isotopic composition showing a mixture between the Nubian and modern meteoric waters (δ18O: − 4.82 to −5.05‰; δ2H: − 33.28 to −38.54‰). Group IV samples from the PNAS and Quaternary aquifers show both mixing between the Nubian and modern meteoric waters and also show deviation from the global meteoric water line (GMWL) suggesting evaporation-enrichment relationships for δ18O and δ2 H similar to the groundwater in Wadi El Tarfa, north Wadi Qena basin, area in the Eastern Desert, (Sultan et al., 2000). 5. Discussion Structural features (e.g. shear zones and faults) in Wadi Qena basin, which were either mapped using Landsat ratio mosaics (refer to Section 4.1) or inferred from the aeromagnetic data filtering (refer to Section 4.2) indicate a striking similarity in the trends of surface and subsurface structures (Figs. 3 and 4). Spatial analysis of these structures indicate that the surface shear zones and faults that are dissecting the massif belt of the Precambrian crystalline rocks (Najd and QS shear zones) and the overlying Phanerozoic strata extend deeply through the

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Fig. 6. N-S cross section along traverse A-A′ in Fig. 1. The N-S cross section is based on subsurface lithologic data modified from (GARPAD, 1985).

subsurface succession. Existence of faults in the Paleocene-Eocene strata and Pliocene terraces (refer to Section 4.1) which are located along the same trend as the Precambrian shear zones and maintain the same strike could be interpreted as a reactivation of the pre-existing structural weaknesses in the basement rocks during the Red Sea opening. This is consistent with findings from the Eastern Desert (Youssef, 2003;

Thurmond et al., 2004) and the Western Desert of Egypt (Gindy et al., 1991; Zaher et al., 2009; Abotalib et al., 2016) where differential uplift of the basement rocks caused a considerable deformation of the overlying sedimentary succession. One would expect that the uplift-related sub-vertical faults that have been frequently reported in similar settings in the Western (Zaher et al., 2009) and Eastern Deserts (Sultan et al.,

Fig. 7. (A) Average annual precipitation over Wadi Qena basin derived from 3-hourly TRMM data cover the period 1998–2013. (B) 3D mosaic of Wadi Qena basin showing different geomorphological features. Also shown are the drainage network of Wadi Fattera sub-basin extracted from ASTER DEM and superimposed on the 3D mosaic and well locations tapping the NSAS.

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Fig. 8. δ2H vs. δ18O plot for groundwater samples collected from Wadi Qena basin. The solid symbols represent samples from this study including (modern meteoric water in fractured aquifer, NAS, PNAS and Quaternary Aquifers). Also shown are water samples from the fractured basement aquifer in the Eastern Desert, representing modern meteoric water (open circles; Sultan et al., 2011a, b). Solid line represents Global Meteoric Water Line (GMWL), δD = 8δ18O + 10 (Craig, 1961); dotted line represents evaporation line of the PNAS and Quaternary aquifers in Wadi Qena basin.

2007) have a strong influence on the groundwater flow and aquifer connectivity in Wadi Qena basin. Investigation of the isotopic composition of the groundwater samples indicates that it is indeed the case, where samples collected from the Quaternary and PNAS aquifers show a strong mixing signature (δ18O: −0.58 to −4.69‰; δ2H: −19.59 to −38.68‰) between the deep, highly depleted (δ18O: − 6.39 to − 6.74‰; δ2H: −48.21 to −52.46‰) Nubian waters and the modern meteoric waters (δ18O: −1.41 to −1.51‰; δ2H: −5.46 to −6.04‰). The samples are located proximal to deep-seated faults (refer to Section 4.2), which might act as vertical conduits along which pressurized groundwater in the deep NAS access shallower surfaces and recharge the overlying PNAS and Quaternary aquifers. The upward leakage of pressurized groundwater has been reported in the northern Western Desert (Abotalib et al., 2016), in the Eastern Desert at Wadi El-Assyuti and El-Maaza Plateau (Sultan et al., 2007) and along the Gulf of Suez area (Sturchio et al., 1996). Furthermore, these samples show deviation from the mixing line between meteoric and Nubian waters indicating that the modern meteoric waters were subjected to high evaporation prior to infiltration due to the relatively long extent of surface runoff under arid conditions. On the other hand, samples tapping the NAS in the northern part of the study area (i.e. near the outlet of Wadi Fattera sub-basin) show a strong mixing between Nubian and meteoric waters (without evaporation). One explanation is that the exposures of the Taref sandstones, which constitute the bulk of the NAS in Wadi Qena basin, at the foot slopes of the Red Sea Hills in this locale and, given the considerable amount of surface recharge (i.e. infiltration from occasional rainfall events and related surface runoff) from Wadi Fattera sub-basin (refer to Section 4.3), could provide a reasonable recharge opportunity for the NAS. Additionally, the deep-seated NE-SW fault located along the outlet of Wadi Fattera sub-basin may facilitate the infiltration of meteoric water into the NAS. To examine the geochemical evolution of the studied groundwater samples including mixing and evaporation processes, the chloride concentration versus δ18O analysis was conducted. Because chloride does not have any physical or chemical interactions with the aquifer materials (Sultan et al., 2000), it represents a valid tracer for the physical processes operating in the groundwater. The chlorinity versus δ18O plot (Fig. 9) supports the suggested mixing between the Nubian and meteoric end members in group III where groundwater samples are located along the mixing line with intermediate isotopic composition between the two end members and relatively low chloride content (377 to 640 ppm). The groundwater mixing is interpreted as enhanced recharge of the NAS through surface exposures of the Taref Formation

and deep-seated faults along the outlet of Wadi Fattera sub-basin. Furthermore, the associated mixing and evaporation in group IV is evidenced from the chlorinity-δ18O relationship by enrichment of δ18O values and chloride concentrations (ranges: 826 to 8783 ppm). One explanation of the mixed/evaporated samples in the shallow Quaternary and PNAS aquifers is integration between artesian upward leakage of the depleted Nubian waters along sub-vertical faults into the overlying PNAS and Quaternary aquifers, and infiltration of evaporated modern meteoric waters. Additionally, there are some Quaternary samples that are dispersed from the estimated evaporation line (Fig. 9). These samples could be interpreted as evaporated samples with a lower paleowaters to modern water ratio. Quantitative insights on the partitioning of groundwater mixing were gained using isotopic mass balance calculations where the equation can be written as: δðTotalÞ ¼ ðδ1  XÞ þ ½δ2 ð1−XÞ

ð3Þ

Fig. 9. δ18O vs chloride concentration showing two end members, one evaporation line and one mixing line between fossil Nubian and modern meteoric waters in fractured aquifer.

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where; δ(Total) is the value of δ18O of the mixed samples; δ1 is the value of δ18O of the Nubian waters end member, δ2 is the meteoric water end member and X is the percentage of Nubian waters mixing. The Nubian water end member is considered as (δ18O; − 6.72‰) which is the most depleted sample in the study area. This end member is consistent with the Eastern Desert Nubian sandstone water end member considered by Hamza et al. (1999), while the meteoric water end member is determined by the samples collected from the fractured basement

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(δ18O; − 1.41‰). The calculation was only carried out on four water samples taping the NAS (i.e. group III). Mixed/evaporated samples from Group IV were avoided from the calculations because of the evaporation effect. The mixing ratio ranges from 28% meteoric waters in sample 43 to 36% in sample 47. Despite of the location of well Qena 4 (sample 49) in the northern part of the study area, it has the most depleted isotopic values. This could be attributed to the occurrence of undeformed thick clayey layer (30 to 38 m) of Pliocene age capping

Fig. 10. Schematic groundwater flow models in Wadi Qena basin. Model (A) represents the enhanced recharge-related mixing in the NAS north Gebel Abu-Had, Model (B) represents the enhanced recharge-related mixing in the PNAS and Quaternary aquifers in Wadi Qena master stream.

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the NAS in this area (Fig. 6) which imped the infiltration of rain water. The occurrence of the undeformed clayey layer could also impede the upward leakage into the overlying Quaternary aquifer. A pioneer groundwater dating investigation was conducted by Hamza et al. (1999), which provided general constraints on groundwater ages in the surroundings of Wadi Qena area. Unfortunately, the exact locations of the samples are not clear enough to be further utilized for the evaluation of our results. Hence, further investigation of the groundwater ages in Wadi Qena basin is required. In light of our results, we developed two schematic models to explain the structural control on the groundwater flow in the study area (Fig. 10). In the northern region of the study area (Fig. 10A), the precipitation over the Red Sea Hills is channeled and drained westward giving rise to a considerable recharge of the NAS. This recharge takes place through the NAS exposures along the foot slopes of the Red Sea Hills and/or through the sub-vertical faults located along the outlet of Wadi Fattera sub-basin. In the southern region of the study area (Fig. 10B), the fossil waters in the NAS are subjected to an artesian upward leakage along deep-seated faults to end up in a mixture with the meteoric waters, which probably have precipitated during sporadic storm events, in the overlying PNAS and Quaternary aquifers. 6. Conclusions An integrated approach using remote sensing datasets, along with geophysical, stable isotope, field and GIS technologies was conducted to better understand the role of structural control on groundwater occurrences and aquifer potential. Spatial analysis of observations gained from remotely acquired datasets (Landsat ratio mosaic, PCA) and geologic maps revealed that the hydrogeology of Wadi Qena basin is extensively controlled by structural deformation in the form of shear zones and faults. These structural features define two main trends, the QS NE-SW trend with a right lateral displacement and the Najd NW-SE trend with a left lateral displacement. Investigation of low-pass filtered aeromagnetic data revealed that the detected surface structural features extend deep into subsurface rocks. Based on the isotopic composition of groundwater samples from Wadi Qena basin, two end members, two mixed groups and one evaporated group were defined including: Group I: highly depleted fossil Nubian waters; (range: δ18O: −6.39 to −6.74‰; δ2H: −48.21 to −52.46‰); Group II modern meteoric waters in fractured basement (range: δ18O: −1.41 to −1.51‰; δ2H: −5.46 to −6.04‰); Group III mixed NAS and modern meteoric waters; (range: δ18O from −4.82 to −5.05‰ and δ2H from −33.28 to −38.54‰); and Group IV: samples which have mixing between the Nubian and meteoric end members and also a considerable deviation from the Global Meteoric Water Line (GMWL) along an evaporation line (range: δ18O from −0.58 to −4.69‰ and δ2H from −19.59 to −38.68‰). The present study suggests that the structural features in Wadi Qena basin are not only acting as a vertical conduit for the ascending deep Nubian waters, but also facilitating downward infiltration of surface runoff to recharge the subsurface aquifers. The hydrogeologic evaluation of the study area reveals that the best sites for groundwater extractions in Wadi Qena basin should be around the delineated deep-seated faults. Additionally, future plans for land reclamation in the Egyptian deserts (96% of the total area of Egypt) should take into consideration the role of structure control (e.g. shear zones, faults and fractures) on the groundwater flow and accumulation. The integration of remote sensing data sets, with geophysical, stable isotope, field and GIS technologies is effective in improving our understanding of the role of structural control and modern recharge in exploration for aquifer potential in arid environments and could be applicable for similar regions worldwide. Acknowledgments This study was fully supported by the Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (A two years fellowship for the first author

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