Mapping potential areas for groundwater storage
in Wadi Aurnah Basin, western Arabian Peninsula, using remote
sensing and geographic information system techniques
Mashael Al Saud
Abstract Water shortage has become a problem in many
arid regions where rainfall is low. Wadi Aurnah Basin, in
Saudi Arabia (Arabian Peninsula), where the Holy Islamic
cities are located, was selected for study, since it
represents a water-scarce region. The potential for ground-
water storage was investigated. This was achieved using
remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS)
techniques to cover the whole area (3,113km2). Satellite
images with high spatial resolution were processed to
recognize terrain elements controlling the subsurface rock
behavior. Landsat 7 ETM+, ASTER and SRTM satellite
images were processed using ERDAS IMAGINE soft-
ware. The influencing factors on groundwater storage
were determined and digitally mapped as thematic layers.
This included rainfall, lithology, rock fractures, slope,
drainage and land cover/use. These factors were integrated
in the GIS system (ArcView). A map was produced,
indicating potential areas for groundwater storage. The
map shows that 12–15% of Wadi Aurnah Basin has
potential for groundwater storage, mainly in areas where
intensive fracture systems exist.
Keywords Groundwater storage . Water supply .
ASTER . Geographic information systems . Saudi Arabia
Introduction
The Arabian Peninsula is among the most arid regions of
the world. It is a water-scarce area due to the low rainfall
rate, which ranges between 50 and 300 mm/year, and high
temperature (average 35°C) and thus high evaporation. In
the light of this, renewable water resources are often
limited and the excessive exploiting of ‘fossil water’
Received: 22 April 2009 / Accepted: 5 March 2010
Published online: 14 April 2010
* Springer-Verlag 2010
M. Al Saud ())
King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology,
Space Research Institute,
P.O. Box 15413, Riyadh 11444, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: geomm5.mashael@gmail.com
Hydrogeology Journal (2010) 18: 1481–1495
became the only solution to cope with human demands for
water. The exploitation of groundwater involves mainly
pumping from the Wasia-Biyada and Wajid Sandstone
Aquifers and from Umm Er Radhuma and Dammam
Limestone Aquifers.
Recently, the frequency of torrential rainfall events has
increased, as an aspect of climatic variability in the region,
and thus has resulted in flash floods before utilization of
rainwater. This, in turn, motivated decision makers to
follow integrated water resources management (IWRM)
approaches, and to construct a number of dams and earth
ponds to harvest the flooded water. However, this classical
solution could not contribute substantially to water supply
in the region; therefore, excessive pumping of ground-
water became dominant.
The geomorphology of the Arabian Peninsula encom-
passes a number of mountain chains, wherefrom inter-
mittent streams, of several hundred kilometres length,
exist to capture water and then debouches into the sea.
Wadi Aurnah Basin, approximately 3,113 km2, is an
example of such catchments and it was selected as a pilot
area in the present work (Fig. 1). It is located within the
geographic coordinates: 39°12′00″ E; 40°18′00″ E and
21°01′30″ N; 21°35′30″ N, hence forming one of the
major five catchments in the central part of the Tihamah-
Hijaz (middle part of the Arabian Shield) region. Wadi
Aurnah is surrounded from the east by several mountains
of a chain ranging from 1,800 to 2,476 m above sea level
(at Jabal Al-Adim). The basin contains the Holy Muslim
City of Makka Al Mukaramah (note, Makka Al Mukar-
amah is not located among the alignment of the cross-
section in Fig. 2, thus water demand is high, especially
during the Hajj pilgrimage.
The geology of the area is characterized by extensive
geologic structures, notably the fracture systems of differ-
ent scales and mechanisms, which govern the geographic
distribution of the existing lithologies and play a role in
increasing the porosity and permeability of rocks. Accord-
ing to Sahl (1987) and Moor and Al-Rehaili (1989), the
area is dominated by Late Precambrian and plutonic rocks,
in addition to Tertiary sedimentary rocks (e.g., carbonates,
sandstone and gravel formations), which occupy fault-
bounded troughs near the Red Sea coast, while, the
Cenozoic lavas form extensive fields in the north. The
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1482
Fig. 1 Location map of the Arabian Peninsula and the study area
Quaternary surficial deposits are spread on different parts
of the area, but mainly along the coastal plain.
The majority of aquiferous rock formations in the
region imply the existence of igneous and metamorphic
rock complexes with tremendous dykes and volcanic
intrusions, where fault systems also exist. This character-
izes the entire sequence of rocks in the region as aqui-
ferous formation with almost unidentified depth (Fig. 2).
Several methods for groundwater exploration have
been followed but not all of them have given positive
results, because of the erroneous selection of many
boreholes, which were often dug, unplanned, before
studying the controlling geological factors. As a common
method in groundwater exploitation, geologic maps are
often used and combined with the available well logs and
reports from existing wells; therefore, a field survey was
carried out to determine the suitable site for boreholes.
More developed procedures followed in-depth investiga-
Fig. 2 Simplified cross-section along Wadi Aurnah Basin (Adapted from Moor and Al-Rehaili, 1989) (jabal means ‘mountain’)
Hydrogeology Journal (2010) 18: 1481–1495
tion such as test borings, fracture-trace analyses and
geophysical surveys (Fetter 1994).
Most recently, new methods have been raised in explor-
ing groundwater, giving more attention to remote sensing
(RS) and geographic information system (GIS) techniques.
The use of these techniques has followed a spectrum of
approaches in spatial data analysis and manipulation in order
to map potential areas for groundwater storage. These
techniques proved to be capable, since they have the
advantage of covering large areas, like the case study of
Wadi Aurnah, within a short time and at least cost.
The current study requires high-quality work to
produce a thematic map indicating potential areas for
groundwater storage in Wadi Aurnah Basin. It aims, in a
broad sense, to produce a creditable and systematic
method to be used in groundwater exploration in different
regions of the Arabian Peninsula in order to locate new
areas with promising groundwater resources.
DOI 10.1007/s10040-010-0598-9

The development of the remote sensing and GIS
techniques resulted in a miscellany of successful studies
on groundwater and related disciplines such as those
obtained by El-Baz (1992), Gustafsson (1994), Teeuw
(1995, Savane et al. (1996), Sener et al. (2005) and Kumar
et al. (2007). However, the use of remote sensing and GIS
techniques must be subjected to empirical procedures of
analysis, including image processing and extraction of
terrain information, followed by spatial data manipulation,
and both must be accompanied by field verification.
Methods and tools
The different applied methods to explore groundwater by
remote sensing and GIS show an obvious discrepancy in
results, in spite of the similarity in the used techniques and
tools (e.g., satellite images, software, etc.). This is attributed
mainly to the diversity of the involved factors that control
groundwater storage, as well as any contradictions in the
interpretation of the extracted information that is identified
from remote sensing. In addition, GIS allows for the
integration of different factors derived from different methods.
In the literature review that was carried out for this
study (Table 1), it was found that the involved factors in
determining potential areas for groundwater storage were
different, and this, in turn, affected the study conclusions.
For example, some studies relied only on lineaments (i.e.,
observable fracture systems on satellite images) in ground-
water determination (Teeuw 1995); others merged linea-
ments and drainage intensity (Ahmed et al. 1984), whilst
the geomorphology, geology, fractures and slope were
featured in some of the other studies (Kumar et al. 2007).
Nevertheless, not all applied studies proved to be a
successful application, and many of these studies were not
justified in a field verification procedure to assure their
creditability. However, a number of studies were successful
1483
and gave reliable results. Therefore, Table 1 reveals different
levels of satisfaction for the used methods, which were
supposed to be different from one region to another.
Satisfaction with these results was indicated by authors who
depended either on field surveys or on data from drilled wells.
Factors controlling groundwater storage are different in
space and time, and the majority of these factors are
summarized in Table 2. It implies: (1) rainfall availability
as a source of water; (2) rock type for which the lithologic
character governs the flow and storage regime; (3) rock
fractures which enhance the permeability and porosity of
rocks and then permit surface water to infiltrate easily; (4)
slope is another influencing factor, and it controls water
flow energy, which plays a role in facilitating water flow;
(5) drainage characteristics also have a role in the
distribution of runoff and indicate an infiltration scheme
and 6) land cover/use was also considered in this study,
since it governs the behaviour of water flow on terrain
surface vertically and horizontally.
If compared with the list of studies in Table 1, it is
obvious that the current study involves the largest number
of influencing factors on groundwater storage. In this
respect, it should be taken into account that these factors
are geographically dependant and restricted to certain
areas. For example, in areas with flat topography, slope
will not be accounted for in the determination of ground-
water-rich zones. While, if karst landforms exist, like in
the case of the Mediterranean basin, these landforms must
be involved as an influencing factor.
The integration of these factors in a systematic method
will result in a map showing potential zones for ground-
water storage, with a number of categories. In this view,
remote sensing can contribute to identification of all these
factors, but at different levels. For example, rock fractures
can be completely extracted from satellite images, while
drainage and lithology can be obtained from topographic
and geologic maps as well, but could be enhanced from

Table 1 A selection of studies that have used remote sensing for groundwater exploration
Authors Year Parameters Resultsa
Meisler 1963 Lineaments Unsatisfactory
Rauch and LaRiccia 1978 Lineaments Unsatisfactory
Taylor 1980 Lineaments and fracture traces Unsatisfactory
El-Shazly et al. 1983 Geomorphic features, land cover, vegetation and geologic units Assumptionb
Seelan 1983 Lithology, morphology, soil and land use Unsatisfactory
Salman 1983 Drainage characteristics Assumption
Ahmed et al. 1984 Lineaments and drainage intensity Assumption
El-Baz 1992 Topography, lineaments and drainage Satisfactory
Gustafsson 1994 Lineaments and vegetation Satisfactory
Teeuw 1995 Lineaments Satisfactory
Sander et al. 1996 Vegetation, drainage, lithology and lineaments Satisfactory
Savane et al. 1996 Lithology and lineaments Satisfactory
Edet et al. 1998 Lineaments and drainage Satisfactory
Robinson et al. 1999 Drainage and lineaments Assumption
Das 2000 Geology, geomorphology, soils, land cover/land use and lineaments Assumption
Bilal and Ammar 2002 Lineaments, drainage and lithology Satisfactory
Sener et al. 2005 Geology, lineaments, land use Satisfactory
Kumar et al. 2007 Geomorphology, geology, fractures, slope Satisfactory
Ganapuram et al. 2008 Morphology, geologic structures, drainage, slope, land cover/use Assumption
a
Satisfaction was indicated by authors depending on the verification of the obtained results
b
The method is proposed, but not confirmed

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1484
Table 2 Major influencing factors in groundwater storage exposed rocks are fundamentally comprised of six major
Influencing Influencing Controlling element Precambrian units and a basement complex of a yet older
factor element age, in addition to the local Tertiary deposits with limited
Rainfall Rainfall rate Water as a source areal extent. Holocene rocks encompass Quaternary deposits
Lithology Rock type Water permeability of surficial cover (alluvial deposits and sand dunes), as well
Rock fracture Fracture systems as reef limestone. The Precambrian units in the region, as the
Slope – Water flow energy major part of the rock succession, are interrupted by volcanic
Drainage Density Water permeability and flow
Land cover/use Imperviousness eruptions and composed mainly of igneous and metamor-
phic rocks. The most common rocks of the Precambrian
units in the region are gabbro, granite, granodiorite, gneiss,
satellite images. Moreover, not all these factors have the schist and ultramafic rocks (Fig. 2). From a hydrogeologic
same degree of influence on groundwater storage, and point of view, fracture systems, joints, and dykes represent
they act at different levels. Some of them may ultimately the principal hydrologic features among the existing rock
contribute to groundwater storage, but some others may succession, which in turn increase the porosity and perme-
act to a limited level. For example, rainfall is a principal ability of these rocks and facilitate water percolation (when/
factor, but the drainage behaviour is not. where it exists) to flow into deeper rock successions.
Further modification of these maps was performed
after taking account of remote sensing data. In
Rainfall particular, the use of ASTER (pixel size 15 m) and
The geographic distribution and intensity of rainfall in Wadi Landsat 7 ETM (pixel size 30 m) satellite images was
Aurnah Basin were analyzed applying the isohyet method. helpful in this regard; thus, boundaries of many rock
Rainfall data were acquired from the available records of the formations were corrected. The satellite images have
Organization of Forecast and SEnvironmental Protection different optical characteristics, mainly the spatial
Research (2006) and were combined with the rainfall map by resolution (pixel size), which indicates the clearness of
Awari (2005). The resulting map was classified into five observing terrain objects from space. They were
major classes (Fig. 3): >175, 150–175, 125–150, 100–125 processed using ERDAS IMAGINE software, which
and <100 mm/year. The map shows that the elevated areas has a number of digital and optical advantages. In this
receive much more water than the lowland area. For respect, each satellite image has a number of spectral
example, in the elevated areas, rainfall rate reaches bands. For example, a Landsat 7 ETM image has seven
300 mm on some mountain peaks, while it does not exceed bands representing different spectral ranges, while an
50 mm in the coastal region. ASTER image has 14 bands. ERDAS IMAGINE is
capable of arranging each of the three bands separately
in order to have the most suitable and distinguished
Lithology observation on the images. This arrangement is called
Lithology, as a major water-controlling factor, is represented “band combination”. With Landsat 7 ETM, the bands 7,
by the geographic distribution of different rock formations. 4 and 2 were selected in this study, since this gave clear
This was adopted from the available geological maps of textural and pattern attributes for the terrain surface,
1:50,000 scale (Moor and Al-Rehaili 1989; Sahl 1987). The and thus better discrimination of objects.

Fig. 3 Classification of rainfall in Wadi Aurnah Basin

Hydrogeology Journal (2010) 18: 1481–1495 DOI 10.1007/s10040-010-0598-9


Fig. 4 Classified lithological units of Wadi Aurnah Basin
In addition, many other digital features in the ERDAS
IMAGINE software were used such as filtering and
contrasting; thus visual tracing of many lithological units
and their boundaries was possible. Consequently, an
empirical classification of the lithologic formations was
carried out; thereafter, a map with five classes was
produced to reveal rock formations of similar hydrologic
properties (Fig. 4, Table 3). In this classification, the major
hydrologic elements were considered. The most important
one is the content of clay, which accounts for aquitard
formations, and thus controls water infiltration and
decreases the permeability among rocks. Also, rock
hardness was considered in the classification since hard
rock is often brittle and easily results in fracturing
systems, which in turn enhance rock permeability and
porosity. The classified lithology map with five classes
was used as one of the GIS layers.
Rock fractures
Fractures increase permeability and secondary porosity
and, thus, enhance water vertical flow to recharge ground-
water. For this reason, fractures in rocks were considered
as a major factor and then included in identifying potential
areas for groundwater storage. Fracture systems can be
successfully recognized by remote sensing. However, the
existing fracture systems are observed as linear features on
satellite images; hence, these features are identified as
Table 3 Major exposed rocks in Wadi Aurnah Basin according to their potentiality for groundwater storage
Major geologic group Major rock type
Holocene Quaternary alluvial and aeolian deposits
Pre-Cambrian Schistose greywacke
Syn-to-late tectonic intrusions Diorite, gabbro
Late tectonic Diorite, norite, gabbro, pyroxene
Precambrian Amphibole, schist
Hydrogeology Journal (2010) 18: 1481–1495
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“lineaments”. Usually, a lineament is defined as any
observable geomorphic linear feature that can be attributed
to geological structures, notably fractures or lithologic
contacts (O’Leary et al. 1976).
The detection of linear features in this study was
obtained mainly from Landsat 7 ETM and ASTER
images. ERDAS IMAGINE software was used for this
purpose, after applying atmospheric and radiometric
corrections, which often create distortion and noise in
the images (Ghulam et al. 2004). The software used has
the advantage of “edge detection” (e.g., alignment of
boundaries and faults). This advantage includes various
digital and optical steps, notably, directional filtering,
contrasting and sharpness. In addition, single and multi-
band enhancement features were utilized.
The application of thermal bands in lineament
detection is useful, because thermal bands in satellite
images are capable of detecting temperature differences
of the objects on terrain surfaces. Thus, in this study,
the thermal bands in both image types (ASTER and
Landsat) were used. The thermal band is located in
band 6 in Landsat 7 ETM, with a pixel size of 120 m,
and in bands 10–14 in ASTER images, with pixel size
of 90 m. Thermal interpretation enables detection of
wet horizons in rocks, which could differentiate fracture
systems in moist zones.
Accordingly, the linear features detected from satellite
images all have different size and orientation. However,
Potentiality for groundwater storage
Very low
Low
Moderate
High
Very high
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1486
their origin is still undefined at this stage. Nevertheless,
not all detected linear features are geologically related. To
avoid this potential confusion, all linear objects that are
not of geologic origin (e.g., roads, pipelines and terraces)
appearing on digital topographic maps were overlapped
on the lineament map. This enabled all non-geologic
linear features plotted in the lineament map to be
eliminated and a lineament map, indicating geologic
lineaments, was produced (Fig. 5). All obtained studies
pointed out that the existing lineaments on the satellite
images are often attributed to fracture systems (Hariri
1995; Degnan and Clark 2002 and Al Saud 2008), in
which the higher density of lineaments indicates high
permeability and porosity in rocks and vise versa.
The resulting lineament map shows only the spatial
distribution and dimensions of linear features; the density
(i.e., concentration) cannot be directly figured out. For this
purpose, a systematic method was followed to harmonize
the spatial distribution of lineaments in density zones.
This was carried out following a number of steps similar
to those done in previous studies (Teeuw 1995, Edet et al.
1998 and Sener et al. 2005) and lately by Al Saud (2008).
The lineament density was expressed by classifying the
area into specific frames (5 km × 5 km) and the number of
lineaments in each frame was counted. The resulted value
was plotted in the mid-point of each frame. Therefore, a
grid map with nodes and attribute values resulted. From
the grid map, contour lines could be drawn to reflect
lineaments density. The resulting lineament density map
was divided into five classes. Each class implies a range of
lineament density, which represents the number of linea-
ments per unit area (25 km2). The five classes in this study
were: >400, 400–300, 300–200, 200–100 and <100
lineaments/25 km2 (Fig. 6).
Slope
In many studies related to groundwater flow and storage,
the slope is often ignored; especially in areas with less
Fig. 5 Lineaments map of Wadi Aurnah Basin as adopted from ASTER satellite images (Al Saud 2008)
Hydrogeology Journal (2010) 18: 1481–1495
mountainous terrain. However, this factor must be
included, since it plays a role in increasing water-flow
velocity with a subsequent reduction in vertical percola-
tion, and thus affecting recharge processes. The greater the
slope, the more rapidly surface water will flow and less
recharge will result.
Slope, as a factor in groundwater recharge, has a two-fold
influence. In order to diagnose this influence, a comparative
analysis was made between mountainous areas and rela-
tively flat terrain areas, taking accounted of the following:
– In mountainous regions, there is greater flow energy
and water is often diverted into channels (i.e., runoff),
so the overland flow will be minimal. This in turn will
minimize the degree of groundwater recharge (Doll et
al. 2002) because water flow will be restricted to
streams and it recharges groundwater just from inter-
flow of stream water into groundwater. In relatively
gently sloping terrains, the overland flow occurs over a
larger spatial area and the recharge will be much
greater.
– In flat areas, where flow is relatively slow, the lag time
for evaporation will increase and a portion of surface
water will be lost.
– In mountainous regions, alluvial deposits are always
rare, which is due to the sloping surface with
accelerated erosion processes, whilst in flat terrains
thick sedimentation often occurs, which may retard the
recharge rate to a certain extent.
In this study, the generation of a slope map (Fig. 7) was
obtained from a digital elevation model (DEM), which
gives a three-dimensional view of the terrain surface. The
DEM can be obtained using SRTM (Shuttle Radar
Topography Mission) satellite images with postings
of≤5 m. From the stereo pair, the nadir scene will be
utilized to produce a <1-m-natural-colour satellite-image
mosaic. The digital stereo-pair model and DEM, in
combination with SRTM image, were used to provide a
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Fig. 6 Lineament density in Wadi Aurnah Basin
three-dimensional terrain visualization image. The proce-
dure was done using Leica Photogrammetry Suite avail-
able in ERDAS IMAGINE. From the obtained map, five
slope classes were discriminated. The classification was
adapted from the SOTER (SOils and TERain) model
(European Commission 1995), where the maximum slope
that influences terrain is 60%. Table 4 shows the slope
classification and the descriptions according to the
SOTER model.
Drainage
The rate of surface-water recharge into groundwater is
governed also by the characteristics of the drainage system.
Therefore, drainage is often involved in similar studies, and
Fig. 7 Slope classification in Wadi Aurnah Basin
Hydrogeology Journal (2010) 18: 1481–1495
1487
sometimes it is embedded with lineaments to propose
potential areas for groundwater storage, e.g., in studies
performed by Edet et al. (1998) and Robinson et al. (1999).
According to the common geomorphologic concept, the
denser the drainage system the lower the recharge rate. The
main approach to expressing drainage density involves
identifying the number of drainage features (reaches) per
unit area, which is also called “drainage frequency”.
For Wadi Aurnah Basin, drainage features were
extracted directly from topographic maps (1:50,000 scale)
(Fig. 8). Some additional features were added from the
ASTER images, notably the connections between tribu-
taries (Al Saud 2007). The resulting drainage density map
yielded five drainage classes by following the same
approach used in representing the lineament density
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Table 4 Classification of slope, adapted from the SOTER model
Slope (%) Description Potentiality for
groundwater storage
<2 Flat Very high
2–8 Undulating High
8–15 Rolling Moderate
15–30 Moderately steep Low
>30 Steep Very low
map. Therefore, each class represents a range number of
drainage segments (i.e., reaches) per unit area of 25 km2.
These classes were: <50, 50–100, 100–150, 150–200,
>200 drainage reaches/25 km2 (Fig. 9), with >200
representing the lowest potential for groundwater storage.
A comparative analysis was carried out, on selected
parts of Wadi Aurnah, between the orientation of the
drainage system and lineaments behaviour, in order to
ensure any relationship between both. This was achieved
through building Azimuth diagrams for lineaments and
drainage (Fig. 10). The resulting information showed that
several drainages are structurally controlled in the basin,
notably those of primary coursers.
Land cover/use
The Earth’s surface encompasses different aspects of
objects and a miscellany of land uses which, in turn,
influence the behaviour of water flow on terrain surfaces,
and the recharge process as well. Therefore, the existing
objects and human activities also govern the recharge
process of water from the land surface to deeper rock
strata. A variety of elements represents this factor (i.e.,
land cover/use), but the major known ones are: soil
deposits, bare rock, human settlements, and dense and
sparse vegetation cover (Su 2000). From a hydrologic
point of view, soil deposits with high clay content will
Fig. 8 Drainage system map of Wadi Aurnah Basin
Hydrogeology Journal (2010) 18: 1481–1495
decrease water infiltration and, thus, prevents efficient
recharge of groundwater. This is also the case for human
settlements where constructions and buildings create a
seal, and do not allow water to infiltrate. Bare rocks often
enhance water movement through the exposed fissures
and joints to deeper rocks, and thus are often considered
as a significant component in the groundwater recharge
process. Also, the vegetation cover plays a role in this
respect; the higher the vegetation cover, the higher the
evapotranspiration rate, which implies less chance for
infiltration to the subsurface layers (Darwich et al. 2003).
For Wadi Aurnah Basin, ASTER images of the year 2006
were processed, and a non-supervised classification
approach was applied using the ERDAS IMAGINE soft-
ware. The basin, consequently, was divided into five classes
according to potentiality for groundwater storage: bare rock,
sparse vegetation, dense vegetation, soil deposits, and
human settlements, where bare rock has a very high
potentiality and very low potentiality was attributed to
human settlements. Hence, a map was produced to show
the geographic distribution of the obtained classes, which
was used later as a separate thematic GIS layer (Fig. 11).
Data manipulation results
The obtained five-classes for each factor discussed in the
previous sections were described according to their
governance in relation to groundwater storage. The
concept of data manipulation implies integrating all
factors as layers in the GIS system after converting the
existing data into electronic (digital) form. This enables
application of the systematic procedures and takes
advantage of the GIS system. Thereafter, a unique map
will result with a number of polygons indicating special
characteristics for groundwater storage (e.g., high, mod-
erate, etc.). However, not all these factors have the same
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Fig. 9 Drainage reach density in Wadi Aurnah Basin
effect on groundwater storage. For example, the rock
fracture factor is much more effective than the drainage
density factor, while the rainfall factor is more effective
than all other factors. Also, some factors work negatively
and positively in groundwater storage, like the slope
factor, which has two different kinds of influence on
groundwater recharge, thus it was given the least level of
effect. For this reason, each factor was given a specific
weight of effect on groundwater storage.
The given weights in this study were determined
according to:
1. The experienced judgment of the hydrogeologist based
on field surveys and in-situ investigations
2. The field observations adopted by a miscellany of obtained
studies using remote sensing and GIS in assessing
Fig. 10 Azimuth frequency diagrams for a lineaments (Al Saud, 2008) and b drainage systems (Al Saud, 2009), showing that the drainage
system is structurally controlled
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groundwater storage (Edet et al. 1998; Robinson et al.
1999; Das 2000 and Shaban et al. 2006)
Based on the preceding, and giving the major influence on
groundwater storage the highest score and minor influence
the lowest score, the integrated factors in this study were
given the following weights, Wf (Fig. 12, Table 5): rainfall
(30%), rock fractures/lineaments (25%), lithology (20%),
land cover/use (10%), drainage (10%) and slope (5%).
In addition to the proposed weighting, rates (Rf) were
also given for each of the five classes among each factor.
The rates (ranges of groundwater potentiality within each
weight) ranged from I, for very high potential for
groundwater storage, to V, for very low potential (Table 5).
Considering 100% as a maximum value for each rate, the
rate classes were categorized as 100–80, 80–60, 60–40,
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1490
Fig. 11 Classified land cover/use map of Wadi Aurnah Basin
40–20 and 20–0%. Therefore, the average rating for each
class was 90, 70, 50, 30 and 10% for classes from I to V,
respectively (Table 5). In other words, very high rates will
be attributed to 90%, and high rates to 70% and so on.
In order to calculate the degree of effectiveness (E) of
each factor from its weight and rate, the weight was
multiplied by the rate (Wf × Rf). For example, the weight
of class IV in the rainfall factor (30%) multiplied by the
factor weight (30) yields a degree of effectiveness equal to:
E ¼ W f  Rf ¼ 30=100  30 ¼ 9
While for the drainage factor, for example, the degree
of effectiveness in class I will be: 10/100 × 90=9. This in
turn means that class IV in the rainfall factor has the same
effect on groundwater storage as class I in the drainage
factor.
Following this procedure of data manipulation enabled
evaluation of the effectiveness of each factor on groundwater
storage, as it provided a comparative analysis between
Fig. 12 Schematic representation of the manipulated factors in the GIS system
Hydrogeology Journal (2010) 18: 1481–1495
different factors. It is obvious from Table 5 that class I in
the rainfall factor (i.e., E=27) occupies the most effective
influence on groundwater storage potentiality. In contrast, the
least influence is found in class V in the slope factor (E=0.5).
Figure 12 shows a model chart representing the
integration of groundwater storage potentiality factors,
which was followed in this study. This chart reflects the
overlapping layers and their weight of influence.
ESRI’s ArcView software was utilized to manipulate
the influencing factors (with their own weights and rates)
through superimposing different layers together in the GIS
system. Consequently, the resulting areas of groundwater
storage potentiality were represented by a map with a
number of polygons (spatial classes) indicating potential-
ity for groundwater storage (Fig. 13). The five major
classes, representing potential areas for groundwater
storage, were again coded from very low to very high
potentiality. This is attributed as: <20% (very low), 20–40
(low), 40–60 (moderate), 60–80 (high) and >80% (very
high) for the possibility of groundwater storage.
DOI 10.1007/s10040-010-0598-9
 1491
Table 5 The classification of the influencing factors on the potentiality for groundwater storage
Potentiality for groundwater storage
High Low

Class/factora I II III IV V
Rainfall
Wf 30
Rf 90 70 50 30 10
E 27 21 15 9 3
Lithology
Wf 20
Rf 90 70 50 30 10
E 18 14 10 6 2
Lineaments
Wf 25
Rf 90 90 90 90 90
E 22.5 22.5 22.5 22.5 22.5
Slope
Wf 5
Rf 90 70 50 30 10
E 4.5 3.5 2.5 1.5 0.5
Drainage
Wf 10
Rf 90 70 50 30 10
E 9 7 5 3 1
Land cover/use
Wf 10
Rf 90 70 50 30 10
E 9 7 5 3 1
a
Wf weight (%), Rf rate (%); E degree of effectiveness on groundwater storage potentiality

The resulting map shows that between 12 and 15% of
Wadi Aurnah Basin occupies areas with high to very high
potential for groundwater storage. Also, the map shows
that the promising localities for groundwater storage are
mostly located in areas where rainfall is relatively high
and rock fractures are dominant, which are often situated
in the elevated regions in the east of the basin (Fig. 13).
Data validation
Figure 13 shows a map representing zones with different
potential for groundwater storage in Wadi Aurnah Basin.
The map resulted from the integration of different
components, which were extracted from satellite images,
thematic maps and field surveys. Yet the reliability of

Fig. 13 Map showing potential zones for groundwater storage in Wadi Aurnah Basin

Hydrogeology Journal (2010) 18: 1481–1495 DOI 10.1007/s10040-010-0598-9

1492
results must be investigated in order to assure correct
application of the followed method. For this purpose, a
validation approach is needed. This can be achieved by
comparing the productivity of groundwater in dug wells
with respect to the zones determined in this study. The
basis of this validation implies the existence of successful
wells (i.e., with high water yield) in zones described as
high or very high potentiality in the resulting map.
For the validation, a field survey has been carried out
on dug wells in the study area. The number of wells in the
study area is relatively low, and many wells are privately
owned. These wells are located mainly in/near the urban
areas, which are situated between Makka Al Mukaramah,
Sahel Aaraft and Ain Nakhleih (Fig. 14), whilst most of
the rest of the region has dispersed population settlements,
and thus very few wells were found.
Fifty–six water wells were recognized in the dense
region of Wadi Aurnah, which can be utilized for the
comparative analysis. The coordinates and yield of all
recognized wells are reported (Table 6). Among these
wells, a number of failed wells are listed, while the most
productive well does not exceed 30 L/s. Well productivity
was classified into five classes. Also, these classes were
given a descriptive nomenclature to be compared with the
potential zones for groundwater storage that resulted in the
final GIS–derived map (Fig. 13). Hence, the productivity
in wells was categorized as: very high (>20 L/sec), high
(20–15 L/s), moderate (15–10 L/s), low (10–5 L/s) and
very low (< 5 L/s; Table 6).
Accordingly, a comparative analysis was applied
between the classes of productivity in wells and the
classes describing different potential zones for ground-
water storage in the final GIS-derived map (Table 7). This
followed the correlation matrix method, which is a useful
tool for results confirmation (Congalton 1991; Girard and
Fig. 14 Location of dug wells and their productivity in Wadi Aurnah Basin
Hydrogeology Journal (2010) 18: 1481–1495
Girard 1999). The table shows the number of coinciding
values between those measured in the field and those from
the applied method; the sum of the coinciding values was
4 + 6 + 3 + 7 + 11 = 31). This sum was compared to the
total number of measures (i.e., data from wells) as
follows:
31=56  100 ¼ 55%
Therefore, there is a coincidence of about 55% between
data from water wells and those resulting from the applied
method. However, the objective of the study is to
determine zones with optimal groundwater productivity,
which is viewed from a positive sense; thus, one is
concerned with high (and very high) productivity of water
and where such areas can be located. Thus, another
correlation matrix was applied, similar to the previous
one, but with categories of high and very high merged
together since they both show the optimum output
(Table 8).
36=56  100 ¼ 64%
The result shows a coincidence of about 64%, which is
close to two-thirds of the maximum application reliability.
Thus, considering only the positive elements (i.e., high
and very high possibility) can increase the reliability, but
this method needs to identify the major features of
groundwater potentiality, which is almost always in the
dense fractured terrain, as seen in this research. In
addition, the resulting reliability may be increased if wells
are categorized according to their location in similar
aquiferous rock units, but the lack of hydrogeological
records in this study area compelled the authors to ignore
this factor.
DOI 10.1007/s10040-010-0598-9
 1493
Table 6 Water productivity in wells and their location in Wadi Aurnah Basin (well locations shown in Fig 14)
Well number Coordinates Potentiality related to Well discharge(L/s) Descriptive discharge
Longitude Latitude GIS-derived class
1 39°46′21″ 21°31′03″ L 1.7 VL
2 39°48′36″ 21°29′39″ L 0.5 VL
3 39°49′59″ 21°30′18″ H 16.4 H
4 39°50′48″ 21°26′15″ H 17.6 H
5 39°52′12″ 21°29′42″ L 18.6 H
6 39°52′59″ 21°30′18″ L 4.5 L
7 39°53′45″ 21°27′00″ H 17.5 H
8 39°53′57″ 21°29′39″ H 18.3 H
9 39°53′03″ 21°29′00″ H 15.2 H
10 39°55′15″ 21°32′18″ H 16.2 H
11 39°55′57″ 21°31′42″ M Failed well VL
12 39°56′42″ 21°27′42″ L Failed well VL
13 39°57′27″ 21°29′39″ L Failed well VL
14 39°58′12″ 21°32′21″ L 17.6 H
15 39°58′09″ 21°33′06″ M 11.4 M
16 39°59′36″ 21°31′42″ L Failed well VL
17 39°58′57″ 21°31′03″ VH 22.5 VH
18 39°58′15″ 21°28′18″ VH 3.4 L
19 39°57′27″ 21°29′39″ VH 22.4 VH
20 39°37′27″ 21°29′39″ VH 21.5 VH
21 40°02′36″ 21°31′42″ H Failed well VL
22 39°58′15″ 21°28′18″ L 4.7 L
23 39°57′30″ 21°26′18″ VH 21.8 VH
24 39°56′42″ 21°27′42″ VH 21.3 VH
25 39°56′05″ 21°28′24″ M 21.5 VH
26 39°54′33″ 21°27′36″ VL 3.6 VL
27 39°53′48″ 21°27′42″ VL Failed well VL
28 39°53′45″ 21°27′00″ VL Failed well VL
29 39°52′18″ 21°26′57″ L 11.3 M
30 39°51′36″ 21°25′42″ VL Failed well VL
31 39°56′48″ 21°26′12″ L 4.6 L
32 39°57′30″ 21°26′18″ H 22.2 VH
33 39°56′45″ 21°24′54″ L 5.7 L
34 39°50′48″ 21°26′15″ L Failed well VL
35 39°50′48″ 21°26′15″ L 11.9 M
36 39°50′03″ 21°27′03″ L 17.5 H
37 39°49′18″ 21°27′03″ L 12.4 M
38 39°47′54″ 21°26′18″ L 16.8 H
39 39°47′54″ 21°26′18″ L 24.2 VH
40 39°47′09″ 21°24′57″ H 27.6 VH
41 39°46′24″ 21°23′00″ M 19.5 H
42 39°45′39″ 21°26′18″ M 10.5 M
43 39°44′54″ 21°27′07″ L 9.5 L
44 39°46′24″ 21°23′00″ M 12.5 M
45 39°47′09″ 21°24′57″ H 13.6 M
46 39°45′36″ 21°25′01″ L 2.5 L
47 39°46′27″ 21°24′12″ VH 28.6 VH
48 39°45′45″ 21°23′39″ VH 20.0 H
49 39°46′24″ 21°23′05″ VH 19.5 H
50 39°47′12″ 21°21′36″ H 18.5 H
51 39°45′42″ 21°22′21″ VH 23.7 VH
52 39°44′59″ 21°24′24″ VH 16.5 H
53 39°44′57″ 21°22′21″ VH 25.0 VH
54 39°44′09″ 21°22′21″ VH 27.6 VH
55 40°03′21″ 21°35′04″ VH 23.3 VH
56 40°04′48″ 21°34′22″ VH 21.4 VH
VH very high, H high, M moderate, L low, VL very low

Conclusions for groundwater storage. In this respect, remote sensing

Exploring groundwater has become a matter of concern,
especially in areas with scarce water resources. However,
the conventional methods that are applied for groundwater
exploration are still lacking in creditable concepts of
analysis and they often failed to identify promising areas
and GIS techniques have recently attracted the attention of
many researchers.
This study presents a method to integrate the physical
and anthropogenic factors governing groundwater storage,
and thus to reveal the resulting information in map format,
showing spatial data for areas with different potential for

Hydrogeology Journal (2010) 18: 1481–1495 DOI 10.1007/s10040-010-0598-9

1494
Table 7 Correlation matrix for the results from the applied method and field survey
Potentiality class from the applied method
Well productivity class from field survey VL L M H VH Total
VL 4a 0 0 0 0 4a
L 6 6a 3 4 1 20a
M 1 0 3a 1 1 6a
H 1 0 1 7a 2 11a
VH 0 1 0 3 11a 15a
Total 12a 7a 7a 15a 15a 56a
a
Indicates the coincidence of values resulting from the applied method and those verified from drilled water wells.
VH very high, H high, M moderate, L low, VL very low

groundwater storage. It is a new method applied, focusing
on Wadi Aurnah Basin in the Arabian Peninsula.
The advantages of the proposed method and the related
systematic tools involve the identification of several
terrain characteristics (influencing factors), with a special
emphasis on:
1. Fracture systems, which are tedious to be mapped in a
rugged terrain with intensive rock deformations, like
the area of concern
2. Lithological boundaries, which can be well delineated,
and rock units (within the same geologic formation),
which can be traced depending on the hydrogeologic
properties of these units
3. Slope ranges and drainage networks, for which catego-
rization can be obtained with higher precision than by
conventional methods (also less time consuming)
4. Land cover/use, which is an important factor in
surface runoff behaviour and groundwater recharge,
and which can be mapped and categorized into
different classes
Some of these factors were used in previous studies,
but not all of them were used together. In addition, the
developed application is different in terms of data
integration. In the light of this, all factors that influence
the groundwater flow/storage regime should be included
in the exploration method for groundwater. Excluding any
of them may create erroneous results, even though these
factors may differ significantly from one region to
another. In order to have an equitable contribution of
these factors, each factor was rated in terms of its
influence on groundwater storage. This was done by
evaluating their effects on the hydrogeology of the area of
concern.
The resulting map shows that 12–15% of Wadi Aurnah
Basin is suitable for groundwater storage and this is
mainly concentrated in the eastern, mountainous region of
the area (Fig. 13). About 60–65% of the area is
characterized by low and very low potentiality for
groundwater storage, which means that the largest part
of the study area is poor in terms of groundwater storage
and the probability of wells failing is high.
As a matter of fact, water wells in Wadi Aurnah Basin
are usually dug in or near areas with dense human
settlement, and most often near the Holy City of Makka
Al Mukaramah, regardless of the low potentiality of these
areas for groundwater storage. Results from statistical data
on wells dug in Wadi Aurnah Basin, show an acceptable
creditability of the method used. A coincidence of 55%
was found when considering each category separately, and
~64% when merging the high and very high classes (high
and very high being the required output). The results of
the applied method can be improved by calibrating the
factors used according to the identified water productivity.
Moreover, the errors can be minimized if reliable data
about wells are collected, notably from privately owned
wells, as well as by considering the hydrogeologic units
from which water is pumped.
The method described is an empirical method using
remote sensing and GIS in groundwater exploration, and
succeeds in proposing potential sites to dig water wells. It
can be used in vast and remote areas such as many parts of
the Arabian Peninsula. It can also be applied in terrain
with rugged topography, as in the case of the eastern,
mountainous part of Wadi Aurnah Basin.

Table 8 Correlation matrix for the results from the applied method and field survey, considering high and very high classes in the same
category
Potentiality class from the applied method
Well productivity class from field survey VL L M H+VH Total
VL 4a 0 0 0 4
L 6 6a 3 5 20
M 1 0 3a 2 6
H+VH 1 1 1 23a 26
Total 12 7 7 30 56a
a
Indicates the coincidence of values resulting from the applied method and those verified from drilled water wells.
VH very high, H high, M moderate, L low, VL very low

Hydrogeology Journal (2010) 18: 1481–1495 DOI 10.1007/s10040-010-0598-9


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