Application of Time Domain Electromagnetic survey to detect fractured limestone aquifer in desert fringes, West Assiut, Egypt

ABSTRACT New agriculture projects in the desert fringes along the western side of the Nile Valley of Egypt need exploring new groundwater resources. Time Domain Electromagnetic (TDEM) technique was used to acquire the field data. This technique is focusing on two main objectives. The first objective is to test the availability of applying TDEM in areas where other DC resistivity methods can’t be applied due to the presence of a high resistive layer on the ground surface such as in the investigated area. The second objective is detecting the geoelectrical succession, emphasising on the water-bearing layer, which is represented by the fractured Eocene limestone layers. Results obtained from TDEM soundings were represented in the forms of cross sections and maps to illustrate the aerial distribution of the different geoelectrical layers and pay attention on the water-bearing layer. These results show up a good agreement with the data obtained from the drilled wells in the study areas. Accordingly, TDEM method is a suitable choice when other DC resistivity tools were failed to acquire field data. Moreover, this technique helped to determine the parameters of the water-bearing layer such as resistivity, thickness, and extension. Also, it gives an idea about the hydrogeological setting of the study area where the water-bearing the fractured limestone layer overlays the low resistivity shale beds. New sites were recommended to drill productive wells in the western and southern parts of the study area based on the resistivity values and the thicknesses of the water-bearing layer.