Groundwater potential mapping using the integration of AHP method, GIS and remote sensing: a case study of the Tabelbala region, Algeria

Recently, groundwater resources are assessed and evaluated using Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing technologies due to their effectiveness and wide spatial coverage. This work aims to identify groundwater potential areas in the Tabelbala region which lies in the Algerian desert in order to help for the solution of water resources shortages. GIS and remote sensing are employed in the preparation of the controlling factors such as lithology, lineaments, drainage network, slope, land use/land cover, topographic wetness index, and elevation. Statistical Analysis, as well as interpretation of remote sensing data, allow the extraction of important features about the study area and its characteristics. The prepared layers are combined with multicriteria analysis to identify the groundwater potential zones (GWPZs) based on their statistical weights. To validate the conducted work, 222 wells/boreholes are collected and prepared to assess the potential areas. Results reveal that the very good potentiality class covers approximately 8.81% of the total area while 6.47% shows very poor potentiality. In addition, the application of the ROC curve shows an AUC of 89% which reveals the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The final resulting map can be used for the identification of suitable sites for wells implantation.