The integrated use of remote sensing imagery and hydro-geophysical field surveys is a well-established approach to map the hydrogeological framework, and thus explore and evaluate the groundwater potentiality of desert lands, where groundwater is considered as the main source of freshwater. This study uses such integrated approach to map the groundwater potentiality of the desert alluvial floodplain of the Nile Valley west of Qena, Egypt, as alternative water source to the River Nile. Typically ground gradient, faults and their stress field, lateral variation of rock permeability, drainage patterns, watersheds, rainfall, lithology, and soil types are the main factors believed to affect the groundwater recharge and storage from the infiltration of present-time and paleo-runoff. Following this generally accepted approach, different remote sensing data sets (SRTM DEM, Landsat-8, ALOS/PALSAR-1, Sentinel-1, and TRMM) as well as auxiliary maps (geological and soil maps) were used to identify and map these factors and prepare thematic maps portraying the different influences they exert on the groundwater recharge. These thematic maps were overlaid and integrated using weights in a GIS framework to generate the groundwater potentiality map which categorizes the different recharge capabilities into five zones. Moreover, the aeromagnetic data were processed to map the deep-seated structures and estimate the depth to basement rocks that may control the groundwater occurrence. In addition, the vertical electrical sounding (VES) measurements were applied and calibrated with the available borehole data to delineate the subsurface geological and hydrogeological setting as well as the groundwater aquifers. Different geoelectric cross-sections and hydro-geophysical maps were constructed using the borehole information and VES interpretation results to show the lateral extension of the different lithological units, groundwater-bearing zones, water table, and the saturated thickness of the aquifer. The GIS model and geophysical results show that the southwest part of Nag’a Hammadi-El-Ghoneimia stretch has very high recharge and storage potentiality and is characterized by the presence of two groundwater-bearing zones. The shallow groundwater aquifer is located at a depth of 30 m with a saturation thickness of more than 43 m. However, there are NW–SE faults crossing the study area and most likely serve as recharge conduits by connecting the shallow aquifer with the deeper ones. Such aquifers connection has been confirmed by investigating the chemical and isotopic composition of their groundwater.

The Egyptian Red Sea coast is periodically exposed to flash floods that cause severe human and economic losses. That is due to its hydro-geomorphological characteristics. Therefore, identifying flash flood hazards in these areas is critically important. This research uses an integrated approach of remote sensing data and GIS techniques to assess flash flood hazards based on morphometric measurements. There are 12 drainage basins in the study area. These basins differ in their morphometric characteristics, and their main streams range between the 4th and 7th order. The morphometric parameter analysis indicates that three wadis are highly prone to flooding, five wadis are classified as moderate hazard, and four wadis are rated under low probability of flooding. The study area has a probability offlooding, which could cause serious environmental hazards. To protect the region from flash flood hazards and the great benefit of rainwater, the study recommended detention, crossing, diversion, and/or storage of the accumulated rainwater by building a number of dams or culverts along the main streams of wadis to minimize the flooding flow.

In the arid climate area north of Tenth of Ramadan City, southeast of the Nile Delta, Egypt, it is necessary to search for additional water resources for sustainable developments such as agricultural and industrial activities. Thirty two vertical electrical soundings (VES) of a electrical resistivity (DC) survey were carried out along four main profiles by using the Schlumberger array with electrode distances (AB/2) up to 500 m, to explore the shallow Pleistocene groundwater aquifer. The collected data was interpreted by a one-dimensional laterally constrained inversion (1D-LCI) and two-dimensional inversion algorithms to derive a best fit layered-earth resistivity model. The derived resistivity sections are geologically well interpreted based on information taken from the available water boreholes (P2-Well and P3-Well). The lateral constraints are part of the inversion where all data sets are inverted simultaneously, and consequently the output models are balanced between the constraints and the data-model fit. The 1D-LCI offers good analysis of the model parameters, which was successfully used to characterize a zone of groundwater aquifer, as it produces a laterally smooth model with sharp layer boundaries. The 1D-LCI inversion results show that the study area is subdivided into five geo-electrical layers of varied resistivity and thickness. In particular, the resistivity values of the last layer range between 9.3 and 110 Ωm representing the existing shallow Pleistocene aquifer located at depths between 134.5 and 118.4 m. Such results are tied and confirmed well with the results of the 2D inversion of the DC data. It reveals three interpreted geo-electric layers along the four profiles and shows that the area is affected by some normal faults striking nearly in the E–W direction. The very low resistivities of the groundwater aquifer beneath the agricultural part of the survey area probably indicates contamination due to the possible effect of irrigation operated in the cultivated lowlands. The results obtained could help the stakeholder to find additional information about the ground water aquifers in the newly reclaimed arid area and possible locations of new sites for drilling new water wells as additional water resources.

This work intends to delineate the petrophysical properties and the reservoir quality of the Albian sequence in the Mesopotamian Basin which has been deposited as a siliciclastic sequence. The well log data (including the caliper, gamma-ray, density, photoelectric factor 'PEF', neutron, sonic, and resistivity logs), derived from eight wells in the SWM (Southwest Mesopotamian) Oilfield, was studied and interpreted using the appropriate software (IP3.6). These borehole data indicate the necessity to divide the sequence into five reservoir rock units (U1, U2, M, L1, and L2 units). This enabled depicting the porosity, shale volume, water saturation, and net-pay thickness in the vertical and horizontal directions. It is indicated that the M and L1 units are the most promising units with good to very good porosity (∅ ≥ 17.2%), low water saturation (Sw ≤ 28.0%), and acceptable shale volume (Vsh ≤ 8.4%). The net-pay thickness varies between 32.8 and 77.4 m in the different wells of the SWM Oilfield. The well log data were supported by more detailed conventional core data including porosity (∅_He) and permeability (k), from which the reservoir quality parameters were estimated precisely. In the present study, reservoir quality assessment based on conventional core data is considered for the first time for evaluating and discriminating the Albian–Aptian sequence in the Southwest Mesopotamian field into reservoir zones and hydraulic flow units. The estimated reservoir parameters include the Flow Zone Indicator (FZI), the Reservoir Quality Index (RQI), and the effective pore radius (R₃₅). Based on the available core data and the estimated reservoir quality parameters, the studied sequence was divided into three reservoir rock types (RRT1–3). The best petrophysical properties have been assigned for the medium-grained sandstone of the RRT1 that dominates in the L1 and the M units (av. ∅_He = 23.0%, av. k = 1581 mD, av. R₃₅ = 23.7 μm, av. FZI = 7.368 μm, and av. RQI = 2.304 μm). On the other side, the fine-grained sandstone of the RRT3 is characterized by the lowest petrophysical properties and reservoir quality parameters (av. ∅_He = 17.1%, av. k = 5.49 mD, av. R₃₅ = 0.92 μm, av. FZI = 0.603 μm, and av. RQI = 0.136 μm). The integration between the well log and core data of the studied Albian sequence stated that the M and L1 units are the most promising reservoir units. They are predominated by medium-grained and fine to medium-grained sandstones of the RRT1 and the RRT2, respectively. This well log-core data integration is applicable to the different oilfields in the different fields in the Mesopotamian Basin and other basins in south Iraq and elsewhere.

This study addresses a critical knowledge gap in quantifying strategic mineral resources within hyper-arid, tectonically complex terrains by establishing a recursive framework that reconciles deterministic resource estimation with the nonlinear dynamics of tectonically mediated metamorphic systems. Using Libya’s Wadi El Shati as a case study, legacy lithological misclassifications are rectified through the fusion of Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar, Sentinel-2 multispectral imagery, and Digital Elevation Model analytics within a unified geospatial workflow. The methodology synergizes atmospherically corrected optical data, processed via supervised Maximum Likelihood Classification, with calibrated radar-derived structural lineaments. Classified marble-bearing zones within the Al Mahruqah Formation are integrated with DEM data and field-validated thickness measurements using Triangulated Irregular Network models to resolve surface–subsurface dependencies and compute volumes. The results demonstrate a 91% lithological classification accuracy, rectifying a 22% error in legacy maps. Structural analysis of 1213 lineaments confirms a dominant NE–SW extensional regime (σ₃) that facilitated fluid conduits. The quantified marble-bearing horizon spans ~334 km² with a volume of 6.0 km³ (±9%). Spatial analysis reveals a causal link between high-grade marble clusters, basaltic intrusions, and NE–SW fault systems, refining models of contact metamorphism in rift-related settings.