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 current study focuses mainly on understanding the hydrogeological framework of southeast Hiw, Qena, Egypt, as one of the promising regions for land reclamation and future development. This includes defining the groundwater aquifers and delineating their lateral extents, depths, thicknesses, as well as getting some information on the groundwater quality in the area. These objectives have been accomplished by integrated interpretation of remote sensing imagery and vertical electrical sounding (VES) data. The digital elevation model (DEM) of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) was processed to calculate the surface gradient and delineate the structural lineaments and drainage channels. Moreover, VES data were measured at 32 locations using Schlumberger configuration. The result of VES survey has been presented in the form of 2D cross-sections, 3D fence diagram and hydrogeophysical contour maps. They reveal that the Quaternary sand is the main groundwater aquifer in the region. It has a depth of 30 to 58 m, a thickness of 30 to 68 m, and a resistivity range of 48 to 93 Ω.m. Furthermore, an empirical resistivity-salinity relationship was developed. Accordingly, total dissolved solids (TDS) values vary from 600 to 1500 ppm. This study improves the understanding of the subsurface geology of the region and serves as a guide for further studies regarding digging new wells and groundwater management in such arid environment.

The Mamuniyat sandstones represent the main reservoir in the “A” Oil Field, NC115 Concession, Murzuq Basin of Libya. As a result, the primary objectives of the current work are to evaluate and define the Mamuniyat Formation’s petrophysical parameters using well-logging analysis. For this study, the available well-logging data from ten exploratory wells were provided. Several cross-plots were used to evaluate the lithologic constituents and fluid saturations in the form of litho-saturation cross-plots, and their output parameters were fed as inputs for Interactive Petrophysics (IP) software. According to the output results, the Mamuniyat Formation is primarily composed of sandstones with a few shales. These sandstones are generally fine- to coarse-grained, as indicated by the cross-plots, with a coarsening-upward sequence. According to the litho-saturation analysis, the Mamuniyat Formation is primarily oil-bearing with some levels of water-bearing sand. The petrophysical parameters derived from well-logging data agree with those derived from core sample analysis, demonstrating that the Mamuniyat Formation is a good reservoir.

Laterally Constrained Inversion (LCI) is presently a popular method for robust interpretation of geophysical data, particularly in defining subsurface structures with greater lateral continuity. The traditional standalone 1D inversion methods, while computationally efficient, often produce unrealistic discontinuities between adjacent soundings in the retrieved models. LCI overcomes this limitation by enforcing lateral constraints that enforce smooth variation across adjacent models, producing quasi-2D results that are more realistic in some geological settings. This paper presents a systematic review of the recent advancement in LCI and its methodological extensions like Weighted LCI (WLCI), Iterative LCI (ILCI), Minimum Gradient Support LCI (MGS-LCI), and Bayesian LCI. All these techniques offer more flexibility while handling heterogeneous subsurface conditions, hard contacts, and uncertainty estimation. A full methodology is given, with emphasis on mathematical formulae and regularization strategies for controlling lateral as well as vertical smoothing. Incorporation of a priori geological knowledge and constraint design, resolution versus smoothness trade-offs, and computational considerations are also covered. A case study from the Horn River Basin, Canada, demonstrates the application of LCI approaches to airborne TEM data and indicates improved model continuity, geological coherence, and interpretability. This review points out that while LCI methods have significantly enhanced the potential of geophysical inversion, future research has to be focused on hybrid methods, automatic tuning of constraints, large-scale algorithms, and multi-modal data fusion. These developments will be crucial to dealing with increasingly larger and more complex datasets and delivering more accurate and reliable subsurface models for a variety of geoscientific and engineering applications.