U.S.-Egypt Cooperative Research: Near-Surface Drainage Within a Groundwater Basin in Southwest Egypt Using Radar Images

0417704El-BazDescription：该奖项旨在支持马萨诸塞州波士顿大学遥感中心主任Farouk El-Baz博士和埃及开罗研究与地下水综合公司董事长兼董事总经理Ali Werwer先生之间的合作研究。PIS将使用一种新的方法，利用星载雷达图像和地下水数据来确定埃及西南部米萨哈地堡Sharq Oweinat地区的努比亚含水层的特征。BU小组将进行卫星图像增强和解释，REGWA小组将提供适用的地下水数据，实地调查将涉及这两个小组。努比亚含水层系统被认为是无限制的，地下水存在于砂岩中，砂岩不整合地覆盖在基岩上，并被第四系沉积物覆盖。然而，排水方式和密度的变化、卫星图像中观察到的破裂程度以及在那里钻探的383口深度为300至700米的生产井所获得的数据表明，含水层并不均匀。拟议研究的目标是了解米萨哈地块地区的河流和构造特征分布，并确定地下水数据中的异常是否可以在河流和构造控制的背景下得到解释。这意味着，无承压的努比亚含水层具有多变的性质，目前的地下水取决于：地质过去的补给；以及将次生孔隙度引入岩石并增加其存储能力的破裂。在地下水数据中观察到的波动(例如，盐度、透过率、测压等)目前为止都下落不明。将从空间雷达图像和地理信息系统数据库中的数字高程模型得出近地表河流特征和相关构造特征的空间组织，以查明过去接受补给的地区。这些矢量层将与同一数据库中的REGWA地下水数据相关联。新数据的可获得性、为分析雷达数据而建立的流程例行程序(迄今为止，雷达数据一直是了解努比亚含水层性质的未得到充分利用的工具)以及这些数据集之间的相互关系，确保了对埃及西南部米萨哈地堡地区努比亚含水层系统的更好了解。范围和更广泛的影响：这项研究的结果将确定努比亚含水层系统的不同特征是否可以在河流和结构补给的背景下得到解释；因此，可以确定这项试点研究中设计的描述努比亚含水层特征的方法是否可以适用于大撒哈拉其他地区。研究成果将发表在国际同行评议的科学期刊上。该项目将开发一个新的基础设施，通过建立拟议的数据库和形成研究伙伴关系，加强目前对努比亚含水层性质的了解。该项目得到了美国-埃及联合基金计划的支持，该计划为两国的科学家和工程师提供资助，以开展这些合作活动。

0417704El-BazDescription: This award is to support a cooperative research between Dr. Farouk El-Baz, Director, Center for Remote Sensing, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts and Mr. Ali Werwer, Chairman and Managing Director, the General Company for Research and Ground Water, Cairo, Egypt. The PIs will use a new approach by utilizing space-borne radar imagery and groundwater data to characterize the Nubia aquifer in the Sharq Oweinat area of the Misaha graben in southwest Egypt. Satellite image enhancement and interpretation will be conducted by the BU team, applicable groundwater data will be supplied by the REGWA team and field investigations will involve both teams. The Nubia aquifer system is considered to be unconfined whereby groundwater resides in sandstone rocks that unconformably overlie basement rocks and are covered by Quaternary deposits. The aquifer, however, is not homogeneous as evidenced by the variation of drainage styles and densities, and the degree of fracturing observed in satellite images, as well as data obtained from 383 productive wells that have been drilled there and that range from 300 to700 meters in depth. The goal of the proposed research is to understand the fluvial and structural feature distributions in the Misaha graben area and establish if anomalies in groundwater data can be explained in the context of fluvial and structural controls. The implication is that the unconfined Nubia aquifer has a variable nature in that the groundwater present depends on: recharge in the geologic past; and fracturing, which introduced secondary porosity into the rocks and increased their storage capacity. Fluctuations observed in groundwater data (e.g., salinity, transmissivity, piezometry, etc.) are so far unaccounted for. The spatial organization of near-surface fluvial features and associated structural features will be derived from space-borne radar images and Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) in a Geographical Information System (GIS) database to identify areas that received recharge in the past. These vector layers will be correlated with REGWA groundwater data in the same database. The accessibility of new data, the process-flow routine established for analyzing radar data (which so far has been an underutilized tool for understanding the nature of the Nubia aquifer), and the correlation of these datasets, ensures improved understanding of the Nubia aquifer system in the Misaha graben area of southwest Egypt. Scope and broader impacts: Results from this research will establish whether variable characteristics of the Nubia aquifer system can be explained in the context of fluvial and structural recharge; thus, it can be determined if the methodology devised in this pilot study to characterize the Nubia aquifer can be applied to other areas in the Great Sahara. Research findings will be published in international peer-reviewed scientific journals. The project will develop a new infrastructure that can enhance current understandings of the nature of the Nubia aquifer by the creation of the proposed database and the formation of the research partnership. This project is being supported under the US-Egypt Joint Fund Program, which provides grants to scientists and engineers in both countries to carry out these cooperative activities.