Mapping of groundwater potentiality in fractured aquifers using remote sensing and GIS techniques: the case of Tafraoute region, Morocco

The scarcity of water is the major obstacle to sustainable development in poor regions under arid and semi-arid climate conditions. The search for reliable and less expensive methods for detecting potential water zones is of paramount importance. In this study, the approach based on remote sensing and geographic information system techniques and coupled with an algorithm of dynamic parameter weighting (ADPW) is found useful to develop a numerical model of the groundwater potentiality index GPI and to map areas suitable for setting future drill points in the Tafraoute region, western part of the Moroccan Anti-Atlas. This is a multi-criteria approach based on the analysis of field conditions related to fracturing, lithology, drainage, topography, and rainfall, on the one hand, and on water yields in 81 drilling points made in fractured terrains on the other. The potentiality values given by the GPI81 map in the field checking area are compared with the water flows observed in 11 corresponding drill points. A significant correlation coefficient (r = 0.749) is found. The current results reinforce the previous ones on the fractured aquifer of Central Morocco and encourage the adoption of the GPI-based approach elsewhere.