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239456

Hydrogeochemical processes and groundwater quality assessment of the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System in El Farafra Oasis, Egypt

Article

Last updated: 28 Dec 2024

Subjects

-

Tags

Hydrology, Hydrogeology, Hydrochemistry.

Abstract

Despite its arid climate, the Egyptian Western Desert is a promising area for development depending on the groundwater, especially the water of the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System. This article focused on the hydrogeochemical setting of the north-eastern portion of El Farafra Oasis. Groundwater samples from the shallow and the deep zones of the Nubian System were collected and analyzed. A hydrogeochemical evaluation was carried out depending on statistical analyses and bivariate plots. Additionally, Piper, Durov, and Stiff diagrams were also used. The results of factor analysis of the groundwater of the deep zone revealed five factors representing most of the variability of the samples (about 86% variance). Mostly geogenic factors control the ionic compositions of the groundwater, with minor interference of anthropogenic effects. On another side, the hydrogeochemical diagrams of the shallow and deep groundwater indicate that the dominant processes controlling the water chemistry are silicate weathering and possible dissolution of post-Nubian carbonate formations. In terms of water quality, the groundwater needs treatment to be suitable for drinking as a result of high iron concentration, but it showed high suitability for irrigation, livestock, and poultry.

DOI

10.21608/egjg.2022.119484.1016

Keywords

Hydrogeochemical processes, water quality, Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System, El Farafra Oasis, Egypt

Authors

First Name

Hend

Last Name

Abu Salem

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza, 12613, Egypt

Email

hendsaeed@cu.edu.eg

City

-

Orcid

0000-0002-8758-1965

First Name

Mohamed

Last Name

El-Ghamrawy

MiddleName

Magdy

Affiliation

Research Institute for Groundwater, National Water Research Center, El-Kanater El-Khairiya, Egypt

Email

mohamed.mmg191@gmail.com

City

Hadaiek El-Ahram, Giza

Orcid

-

First Name

Ali

Last Name

Ali Khalil

MiddleName

Abd El-Motelib

Affiliation

Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University

Email

aliabdelmotelib@yahoo.com

City

-

Orcid

-

Volume

66

Article Issue

1

Related Issue

34438

Issue Date

2022-12-01

Receive Date

2022-02-02

Publish Date

2022-12-01

Page Start

1

Page End

24

Print ISSN

0022-1384

Online ISSN

2805-2617

Link

https://egjg.journals.ekb.eg/article_239456.html

Detail API

https://egjg.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=239456

Order

239,456

Type

Original Article

Type Code

2,013

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Egyptian Journal of Geology

Publication Link

https://egjg.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Hydrogeochemical processes and groundwater quality assessment of the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System in El Farafra Oasis, Egypt

Details

Type

Article

Created At

23 Jan 2023