Mapping coastal groundwater potential zones using remote sensing based AHP model in Al Qunfudhah region along Red Sea, Saudi Arabia

Due to the increases in agriculture and industry sector as well as high population, lack of water is becoming a major problem in the Middle East especially in arid regions. Saudi Arabia needs more groundwater research and explorations because of its higher water use and no source of freshwater. Assessing groundwater zonation in semi-arid locations is essential due to the significant degree of variation in groundwater depth, aquifer features, topographical characteristics, and insufficient precipitation. Mapping prospective groundwater zones in Al Qunfudhah region of southwestern Saudi Arabia has utilized the capability of the multi-criteria decision approaches (MCDA), and the Geographic information system (GIS). We have used the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) as one of the MCDA that is applied to achieve the objective of the current study by integrating twelve controlling factors. These factors are represented by the thematic layers; slope, precipitation, soil type, land use/cover (LULC), drainage density (DD), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), curvature, topographic position index (TPI), Terrain Ruggedness Index (TRI), drainage density (DD), and Lineament Density (LD). These thematic layers are combined with GIS to delineate the zones of groundwater potentialities. All factors were classified and weighted according to their importance and its effect on groundwater zones. Their normalized weights were evaluated using a pairwise comparison matrix. The present study shows that the groundwater potential zones (GWPZs) map is represented by five groups ranging between a very high zone with an area of 23781.06 Km2 that represents 4.04 % of the studied area, and a very poor GWPZ with an area of 182944.4 Km2 that represents 31.09 % of the studied area. The AHP model suggests that lineament density, slope, and drainage density are more important for determining the groundwater potentiality than other physiographic factors. The study's findings will be helpful in developing practical strategies for the region's groundwater supply. This analysis shows how the methodology may be used to study a broad coastal groundwater basin. The current study will give the decision makers to select suitable sites with a high groundwater potential.