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Hydrostratigraphy and hydrogeology of the western part of Maira area, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan: a case study by using electrical resistivity

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Abstract

Hydrostratigraphy and hydrogeology of the Maira vicinity is important for the characterization of aquifer system and developing numerical groundwater flow models to predict the future availability of the water resource. Conventionally, the aquifer parameters are obtained by the analysis of pumping tests data which provide limited spatial information and turn out to be costly and time consuming. Vertical electrical soundings and pump testing of boreholes were conducted to delineate the aquifer system at the western part of the Maira area, Khyber Pakhtun Khwa, Pakistan. Aquifer lithology in the eastern part of the study area is dominated by coarse sand and gravel whereas the western part is characterized by fine sand. An attempt has been made to estimate the hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer system by establishing a relationship between the pumping test results and vertical electrical soundings by using regression technique. The relationship is applied to the area along the resistivity profiles where boreholes are not drilled. Our findings show a good match between pumped hydraulic conductivity and estimated hydraulic conductivity. In case of sparse borehole data, regression technique is useful in estimating hydraulic properties for aquifers with varying lithology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Petroleum Geosciences, The Petroleum Institute, Ruwais Building, P.O Box 2533, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Asam Farid & Muhammad Asim Iqbal

  2. Water Desalination and Reuse Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia

    Khanzaib Jadoon

  3. Forschungszentrum Juelich, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Agrosphere (IBG3), 52425, Juelich, Germany

    Khanzaib Jadoon

  4. Department of Earth Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Gulraiz Akhter

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  1. Asam Farid
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  4. Muhammad Asim Iqbal
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Correspondence to Asam Farid.

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Farid, A., Jadoon, K., Akhter, G. et al. Hydrostratigraphy and hydrogeology of the western part of Maira area, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan: a case study by using electrical resistivity. Environ Monit Assess 185, 2407–2422 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-012-2720-z

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