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Groundwater Potential Assessment of Penang Island, Malaysia, Through Integration of Remote Sensing and GIS with Validation by 2D ERT

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Abstract

Penang Island is the most water-vulnerable state in Malaysia. Groundwater is an alternative water source that has not been thoroughly explored within the state. This paper aims to delineate areas of high and low groundwater potential on the island via an integrated approach of remote sensing and geographical information system techniques, with validation using 2D resistivity data. Groundwater potential map was generated using weighted sum of 7 thematic layers: lineament density, geomorphology, rainfall, lithology, slope, drainage density, and land use. Model was validated by evaluating the (a) predictive accuracy of the map, and (b) Spearman’s correlation between groundwater potential score and the potential groundwater (10–100 Ohm-m) within inverted resistivity model. Regions classified as “Low” on groundwater potential were predominantly hilly, forested areas with granitic lithology (e.g., Taman Negara). Regions classified as “Very High” were mainly coastal urban and agricultural areas with alluvial lithology (e.g., Georgetown). Inland Georgetown, inland Balik Pulau, and Ayer Itam were identified as regions of hard rock terrain with “High” groundwater potential. Strong relationship was found between groundwater potential score and the percentage of potential groundwater in inverted resistivity models, ρ(5) = 0.72, 90% CI [0.09, 0.94]. Furthermore, the map was 83% accurate in identifying regions with suitable groundwater abstraction zones. Findings corroborated with meta-analysis of five studies, where mean correlation of ρ = 0.77, 90% CI [0.67, 0.87] was found between groundwater potential score/classification and validation measure. This paper demonstrates the potential in utilizing geoelectrical data for groundwater potential map validation, especially for regions with limited well yield data.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank lab assistant Shahil Khosaini at the Universiti Sains Malaysia Geophysics laboratory and students Thivineshvaren Elanggovan, Aqillah Rahman, Abdulrasheed Hassan, and Jebat Hazrik for technical assistance during the fieldwork. Further gratitude is extended to Farah Hazirah, Danites Joel, Dr. Nordiana Muztaza, and Dr. Andy Anderson for sharing of their resistivity data. Corresponding author would like to thank Trivena Muralindran for initial proofreading of this paper.

Funding

This work was supported by Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia through their Fundamental Research Grant Scheme with Project Code: FRGS/1/2020/WAB07/USM/02/1.

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  1. School of Physics, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Gelugor, Penang, Malaysia

    Nicholas Petrick, Mohd. Fikri bin Jubidi & Ismail Ahmad Abir

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Correspondence to Nicholas Petrick.

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Supplementary Information

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11053_2023_10164_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Supplementary Table 1. Literature review of 10 studies investigating groundwater potential mapping. Exponential model calculation and motivation.

11053_2023_10164_MOESM2_ESM.pdf

Supplementary Figures. Image collection containing satellite imagery over survey line locations and their respective inverted resistivity models.

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Petrick, N., Jubidi, M.F. & Ahmad Abir, I. Groundwater Potential Assessment of Penang Island, Malaysia, Through Integration of Remote Sensing and GIS with Validation by 2D ERT. Nat Resour Res 32, 523–541 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-023-10164-w

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