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Groundwater contamination assessment in Al-Quwy’yia area of central Saudi Arabia using transient electromagnetic and 2D electrical resistivity tomography

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Abstract

Groundwater contamination is one of the most significant problems in arid countries. Al-Quwiy’yia region is an example of an area where the groundwater is contaminated as a result of infiltration of waste water in low-lying areas adjacent to inhabited zones. Such contamination poses significant environmental threats for the surrounding environment and groundwater. Surface observations and spatial distribution of contamination observed in the shallow aquifer indicate that the main contamination sources were from sewage as well as from waste water dumping. However, the main source of water supply for the whole area is groundwater abstracted from the relatively shallow aquifer. Therefore, the transient electromagnetic method (TEM) and 2D electrical resistivity tomography (2D ERT) have been applied close to the waste water dump site to characterize the response of pollution plumes. Both of these geoelectrical techniques are sensitive to electrical conductivity as well as to other physical properties, which are greatly influenced by the polluted groundwater. Therefore, it is possible to profile the contamination plumes, both vertically and horizontally, in the vicinity of the measured stations. The ERT profiles gave detailed information about the lateral distribution of the contaminated groundwater, whereas the TEM demonstrated the vertical extensions.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported financially by the National Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation (NPST) program, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia (Project No. 09-ENV836-02).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geology and Geophysics Department College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. box 2455, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia

    Mohamed Metwaly, Eslam Elawadi, Sayed S. R. Moustafa, Nassir Al Arifi, Mohamed El Alfy & EKab Al Zaharani

  2. National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG), Helwan, Cairo, Egypt

    Mohamed Metwaly & Sayed S. R. Moustafa

  3. Nuclear Materials Authority (NMA), Cairo, Egypt

    Eslam Elawadi

  4. Department of Geology, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt

    Mohamed El Alfy

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  1. Mohamed Metwaly
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  2. Eslam Elawadi
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  3. Sayed S. R. Moustafa
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  4. Nassir Al Arifi
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  5. Mohamed El Alfy
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  6. EKab Al Zaharani
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Correspondence to Mohamed Metwaly.

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Metwaly, M., Elawadi, E., Moustafa, S.S.R. et al. Groundwater contamination assessment in Al-Quwy’yia area of central Saudi Arabia using transient electromagnetic and 2D electrical resistivity tomography. Environ Earth Sci 71, 827–835 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-013-2485-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-013-2485-x

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