Abstract:
Groundwater demand is rising exponentially due to several factors contrary to this
groundwater assessment and evaluation in Ethiopia is preliminarily conducted through
conventional hydrogeological and geophysical resistivity surveys however; such methods
are well known by high time and capital demanding. Remote sensing specifically, RADAR
and optical remote sensing imageries are helpful for predicting potential groundwater
zones. Therefore, an attempt was made to test the application of integrated RADAR and
optical remote sensing imageries with other existing data, GIS technology, and the AHP
technique for potential groundwater zones mapping in the Gidabo watershed, Ethiopia.
Sentinel-1A SAR microwave and sentinel-2A optical remote sensing imageries, DEM,
geological map, and soil type data were used to extract criteria thematic layers
influencing groundwater occurrence. A total of nine criteria thematic layers, such as
LULC, slope, elevation, soil moisture, soil texture, lineament density, geology, rainfall,
and drainage density factors, were selected as major governing factors for the predictive
mapping of potential groundwater zones. Since all factors have no equal influence on
groundwater occurrence, weight assessment is performed using a multi-criteria decision
analysis based on the AHP technique. These selected and prepared thematic layers are
reclassified based on standard criteria; and aggregated using the weighted overlay
technique in the spatial domain of ArcGIS environment. The aggregated result shows
that; the identified groundwater potential zones of the study area are very low (0.006%),
low (14.951%), moderate (60.188%), and high (24.856%). A total of 135 water point
inventory data of boreholes and springs with variable yield have been used for result
validation. The points are overlaid on and coincide over different groundwater potential
zones, and resulted in 0.91 correlations or 91.11% accuracy. Based on the results of the
study, integrated optical and RADAR remote sensing with GIS techniques are very
efficient, practical, timely, and cost-effective for monitoring and assessing potential
groundwater zones. Finally, the study suggested that future studies on potential
groundwater zone mapping should incorporate knowledge from other scientific
disciplines and employ field data for validation to enhance the accuracy of the result.