Vertical Electrical Sounding Technique as an Efficient and Rapid Tool for Groundwater Investigation in a Basaltic Environment at Kodana Station for the Shami goats. Case Study from Southern Syria

Abstract

Geoelectrical survey was conducted by using vertical electrical sounding technique (VES) with adapting Schlumberger configuration, to locate and drill a borehole for groundwater extraction in the Kodana station for the Shami goats, Southern Syria. An integrated approach is proposed to increase the efficacy of the VES technique and to reduce the uncertainties and the high failures in locating and drilling a successful groundwater borehole. The approach is essentially based on analyzing the Dar-Zarrouk (D-Z) parameters with constraining several conditions to obtain the optimum hydro-geophysical model.The 1D inversion quantitative interpretation of twelve VES sounding points and the (D-Z) parameters allowed the characterization of the study area in terms of depth and the Neogene pyroclastic basalt aquifer. The result showed that VES point (V6) has the optimum and favorable properties for drilling a successful borehole in the area. The V6 has GPS coordinates of E: 3589614, N: 3301961 and Z: 770835m. The Neogene (fractured pyroclastic layer with rocks of basaltic composition) aquifer at this V6 point is characterized by a thickness (h) of 217m, a resistivity (ρ) of 227Ωm, a transverse resistance (R) of 49259 Ωm², and an anisotropy parameter (λ) of 1.15. The advantages of the proposed approach are well proven and documented, in comparing with other techniques that require the combination of VES technique with other available geophysical techniques. The VES technique within the proposed approach is therefore recommended to be easily applied for groundwater investigations, and locating the suitable positions for drilling boreholes in similar worldwide basaltic environments.