Identification and Mapping of Groundwater Potential Zone through Remote Sensing and GIS Technology in Kalmykia, Russia

Abstract

Groundwater is a valuable dynamic natural resource present beneath earth's surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations and limited in extent. Around one-third of the world’s population drinks water from groundwater resources. Of this, about 10 percent, approximately 300 million people, obtains water from groundwater resources. This study identify and mapping of groundwater potential zone for growing population, irrigation and industrial development, combining with remote sensing (RS), geographical information system (GIS) and field data for hydrological research in Kalmykia, Russia. Various thematic layers (i.e. land use/cove, soil, geomorphology, lithology, elevation, slope, rainfall, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), drainage density, lineament density, degraded land, forest, relief, vegetation, surface water body, land use, agriculture, flow accumulation, flow direction and base map) wear used along with existing maps to prepare groundwater potential zone (GWPZ) map. Weights were assigned to all above factors according to their effectiveness, sensitivity and relevance to ground water potentiality. Furthermore the resulting GWPZ map has been classified into five classes, named very high, high, moderate, low and very low based on hydro-geomorphological condition, covering 0.93%, 11.65%, 35.45%, 43.20% and 8.77% area respectively. The results show that most part of areas with favorable lithology, soil texture, vegetation, slope, optimum rainfall condition has a high potential for groundwater. The results provide significant information and can be used by local authorities for groundwater exploitation and management.