Integrating In-Situ Data and RS-GIS Techniques to Identify Groundwater Potential Sites in Mountainous Regions of Taiwan

Abstract

Due to rapid urbanization, the development of megacities and metropolises worldwide is creating water scarcity, social-environmental risk, and challenges to the regions where water supply from rivers and alluvial aquifers is insufficient and unstable. Groundwater exploration in fractured bedrock of mountainous regions is thus a crucial issue in the search for substitute water resources. To achieve cost effectiveness on groundwater exploration, the use of comprehensive remote sensing (RS)- and geographic information system (GIS)-based models appears feasible. The required parameters selected and analyzed from the literature depend on the hydrogeological characteristics. This study intends to investigate and improve the proposed parameters and data sources upon those presented in the literature. A total of 17 hydrogeological units of concern was delineated from 105 complex geological formations of the geological sections and main rock types. The other parameters related to groundwater potential were derived from the digital elevation model and Landsat imagery. In addition, 118 drilling cores were inspected and in-situ well yield data from 72 wells were employed to assess the normalized groundwater potential index in the raster-based empirical GIS model with a higher spatial resolution. The results show that the accuracy of the interpretation of groundwater potential sites improved from 48.6% to 84.7%. The three-dimensional (3D) visualization of a thematic map integrated with satellite imagery is useful as a cost-effective approach for assessing groundwater potential.