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ISSN: 2375-3846

American Journal of Science and Technology

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Groundwater Potentialities Assessment of the River Atbara Alluvial Sediments El Girba-New Halfa Area, Eastern Sudan

American Journal of Science and Technology
Vol.1 , No. 4, Publication Date: Sep. 11, 2014, Page: 187-193

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Authors

[1]	Abdalla Eltom Mohamed Elsheikh, Faculty of Petroleum and Minerals, Al Neelain University, P.O. Box 1270, Khartoum-Sudan.
[2]	Khalid Elsir Ahmed Nayl, Department of Groundwater and Wadies, Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources, Kassala State, Sudan.
[3]	Khalid bdein Abdelrahman Elsayed Zeinela, Faculty of Petroleum and Minerals, Al Neelain University, P.O. Box 1270, Khartoum-Sudan.
[4]	Ibrahim Ahmed Ali Babikir, Faculty of Petroleum and Minerals, Al Neelain University, P.O. Box 1270, Khartoum-Sudan.

Abstract

The study area lies in the upstream of the River Atbara basin in the Kassala State, eastern Sudan. The availability of fresh water governs the population distribution and settlement. The objective of the study is to assess the groundwater potentialities of the River Atbara alluvial sediments using hydrogeological and geophysical methods. These methods were applied to detect the basin boundary and to identify the saturated zones and the lithological variations within the basin. The main geological units in the River Atbara watershed include the old Precambrian basement complex, Triassic to Cretaceous Sandstone, Tertiary basalt and Pleistocene to Recent alluvial sediments. The River Atbara alluvial aquifer is extended under the Karab land for about 2-3 Km on each side of the river banks, it consists of alluvial deposits. The depth to basement ranges between 50-65m below the land surface. The Transmissivity values range between 1000 - 1500 m2\day. The groundwater storage capacity in the study area was estimated to be 1450 Million cubic meters. The depth to water level does not show great variations during the year; it ranges between 30 - 40m on the western bank and between 11 – 40m on the eastern bank. The outcome of the present study states that there is no noticeable variation in water levels between the wet and dry seasons. The River Atbara and its tributaries represent the main source of recharge to the aquifers. The general groundwater flow direction is towards the NW direction with average hydraulic gradient of 0.005.

Keywords

Groundwater Potentiality, Hydrogeology, Geophysics, New Halfa, Sudan

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