Vertical electrical sounding technique for evaluating and characterizing weathered Neogene basaltic aquifer in Jbab area, Southern Syria

ABSTRACT Vertical electrical sounding (VES) technique with Schlumberger array is used to characterize the subsurface basaltic aquifers in Jbab area, Southern Syria. The Dar-Zarrouk (D-Z) parameters of 18 VES points allow to characterize the subsurface basaltic environment and the weathered Neogene basalt aquifer in the study region. The Neogene basaltic aquifer exists at a depth varying between 12.40 and 291.8 m, its thickness varies between 32.3 and 244.4 m. Its resistivity is between 12.53 and 53.40 Ω.m. The hydraulic conductivity (K) varies between 0.64 and 0.68 m/day, while the transmissivity (T) ranges between 21.94 and 162.68 m2/day. The overburden protective capacity (OPC) is evaluated through modeling the longitudinal conductance of the layers above the Neogene basaltic aquifer. OPC varies between 0.064 Ω-1 and 2.90 Ω-1, reflecting that more than 83% of the study region is identified by relatively moderate to good aquifer protective capacity. The use of the VES technology with its related D-Z parameters provides a vital information about the subsurface weathered basaltic aquifer in the study area, and can be practiced worldwide to characterize areas with similar geological context.