Egypt has a fast‐growing population rate of 2.5%/year; consequently, there is an increase in the water demand for living and launching different development plans. Meanwhile, there is intensive construction of several dams in the upstream Nile basin countries. Thus, it is necessary to search for new water resources to overcome the expected shortages of the Nile water supply by focusing on alternative groundwater resources. El‐Gallaba Plain area is one of the most promising areas in the western desert of Egypt attaining the priority for new reclamation projects; however, its hydrogeological setting is not well understood. The present work aims at identifying the recharge potential of the groundwater aquifers in El‐Gallaba Plain, as well as exploring the role of geologic structures as natural conduits, and evaluating the groundwater types, origin and distribution. The integration of hydrogeophysical studies (aero and land magnetic surveys, vertical electrical sounding), hydrochemical analyses and remote sensing were successfully used for assessing the groundwater development potential. The hydrogeophysical studies show a large graben bound aquifer with thickness exceeding 220 m. The hydrochemical results indicate the presence of three major water types; Na mix, NaCl, NaClHCO₃ with salinities ranging between 227 and 4324 mg/L. The aquifer receives little recharge from the western fractured calcareous plateau from past pluvial periods and scarce present flashfloods. There is no indication for recent recharge from Lake Nasser to the aquifer domain. Further modeling studies are essential for establishing sustainable abstraction levels from this aquifer.

中文翻译：

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在埃及西部沙漠的El-Gallaba平原探索地下水资源和补给潜力

埃及的人口增长率为每年2.5％；因此，生活和启动不同发展计划的用水需求增加。同时，在尼罗河流域上游的国家正在密集建设几座水坝。因此，有必要通过关注替代地下水资源来寻找新的水资源，以克服尼罗河供水的预期短缺。El-Gallaba平原地区是埃及西部沙漠中最有前途的地区之一，已成为新填海项目的重点。然而，它的水文地质环境还没有被很好地理解。本工作旨在确定El-Gallaba平原地下水蓄水层的补给潜力，并探索地质结构作为天然管道的作用，并评估地下水类型，起源和分布。水文地球物理研究（航空和陆地磁测量，垂直电测深），水化学分析和遥感的整合已成功用于评估地下水的开发潜力。水文地球物理研究显示，一个大型grab陷的含水层厚度超过220 m。水化学结果表明存在三种主要水类型。混合钠氯，钠氯 HCO ₃盐度范围227和4324 mg / L之间。过去的干旱期，西部裂缝性钙质高原的含水层几乎没有补给，目前的洪水泛滥。没有迹象表明最近从纳赛尔湖向含水层域补给水。进一步的建模研究对于从该含水层建立可持续的抽象水平至关重要。