Integrated remote sensing and GIS approach using Fuzzy-AHP to delineate and identify groundwater potential zones in semi-arid Shanxi Province, China

Abstract

Abstract In Shanxi Province, China, groundwater is a major problem and exploration of groundwater potential zones (GWPZs) is a great necessity. This paper contributed to integrate RS-GIS to delineate GWPZ and applied Fuzzy-AHP method in a single platform. The main objective includes delineation GWPZs with RS and geo-environmental factors using Fuzzy-AHP method. Fuzzy-AHP method was employed to calculate weight of factors. RS-GIS was used to create maps and discover groundwater availability. GWPZs were classified in five separate classes. Results indicated that 13.26%, 27.02%, 26.35%, 23.64%, and 9.71% area classified as very good, good, moderate, poor, and very poor GWPZs. The validated analytical results revealed 82.5%, 12.3%, 3.5%, and 1.7% existing water wells exhibited in very good, good, moderate, and poor/very poor GWPZs. This indicates Fuzzy-AHP model generated findings were in very good agreement with ground-truth data. This RS-GIS based Fuzzy-AHP method is proficient and efficient in identification and delineation of GWPZs.