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- Title
Distribution of water sources in Oued Bouhellou Watershed (North-Eastern Middle Atlas) under precipitation regimes, geological, and morphological features.
- Authors
Achiban, Hamid; Mansouri, Ismail; Squalli, Wafae; Hajji, Said; Afenzar, Miloud; Taous, Ali
- Abstract
The identification of water source distribution, the influence of geomorphological structures, and climatic conditions on their functioning in North Africa is a decisive issue, particularly because of the aridity dominating the area. Field visits, geological maps, and open-source GIS were used to document the diversity and distribution of water sources depending on both geological structures and climatic conditions dominating the Bouhellou watershed from 2017 to 2021, one of the most important reservoirs in Morocco. Data revealed that 101 sources of different types are distributed in the Bouhellou watershed: (i) karstic resurgence sources on carbonate soils located in the upstream, and supplied by karstic aquifers; (ii) fracturing sources on the Paleozoic massif of Tazekka are fed from small reservoirs storing waters between fissures, fractures, and faults dominating the Bouhellou intermediate zone; and (iii) sources of the valley (downstream) in Tahla plateau resulted from the hydraulic gradient (gravity and hydrostatic) and following the dip of the layers, feeding a captive aquifer in the South Rif corridor. On the other hand, the sources located in the upstream receive higher precipitations and feed on large karstic aquifers thanks to the high infiltration of carbonate soils, while intermediate and downstream sources receive small quantities of precipitations and are fed from underground waters sliding from the upstream aquifers. Data of this study provide valuable information for assessing and managing actions of the water sources in the Bouhellou watershed. Moreover, this study provides an opportunity for large-scale comparative researches of source distribution and behavior under different climatic and geomorphological conditions in Morocco and North Africa where aquatic resources are rare due to harsh climate and installation of desertification.
- Publication
Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 2022, Vol 15, Issue 13, p1
- ISSN
1866-7511
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s12517-022-10413-x