Citation:
Abstract:
The Bir Haddada Plain is located in eastern Algeria and is characterized by a semi-arid climate with low rainfall. The irrigation of this region's agricultural lands is almost assured by hundreds of wells that exploit the shallow aquifer. The strong pumping of the shallow aquifer triggered the latter's utter exhaustion. To resolve the irrigation water shortage, we need to explore the subsoils to find potentially exploitable aquifers more closely. The objective is the geoelectric characterization of this area and also the detection of underground water aquifers. The geophysical study by vertical electrical survey (VES) is more adequate because it allows identifying the conductive and resistant layers to the electric field. Exploration by VES was carried out with a spacing of the measuring electrodes ranging from AB = 100 to AB = 1000 m. The study of the results obtained indicates that the prospective zone is distinguished by a filling exceeding 300 m corresponding to the miopliocene formations. These formations are generally clays, conglomerates, and lacustrine limestones. In contrast, the low resistivity values seem to be related to the presence of conductive formations such as Miopliocene gypsum clays or to the presence of Triassic rocks linked to the contact of the bedrock. The maps of the apparent resistivity often show a network of different direction faults.