Identifying Fresh Groundwater Potential in Unconfined Aquifers in Arid Central Asia: A Remote Sensing and Geo-Information Modeling Approach
Sotnikov E. Onglassynov Z. Kanafin K. Berndtsson R. Rakhimova V. Miroshnichenko O. Gabdulina S. Tussupova K.
October 2025Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
Water (Switzerland)
2025#17Issue 20
Arid regions in Central Asia face persistent and increasing water scarcity, with groundwater serving as the primary source for drinking water, irrigation, and industry. The effective exploration and management of groundwater resources are critical, but are constrained by limited monitoring infrastructure and complex hydrogeological settings. This study investigates the Akbakay aquifer, a representative area within Central Asia with challenging hydrogeological conditions, to delineate potential zones for fresh groundwater exploration. A multi-criteria decision analysis was conducted by integrating the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), supported by remote sensing datasets. To address the subjectivity of weight assignment, the AHP results were further validated using Monte Carlo simulations and fuzzy logic aggregation (Fuzzy Gamma). The integrated approach revealed stable high-suitability groundwater zones that consistently stand out across deterministic, probabilistic, and fuzzy assessments, thereby improving the reliability of the groundwater potential mapping. The findings demonstrate the applicability of combined AHP–GIS methods enhanced with uncertainty analysis for sustainable groundwater resource management in data-scarce arid regions of Central Asia.
geo-informational model , groundwater resources , remote sensing
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Institute of Hydrogeology and Geoecology Named After U.M. Ahmedsafin, Satbayev University, Valikhanov str. 69/94, Almaty, 050010, Kazakhstan
Hydrogeology Consulting Group LLP, 410/78 Seifullin Avenue, Almaty, 050020, Kazakhstan
Division of Water Resources Engineering & Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies, Lund University, Lund, 221 00, Sweden
Department of Hydrogeology, Engineering and Petroleum Geology, Kazakh National Research Technical University named after K. I. Satbayev, Almaty, 050000, Kazakhstan
Department of Science, Kazakh National University of Water Management and Irrigation, Taraz, 080000, Kazakhstan
Institute of Hydrogeology and Geoecology Named After U.M. Ahmedsafin
Hydrogeology Consulting Group LLP
Division of Water Resources Engineering & Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies
Department of Hydrogeology
Department of Science
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