Assessment of groundwater potential in the Khenifra-Azrou basin, Central Massif, Morocco using frequency ratio and Shannon's entropy approaches
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The goal of this research is to identify groundwater potential zones in the fractured terrain of the Khenifra-Azrou Basin, utilizing the Frequency Ratio (FR) and Shannon's Entropy (SE) models. A total of thirteen factors influencing groundwater were incorporated, including fault proximity, fault density, river proximity, drainage density, vegetation index (NDVI), land surface temperature, and several topographic characteristics such as elevation, slope, slope aspect, profile curvature, plan curvature, topographic position index (TPI), and topographic witness index (TWI). Groundwater potential maps were generated from the two models and categorized into four levels: low, moderate, high, and very high. These maps were subsequently validated based on the distribution of water points across the potential zones, as well as by calculating the accuracy (ACC) and the kappa coefficient. The results for the FR model showed that the high and very high potential zones covered 41.03% and 43.68% of the area, while for the SE model, these zones accounted for 7.03% and 45.09%, respectively. Validation using the water points revealed that, for the FR model, 37.72% and 19.71% fell within the high and very high zones, whereas for the SE model, 35.33% and 20.22% were within these classes. The accuracy and kappa coefficients for the FR model were 85.77% and 57.64%, and for the SE model, 85.77% and 58.87%. These findings offer critical insights for groundwater management and planning in the Khenifra-Azrou Basin.
Source: Scientific African
Institutions: University of Hassan II Casablanca, Cadi Ayyad University
Language: English
Subfield: Environmental Engineering
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $590
OpenAlex ID: W4407928781