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A GIS/Remote Sensing-based methodology for

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ARTICLE in JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY MARCH 2015
Impact Factor: 2.69 DOI: 10.1016/j.hydrol.2015.03.056

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Journal of Hydrology 525 (2015) 197208

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Hydrology
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jhydrol

A GIS/Remote Sensing-based methodology for groundwater potentiality

assessment in Tirnavos area, Greece
D. Oikonomidis a,, S. Dimogianni a, N. Kazakis b, K. Voudouris b
a
b

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Geology, Laboratory of Remote Sensing and GIS Applications, Greece
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Geology, Laboratory of Engineering Geology & Hydrogeology, Thessaloniki, Greece

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 20 January 2015
Received in revised form 25 February 2015
Accepted 29 March 2015
Available online 2 April 2015
This manuscript was handled by Peter K.
Kitanidis, Editor-in-Chief, with the
assistance of Magdeline Laba, Associate
Editor
Keywords:
Groundwater exploration
GIS
Remote sensing
Thessaly
Water suitability mapping

s u m m a r y
The aim of this paper is to assess the groundwater potentiality combining Geographic Information
Systems and Remote Sensing with data obtained from the eld, as an additional tool to the hydrogeological research. The present study was elaborated in the broader area of Tirnavos, covering 419.4 km2. The
study area is located in Thessaly (central Greece) and is crossed by two rivers, Pinios and Titarisios.
Agriculture is one of the main elements of Thessalys economy resulting in intense agricultural activity
and consequently increased exploitation of groundwater resources. Geographic Information Systems
(GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) were used in order to create a map that depicts the likelihood of existence
of groundwater, consisting of ve classes, showing the groundwater potentiality and ranging from very
high to very low. The extraction of this map is based on the study of input data such as: rainfall, potential
recharge, lithology, lineament density, slope, drainage density and depth to groundwater. Weights were
assigned to all these factors according to their relevance to groundwater potential and eventually a map
based on weighted spatial modeling system was created. Furthermore, a groundwater quality suitability
map was illustrated by overlaying the groundwater potentiality map with the map showing the potential
zones for drinking groundwater in the study area. The results provide signicant information and the
maps could be used from local authorities for groundwater exploitation and management.
2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Groundwater varies spatially and temporally and since it is the
most valuable source of water, it should be studied more thoroughly concerning its evaluation and potentiality. For sustainable
development of water resources it is necessary to identify areas
where groundwater replenishment is performed (Evaggelopoulos,
2005). Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems
(GIS) can prove useful tools in groundwater exploration mapping.
A number of papers have been published concerning applications
in Hydrogeology, among them: Tweed et al. (2007) and Leblanc
et al. (2007) described how RS data and GIS can be used to estimate
recharge and discharge areas and surface and groundwater interaction. Entekhabi and Moghaddam (2007) presented the estimation
of groundwater recharge using RS observations of soil moisture.
Remote sensing (RS) through the delineation of lineaments has
an immense importance in hard rock hydrogeology as it can identify rock fractures that localize groundwater (Das, 1990). It has also
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: oikonomi@geo.auth.gr (D. Oikonomidis), sdimogianni@gmail.
com (S. Dimogianni), kazanera@yahoo.com (N. Kazakis), kvoudour@geo.auth.gr (K.
Voudouris).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.03.056
0022-1694/ 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

been found that remote sensing, besides helping in targeting

potential zones for groundwater exploration, provides inputs
toward estimation of the total groundwater resources in the area
and the selection of appropriate sites for drilling or articial
recharge. RS is a useful tool in areas where the coverage of detailed
geological and hydrogeological maps and eld data is insufcient
(Hoffmann and Sander, 2007; Srivastava and Bhattacharya, 2006).
Sander (2007) gave a general overview of lineament mapping
and interpretation using RS data for groundwater exploration
referring the limitations in semi-arid hard rock areas.
Integration with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) allows a
synergistic processing of multi-source spatial data. Using of GIS in
hydrogeology is only at it is beginning, but there have been successful applications that started to develop (Sener et al., 2005;
Howari et al., 2007; Nagarajan and Singh, 2009). Use of GIS for
groundwater potentiality mapping offers the ability to store,
manipulate and analyze data in different formats and at different
scales (Rahman, 2008). Once in the database, it is then possible
to register all data as data layers with a common coordinate system and manipulate them to produce thematic maps, including
the overall study area vulnerability map (Voudouris, 2009; Sener
et al., 2009; Voudouris et al., 2010).

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D. Oikonomidis et al. / Journal of Hydrology 525 (2015) 197208

In recent years, many techniques have been applied by several

researchers to map the groundwater potentiality and/or the site
selection for drinking-water boreholes. Gupta and Srivastava
(2010) used RS and GIS to identify groundwater potential zones.
Al Saud (2010) proposed a method to map potential areas for
groundwater storage using RS and GIS taking into account the factors: rainfall, lithology, rock fractures, slope, drainage and land
cover/use. Elewa and Qaddah (2011) developed a method for
groundwater potentiality mapping in the Sinai Peninsula (Egypt),
using RS and GIS. They used eight parameters: rainfall, net groundwater recharge, lithology or inltration, lineament density, slope,
drainage density and depth to groundwater. Konkul et al. (2014)
applied a similar method to map the hydrogeological characteristics and groundwater potentiality of Huay Sai area (Thailand),
using potential surface analysis. Antonakos et al. (2014) applied
multicriteria analysis within GIS environment in order to produce
a distribution map of site suitability for drilling new production
boreholes in Korinthia Prefecture (Greece). The most important
of these criteria relate to the productivity of the aquifers (hydraulic
properties, recharge, etc.), groundwater quality, and economic and
technical issues (drilling cost, morphology, site accessibility, etc.).
This paper presents the study of groundwater potentiality mapping of the broader Tirnavos area (Thessaly region, central Greece)
by modication of a previously applied methodology (Elewa and
Qaddah, 2011) with the contribution of Remote Sensing and
Geographic Information Systems, which aims to establish a supplementary or amending tool in locating groundwater. In addition a
thematic map showing the potential zones with drinking groundwater was illustrated. For this reason rainfall data, hydrogeological
and hydraulic characteristics of aquifers, hydromorphological,
lithological and groundwater quality data were used.
Furthermore, the reliability of groundwater potentiality mapping
was controlled by using drilling data.

2. Location, physical background and hydrogeology of the study

area
The study area is located in Central Greece, in the region of
Thessaly, occupying an area of 419.4 km2 (Fig. 1). The geomorphological development of the region is characterized by mild to relatively high relief with altitudes ranging from 27 m to 886 m. The
area belongs to the Mediterranean climate type, Csa (Balafoutis,
1977) and is characterized by hot and dry summers and mild
and wet winters. The mean temperature of the area is 14.2 C,
showing maximum value in July (25.1 C) and minimum value in
January (4.7 C). Land use is predominantly agricultural in lowlands and the usage of groundwater for irrigation has been
increased during the last decades.
Pinios river, which gathers almost all the runoff of the
Thessalian plain and has a total length of 205 km, dominates in
the drainage network of the wider region. The drainage network
of Thessaly is relatively simple because of its morphology. In fact
it is a deep basin, surrounded by high mountains, which means
that the rain water cannot be obtained easily. According to
Evaggelopoulos (1974), the alluvial basin owes its rich groundwater to Titarisios River, which also crosses the area. The alluvial
aquifer accepts abundant supply during winter, which is localized
mainly upstream of the river. The central part of the basin of
Larissa has accepted the effect the Pinios river. The northwestern
part of the basin of eastern Thessaly is a creation of Titarisios river
of debris, corrosion products of the basin, which were deposited
downstream of Titarisios, during the exit from the mountain complex, to the tectonic draft generated in the wider area of Tirnavos.
Concerning its lithology, it is subsumed in the Pelagonian zone
and consists of uvial terraces, uvio-terrestrial formations, scree,

schists, gneisses, eluvial mantle, alluvial deposits and marbles

(Fig. 1). The geological bedrock consists of crystalline moschovitic
schist, which is almost impermeable. Limestones and marbles at
the western margin of the alluvial area are 400500 m thick and
their permeability factor is high, due to existence of intense karst
phenomena and tectonics. The main aquifer systems are developed
within alluvial deposits and marbles. The alluvial deposits are present in the majority of the area. They are divided into two aquifers,
the deeper one (300 m thick) and the shallow one (70 m thick),
separated by an impermeable layer, 50 m thick. An additional
recharge of alluvial aquifer from the karstied aquifer takes place
by the NW-lying hydraulic contact, as showed from the hydrogeological cross section (Fig. 1).

3. Materialsmethodology
For the implementation of this work, the following data and
software were used:
 Geological maps covering the study area (Sheets: Larisa,
Gonnoi, Elassona, Farkadona, 1:50,000 scale, source:
Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration/IGME).
 Landsat-7/ETM + satellite image, acquisition date: 28/01/
2000 (URL1).
 Digital Elevation Model/DEM from ASTER satellite (ASTER/
GDEM), horizontal spatial resolution 30 m (URL2).
 Meteorological, climatological, groundwater level measurements and chemical analyzes of groundwater samples.
 Image processing software: ENVI 4.8
 GIS software: ArcGIS 10.1.
Geological maps of IGME were scanned, imported into ArcGIS
10.1 and georeferenced to the UTM/WGS84 projection system. By
using ENVI 4.8 software, the bands of the satellite image were initially layer stacked, georeferenced, then the le was resized so
that only the broader study area is included, then it was radiometrically corrected (log-residuals option) and nally a proper
false color composite image was created. Then, the creation of thematic maps took place, using rainfall, recharge, lithology, lineament density, slope, drainage network and depth to groundwater
table. A weighted spatial probability modeling was applied for
identifying groundwater potential areas, according to their relevance to the existence of groundwater. Eventually, a groundwater
potentiality map was created, consisting of ve gradational potentiality classes, ranging from very low to very high (Fig. 2).
The mathematical method of Analytical Hierarchy Process
(AHP), which was introduced by Saaty (1980), was used to derive
the nal groundwater potentiality map. The AHP method has been
applied in many hydrogeological studies for site suitability analysis
(Banai-Kashani, 1989; Pourghasemi et al., 2012). To do so, the
individual groundwater potentiality factors, were given values
(weights) according to their signicance. In order to achieve this,
all the factors were paired with each other and following that, each
factor was given an arithmetic value between 1 and 9, according to
its signicance when compared to the other factor, with which it
formed the pair (Table 1). In the resulting table, an arithmetic value
of 9 indicates that a row factor is much more signicant than the
corresponding column factor with which it has been compared,
while an arithmetic value of 1 means that both factors are equally
signicant. Fractional values are also possible, indicating that a factor is less signicant when compared to the factor with which it
has been paired. After the completion of Table 1, the arithmetic
mean method has been applied to its results (Table 2). For example, the value of 0.33 (lithology column crossed with rainfall line
of Table 2), resulted after dividing value 1 with value 3 (total) from

D. Oikonomidis et al. / Journal of Hydrology 525 (2015) 197208

199

Fig. 1. Location and geology of the study area.

the lithology column of Table 1. In that way, the weights for each
preparatory factor were calculated (mean column of Table 2).
Then, the groundwater potentiality map was produced, in
accordance with the mathematical equation (1):

the classication of vulnerability degrees (Huan et al., 2012;

Kazakis, 2013; Kazakis and Voudouris, 2015).

4. Results

M w1 X 1 w2 X 2 w3 X 3 w4 X 4 w5 X 5 w6 X 6 w7 X 7
w8 X 8

where M is the value for each pixel of the nal groundwater potentiality map of the study area. Variables w1, w2, w3, w4, w5, w6, w7
and w8 are the weight values for each preparatory factor and variables X1, X2, X3, X4, X5, X6, X7, and X8 are the rating values for each
pixel according to the preparatory factor to which it is referred
(Domakinis et al., 2008).
The quantitative parameters were classied according to the
grading method of equal intervals of ArcGIS 10.1. This method
has been used in the classication of hydrogeological studies and

The eight factors for groundwater potentiality mapping (rainfall, potential recharge, lithology, lineament density, slope, drainage density and depth to groundwater are examined separately
in the following paragraphs. The thematic maps portray the eight
factors that are extracted for the calculation of the nal map. The
values range was reclassied into ve classes, based on the
weighted spatial probability modeling, with equal intervals
(Table 3). The reclassication was performed based on the potentiality of groundwater existence. The factors weights used are
related to the participation of each factor on the groundwater
entrapment. All maps use the same classication, however they
dont contribute to the same extent. The weights were adopted

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D. Oikonomidis et al. / Journal of Hydrology 525 (2015) 197208

Fig. 2. Flow-chart of operations performed.

Table 1
Pair wise comparison of the preparatory factors that affect groundwater potentiality.

Rainfall
Lithology
Potential recharge
Slope
Density of lineaments
Density of drainage network
Depth to groundwater
Total

Rainfall

Lithology

Potential recharge

Slope

Density of lineaments

Density of drainage network

Depth to groundwater

1
1
1/3
1/3
1/9
1/9
1/9
3

1
1
1/3
1/3
1/9
1/9
1/9
3

3
3
1
1
1/7
1/7
1/7
8.4

3
3
1
1
1/7
1/7
1/7
8.4

9
9
7
7
1
1
1
35

9
9
7
7
1
1
1
35

9
9
7
7
1
1
1
35

Table 2
Calculation of factor weights (in combination with Table 1).

Rainfall
Lithology
Potential recharge
Slope
Density of lineaments
Density of drainage
network
Depth to groundwater

Rainfall

Lithology

Potential
recharge

Slope

Density of
lineaments

Density of drainage
network

Depth to
groundwater

Mean
(weight)

0.33
0.33
0.11
0.11
0.04
0.04

0.33
0.33
0.11
0.11
0.04
0.04

0.36
0.36
0.12
0.12
0.02
0.02

0.36
0.36
0.12
0.12
0.02
0.02

0.26
0.26
0.20
0.20
0.03
0.03

0.26
0.26
0.20
0.20
0.03
0.03

0.26
0.26
0.20
0.20
0.03
0.03

0.30
0.30
0.15
0.15
0.04
0.04

0.04

0.04

0.02

0.02

0.03

0.03

0.03

0.04 (4%)

and optimized from the results of experience or judgments of

experts in previous similar works on groundwater potentiality
mapping (Elewa and Qaddah, 2011). The effectiveness (last column
of Table 3) of each factor-parameter is calculated by multiplying its
weight by the rate (Al Saud, 2010). Factors with equal value of
effectiveness have the same effect on groundwater potentiality.
In previous applications of the above method, an extra factor,
the total dissolved solids (TDS), has been used for the assessment
of groundwater potentiality (Elewa and Qaddah, 2011; Konkul
et al., 2014). TDS represents the summation of the ions in groundwater and is considered as a groundwater quality aspect. TDS values range from 205 to 1100 mg/L in the study area. The lower
concentrations are observed in the western part of the study area,
in marbles, while in contrast with the higher values, which are
observed in the sedimentary formation in the southern and in a

(30%)
(30%)
(15%)
(15%)
(4%)
(4%)

small part in the center of the area. In the present application this
factor is omitted, assuming that the groundwater quality is irrelevant factor to assess the groundwater potentiality. Furthermore,
the complexity of the method is decreased by the smaller number
of the factors.
4.1. Rainfall
This factor is one of the most important and was assigned a
weight of 30% (0.30) in the nal groundwater potentiality value.
The higher the rainfall, the higher the groundwater potentiality.
During the present study, monthly rainfall data were collected
from 4 stations of the wider area in combination with the Digital
Elevation Model (DEM). The mean annual rainfall ranges from
434 to 499 mm in the lowland areas, while in the mountainous

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D. Oikonomidis et al. / Journal of Hydrology 525 (2015) 197208

Table 3
Ranks and weights for factors used for groundwater potentiality mapping.
Parameters

Class

Average rating (R)

Weight (W)

Effectiveness

Rainfall

Very high
High
Moderate
Low
very low

639678
598638
560598
520559
480519

90
70
50
30
10

30% (0.30)

27
21
15
9
3

Lithology

Very high
High
Moderate
Low
Very low

Unit
Unit
Unit
Unit
Unit

90
70
50
30
10

30% (0.30)

27
21
15
9
3

Potential recharge

Very high
High
Moderate
Low
Very low

186214
159186
132159
105132
77105

90
70
50
30
10

15% (0.15)

13.5
10.5
7.5
4.5
1.5

Slope

Very high
High
Moderate
Low
very low

<2
25
515
1535
>35

90
70
50
30
10

15% (0.15)

13.5
10.5
7.5
4.5
1.5

Lineament density

Very high
High
Moderate
Low
Very low

6.78.4
5.16.6
33.5
1.63.3
01.6

90
70
50
30
10

4% (0.04)

3.6
2.8
2.0
1.2
0.4

Depth to groundwater

Very high
High
Moderate
Low
Very low

>165.4
124.3165.4
82.9124.2
41.882.8
<41.7

90
70
50
30
10

4% (0.04)

3.6
2.8
2.0
1.2
0.4

Drainage density

Very high
High
Moderate
Low
Very low

<2.8
2.95.8
5.98.8
8.911.7
11.814.6

90
70
50
30
10

4% (0.04)

3.6
2.8
2.0
1.2
0.4

E
D
C
B
A

areas ranges from 619 and 749 mm. Thus, an increase of annual
rainfall with the altitude was identied. A regression line indicates
the following relationship between (P in mm) and the altitude (h in
m): P = 0.29 h + 474. The above relationship was used to illustrate
the rainfall map. The resulting map was classied into ve major
classes (Table 3 and Fig. 3): 639678 mm/yr (Very High), 599
638 mm/yr (High), 560598 mm/yr (Moderate), 520559 mm/yr
(Low), and 480519 mm/yr (Very Low). From the map of rainfall,
it can be observed that in areas with higher altitude and rainfall,
greater potentiality of obtaining water exists, in comparison to
areas of lower altitude. About 6778% of annual rainfall occurs in
56 months (OctoberApril next year), while summers are usually
dry. It is estimated that about of 63% of annual rainfall come back
to the atmosphere via the process of evapotranspiration.
4.2. Potential recharge
Potential recharge indicates the amount of water that can be
reached the water table, adding to groundwater storage.
Groundwater recharge represents a signicant factor on groundwater potentiality mapping and occurs mainly via the following
mechanisms: direct inltration of rainfall and inltration through
river beds. The distribution of recharge areas are related to
increased rainfall, increased inltration capacity of the soil, vegetation type and the presence of surface-water bodies (rivers and
torrents). Potential groundwater recharge factor was assigned a
weight of 15% (0.15) in this analysis and can be estimated as the
residual term from the total rainfall minus total evapotranspiration
(Konkul et al., 2014):

R P  ET

where R is the potential groundwater recharge, P is the average

annual rainfall and ET is the actual evapotranspiration (all terms
in m3/yr).
For the study of this factor the rainfall and the actual evapotranspiration estimated by Thornthwaite method were used. This
method estimates the actual evapotranspiration in respect to the
seasonal variation of temperature and rainfall. The spatial distribution of rainfall and actual evapotranspiration was mapped
using raster calculator (GIS) and the relationship between these
parameters and the elevation. The illustrated map (Fig. 3) indicates
the potential amount of water that can be added to groundwater
resources. Therefore, it is observed that in the area consisting of
marbles, the recharge rate is higher than the recharge rate of the
area consisting of gneisses.

4.3. Lithology
The lithology factor (weight 30% or 0.30) is associated with the
water permeability and the ability of the formations to host
groundwater. The fracture systems, joins, dykes and porosity are
inuence the capacity and specic storage of groundwater among
the various rock types. The sedimentary aquifers, with primary
porosity, have higher capacity and specic storage of groundwater
than the karst and ssured rock aquifers in which the groundwater
interesting is locally and predominately in faults and fractures. The
geological map was derived from the available geological maps

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D. Oikonomidis et al. / Journal of Hydrology 525 (2015) 197208

Fig. 3. Distribution of groundwater potentiality (rst pair of numbers in legend), based on rainfall (left) and recharge of lithological formations (right), divided into classes.

Fig. 4. Distribution of the groundwater potentiality (rst pair of numbers in legend), based on lithology (left) and lineaments density (right), divided into classes.

D. Oikonomidis et al. / Journal of Hydrology 525 (2015) 197208

with scale 1:50,000 from IGME. The different rocks were digitized
as polygons and thus the thematic map was produced.
Five hydrolithological types were detected according to inltration coefcient and their hydrogeological characteristics of the
equivalent rock of the area in combination with lithological map
of Fig. 1. Consequently, the map of Fig. 4 was created and divided
into classes. Schists, amphiboles and gneisses are impervious geological formations and create a barrier to groundwater inltration
while they have low storativity capacity of groundwater. Therefore,
a rating value of 20 was adjusted to these formations (lithological
unit A). Lithological unit B includes uvio-lacustrine formations
with a rating of 40. Despite the fact that marbles of the area have
high inltration coefcient, a rating of 60 was given owing to their
local interest of groundwater (lithological unit C). This lithological
unit C is supplemented with the recent uvial terraces and screetalus cones. The lithological unit D was rated with 80 and comprised of conglomerates, elouvial mantle, and uvio-terrestial formations. The formation (lithological unit E) with the highest rating
(100) is alluvial deposits due to the high inltration coefcient and
the high storativity capacity of groundwater.

203

4.4. Lineament density

A lineament is a linear feature in a landscape which is an
expression of an underlying geological structure such as a fault.
For the extraction of lineaments density map, a satellite image
Landsat-7/ETM+ was initially processed in ENVI 4.7, in order to
determine the most appropriate False Color Composite/FCC image
for lineaments delineation. Combination of bands 753: RGB (Red/
Green/Blue) proved to be the most suitable for this purpose (Fig. 5).
After the lineaments (satellite image) and faults (geological map)
digitization, their density was calculated in ArcMap10.1 (Line
Density command). Next, a reclassication of the raster lineament-density le followed, into 5 classes, from very low to very
high, according to the class boundaries of Table 3, yielding Fig. 4
map. The lineament density raster le was assigned a weight of
4% (0.04) in the calculation of the groundwater potentiality nal
map, according to AHP methodology. It can be noticed that in the
area of red color, where no faults and lineaments exist, the potentiality of the presence of groundwater is low, in contrast with the
green - colored area, where the probability reaches the maximum
level.

Fig. 5. Landsat-7/ETM+ image 7, 5, 3: RGB.

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D. Oikonomidis et al. / Journal of Hydrology 525 (2015) 197208

Fig. 6. Distribution of the groundwater potentiality (rst pair of numbers in legend) based on slope (left) and drainage network density (right), divided into classes.

4.5. Slope
Slopes were produced after the ASTER/GDEM in ArcMap 10.1.
The values (in degrees) were reclassied into classes according
Demeks classication (1972) as shown in Table 3. In general,
slopes rule the ability of surface water to remain on the surface
long enough to inltrate or will continue to ow. Usually, the steep
slopes indicate greater water velocity. Therefore, it is observed that
in the areas of steeper relief the runoff is increased. This in turn
minimizes the degree of groundwater recharge (Doll et al., 2002).
On the contrary, on the relatively gentle sloping terrains, the
groundwater potentiality increases due to greater inltration, that
is the lower the slope, the greater the recharge (Fig. 6). The slope
factor was assigned a weight of 15% (0.15) in the calculation of
the groundwater potentiality nal map, according to AHP
methodology.

4.6. Drainage density

Drainage density is the total length of all the streams and rivers
in a drainage basin divided by the total area of the drainage basin.
It is a measure of how well or how poorly a watershed is drained
by stream channels. The drainage network of the study area was
created from the ASTER/GDEM through a commands sequence in
ArcMap 10.1 and its density (Fig. 6) was calculated using the
Line Density command. Next, a reclassication of the raster drainage network-density le followed, into 5 classes, from very low to
very high, according to the class boundaries of Table 3, yielding
Fig. 6 map.
The drainage network that was produced is of dendritic pattern,
resultant by water owing in a homogenous soils surface, without
abrupt changes in geological conditions. According to geomorphological knowledge, the denser the drainage is, the less is the

recharge rate and vice versa. Hence, in the green-colored areas

the groundwater potentiality is higher than in the areas of high
drainage density. The raster drainage network density le was
assigned a weight of 4% (0.04) in the calculation of the groundwater potentiality nal map, according to AHP methodology.
4.7. Depth to groundwater
The depth to groundwater is dened as the distance from the
ground surface to the water table and determines the cost of water
consumption and abstraction. The water table is highest in April
May and lowest in early October depending on meteorological conditions. In general, the deeper the water level is, the greater the
cost takes to abstract and exploit the groundwater. This factor
was given a weight of 4% (0.04) in this analysis. Water level measurements from 58 boreholes during the period of May 2011 were
used to illustrate the piezometric map of the study area. The depth
to groundwater in the alluvial aquifer ranges from less than 3 to
more than 25 m below ground surface, while the depth in the marbles aquifer ranges between 15 and 206 m. The resulting map was
classied into ve major classes (Table 3 and Fig. 7): >165.4 m
(very high), 124.3165.3 m (high), 82.9124.2 m (moderate),
41.882.8 m (low), and <41.7 m (very low). In the green-colored
areas the level is lower, therefore there is a higher potentiality of
water in shallower depths. In the red-colored areas, the level
reaches great depth leading to greater difculty in extracting
groundwater.
5. Final maps discussion
After the procession of all aforementioned factors, the nal map
of potentiality of groundwater existence in Larisa Tirnavos area
was constructed. The procedure followed is based on multiplying

D. Oikonomidis et al. / Journal of Hydrology 525 (2015) 197208

205

Fig. 7. Distribution of the groundwater potentiality (rst pair of numbers in legend) based on depth to groundwater, divided into classes.

the groundwater potentiality raster le of each factor (Rfi) on the

weight (Wfi) assigned to each factor, according to the following
equation (Elewa and Qaddah, 2011); E being the nal groundwater
potentiality value:

8
X
Wfi  Rfi ! E
i1

0:30  Rainfall 0:30  Lithology 0:15  Recharge

0:15  Slope 0:04  Lineaments and faults 0:04
 Drainage network 0:04  Depth of groundwater

The resulting values were reclassied into ve classes with

groundwater potentiality from very low to very high owing to
the grading method of equal intervals (Fig. 8). This is attributed
as: <2438% (very low), 3850% (low), 5062% (moderate), 62

74% (high) and 7486% (very high). According to the nal map,
the area covered by the above classes was calculated (Fig. 9). It
appears that areas of high potentiality occupy an area of
46.5 km2, while very low potentiality occurs in an area of
0.6 km2. Moderate groundwater likelihood occurs in an area of
195.4 km2, which covers the largest part of the study area.
The lithological formations with the highest potentiality for
groundwater are the alluvial deposits and a part of the marbles
in the northwest part of the mountainous part. The high potentiality for groundwater in the marbles is attributed to the high
amounts of rainfall and potential recharge, in contrast with the
alluvial formation which are rendered to high groundwater potentiality owing to their hydrogeological and morphological characteristics (low slopes, high inltration coefcient, etc.). The
groundwater potentiality map can be a useful tool in order to identify new supply sources for water. The proposed method is suitable

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D. Oikonomidis et al. / Journal of Hydrology 525 (2015) 197208

Fig. 8. Groundwater potentiality map of Larisa Tirnavos.

for areas in which carbonate rocks are characterized by high degree

of karstication. However, the exibility of this method allows the
revision of the weights and rating of parameters in order to be suitable for other regions according to their specic characteristics.

5.1. Suitability map for groundwater quality

Fig. 9. Distribution of groundwater potentiality classes in the study area.

Even if the results of the groundwater potentiality maps are

veried from the construction of boreholes, it is possible that
groundwater from a number of boreholes will be excluded from
domestic uses due to high nitrates concentration which is a characteristic of the study area due to the intense agricultural activities
(over-fertilization). According to the chemical analyzes of water
samples of May 2011, nitrate values range from 9 to 85 mg/L,
exceeding locally the upper limit of 50 mg/L for potable use.
Specically, in the karst area the nitrate values range between 16

D. Oikonomidis et al. / Journal of Hydrology 525 (2015) 197208

207

Fig. 10. Distribution of nitrates (left) and the nal map showing potential zones for drinking groundwater in the study area (right).

Table 4
Values used for the decision of the areas for groundwater potentiality and quality.
Groundwater
potentiality
<50%
0

Nitrate concentrations (mg/L)

>50%
1

<25
1

Suitability map for drinking water

Non acceptable
Moderate acceptable
0
1

2550
1

>50
0
Acceptable
1

study area in the alluvial deposits and marbles, respectively. In the

moderate acceptable areas (value 1) the monitoring in the
groundwater hydrochemistry should be more regular in the boreholes which are used for domestic use. On balance, the produced
potentiality map as well as the suitability map for groundwater
quality should be supplemented from detailed eld investigation
before the drilling of new boreholes for drinking water. It is
pointed out that RS cannot replace information collected in the
eld research.
5.2. Validation

and 18 mg/L, while in the alluvial area between 11 and 85 mg/L

(Fig. 10). It is pointed out that the wider study area is one of the
most vulnerable zone to nitrate pollution in Greece (Daskalaki
and Voudouris, 2008).
Therefore, a further combination between the groundwater
potential zones and the nitrates concentrations was performed in
order to exclude the polluted zones. The potentiality map was
reclassied into two classes: (1) <50% and (2) >50%. In the areas
of the rst class, value 0 was assigned, whereas in the areas with
>50% the value 1 was given. The nitrates concentration was divided
in three classes. The rst class has concentrations below the guide
level (<25 mg/L), the second is between the guide level and the
maximum admissible concentration (2550 mg/L), the third class
has concentrations above the maximum admissible concentration
(>50 mg/L), as dened by the former drinking water Directive
(EU Water Framework Directives 2000/60/EC and 2006/118/EC).
In the rst class, value 1 was assigned, in the second -1 and in
the third 0 (Table 4).
A multiplication between the aforementioned reclassied raster
les took place using Raster Calculator (within ArcGIS software)
and a map with the acceptable areas for groundwater was created
(Fig. 10). The non acceptable class (value 0) covers the highest part
of the study area with 53.5%. The acceptable areas (value 1) cover
30.8% and are located in the eastern and north-western part of the

In order to validate the applied method, the density of the

operating boreholes in areas with available data is related to the
produced maps. Thus, the produced maps were compared with
the existing boreholes. The highest density of boreholes (Fig. 1) is
recorded in the areas with very high groundwater potentiality,
indicating the reliability of the method. High and very high potentiality areas which are placed in the karst aquifer are characterized
by the absence of boreholes due to the high distance from agricultural land and the towns. The high cost for the water transfer is the
main reason for the absence of the boreholes but could be used as a
backup water resource region for future use.
The validation of the applied empirical method using GIS and
remote sensing would benet in future hydrogeological investigations and collection of new eld data concerning yield of boreholes,
groundwater recharge and balance, etc. Additional uncertainties in
mapping the spatial distribution relates to the compatibility
between the scale and the resolution of the mapping technique
(Tweed et al., 2007).
6. Conclusions
A specic method based on GIS and Remote Sensing was
applied to assess the groundwater potentiality in the wider area

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D. Oikonomidis et al. / Journal of Hydrology 525 (2015) 197208

of Tirnavos, central Greece. Seven parameters with different

weights (rainfall, potential recharge, lithology, lineament density,
slope, drainage density and depth to groundwater) were used,
resulting in a nal map. The alluvial deposits and a part of the marbles are the geological formations with the highest potentiality for
groundwater. The validity of the illustrated map was also checked
by using available drilling data. Furthermore, combination
between the groundwater potential zones and the nitrates concentrations was performed in order to exclude the polluted zones. So,
this new-modied method, not only shows the areas of groundwater existence potentiality, but indicates also areas of good-quality groundwater.
The maps obtained by this method can be used by local authorities and water policy makers as a preliminary reference in selecting
suitable sites for drilling new boreholes. Therefore, the identication of areas where aquifers are developed can contribute to the
rational exploitation and sustainable development of water
resources. The exibility of the method allows the revision of the
weights of included parameters, so the method could be applied
in a wider variety of regions.
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