IDENTIFICATION OF GROUNDWATER POTENTIAL ZONES IN THE ULYTAU REGION USING GIS AND AHP METHODS

Abstract

This study was conducted to identify potential groundwater zones in the Ulytau region using remote sensing (RS) data, geographic information systems (GIS), and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Groundwater is formed as a result of the complex interaction of climatic, geomorphological, geological, and anthropogenic factors. The use of RS techniques enables the acquisition of regular, scalable data on the condition of the Earth’s surface, while GIS provide powerful tools for spatial analysis. The AHP method facilitates the incorporation of expert judgments regarding the importance of influencing factors. To achieve the research objective, the following steps were carried out:

• Collection and preprocessing of spatial and satellite data characterizing the natural conditions of the study area;
• Development of thematic layers influencing groundwater formation, including drainage density map, slope map, precipitation map, geological map of the region, land use/land cover (LULC) map, and soil maps;
• Assignment of weights to each factor using the AHP method;
• Multi-criteria spatial analysis to delineate groundwater potential zones;
• Cartographic visualization and interpretation of the results.

The final groundwater potential map of the Ulytau region delineates four categories of groundwater potential: low, moderate, good, and very good. The results indicate that approximately two-thirds of the Ulytau Region fall within the “low potential” category.