Using Radar and Optical Satellite Images to Delineate Paleodrainages in Desert Regions: A Case Study of Saudi Arabia

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Al Saud This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3711715/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Al Saud (2023) worked on detailed cartography for all drainage systems of Saudi Arabia using SRTM DEM and topographic maps. However, a number of watercourses were noted with anomalous morphometric and sedimentological characteristics . This includes abrupt termination of stream networks, traces for dry channels and presence of linear saline soil horizons. This was attributed to the existence of paleodrainages which have been noted in several studies in the Arabian Peninsula including Saudi Arabia, and they were attributed to large global climate fluctuations that were reflected in topographic rippling and abrupt changes in terrain slopping, acting on the extinction of many watercourses and creation of others. This study characterizes paleodrainages in Saudi Arabia using remote sensing products. In this respect, SRTM DEM was used to generate detailed drainage systems; while Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) Phased Array Type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) and Advanced Space-borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) were processed to detect paleodrainages and the relevant paleo-geomorphological features using a number of digital techniques. Seven aspects of these channels were identified and all indicating the presence of alluvial sedimentation with high porous and permeable linear features which are potential to store and transmit groundwater. They can be also routs for paleodrianagesthe intrusion of saline water on-land. The identified paleodrainages can be potential groundwater aquifers, suitable sites for groundwater artificial recharge especially where saltwater is intruded along these drainages. streams porous sediments recharge Radar images Saudi Arabia Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 10 Figure 11 Figure 12 1. INTRODUCTION The Arabian Peninsula, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is one of the most water-scarce regions with low rainfall rate below 150 mm and average temperature of 35 °C (GAMEP, 2021), and thus high potential evapotranspiration exceeding 2000 mm/year (Baban, 2022). This has been reflected on the limited renewable water resources besides excessive withdraw from "fossil water" which became the only water source to cope with water demands notably in the inner regions where the convey of desalinated water is not easily feasible. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the exploitation of groundwater is mainly from the deep aquifers, which are almost exceeding 1200 m depth. For example, the depletion of groundwater has been estimated between - 6.9 × 10 −2 and -8.6 × 10 −2 cm/month as detected from GRACE TWS in northern Saudi Arabia, particularly in agricultural areas (Wehbe, 2022). Lately, rainfall patterns in the Arabian Peninsula has been changed towards torrential revealing an increasing trend of climatic extremes, evidencing an aspect of climatic variability in the region as it was presumed by IPCC (2007). Thus, the excessive volume of precipitated water falls in short time (i.e. torrential rain) has been reflected lately by the increased number of flash floods in several wadis of Saudi Arabia resulting in severe damages in the infrastructure and the environments (Al Saud, 2015). Several dams have been constructed along these wadis either to capture surface water for further water supply or to give a chance for the accumulated water to infiltrate, as spontaneous groundwater recharge process. Given that wadis in Saudi Arabia carry on large amounts of water, yet there is no investment of this water which can be injected/recharged into the paleodrainages; especially that the concept of groundwater artificial recharge (GWAR) remains an a solution with no action.. Studies on GWAR in Saudi Arabia are still few to compose a comprehensive figure on this adaptive hydrologic instruments, and if studies on GWAR are made, they did not focus on the aquifer characteristics and its suitability to store groundwater. For example, the study obtained by Zaidi et al, (2015), analyzed the slope, soil texture, vadose zone and groundwater quality; while the study performed by Alataway and El Alfy (2019) based on the calculations of the morphometric variables and elaboration the Hydrologic Engineering Center–Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) model. Another study was carried out to estimate the feasibility of enhancing groundwater recharge obtained by Al-Othman (2011), and it revealed that the infiltration rate was increased by 11.48 % after the construction of artificial recharge structures including recharge ponds, furrows and artificial recharge wells. Even though, the study showed a significant measurable dimensions for the enhanced infiltration rate, yet the suitability of the located rock layersto store groundwater was not clearly mentioned. In Saudi Arabia, there are numerous shallow aquifers at various depths. Among these aquifers, there are buried water channels, with high porosity and permaebility, which have been formed since Mid-Late Quaternary (Pleistocene) and controlled by ancient climate and environmental changes in the Arabia Peninsula (Woor et al., 2022). These changes resulted in topographic rippling (i.e., wavy terrain surface) and abrupt changes in terrain slopping (i.e., inclined terrain surface). These buried channels are often described as “paleodrianagespaleodrainages” or “paleo-geomorphological features”. They are also considered as anomalous drainages, due to their orientations and upnormal patterns, such as acute change in the drainage pathway, compressed meanders, Abrupt and localised drainages braiding, etc. and this was described by Howard (1967) and Al Saud (2007). From the hydrogeological point of view and their feasibility for GWAR, paleodrianages have the following advantages: Highly porous and permeable lithologies with considerable hydraulic conductivity. Shallow depth which facilitates the GWAR mechanism, Slow water flow in paleodrainages, due to the gentle slope gradient and this resulted in a minimal water loss, The dimensions of these paleodrianages can be roughly calculated, especially that their extent and width can be measured by remote sensing. It was a challenge to detect paleodrainages as well as identifying their dimensions ( i.e. storage capacity), before the development of remote sensing techniques which enable tracing the alignment and width of these drainages; especailly they are mostly hidden under detrital, non-consolidated surface materials and sands, as well as they are usually intermittent with abrupt termination of observable streams (Khan and Tewari, 2011). These ancient geomorphologic features have been mentioned in several studies where satellite images were used, notably in desert areas and low-lands, in different regions worldwide (Robinson et al., 2000;2011; Ul Islam et al., 2016), where some studies applied for Saudi Arabia (Rosenberg et al., 2013; Emil et al., 2013; Breeze et al., 2015). This study area is paleodrianageslocated at the north-eastern part of Saudi Arabia, between Dammam and Hafer El-Baten and the northern part of Riyadh, which is located between the following geographic coordinates (Figure 1): 27° 55' N and 30° 00' N & 43° 20' E and 48° 30' E. The area of study comprises a miscellany of rock lithologies starting from Triassic Period. Hence, thick sequences of carbonates ( i.e. limestone) and clastic ( i.e. Sandstone) rocks are interbedded. While, vast lands with Quaternary deposits exist with sandy sediments and dunes. In addition, the coastal zone of the study area encompasses large number of Sabkhas ( i.e., surficial salt intrusions) which ar extend tens kilometres away from the coast. Whereas, surface water flow along streams in this area is diverted from the Arabian Shield; and thus, the majority of surface water flows is to the east and north east. The aim of this study is to detect and characterize the existed paleodrainages in the study area. This will be a base data/information for further applications where the identified paleodrainages can be included to: a) assess the potentail of groundwater storage into these channels, b) appraise the possibility of adopting these channels for groundwater artificail recharge, and c) identifying the probable interlinkage between saltwater intrusions for several kilometers in land and the identified paleodrainages. 2. CONCEPTS OF PALEODRAINAGE IDENTIFICATION Ancient streams and rivers have been subjected to many physical processes (e.g., tectonic activities, climatic events, geomorphological processes, etc..) where their dimensions and flow direction have been changed. This has been mentioned in some studies (Timar at al., 2005). Hence, those watercousres (channels of streams and rivers) were dried up as paleodrainages. In addition to the mixed bed load materials, there are also the alluvial, fluvial sediments accumulated in these channels since thousands of years; and they filled with highly porous and permeable detrital materials, which compose potential routes for groundwater flow and even storage. Many of these channels can be noted even in topographic maps where the stream lines abruptly stop, but after a distance they reappear on surface, thus the hidden continuation of these streams evidences paleodrainages. Other aspects of these channels are evidenced from the linear wet zones with green cover on the topsoil as observed in many localities where they span even opposite to the slope direction (Figure 2, a). Since many paleodrianagespaleodrainages are water-bearing conduits, thus Al Saud (2023) considered them as potential source for groundwater and also suitable reservoirs for GWAR; nevertheless, they can be also routes salt accumulation on terrain surface which are found as sabkha in many loaclities in the area of study. (Figure 2 b). In many regions, paleodrainages have been considered as a solution to address freshwater scarcity problems in arid zone such as in the Eastern Sahara of Egypt and Libya (Robinson et al., 2000; Paillou et la., 2009 and 2012, 2020) and New South Wales inAustralia (Wray, 2009). Hence, the significance of paleodrianages in groundwater storage has been mentioned in several studies (Wray, 2009; Owen and Dahlin, 2010; Samadder et al., 2011; Paillou et al., 2012; Ghoneim et al., 2012; Zhi et al., 2021); while, the role of paleodrianages in seeping saltwater into the coastal aquifers was mentioned (Mulligan et al., 2007; Rizk et al., 2007), and this might interpret the presence of Sabkhas in several localities at range from the coastline the Arabian Peninsula such as in those in Dammam Region. These hidden geological features are often detected using geophysical techniques which enable determining buried lithologies and covered geologic structures. Lately, these techniques have been used to detect paleodrianages in various regions where many methods are applied, such as electrical resistivity and conductivity surveys, Radar (GPR), electromagnetic induction (EMI), Gamma-Spectrometry (GS) (Neal, 2004; Paillou eta la., 2009; Hambly, 2015; Paillou et la., 2020). However, these techniques are time comsuming and are limited by the range of a ground survey, which can limit the extent to which large scale paleodrainage system can be surveydpaleodrianages. For this reason, remote sensing, notably the microwave sensor (i.e., radar) became a significant tool for identifying paleodrainages where they are caharcterized by the capability to pentrate the subsoil and burried surficial materils (Kumar and Rajawat, 2017) 3. METHODOLOGY 3.1. Data Sources In order to detect paleodrianagespaleodrainages and other buried geomorphological features, multi-source data acquirement was adopted in this study. This included satellite images (optical and microwave remote sensing datasets). Optical remote sensing with multispectral satellite images can detect ground objects which reflect different spectral signatures on satellite images; nevertheless, paleodrianages cannot be directly detected by optical sensors, unless surficial signatures exist, or thermal satellite images are used to identify thermal differentiation between surface materials (Rossetti, 2010; Wang et al., 2012); especially that paleodrianages are characterized by soil and detrital materials with exceeded moisture that reflects less temperature than the surrounding, besides that dry soil in desert environment is a good target for radar, notably water often cuasese noise in the signal (Paillou et al., 2009; Paillou et al., 2012; Paillou et la., 2020). However, successful detection of paleodrianages can be performed by orbital imaging radar (microwave sensors) which enables the delineation of these ancient geomorphological features that are often covered under terrain surface (Robinson at al., 2000; Ul Islam et al., 2016). In this study, three types of remotely sensed products were adopted. These are: Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) digital elevation model to delineate drainage systems with multiple dimensions and aspects, Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) Phased Array Type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) to identify surficial signatures evidencing the delineation of paleo- paleodrianages; and Advanced Space-borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) to help detecting thermal differentiations that indicate linear features of wet horizons reflecting buried channels. Hence, the retrieved, remote products and their specification are shown in Table 1: Table 1. Remote sensing products and their specifications. Remotely sensed product Selected dates Images ID/Granules Spatial resolution/bands Swath width SRTM DEM 2020 Path (Long.) & Row (Lat.) N28, E48 & N27, E46 N28, E47 & N27, E46 N28, E46 & N27, E47 N28, E44 & N27, E48 N28, E43 & N26, E48 -1-arc-second (30 m) -3-arc-second (90 m) 225 km ALOS-PALSAR 27/2/2020 ALOS2311350550-200227 ALOS2311350540-200227 ALOS2311350530-200227 25 m (L-Band, (1257.5 MHz; λ 25 cm) 70 km 26/3/2020 ALOS2315490520-200326 ALOS2315490530-200326 20-12-2022 ALOS2463200560-221220 ALOS2463200550-221220 ALOS2463200540-221220 12-1-2023 ALOS2466600560-230112 ALOS2466600550-230112 17-1-2023 ALOS2467340550-230117 ALOS2467340540-230117 23-2-2023 ALOS2472810560-230223 23/3/2023 ALOS2476950570-230323 ALOS2476950560-230323 ASTER 08-2019 ASTB190809190913 ASTB190809190922 -15 m (Visible) - 30 m (SWIR) - 90 m (TIR) 60 km 12-2019 ASTB191219074546 03-2020 ASTB200317074033 ASTB200317074024 04-2020 ASTB200418074014 10-2022 ASTB221004185419 ASTB221004185427 Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM DEM) Digital Elevation Model, which has been operated by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and NASA for obtaining complete high-resolution digital topographic datasets for 80% of the Earth's land surface with data points located every 1-arc-second and 3-arc second with 30 m and 90 m spatial resolution; respectively. SRTM is used with a technique called radar interferometry where two radar images are retrieved from slightly different locations, and thus the differences between these images allow for the calculation of differentiation in surface elevation. Data was retrieved from: https://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm/ Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) under the provisional name Daichi was launched by the Japanese aerospace Agency JAXA. ALOS satellite is equipped with three instruments. Among them, the Phased Array Type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) which was designed for round-the-clock and all-weather Earth observations and to capture images with a spatial resolution of 7 to 100 m. ALOS is occupying a stereo mapping camera. data was retrieved from: https://www.eorc.jaxa.jp/ALOS/en/palsar_fnf/data/2017/map.htm Advanced Space-borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on board NASA’s Terra satellite. It is an advanced multi-spectral sensor ranging from Visible to Thermal Infrared with 14 spectral bands where 3 of these bands are visible and 11 in the infrared range. It is characterized by high spatial resolution (15 m VNIR, 30 m SWIR and 90 m TIR). Data was retrieved from: https://gbank.gsj.jp/madas/map/index.html In addition to the retrieved satellite images, topographic maps for the study area were also utilized to assure the delineation of some streams, and to compare them with those streams extracted from the SRTM DEM, as well as to identify some domesticnames of these streams and the surrounding areas. These maps are at scale of 1:500.000 and 25 m contour interval as obtained by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (MPMR, 1983). 3.2. Images Processing and Data Analysis The downloaded SRTM DEM granules for the area of interest (AOI) were digitally processed to extract the existing stream networks which can be elaborated to perform different stream orders and dimensions ( e.g., reaches, and tributaries) and to identify streams` characterstics including orientation, continuity and the localities where they terminate or disappear. For this purpose, D8 (deterministic eight-node) single-flow-direction (SFD) algorithm was used to delineate flow from each grid cell to one of eight nearest neighboring ones based on slope gradient which was adopted by O’Callaghan and Mark (1984). Hence, the aspect can be extracted (in degrees clockwise from north) for steepest descent for each grid cell and also the flow direction from that grid cell. The raster data of SRTM DEM was processed in Arc-Map 10.8, and more certainly in the Arc-Toolbox which is an interface for accessing data conversion and analysis function. Hence, the “Hydrology” option was elaborated in the Spatial Analyst extension where from fill-in, pit removal–depression filling to filter the digital elevation, and finding outlet cells, were carried out. Therefore, flow direction, flow accumulation, stream order and stream to feature were determined. ASTER satellite images have a wide spectral range since it is covered by three telescopes, a varaiety of bands as mentioned un Table 1. There are two levels for ASTER satellite images ( i.e., Level-1A and Level-1B) where Level-1A data are as reconstructed and unprocessed instrument and consists of the image data including the radiometric coefficient and the geometric coefficient and other auxiliary data. While, Level-1B data are generated by applying these coefficients for radiometric calibration and geometric sampling. In this study, Level-1A, V003 data series were adopted for different time periods depending on the required image scene; and therefore, 10 images were selected (Table 1). Thermal Infrared bands were adopted to detect thermal differentation for the linear surficial features that evidensing burried features (i.e., paleodrainages). Consequently, ASTER satellite images were interlinked using ERDAS Imagine software. The five TIR bands were then corrected for atmospheric effect using an algorithm that is similar to the in-scene atmospheric compensation algorithm or ISAC (in-scene atmospheric correction ). The algorithm initiates by identifying the band that returns maximum brightness temperature for most pixels, which is set as the reference band. There are several digital procedures were applied on ASTER images for a better discrimination of features including: band combination, edge detection, filtering, stretching histograms equalizing (Figure 3), etc. For instant, the stretching histograms equalizing, which shows a graphical representation of the intensity distribution that represented by the number of pixels for each intensity value. It can improve the contracts of the images, by spreading out the most frequent intensity values, i.e. stretching out the intensity range of the image. Figure 3 shows the corresponding histogram (colored) with the cumulative histogram (black line); and thus condensing the cumulative historagms reflects more image contrast (as in the lower image of Figure 3). The Multi-looking process improves the radiometric resolution of the Single Look Complex (SLC) image where multiple looks Intensity images are generated by averaging over range and/or azimuth resolution cells. The product represents an intensity image, composed of squared pixels where the ground range resolution and the pixel spacing in azimuth are considered. Images retrieved from the PALSAR sensor are characterized by speckle (noise) due to statistical fluctuation associated with the radar reflectivity of each pixel per scene. PALSAR data is received by as Level 1.0 Raw which is extracted to produce a SLC file. SAR data over the study area was acquired by the ALOS-PALSAR-2 sensor at L-band (λ 25 cm) with pixel spacing of 6.25 m in fine-beam dual-polarization mode (HH & HV), in an ascending orbit with off-nadir angle of 28.6°.The data was pre-processed with several steps including: removal of antenna variation effects, speckle filtering by means of adaptive Lee-Sigma, Frost and Gamma-MAP filters, Ortho-rectification and Re-projection, Radiometric calibration through converting (DN) values into Backscatter Intensity in decibel format (dB). The processing of ALOS PALSAR images followed mainly: 1) Radiometric correction, 2) Terrain correction and 3) HH & HV polarization. The geocoded images are saved as GeoTiffs. Products include a 8 and 32 bit GeoTiffs Which are re-projected from their default to the appropriate spatial reference system in ERDAS Imagine. Having all streams plotted from DEMs; therefore, a comparison was carried out between these streams and the linear stretches appear on ALOS PALSAR and ASTER image, which in turn evidences the existence of potential paleodrainages and this was reached after using the previous mentioned digital procedures on ERDAS Imagine and ArcGIS software. Hence, some stretches or their delineation were clearly appearing on ASTER images but not on ALOS PALSAR images and vice versa. 5. RESULTS The methodology followed a number of steps where satellite images processing is the main one; therefore, SRTM DEM were primarily processed to extract various watercourses with diverse dimensional aspecst(i.e., stream networks). paleodrianages. The advantage of using more than one type of remotely sensed products with different optical and spectral signatures was obvious in this study. Even for the same type of satellite images ( e.g., ASTER) a various digital procedures were applied to confirm the presence of the linear features which are totally absent from the streams networks extracted from SRTM DEM and from topographic maps. Field verification was carried out on localities where these linear stretches, as potentail paleodrianagespaleodrainages, were detected on satellite images. This followed identifiying any upnormal linear terrain features (e.g., linear green cover in dry land, linear salt crustations, abrupt termination of existing stream, etc.). for this purpose, investigating surficail maetils was applied by digging boreholes (> 50 cm). The results showed surficial signatures as follows: - No obvious stream or water flow has been noticed, and even in localities with no slope to drain water, - Linear horizon with subsidence and inear patch of green cover totally different from the surrounding., - Sabkhas with elongated shapes exists in some localities at a distance ( i.e., several kilometers) from the coast, - Presence of linear (meandered) zones with surface water even after long time from the rainfall event. Therefore, the following types of potentail palechannels were detected: Fan channels: These are buried channels that are oriented in the same direction where they begin from a defined zone and then they are widening to compose a delta-like geomorphological form. They usually have diverse dimensions, comprising a plume-like shape; and thus; creating fans where they outlet big amounts of water and sediment loads at the foot-slopes of these fans. They exist with considerable extent that exceeds several hundreds of kilometres (Figure 4). The dimensions and orientation of fan channels (few hundred of kilometres) indicate that they were formed with frequent runoff periods and even intensive flooding events which were capable to run water for long distances.. They typically exist to the north of Wadi El-Baten which spans from Wadi El-Rumah in the middle of Saudi Arabia to the N-NE direction, and it formed the Kuwait and part of Iraq territory. The large-scale extent of Wadi El-Baten, with these paleodrianagespaleodrainages as ancient tributaries and the formed watersheds, evidenced that it was an ancient river. Several studies mentioned similar channels to Wadi El-Baten ( Al-Sulaimi and Pitty, 1995; Pachur and Hoelzmann, 2000; Ritambhara et al., 2021; Albhadi et al., 2023). Meandering channels : These are channels which are not connected from both extremes, but they have clear alignment and probable connection route with the existing streams and they reveal to be with considerable dimensions ( e.g., tens of kilometres) since they can be clearly traced on satellite images as shown in Figure 5. The existence of these buried channels in such orientation can be attributed changing climatic conditions oran abrupt geological processes that changed the terrain topography. The concept behind the creation of these channels is probable similar to that of the existing oxbow streams. Even they were not named as Meandering channels, yet typical examples of these channels were mentioned in several studies, such as the paleodrianages within a segment of the Mooloolah River National Park, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia with several tens of kilometers (Hambly, 2015). Another example is from Eastern Libya, where several aspects of these unconnected extremes channels were detected, and the most significant one is called Al-Kufrah River (a buried watercourse) with about 900 km length and 400.000 km 2 paleo-watershed (Paillou et al., 2009; Paillou et al., 2012; Paillou et la., 2020). Buried channels in depressions : There are several observations on the SRTM DEM and even in the topographic maps where streams are terminated ( i.e., disappeared) in low-lands and depressions where sediments ( i.e., alluvial, colluvial and aeolian) are susceptible to accumulate by erosion processes. The delineation of the existing streams shows obvious indications of flow direction which supposed to exist for the continuation of hydrologic processes ( i.e., runoff). Figure 6 shows an example of the buried channels in a depression paleodrainages where the accumulation (ancient and recent) of sediments exits. The dimensions of such channels is expected to be with several tens of kilometres. The buried channels in depression were described in some studies as paleo-lakes due to the large and undefined-geometry zones were these channels span in [Sheng et al., 2017; Sternberg and Paillou, 2015; Phillip et al., 2023). Buried channels by sand dunes: These are similar to thos buried channels in depressions and low lands(aforementioned point # 3), but they are subjected to frequent surficial processes in that they frequently covered by sand dunes at different time periods. There are many observations on satellite images for the existing stream, as extracted from the SRTM DEM associated with topographic maps, which abruptly are terminated once reaching the desert lands and notably when they cross-cutting with sand dunes (Figure 7). T hese channels are found with relatively small dimensions (e.g., several tens of kilometres) and they may reach several kilometres length. Buried channels by frequent dumping of sand dunesand then covering their alignments. This can take long time where the covered channels wil be considered as paleodrainages.. This phenomenon has been observed in several regions in Saudi Arabia, especially at foot-slopes and escarpments. According to Al Saud (2015), streams crossing sand dunes abruptly disappear, but they may reappear at further time. The close frequency of these processes may cause sand collapse that then creates flash movement of huge amounts of sediments, turbid and muddy water and resulting in floods with severe damages. Induced channels by changed flow direction : There are many observations for large-scale streams with wide channels and hundreds of kilometres long, but no evidence of runoff was noticed in these channels even after rainfall periods. This is well pronounced in many regions of Saudi Arabia, and the emptiness of these streams remains a question. In this respect, the use of space techniques, with a special emphasis on digital elevation models and stereoscopic satellite images, in delineating drainage systems resulted in identifying water divide zones ( i.e., watershed s) where no flow can be observed. However, the geometric and morphometric analysis of these drainage systems indicate that these buried streams are located in these zones of the water divide (Figure 8). The existence of this phenomenon must be given concern, because there are many implements taken to reduce floods or to harvest surface water in these zones of Saudi Arabia, and the results were since no water accumulates in these zones, but the cartography of drainage systems reveals a large-scale channel with a morphometric pattern showing erroneous water flow zone. The reason behind the formation of these streams is mainly related to tectonic activities nd the resulted rock deformationswhich might be regional geological processes and not necessary to be in the surrounding of the water divide zone, and that is why such zone are usually found in areas with hard and consolidated rocks with dominant fault systems. A good example is shown in Figure 8 where a large-scale channel exists and showing a dominant NS flow direction (Figure 8a), but the actual status is not the same. This interprets the resulted erroneous cartography of drainage systems in many studies where drainage networks are found to be connected while they are diverting surface water in different directions. The paleodrianagespaleodrainages in these zones are often with no groundwater, but they remain having the hydrologic characteristics of high porosity and permeability, and this in turn gives a chance to adopt groundwater artificial recharge in these zones Buried alluvial fans : They appear as a set of numerous rill-like channels which exist with diverse thickness and small stream dimensions (width and length); the buried alluvial fans form conical shapes along slopes where the apex points start from the existing primary watercourse (Figure 9). At present, these channels evidence that they were buried by sedimentation processes of the eroded surficial materials making them an aspect of ancient streams ( i.e., paleodrainages). These are often formed nearby a primary watercourse ( e.g., Wadi El-Baten) and sometimes they appear along sloping terrain that was in the past. Typically, the formation of buried alluvial fans exists in the study area along Wadi el-Baten. The formations of these channels can be attributed to a geological process where the primary watercourse represents a fault-valley, and then the tectonic movement might uplift the territory of this valley along the fault alignment and resulting in small reaches in the other side of the fault (Figure 10). Few studies tackled the paleo-alluvial fans due to their vulnerability to rapid geomorphological and climatic changes and then misleading to identify their traces, as well as the difficulty in discriminating these buried features due to the small dimension they occupy and sometimes the thickness of the overburden sediments, but the composition of these channels from mixed sediments make them potential to store groundwater even with little amounts. The available studies on paleo-alluvial fans focused on the materials forming these geomorphological features including mainly the soil and sediments (Bayat et al., 2017), the geomorphologic and hydrological processes and evolution (Sümeghy and Kiss, 2012; An et al., 2018, and the sedimentological characteristics (Haug, 2009; Sukumar and Sankar, 2011). Structure-controlled paleodrainages : These are potential paleodrainages which do not clearly show any surficial signatures even on satellite images, but their identification depends mainly on the morphometric behavior of their drainage networks (Figure 11). This geomorphologic phenomenon has been noted in several areas of the Arabian Peninsula (Al Saud, 2007) where abrupt deviation in the original flow direction occurs and then diverting these streams into different direction which is almost perpendicular to the original flow direction (Figure 11). The delineation of the original flow direction evidences the continuation of the ancient streams which are potential paleodrainages buried by the overlying (& eroded) sediments and they can be several tens of kilometers (Figure 12). Al Saud (2007) named this type of streams, among other upnormal drainage features, as “anomalous streams” due to their suspicious flow regime, and attributed their existence to of geological defamations, which is probably due to acting strike-slip faults that abruptly cross-cutting in the region due a tectonic movement. 6. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION Water is a valuable commodity in the view of climate change and the increased population associated with new aspects of water demand. This motivated using advanced techniques to explore and invest all available water resources whether on surface or the subsurface water. For an arid region like Saudi Arabia, with minimal water feeding from rainfall besides excessive withdraw, studies and investigations have been extended to the non-conventional water, and more certianly the fossil groundwater which is stored not only in substratum but also in the channels which were bearing considerable amounts of water in the past, the so-called “Paleodrainages”, and others entitled them as “Paleodrianages”. In many applied studies, the delineation of these drainages (i.r., paleochannels) was mainly to prove the capability of the used techniques, with a special emphasis on the use of satellite images; while the methodology of investments of these resources remained undefined. However, it is significant to consider the detected paleodrainge which are buried with various types of sediments (e.g., sand dunes, alluviums, etc.); especially, they can be potential sources for groundwater from one side and potential reservoirs to store groundwater from the other side, notably many of these channels are located/or intersected with existing streams which ofetn carry large volume of water and sediments and caused damaging floods in many regions of Saudi Arabia. The detection of paleodrianages remains under study and many investigations and analysis have been applied to trace their underground routes. This included the use of optical and radar satellite images, notably those acquired from microwave sensors ( i.e. radar images) as well as images with thermal bands. The study of these channels was performed in various regions with different climatic and geomorphologic characteristics, whether in deserts, humid and glaciated regions. However, remote sensing was always the primary tool for identification and some studies accompanied this with ground geophysical surveys to exactly perform the cartography of paleodrainages and their dimensions. Hence, the applied studies owned depended on various concepts for subsurface discriminations. The novelty in this study includes the use of varaity of remotely sensed products for the same region. Therefore, STRM DEM, with stereoscopic visualization, to identify terrain topography, and then the extraction of drainage systems; while ALOS PALSAR utilized the property of radar images in penetrating the subsurface rock layers to detect buried features, and the thermal differentiation was also applied on ASTER images to detect wet horizons. The other aspect of the novelty in this studies implied by the empirical classification performed for different types of paleodrianages which was not tackled before, and thus all detected types of the ancient streams were identified and their creation and characteristics were interpreted. However, inaccurate interpretation may occur due to the diverse post-processes that might also affected these features, such as weathering, extreme climatic conditions as well as the interference of human activities. In this respects, the potential paleodrianages with diverse features ( e.g., dimensions, orientation and patterns) evidenced different climatic conditions and geological processes occurred in the past thousands of years. This reports that climate change is a cyclic physical process and natural geological hazards are always anticipated. The identified paleodrainages in the study area were attributed to different typesin the morphometric sense. Some of them were obviously identified and others were delignated even they had no clear surficial signatures. While, the detection of these channels follow using one or more of the three adopted remotely sensed products ( i.e, SRTM DEM, ALSO PALSAR and ASTER). This has been associated with revising the previous studies, topographic and geologic maps as well as on field observations. The identified types of paleodrianages in the study area were categorized in order to characterize each types in terms of its potentiality of their dimensions, controlling factors and the feasibility of investment as shown in Table 2. Table 2. Major characteristics of the identified paleodrianages. Identified Paleodrianages Dominant dimensions Potential controlling factor for paleodrainage formation Feasibility of investment Fan channels Several hundreds of kilometres Primarily the extreme climatic conditions, and geological processes Groundwater reservoirs with considerable water volume Meandering channels Several tens of kilometres Changing climatic conditions Suitability for GWAR Buried channels in depressions Geomorphological processes associated with geological deformations Groundwater reservoirs Buried channels by sand dunes Geomorphological (aeolian) processes Induced channels by changed flow direction Several hundreds of kilometres Large-scale tectonic activity Groundwater reservoirs and suitability for GWAR Buried alluvial fans Few kilometres Geological uplift associated with erosional processes They comprise wetlands for agricultural purposes Structure-controlled paleodrianages Few tens of kilometres Tectonic activity Groundwater reservoirs and suitability for GWAR The idea of this study came with the author from a study which is still under progress, to invest water in wadis of Saudi Arabia aiming to capture this water and recharge it into the subsurface rock layers and reduce the flood damages and saltwater intrusions at a range on-land. However, identifying suitable sites to recharge water remains a challenge. The author believes that paleodrianages can be a potential localities where water can recharge either naturally/or artificially to feed mainly the fossils groundwater reservoirs and to mitigate the increased salinity in soil and along the coastal zone, notably that saltwater is transported along paleodrianages and with considerable volume. Therefore, the study aims principally to identify the suitable localities for shallow groundwater reservoirs which can be exploited as well as the optimal sites for GWAR rather than proving the capability of techniques for subsurface identification. Hence, this study can be a base knwoldge for these applications where such burried hydrological features must be mapped with their areal extent. This may also require supplementry techniques, such as geophysical sounding, notably in target localities where the above mentioned applications (e.g., GWAR) can be performed.References References Al Saud M (2007) Using satellite imageries to study drainage pattern anomalies in Saudi Arabia. J Envir Hydro, ISSN 1058-3912. Al Saud M (2015) Flood Control Management for the City and Surroundings of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.Book, Springer. New York, London. 177 pp. ISBN13: 978-94-017-9660-6. Al Saud M (2023) Mapping Drainage Basins of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 20 map sheets (1:500.000). Technical Study (Under production). Alataway A, El Alfy M (2019) Rainwater Harvesting and Artificial Groundwater Recharge in Arid Areas: Case Study in Wadi Al-Alb, Saudi Arabia. J Wat Res Plann Manage. Vol. 145, issue 1, pp. 23-35. Albhadili S, Almallah I, Almulla S (2023) Morphotectonic Analysis of Wadi Al-Batin Alluvial Fan, South of Iraq, Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques. 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Sukumar S, Sankar K (2010) Delineation of potential zones for artificial recharge using GIS in Theni district, Tamilnadu, India. International J Geomat Geoscien. 1 (3): 639. Sümeghy O, Kiss T (2012) Morphological and hydrological characteristics of paleo-channels on the alluvial fan of the Maros river, Hungary. J Environ Geograph. 5 (1–2), 11–19. Timar, G., Sumegi, P., & Horvath, F. 2005. Late Quaternary dynamics of the Tisza River: Evidence of climatic and tectonic controls. Tectonophysics, 410(1–4), 97–110. doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2005.06.010 Ul Islam Z, Iqbal J, Kha, J, Qazi W (2016) Paleochannel delineation using Landsat 8 OLI and Envisat ASAR image fusion techniques in Cholistan desert, Pakistan. J Appl Rem Sen (4):046001. DOI: 10.1117/1.JRS.10.046001 Wang, X., Guo, Z., Wu, L., Zhu, C., He, H. 2012. Extraction of paleodrianages information from remote sensing imagery in the east of Chaohu Lake, China. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 6(1), 75–82. Wehbe Y (2022) Unraveling the spatio-temporal dynamics of satellite-inferred water resources in the Arabian Peninsula. Chapter in Book: Satellite monitoring of Water Resources in the Middle East. Shaban (Editor). Springer Publisher. Woor S, Buckland C, Parton A, Thomas D (2022) Assessing the robustness of geochronological records from the Arabian Peninsula: A new synthesis of the last 20 ka, Glob Planet Chan. Vol. 209, 103748. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2022.103748 Wray R (2009) Paleodrianages of the Namoi River Floodplain, New South Wales, Australia: the use of multispectral Landsat imagery to highlight a Late Quaternary change in fluvial regime. Austra Geogr. 40 (1): 29–49. Zaidi F, Nazzal Y, Ahmed I, Naeem N, Jafri J (2015) Identification of potential artificial groundwater recharge zones in Northwestern Saudi Arabia using GIS and Boolean logic. J Afri Ear Scien. Vol.111, Nov. 2015. pp.256-169. Zhi C, Cao W, Wang Z, Li Z (2021) High-Arsenic Groundwater in Paleodrianages of the Lower Yellow River, China: Distribution and Genesis Mechanisms. Water. 13, 338. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13030338 Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 30 Jan, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 30 Jan, 2024 Editor invited by journal 20 Dec, 2023 Editor assigned by journal 11 Dec, 2023 First submitted to journal 06 Dec, 2023 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3711715","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":270252969,"identity":"5ae6b5f5-1cbc-418e-aedc-9d2d768ce3a3","order_by":0,"name":"Mashael M. Al Saud","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABAElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYLACxj8gkgeIC2xA3MYDhLU0wLQYpIG5JGk5DBbAq0Xevfnopps7GKL5+88e/PDB4Lzd2vbDQFtqbKJxaTE8cyztdu4ZhtwZN/KSJWcY3E7ediYRqOVYWm4DLi0zcsxu57Ax5Dbc4DGQ5gFqMTsA1MLYcBi3lvlvIFrmnz9j/PuPwblks/MP8WuRl+Axu53bxpC74UCOmTSDwQE7sxsEbDHgSUu7nXNGInfjjRwzyx6D5ASzG0BbEvD4Rb798LHbORU2ufOADrvxo8LO3ux8+sMHH2pscNtyAExJwAUSwSoTcCgH24Julj0exaNgFIyCUTBCAQAKwmhqEM/a+wAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"King Saud University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mashael","middleName":"M. Al","lastName":"Saud","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2023-12-05 20:19:42","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3711715/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3711715/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":50577426,"identity":"740a520d-9e34-436c-8803-c4dee374fc6a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-02-02 18:00:14","extension":"jpg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":98381,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eLocation map of the study area.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3711715/v1/6743d3963c4f7d9e6973e707.jpg"},{"id":50577433,"identity":"f045ea18-9436-4a0b-988d-99d4a0810e1a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-02-02 18:00:15","extension":"jpg","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":74442,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003ePotentail paleodrainages. a) linear wet zones (green cover) indicating subsurface moisture and b)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003esalt accumulation \u0026nbsp;on terrain surface..\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"2.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3711715/v1/0ed815d164e534681ae298e1.jpg"},{"id":50577425,"identity":"2c9ade9a-b2e8-47f0-ad4e-d78b6c7cb16f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-02-02 18:00:13","extension":"jpg","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":117593,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eStretching histograms equalizing as applied on ALOS PALSAR images.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"3.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3711715/v1/b8f0a8f6c53eb8abdd584298.jpg"},{"id":50577429,"identity":"5a42ad7d-e518-44c8-9586-5fd080b122aa","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-02-02 18:00:14","extension":"jpg","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":182907,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eFan paleodrianagespaleodrainages as observed by STRM DEM and the processed ALOS PALSAR image. The upper image shows the existing (modern) streams in blue color.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"4.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3711715/v1/a0efb7c7bc377ba2f23e6105.jpg"},{"id":50578631,"identity":"19d35e3a-afd4-4708-a12c-a4288d472ba5","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-02-02 18:08:14","extension":"jpg","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":192841,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eMeandering channels where they clearly appear on ASTER images.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"5.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3711715/v1/f94062c61c6fd7eb6d46d9d5.jpg"},{"id":50577435,"identity":"1d155781-f2c2-404c-9c5d-eb24217d93a5","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-02-02 18:00:15","extension":"jpg","order_by":6,"title":"Figure 6","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":156053,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eExample of buried channels in depressions (in the box with black-dotted line). This zone has thick accumulation of alluvia and aeoliansediments, as detected from SRTM DEM image (black arrows indicate the proposed flow direction). Greencolor indicates higher altitude, while orange color indicates lower altitudes.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"6.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3711715/v1/e28b1c2f5c3a3eb1c9017de8.jpg"},{"id":50577428,"identity":"6909135b-ffe5-4b9e-ba3f-da05c147124b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-02-02 18:00:14","extension":"jpg","order_by":7,"title":"Figure 7","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":143970,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eExample of a buried paleodrianages in the front of sand dunes,\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eas detected by ALOS PALSAR images.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"7.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3711715/v1/4ef039ff0592dbafe11cc65d.jpg"},{"id":50577436,"identity":"4f3e5255-1a81-426a-ab47-5ae62b5df53a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-02-02 18:00:15","extension":"jpg","order_by":8,"title":"Figure 8","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":218735,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eExample of a processed ALOS PALSAR image showing the original (ancient)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eflow direction of streams (above figure), and the existing stream network (8-order)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eincluding the observed flow direction along the existing stream (SRTM DEM map below) where three main flow directions and obvious water divide zone.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"8.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3711715/v1/348da65a72eac751efcf67c3.jpg"},{"id":50577434,"identity":"1709f352-b9a1-473a-8580-e29a141c6309","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-02-02 18:00:15","extension":"jpg","order_by":9,"title":"Figure 9","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":184267,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eBuried alluvial fans as detected by TIR bands in thermal ASTER images.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"9.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3711715/v1/f074d2ab7f1bcdab68991226.jpg"},{"id":50577437,"identity":"03d68ae2-31af-4939-9227-e4625c1ebe18","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-02-02 18:00:15","extension":"jpg","order_by":10,"title":"Figure 10","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":52938,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSchematic figure showing the formation of the ancient (buried) alluvial fans\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eshown in Figure 9, which are probably existed due to the geological uplift process.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"10.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3711715/v1/718fc36cfa66fb28b43b73c5.jpg"},{"id":50577432,"identity":"a28d44c0-3282-40d1-b468-330270c63e5e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-02-02 18:00:14","extension":"jpg","order_by":11,"title":"Figure 11","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":171107,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eDrainage systems from the studied area, as obtained from STRM DEM, showing the\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eprimary (ancient) and the current flow directions of surface water and the zones with potential Paleodrianagespaleodrainages.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"11.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3711715/v1/6f0bcd25475dc7e9858ea153.jpg"},{"id":50577431,"identity":"3396030a-a08b-4459-95f2-bbea8fd85d7e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-02-02 18:00:14","extension":"jpg","order_by":12,"title":"Figure 12","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":59822,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSchematic figure showing the sloping terrain and the primary and current flow directions of surface water and the zones with potential Paleodrianages.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"12.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3711715/v1/8284697dd9d2cfb38600583d.jpg"},{"id":50579498,"identity":"54270c37-fb2d-431b-a094-9eea5c7512ed","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-02-02 18:16:14","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1467907,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3711715/v1/4872583b-496d-41d2-a079-30d72b00cfc6.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Using Radar and Optical Satellite Images to Delineate Paleodrainages in Desert Regions: A Case Study of Saudi Arabia","fulltext":[{"header":"1. INTRODUCTION","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe Arabian Peninsula, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is one of the most water-scarce regions with low rainfall rate below 150 mm and average temperature of 35 \u0026deg;C (GAMEP, 2021), and thus high potential evapotranspiration exceeding 2000 mm/year (Baban, 2022). This has been reflected on the limited renewable water resources besides excessive withdraw from \u0026quot;fossil water\u0026quot; which became the only water source to cope with water demands notably in the inner regions where the convey of desalinated water is not easily feasible. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the exploitation of groundwater is mainly from the deep aquifers, which are almost exceeding 1200 m depth. For example, the depletion of groundwater has been estimated between - 6.9 \u0026times; 10\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;2\u003c/sup\u003e and -8.6 \u0026times; 10\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;2\u003c/sup\u003e cm/month as detected from GRACE TWS in northern Saudi Arabia, particularly in agricultural areas (Wehbe, 2022).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLately, rainfall patterns in the Arabian Peninsula has been changed towards torrential revealing an increasing trend of climatic extremes, evidencing an aspect of climatic variability in the region as it was presumed by IPCC (2007). Thus, the excessive volume of precipitated water falls in short time (i.e. torrential rain) has been reflected lately by the increased number of flash floods in several wadis of Saudi Arabia resulting in severe damages in the infrastructure and the environments \u0026nbsp;(Al Saud, 2015). Several dams have been constructed along these wadis either to capture surface water for further water supply or to give a chance for the accumulated water to infiltrate, as spontaneous groundwater recharge process. Given that wadis in Saudi Arabia carry on large amounts of water, yet there is no investment of this water which can be injected/recharged into the paleodrainages; especially that the concept of groundwater artificial recharge (GWAR) remains an a solution with no action..\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStudies on GWAR in Saudi Arabia are still few to compose a comprehensive figure on this adaptive hydrologic instruments, and if studies on GWAR are made, they did not focus on the aquifer characteristics and its suitability to store groundwater. For example, the study obtained by Zaidi et al, (2015), analyzed the slope, soil texture, vadose zone and groundwater quality; while the study performed by Alataway and El Alfy (2019) based on the calculations of the morphometric variables and elaboration the Hydrologic Engineering Center\u0026ndash;Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) model. Another study was carried out to estimate the feasibility of enhancing groundwater recharge obtained by Al-Othman (2011), and it revealed that the infiltration rate was increased by 11.48 % after the construction of artificial recharge structures including recharge ponds, furrows and artificial recharge wells. Even though, the study showed a significant measurable dimensions for the enhanced infiltration rate, yet the suitability of the located rock layersto store groundwater was not clearly mentioned.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn Saudi Arabia, there are numerous shallow aquifers at various depths. Among these aquifers, there are buried water channels, with high porosity and permaebility, which have been formed since Mid-Late Quaternary (Pleistocene) and controlled by ancient climate and environmental changes in the Arabia Peninsula\u0026nbsp;(Woor et al., 2022). These changes resulted in topographic rippling (i.e., wavy terrain surface) and abrupt changes in terrain slopping (i.e., inclined terrain surface). These buried channels are often described as \u0026ldquo;paleodrianagespaleodrainages\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;paleo-geomorphological features\u0026rdquo;. They are also considered as anomalous drainages, due to their orientations and upnormal patterns, such as acute change in the drainage pathway, compressed meanders,\u0026nbsp;Abrupt and localised drainages braiding, etc. and this was\u0026nbsp;described by\u0026nbsp;Howard (1967) and\u0026nbsp;Al Saud\u0026nbsp;(2007). From the hydrogeological point of view and their feasibility for GWAR, paleodrianages have the following advantages:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eHighly porous and permeable lithologies with considerable hydraulic conductivity.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eShallow depth which facilitates the\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;GWAR\u0026nbsp;mechanism,\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eSlow water flow in paleodrainages, \u0026nbsp;due to the gentle slope gradient and this resulted in a minimal water loss,\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eThe dimensions of these paleodrianages can be roughly calculated, especially that their extent \u0026nbsp;and width can be measured by remote sensing.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;It \u0026nbsp;was a challenge to detect paleodrainages as well as identifying their dimensions (\u003cem\u003ei.e.\u003c/em\u003e storage capacity), before the development of remote sensing techniques which enable tracing the alignment and width of these drainages; especailly they are mostly hidden under detrital, non-consolidated surface materials and sands, as well as they are usually intermittent with abrupt termination of observable streams (Khan and Tewari, 2011). These ancient geomorphologic features have been mentioned in several studies where satellite images were used, notably in desert areas and low-lands, in different regions worldwide\u0026nbsp;(Robinson et al., 2000;2011; Ul Islam et al., 2016), where some studies applied for Saudi Arabia\u0026nbsp;(Rosenberg et al., 2013; Emil et al., 2013; Breeze et al., 2015).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study area is paleodrianageslocated at the north-eastern part of Saudi Arabia, between Dammam and Hafer El-Baten and the northern part of Riyadh, which is located between the following geographic coordinates (Figure 1): 27\u0026deg; 55\u0026apos; N and 30\u0026deg; 00\u0026apos; N \u0026amp; 43\u0026deg; 20\u0026apos; E and 48\u0026deg; 30\u0026apos; E. The area of study comprises a miscellany of rock lithologies starting from Triassic Period. Hence, thick sequences of carbonates (\u003cem\u003ei.e.\u003c/em\u003e limestone) and clastic (\u003cem\u003ei.e.\u003c/em\u003e Sandstone) rocks are interbedded. While, vast lands with Quaternary deposits exist with sandy sediments and dunes. In addition, the coastal zone of the study area encompasses large number of Sabkhas (\u003cem\u003ei.e.,\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003esurficial salt intrusions) which ar extend tens kilometres away from the coast. Whereas, surface water flow along streams in this area is diverted from the Arabian Shield; and thus, the majority of surface water flows is to the east and north east.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe aim of this study is to detect and characterize the existed paleodrainages in the study area. This will be a base data/information for further applications where the identified paleodrainages can be included to: a) assess the potentail of groundwater storage into these channels, b) appraise the possibility of adopting these channels for groundwater artificail recharge, and c) identifying the probable interlinkage between saltwater intrusions for several kilometers in land and the identified paleodrainages.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"2. CONCEPTS OF PALEODRAINAGE IDENTIFICATION","content":"\u003cp\u003eAncient streams and rivers have been subjected to many physical processes (e.g., tectonic activities, climatic events, geomorphological processes, etc..) where their dimensions and flow direction have been changed. This has been mentioned in some studies (Timar at al., 2005). Hence, those watercousres (channels of streams and rivers) were dried up as paleodrainages. In addition to the mixed bed load materials, there are also the alluvial, fluvial sediments accumulated in these channels since thousands of years; and they\u0026nbsp;filled with\u0026nbsp;highly porous and permeable\u0026nbsp;detrital\u0026nbsp;materials, which compose potential routes for groundwater flow and even storage. Many of these channels can be noted even in topographic maps where the stream lines abruptly stop, but after a distance they reappear on surface, thus the hidden continuation of these streams evidences paleodrainages. Other aspects of these channels are evidenced from the linear wet zones with green cover on the topsoil as observed in many localities where they span even opposite to the slope direction (Figure 2, a). Since many paleodrianagespaleodrainages are water-bearing conduits, thus Al Saud (2023) considered them as potential source for groundwater and also suitable reservoirs for GWAR; nevertheless, they can be also routes salt accumulation on terrain surface which are found as sabkha in many loaclities in the area of study. \u0026nbsp;(Figure 2 b).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn many regions, paleodrainages have been considered as a solution to address freshwater scarcity problems in arid zone such as in the Eastern Sahara of Egypt and Libya (Robinson et al., 2000; Paillou et la., 2009 and 2012, 2020) and New South Wales inAustralia (Wray, 2009). Hence, the significance of paleodrianages in groundwater storage has been mentioned in several studies (Wray, 2009; Owen and Dahlin, 2010; Samadder et al., 2011; Paillou et al., 2012; Ghoneim et al., 2012; Zhi et al., 2021); while, the role of paleodrianages in seeping saltwater into the coastal aquifers was mentioned (Mulligan et al., 2007; Rizk et al., 2007), and this might interpret the presence of Sabkhas in several localities at range from the coastline the Arabian Peninsula such as in those in Dammam Region.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese hidden geological features are often detected using geophysical techniques which enable determining buried lithologies and covered geologic structures. Lately, these techniques have been used to detect paleodrianages in various regions where many methods are applied, such as electrical resistivity and conductivity surveys, Radar (GPR), electromagnetic induction (EMI), Gamma-Spectrometry (GS) (Neal, 2004; Paillou eta la., 2009; Hambly, 2015; Paillou et la., 2020). However, these techniques are time comsuming and are limited by the range of a ground survey, which can limit the extent to which large scale paleodrainage system can be surveydpaleodrianages. For this reason, remote sensing, notably the microwave sensor (i.e., radar) became \u0026nbsp;a significant tool for identifying paleodrainages where they are caharcterized by the capability to pentrate the subsoil and burried surficial materils (Kumar and Rajawat, 2017)\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"3. METHODOLOGY","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3.1. Data Sources\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn order to detect paleodrianagespaleodrainages and other buried geomorphological features, multi-source data acquirement was adopted in this study. This included satellite images (optical and microwave remote sensing datasets). Optical remote sensing with multispectral satellite images can detect ground objects which reflect different spectral signatures on satellite images; nevertheless, paleodrianages cannot be directly detected by optical sensors, unless surficial signatures exist, or thermal satellite images are used to identify thermal differentiation between surface materials (Rossetti, 2010; Wang et al., 2012); especially that paleodrianages are characterized by soil and detrital materials with exceeded moisture that reflects less temperature than the surrounding, besides that dry soil in desert environment is a good target for radar, notably water often cuasese noise in the signal (Paillou et al., 2009; Paillou et al., 2012; Paillou et la., 2020). However, successful detection of paleodrianages can be performed by orbital imaging radar (microwave sensors) which enables the delineation of these ancient geomorphological features that are often covered\u0026nbsp;under terrain surface (Robinson at al., 2000;\u0026nbsp;Ul Islam\u0026nbsp;et al., 2016).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this study, three types of remotely sensed products were adopted. These are: Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) digital elevation model to delineate drainage systems with multiple dimensions and aspects, Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) Phased Array Type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) to identify surficial signatures evidencing the delineation of paleo- paleodrianages; and Advanced Space-borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) to help detecting thermal differentiations that indicate linear features of wet horizons reflecting buried channels. Hence, the\u0026nbsp;retrieved, remote products and their specification are shown in Table 1:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable 1.\u003c/strong\u003e Remote sensing products and their specifications.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"19%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRemotely sensed product\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"14%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSelected dates\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eImages ID/Granules\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"27%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpatial resolution/bands\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"12%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSwath width\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"19%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSRTM DEM\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"14%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2020\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePath (Long.) \u0026amp;\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eRow (Lat.)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eN28, E48 \u0026amp; N27, E46\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eN28, E47 \u0026amp; N27, E46\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eN28, E46 \u0026amp; N27, E47\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eN28, E44 \u0026amp; N27, E48\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eN28, E43 \u0026amp; N26, E48\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"27%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-1-arc-second (30 m)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-3-arc-second (90 m)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"12%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e225 km\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"19%\" rowspan=\"7\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eALOS-PALSAR\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"14%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e27/2/2020\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eALOS2311350550-200227\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eALOS2311350540-200227\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eALOS2311350530-200227\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"27%\" rowspan=\"7\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e25 m (L-Band, (1257.5 MHz; \u0026lambda; 25 cm)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"12%\" rowspan=\"7\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e70 km\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"33.333333333333336%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e26/3/2020\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"66.66666666666667%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eALOS2315490520-200326\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eALOS2315490530-200326\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"33.333333333333336%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e20-12-2022\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"66.66666666666667%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eALOS2463200560-221220\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eALOS2463200550-221220\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eALOS2463200540-221220\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"33.333333333333336%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e12-1-2023\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"66.66666666666667%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eALOS2466600560-230112\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eALOS2466600550-230112\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"33.333333333333336%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e17-1-2023\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"66.66666666666667%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eALOS2467340550-230117\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eALOS2467340540-230117\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"33.333333333333336%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e23-2-2023\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"66.66666666666667%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eALOS2472810560-230223\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"33.333333333333336%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e23/3/2023\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"66.66666666666667%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eALOS2476950570-230323\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eALOS2476950560-230323\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"19%\" rowspan=\"5\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eASTER\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"14%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e08-2019\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eASTB190809190913\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eASTB190809190922\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"27%\" rowspan=\"5\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-15 m (Visible)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e- 30 m (SWIR)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e- 90 m (TIR)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"12%\" rowspan=\"5\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e60 km\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"33.333333333333336%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e12-2019\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"66.66666666666667%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eASTB191219074546\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"33.333333333333336%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e03-2020\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"66.66666666666667%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eASTB200317074033\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eASTB200317074024\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"33.333333333333336%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e04-2020\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"66.66666666666667%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eASTB200418074014\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"33.333333333333336%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e10-2022\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"66.66666666666667%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eASTB221004185419\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eASTB221004185427\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eShuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM DEM) Digital Elevation Model, which has been operated by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and NASA for obtaining complete high-resolution digital topographic datasets for 80% of the Earth\u0026apos;s land surface with data points located every 1-arc-second and 3-arc second with 30 m and 90 m spatial resolution; respectively. SRTM is used with a technique called radar interferometry where two radar images are retrieved from slightly different locations, and thus the differences between these images allow for the calculation of differentiation in surface elevation. Data was retrieved from: https://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm/\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eAdvanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) under the provisional name Daichi was \u0026nbsp;launched by the Japanese aerospace Agency JAXA. ALOS satellite is equipped with three instruments. Among them, the Phased Array Type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) which was designed for round-the-clock and all-weather Earth observations and to capture images with a spatial resolution of 7 to 100 m. ALOS is occupying a stereo mapping camera. data was retrieved from: https://www.eorc.jaxa.jp/ALOS/en/palsar_fnf/data/2017/map.htm\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eAdvanced Space-borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on board NASA\u0026rsquo;s Terra satellite. It is an advanced multi-spectral sensor ranging from Visible to Thermal Infrared with 14 spectral bands where 3 of these bands are visible and 11 in the infrared range. It is characterized by high spatial resolution (15 m VNIR, 30 m SWIR and 90 m TIR). Data was retrieved from: https://gbank.gsj.jp/madas/map/index.html\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn addition to the retrieved satellite images, topographic maps for the study area were also utilized to assure the delineation of some streams, and to compare them with those streams extracted from the SRTM DEM, as well as to identify \u0026nbsp;some domesticnames of these streams and the surrounding areas. These maps are at scale of 1:500.000 and 25 m contour interval as obtained by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (MPMR, 1983).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3.2. Images Processing and Data Analysis\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe downloaded SRTM DEM granules for the area of interest (AOI) were digitally processed\u0026nbsp;to extract the existing stream networks which can be elaborated to perform different stream orders and dimensions (\u003cem\u003ee.g.,\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003ereaches, and tributaries) and to identify streams` characterstics including orientation, continuity and the localities where they terminate or disappear. For this purpose, D8 (deterministic eight-node) single-flow-direction (SFD) algorithm was used to delineate flow from each grid cell to one of eight nearest neighboring ones based on slope gradient which was adopted by O\u0026rsquo;Callaghan and Mark (1984). Hence, the aspect can be extracted (in degrees clockwise from north) for steepest descent for each grid cell and also the flow direction from that grid cell. The raster data of SRTM DEM was processed in Arc-Map 10.8, and more certainly in the Arc-Toolbox which is an interface for accessing data conversion and analysis function. Hence, the \u0026ldquo;Hydrology\u0026rdquo; option was elaborated in the Spatial Analyst extension where from fill-in, pit removal\u0026ndash;depression filling to filter the digital elevation, and finding outlet cells, were carried out. Therefore, flow direction, flow accumulation, stream order and stream to feature were determined.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eASTER satellite images have a wide spectral range since it is covered by three telescopes, \u0026nbsp;a varaiety of bands as mentioned un Table 1. There are two levels for ASTER satellite images (\u003cem\u003ei.e.,\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003eLevel-1A and Level-1B) where Level-1A data are as reconstructed and unprocessed instrument and consists of the image data including the radiometric coefficient and the geometric coefficient and other auxiliary data. While, Level-1B data are generated by applying these coefficients for radiometric calibration and geometric sampling. In this study, Level-1A, V003 data series were adopted for different time periods depending on the required image scene; and therefore, 10 images were selected (Table 1). Thermal Infrared bands were adopted to detect thermal differentation for the linear surficial features that evidensing burried features (i.e., paleodrainages).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConsequently, ASTER satellite images were interlinked using ERDAS Imagine software.\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eThe five TIR bands were then corrected for atmospheric effect using an algorithm that is similar to the in-scene atmospheric compensation algorithm or \u003cem\u003eISAC \u003cem\u003e(in-scene atmospheric correction\u003c/em\u003e).\u003c/em\u003e The algorithm initiates by identifying the band that returns maximum brightness temperature for most pixels, which is set as the reference band.\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eThere are several digital procedures were applied on ASTER images for a better discrimination of features including: band combination, edge detection, filtering, stretching histograms equalizing (Figure 3),\u003cem\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003eetc. For instant, the stretching histograms equalizing, which shows a graphical representation of the intensity distribution that represented by the number of pixels for each intensity value. It can improve the contracts of the images, by spreading out the most frequent intensity values, i.e. stretching out the intensity range of the image. Figure 3 shows the corresponding histogram (colored) with the cumulative histogram (black line); and thus condensing the cumulative historagms reflects more image contrast (as in the lower image of Figure 3).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Multi-looking process improves the radiometric resolution of the Single Look Complex (SLC) image where multiple looks Intensity images are generated by averaging over range and/or azimuth resolution cells. The product represents an intensity image, composed of squared pixels where the ground range resolution and the pixel spacing in azimuth are considered. Images retrieved from the PALSAR sensor are characterized by speckle (noise) due to statistical fluctuation associated with the radar reflectivity of each pixel per scene. \u0026nbsp;PALSAR data is received by as Level 1.0 Raw which is extracted to produce a SLC file. SAR data over the study area was acquired by the ALOS-PALSAR-2 sensor at L-band (\u0026lambda; 25 cm) with pixel spacing of 6.25 m in fine-beam dual-polarization mode (HH \u0026amp; HV), in an ascending orbit with off-nadir angle of 28.6\u0026deg;.The data was pre-processed with several steps including: \u0026nbsp;removal of antenna variation effects, speckle filtering by means of adaptive Lee-Sigma, Frost and Gamma-MAP filters, Ortho-rectification and Re-projection, Radiometric calibration through converting (DN) values into Backscatter Intensity in decibel format (dB). The processing of ALOS PALSAR images followed mainly: 1) Radiometric correction, 2) Terrain correction and 3) HH \u0026amp; HV polarization. The geocoded images are saved as GeoTiffs. Products include a 8 and 32 bit GeoTiffs Which are \u0026nbsp;re-projected from their default to the appropriate spatial reference system in ERDAS Imagine.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHaving all streams plotted from DEMs; therefore, a comparison was carried out between these streams and the linear stretches appear on ALOS PALSAR and ASTER image, which in turn evidences the existence of potential paleodrainages and this was reached after using the previous mentioned digital procedures on ERDAS Imagine and ArcGIS software. Hence, some stretches or their delineation were clearly appearing on ASTER images but not on ALOS PALSAR images and vice versa.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"5. RESULTS ","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe methodology followed a number of steps where satellite images processing is the main one; therefore, SRTM DEM were primarily processed to extract various watercourses with diverse dimensional aspecst(i.e., stream networks). paleodrianages. The advantage of using more than one type of remotely sensed products with different optical and spectral signatures was obvious in this study. Even for the same type of satellite images (\u003cem\u003ee.g.,\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003eASTER) a various digital procedures were applied to confirm the presence of the linear features which are totally absent from the streams networks extracted from SRTM DEM and from topographic maps. Field verification was carried out on localities where these linear stretches, as potentail paleodrianagespaleodrainages, were detected on satellite images. This followed identifiying any upnormal linear terrain features (e.g., linear green cover in dry land, linear salt crustations, abrupt termination of existing stream, etc.). for this purpose, investigating surficail maetils was applied by digging boreholes (\u0026gt; 50 cm). The results showed surficial signatures as follows:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e- No obvious stream or water flow has been noticed, and even in localities with no slope to drain water,\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e- Linear horizon with subsidence \u0026nbsp;and inear patch of green cover totally different from the surrounding.,\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e- Sabkhas with elongated shapes exists in some localities at a distance (\u003cem\u003ei.e.,\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003eseveral kilometers) from the coast,\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e- Presence of linear (meandered) zones with surface water even after long time from the rainfall event.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTherefore, the following types of potentail palechannels were detected:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\u003cem\u003eFan channels:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003eThese are buried channels that are oriented in the same direction where they begin from a defined zone and then they are widening to compose a delta-like geomorphological form. They usually have diverse dimensions, comprising a plume-like shape; and thus; creating fans where they outlet big amounts of water and sediment loads at the foot-slopes of these fans. They exist with considerable extent that exceeds several hundreds of kilometres (Figure 4).\u0026nbsp;\u003cbr\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe dimensions and orientation of fan channels (few hundred of kilometres) indicate that they were formed with frequent runoff periods and even intensive flooding events which were capable to run water for long distances.. They typically exist to the north of Wadi El-Baten which spans from Wadi El-Rumah in the middle of Saudi Arabia to the N-NE direction, and it formed the Kuwait and part of Iraq territory. The large-scale extent of Wadi El-Baten, with these paleodrianagespaleodrainages as ancient tributaries and the formed watersheds, evidenced that it was an ancient river. Several studies mentioned similar channels to Wadi El-Baten (\u003ccite\u003eAl-Sulaimi and Pitty, 1995;\u0026nbsp;\u003c/cite\u003ePachur and Hoelzmann, 2000; Ritambhara et al., 2021; Albhadi et al., 2023).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\u003cem\u003eMeandering channels\u003c/em\u003e: These are channels which are not connected from both extremes, but they have clear alignment and probable connection route with the existing streams and they reveal to be with considerable dimensions (\u003cem\u003ee.g.,\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003etens of kilometres) since they can be clearly traced on satellite images as shown in Figure 5. The existence of these buried channels in such orientation can be attributed changing climatic conditions oran abrupt geological processes that changed the terrain topography. The concept behind the creation of these channels is probable similar to that of the existing oxbow streams.\u003cbr\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eEven they were not named as Meandering channels, yet typical examples of these channels were mentioned in several studies, such as the paleodrianages within a segment of the Mooloolah River National Park, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia with several tens of kilometers (Hambly, 2015). Another example is from Eastern Libya, where several aspects of these unconnected extremes channels were detected, and the most significant one is called Al-Kufrah River (a buried watercourse) with about 900 km length and 400.000 km\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e paleo-watershed (Paillou et al., 2009; Paillou et al., 2012; Paillou et la., 2020).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\u003cem\u003eBuried channels in depressions\u003c/em\u003e: There are several observations on the SRTM DEM and even in the topographic maps where streams are terminated (\u003cem\u003ei.e.,\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003edisappeared) in low-lands and depressions where sediments (\u003cem\u003ei.e.,\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003ealluvial, colluvial and aeolian) are susceptible to accumulate by erosion processes. The delineation of the existing streams shows obvious indications of flow direction which supposed to exist for the continuation of hydrologic processes (\u003cem\u003ei.e.,\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003erunoff). Figure 6 shows an example of the buried channels in a depression \u0026nbsp;paleodrainages where the accumulation (ancient and recent) of sediments exits. The dimensions of such channels is expected to be with several tens of kilometres. The buried channels in depression were described in some studies as paleo-lakes due to the large and undefined-geometry zones were these channels span in [Sheng et al., 2017; Sternberg and Paillou, 2015; Phillip et al., 2023).\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\u003cem\u003eBuried channels by sand dunes:\u003c/em\u003e These are similar to thos buried channels in depressions and low lands(aforementioned point # 3), but they are subjected to frequent surficial processes in that they frequently \u0026nbsp;covered by sand dunes at different time periods. There are many observations on satellite images for the existing stream, as extracted from the SRTM DEM associated with topographic maps, which abruptly are terminated once reaching the desert lands and notably when they cross-cutting with sand dunes (Figure 7). T hese channels are found with relatively small dimensions (e.g., several tens of kilometres) and they may reach several kilometres length. Buried channels by frequent dumping of sand dunesand then covering their alignments. This can take long time where the covered channels wil be considered as paleodrainages.. This phenomenon has been observed in several regions in Saudi Arabia, especially at foot-slopes and escarpments. According to Al Saud (2015), streams crossing sand dunes abruptly disappear, but they may reappear at further time. \u0026nbsp; The close frequency of these processes may cause sand collapse that then creates flash movement of huge amounts of sediments, turbid and muddy water and resulting in floods with severe damages.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003cem\u003eInduced channels by changed flow direction\u003c/em\u003e: There are many observations for large-scale streams with wide channels and hundreds of kilometres long, but no evidence of runoff was noticed in these channels even after rainfall periods. This is well pronounced in many regions of Saudi Arabia, and the emptiness of these streams remains a question. In this respect, the use of space techniques, with a special emphasis on digital elevation models and stereoscopic satellite images, in delineating drainage systems resulted in identifying water divide zones (\u003cem\u003ei.e.,\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003ewatershed s) where no flow can be observed. However, the geometric and morphometric analysis of these drainage systems indicate that these buried streams are located in these zones of the water divide (Figure 8).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe existence of this phenomenon must be given concern, because there are many implements taken to reduce floods or to harvest surface water in these zones of Saudi Arabia, and the results were since no water accumulates in these zones, but the cartography of drainage systems reveals a large-scale channel with a morphometric pattern showing erroneous water flow zone. The reason behind the formation of these streams \u0026nbsp;is mainly related to tectonic activities nd the resulted rock deformationswhich might be regional geological processes and not necessary to be in the surrounding of the water divide zone, and that is why such zone are usually found in areas with hard and consolidated rocks with dominant fault systems. A good example is shown in Figure 8 where a large-scale channel exists and showing a dominant NS flow direction (Figure 8a), but the actual status is not the same. This interprets the resulted erroneous cartography of drainage systems in many studies where drainage networks are found to be connected while they are diverting surface water in different directions. The paleodrianagespaleodrainages in these zones are often with no groundwater, but they remain having the hydrologic characteristics of high porosity and permeability, and this in turn gives a chance to adopt groundwater artificial recharge in these zones\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\u003cem\u003eBuried alluvial fans\u003c/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eThey appear as a set of numerous rill-like channels which exist with diverse thickness and small stream dimensions (width and length); the buried alluvial fans form conical shapes along slopes where the apex points start from the existing primary watercourse (Figure 9). At present, these channels evidence that they were buried by sedimentation processes of the eroded surficial materials making them an aspect of ancient streams (\u003cem\u003ei.e.,\u003c/em\u003e paleodrainages). These are often formed nearby a primary watercourse (\u003cem\u003ee.g.,\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003eWadi El-Baten) and sometimes they appear along sloping terrain that was in the past. Typically, the formation of buried alluvial fans exists in the study area along Wadi el-Baten. The formations of these channels can be attributed to a geological process where the primary watercourse represents a fault-valley, and then the tectonic movement might uplift the territory of this valley along the fault alignment and resulting in small reaches in the other side of the fault (Figure 10).\u003cp\u003eFew studies tackled the paleo-alluvial fans due to their vulnerability to rapid geomorphological and climatic changes and then misleading to identify their traces, as well as the difficulty in discriminating these buried features due to the small dimension they occupy and sometimes the thickness of the overburden sediments, but the composition of these channels from mixed sediments make them potential to store groundwater even with little amounts. The available studies on paleo-alluvial fans focused on the materials forming these geomorphological features including mainly the soil and sediments (Bayat et al., 2017), the geomorphologic and hydrological processes and evolution (S\u0026uuml;meghy and Kiss, 2012; An et al., 2018, and the sedimentological characteristics (Haug, 2009; Sukumar and Sankar, 2011).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\u003cem\u003eStructure-controlled paleodrainages\u003c/em\u003e: These are potential paleodrainages which do not clearly show any surficial signatures even on satellite images, but their identification depends mainly on the morphometric behavior of their drainage networks (Figure 11). This geomorphologic phenomenon has been noted in several areas of the Arabian Peninsula (Al Saud, 2007) where abrupt deviation in the original flow direction occurs and then diverting these streams into different direction which is almost perpendicular to the original flow direction (Figure 11). The delineation of the original flow direction evidences the continuation of the ancient streams which are potential paleodrainages buried by the overlying (\u0026amp; eroded) sediments and they can be several tens of kilometers (Figure 12). Al Saud (2007) named this type of \u0026nbsp;streams, among other upnormal drainage features, as \u0026ldquo;anomalous streams\u0026rdquo; due to their suspicious flow regime, and attributed their existence to of geological defamations, which is probably due to acting strike-slip faults that abruptly cross-cutting in the region due a tectonic movement.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"},{"header":"6. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION","content":"\u003cp\u003eWater is a valuable commodity in the view of climate change and the increased population associated with new aspects of water demand. This motivated using advanced techniques to explore and invest all available water resources whether on surface or the subsurface water. For an arid region like Saudi Arabia, with minimal water feeding from rainfall besides excessive withdraw, studies and investigations have been extended to the non-conventional water, and more certianly the fossil groundwater which is stored not only in substratum but also in the channels which were bearing considerable amounts of water in the past, the so-called \u0026ldquo;Paleodrainages\u0026rdquo;, and others entitled them as \u0026ldquo;Paleodrianages\u0026rdquo;.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn many applied studies, the delineation of these drainages (i.r., paleochannels) was mainly to prove the capability of the used techniques, with a special emphasis on the use of satellite images; while the methodology of investments of these resources remained undefined. However, it is significant to consider the detected paleodrainge which are buried with various types of sediments (e.g., sand dunes, alluviums, etc.); especially, they can be potential sources for groundwater from one side and potential reservoirs to store groundwater from the other side, notably many of these channels are located/or intersected with existing streams which ofetn carry large volume of water and sediments and caused damaging floods in many regions of Saudi Arabia.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe detection of paleodrianages remains under study and many investigations and analysis have been applied to trace their underground routes. This included the use of optical and radar satellite images, notably those acquired from microwave sensors (\u003cem\u003ei.e.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003eradar images) as well as images with thermal bands. The study of these channels was performed in various regions with different climatic and geomorphologic characteristics, whether in deserts, humid and glaciated regions. However, remote sensing was always the primary tool for identification and some studies accompanied this with ground geophysical surveys to exactly perform the cartography of paleodrainages and their dimensions. Hence, the applied studies owned depended on various concepts for subsurface discriminations.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe novelty in this study includes the use of varaity of remotely sensed products for the same region. Therefore, \u0026nbsp;STRM DEM, with stereoscopic visualization, to identify terrain topography, and \u0026nbsp;then the extraction of drainage systems; while ALOS PALSAR utilized the property of radar images in penetrating the subsurface rock layers to detect buried features, and the thermal differentiation was also applied on ASTER images to detect wet horizons. The other aspect of the novelty in this studies implied by the empirical classification performed for different types of paleodrianages which was not tackled before, and thus all detected types of the ancient streams were identified and their creation and characteristics were interpreted. However, inaccurate interpretation may occur due to the diverse post-processes that might also affected these features, such as weathering, extreme climatic conditions as well as the interference of human activities. In this respects, the potential paleodrianages with diverse features (\u003cem\u003ee.g.,\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003edimensions, orientation and patterns) evidenced different climatic conditions and geological processes occurred in the past thousands of years. This reports that climate change is a cyclic physical process and natural geological hazards are always anticipated.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe identified paleodrainages in the study area were attributed \u0026nbsp;to different typesin the morphometric sense. Some of them were obviously identified and others were delignated even they had no clear surficial signatures. While, the detection of these channels follow using one or more of the three adopted remotely sensed products (\u003cem\u003ei.e,\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003eSRTM DEM, ALSO PALSAR and ASTER). This has been associated with revising the previous studies, topographic and geologic maps as well as on field observations. The identified types of paleodrianages in the study area were categorized in order to characterize each types in terms of its potentiality of their dimensions, controlling factors and the feasibility of investment as shown in Table 2.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable 2.\u003c/strong\u003e Major characteristics of the identified paleodrianages.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"23.076923076923077%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIdentified Paleodrianages\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"26.923076923076923%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDominant dimensions\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"25%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePotential controlling factor for paleodrainage formation\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"25%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFeasibility of investment\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"23.076923076923077%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFan channels\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"26.923076923076923%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSeveral hundreds of kilometres\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"25%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePrimarily the extreme climatic conditions, and geological processes\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"25%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eGroundwater reservoirs with considerable water volume\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"23.076923076923077%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMeandering channels\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"26.923076923076923%\" rowspan=\"3\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSeveral tens of kilometres\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"25%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eChanging climatic conditions\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"25%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSuitability for GWAR\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"31.57894736842105%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eBuried channels in depressions\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"34.21052631578947%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eGeomorphological processes associated with geological deformations\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"34.21052631578947%\" rowspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eGroundwater reservoirs\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"48%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eBuried channels by sand dunes\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"52%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eGeomorphological (aeolian) processes\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"23.076923076923077%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eInduced channels by changed flow direction\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"26.923076923076923%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSeveral hundreds of kilometres\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"25%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eLarge-scale tectonic activity\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"25%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eGroundwater reservoirs and suitability for GWAR\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"23.076923076923077%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eBuried alluvial fans\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"26.923076923076923%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFew kilometres\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"25%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eGeological uplift associated with erosional processes\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"25%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThey comprise wetlands for agricultural purposes\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"23.076923076923077%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eStructure-controlled paleodrianages\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"26.923076923076923%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFew tens of \u0026nbsp;kilometres\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"25%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTectonic activity\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"25%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eGroundwater reservoirs and suitability for GWAR\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe idea of this study came with the author from a study which is still under progress, to invest water in wadis of Saudi Arabia aiming to capture this water and recharge it into the subsurface rock layers and reduce the flood damages and saltwater intrusions at a range on-land. However, identifying suitable sites to recharge water remains a challenge. The author believes that paleodrianages can be a potential localities where water can recharge either naturally/or artificially to feed mainly the fossils groundwater reservoirs and to mitigate the increased salinity in soil and along the coastal zone, notably that saltwater is transported along paleodrianages and with considerable volume. Therefore, the study aims principally to identify the suitable localities for shallow groundwater reservoirs which can be exploited as well as the optimal sites for GWAR rather than proving the capability of techniques for subsurface identification. Hence, this study can be a base knwoldge for these applications where such burried hydrological features must be mapped with their areal extent. This may also require supplementry techniques, such as geophysical sounding, notably in \u0026nbsp;target localities where the above mentioned applications (e.g., GWAR) can be performed.References\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAl Saud M (2007) Using satellite imageries to study drainage pattern anomalies in Saudi Arabia. J Envir Hydro, ISSN 1058-3912.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAl Saud M (2015) Flood Control Management for the City and Surroundings of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.Book, Springer. New York, London. 177 pp. ISBN13: 978-94-017-9660-6.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAl Saud M (2023) Mapping Drainage Basins of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 20 map sheets (1:500.000). Technical Study (Under production). \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlataway A, El Alfy M (2019) Rainwater Harvesting and Artificial Groundwater Recharge in Arid Areas: Case Study in Wadi Al-Alb, Saudi Arabia. J Wat Res Plann Manage. 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Water. 13, 338. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13030338\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":true,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"acta-geophysica","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"agph","sideBox":"Learn more about [Acta Geophysica](http://link.springer.com/journal/11600)","snPcode":"11600","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/agph/default2.aspx","title":"Acta Geophysica","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"streams, porous sediments, recharge, Radar images, Saudi Arabia","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3711715/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3711715/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eAl Saud (2023) worked on detailed cartography for all drainage systems of Saudi Arabia using SRTM DEM and topographic maps. However, a number of watercourses were noted with anomalous morphometric and sedimentological characteristics . This includes abrupt termination of stream networks, traces for dry channels and presence of linear saline soil horizons. This was attributed to the existence of paleodrainages which have been noted in several studies in the Arabian Peninsula including Saudi Arabia, and they were attributed to large global climate fluctuations that were reflected in topographic rippling and abrupt changes in terrain slopping, acting on the extinction of many watercourses and creation of others. This study characterizes \u0026nbsp;paleodrainages \u0026nbsp;in Saudi Arabia using remote sensing products. In this respect, SRTM DEM was used to generate detailed drainage systems; while Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) Phased Array Type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) and Advanced Space-borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) were processed to detect paleodrainages \u0026nbsp;and the relevant paleo-geomorphological features using a number of digital techniques. Seven aspects of these channels were identified and all indicating the presence of alluvial sedimentation with high porous and permeable linear features which are potential to store and transmit groundwater. They can be also routs for \u0026nbsp;paleodrianagesthe intrusion of saline water on-land. The identified paleodrainages can be potential groundwater aquifers, suitable sites for groundwater artificial recharge especially where saltwater is intruded along these drainages.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Using Radar and Optical Satellite Images to Delineate Paleodrainages in Desert Regions: A Case Study of Saudi Arabia","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-02-02 18:00:09","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3711715/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"","date":"2024-01-30T12:38:57+00:00","index":0,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2024-01-30T09:54:56+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"Acta Geophysica","date":"2023-12-20T21:20:53+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2023-12-11T19:24:58+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Acta Geophysica","date":"2023-12-07T02:29:04+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"acta-geophysica","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"agph","sideBox":"Learn more about [Acta Geophysica](http://link.springer.com/journal/11600)","snPcode":"11600","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/agph/default2.aspx","title":"Acta Geophysica","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"8390c9b3-5bd8-4d42-9bf1-b5eabe3c21f0","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 2nd, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"in-revision","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-04-16T08:18:29+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-02-02 18:00:09","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-3711715","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-3711715","identity":"rs-3711715","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}