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Integration of geophysical techniques to detect geotechnical hazards: a case study in Mokattam, Cairo, Egypt

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Abstract

Geotechnical hazards are the main factors that control decisions about construction in structurally complex zones. In the Mokattam area, Cairo, Egypt, different techniques, such as geotechnical techniques, remote sensing, and geophysical tools, are used and integrated to study the subsurface lithology, caves and structures to evaluate the possible geotechnical problems in these zones for expected future development in this area. Remote sensing applications indicate that the main trends of surface lineaments are E-W to NW–SE, whereas the minor trends are N-S to NE-SW. Ten vertical electrical sounding stations (VESs) were acquired and interpreted to delineate the subsurface stratigraphy. The interpretation results of these data show that the subsurface stratigraphy consists of 6 geoelectric units arranged from the surface to the bottom: fractured limestone, clay, marly limestone, dolomitic limestone, marl and marly limestone, and limestone. Nine electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) profiles, twelve shallow seismic refraction (SSR) profiles, and ten ground-penetrating radar (GPR) profiles were acquired to study the shallow subsurface stratigraphy. The integration results of ERT and SSR measurements indicate that the shallow subsurface stratigraphy is composed of different rock units. The first layer is fractured limestone, which represents the surface layer of the upper plateau and contains caves in some areas. Then, layers of clay and marl, which are important geotechnical hazard sources, are present. Finally, a layer of limestone appears in the bottoms of some sections, and this limestone layer also contains caves. The GPR profiles have the highest resolution and can discriminate the top horizon into three to four detailed stratigraphic units, each of which has different amplitude values and caves and fractures in some profiles.

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Availability of data and material

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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No code is available in this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics, Helwan, Cairo, 11722, Egypt

    Sultan Awad Sultan Araffa

  2. Geophysics Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Helwan, Cairo, Egypt

    Mohamed Mostafa Gobashy & Mohamed H. Khalil

  3. Water Resources Research Institute (WRRI), National Water Research Centre (NWRC), Cairo, Egypt

    Ahmed Abdelaal

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  1. Sultan Awad Sultan Araffa
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  2. Mohamed Mostafa Gobashy
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  3. Mohamed H. Khalil
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  4. Ahmed Abdelaal
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Contributions

Sultan Awad Sultan Araffa: provided the conception and design of the study, shared with M. Gobashy the manuscript preparation, figure design, and tables preparation; A AbdelAal.: shared conducted all the geophysical surveys in the work under supervision of S. Sultan and M. Gobashy. M. Khalil shared in revising the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Sultan Awad Sultan Araffa.

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Araffa, S.A.S., Gobashy, M.M., Khalil, M.H. et al. Integration of geophysical techniques to detect geotechnical hazards: a case study in Mokattam, Cairo, Egypt. Bull Eng Geol Environ 80, 8021–8041 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-021-02388-y

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