Comparative analysis of multi-criteria decision-making techniques for groundwater potential mapping in highland of Eritrea

Kabral Mogos, Asghede and Vágó, János (2025) Comparative analysis of multi-criteria decision-making techniques for groundwater potential mapping in highland of Eritrea. GEOSCIENCES AND ENGINEERING: A PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MISKOLC, 12 (2). pp. 109-127. ISSN 2063-6997

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Abstract

This study employs an approach that integrates geospatial techniques with the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy-AHP to identify groundwater potential zones in Debarwa. Seven environmental parameters significantly influencing groundwater potential were selected for analysis: geology, soil, lineament density, rainfall, land use/land cover, drainage density, and slope. A comparative study between the two methods was employed using Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) tools. The thematic layers for each parameter were created and subsequently weighed through pairwise comparisons based on the AHP and Fuzzy-AHP methodology. Consistency tests were conducted to ensure the reliability of the assigned weights. The final weighted overlay map classified the groundwater potential into four categories: poor, good, very good, and excellent. The spatial distribution of the area coverage for the potential zone of AHP and Fuzzy-AHP fall under the good and very good zones. The results for good and very good use of AHP are 74.68% and 24.88%, respectively, with 80.12% and 19.87% for Fuzzy-AHP. While both methods produce comparable results, Fuzzy-AHP exhibits a slight advantage in refining classification accuracy by incorporating degrees of membership rather than rigid classifications. For future work the research recommends incorporating other methods to validate the accuracy and robustness of the outcome. Finally, the preliminary resulting outcome provides a valuable tool for Eritrea water resource department to prioritize areas for detailed groundwater exploration and management.

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