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Geostatistical analysis using GIS for mapping groundwater quality: case study in the recharge area of Wadi Usfan, western Saudi Arabia

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Abstract

The scarcity of water is one of the main issues in Saudi Arabia. In particular, the extreme climate in the form of less frequent rainfall affects the groundwater availability. Moreover, groundwater has been depleted by the increase in population. In this research, the spatial distribution of groundwater quality has been developed, and the prediction of groundwater chemical parameters has been made using geostatistical analysis in geographic information system (GIS) software. The study area is Madrakah village as the recharge area of Wadi Usfan located in the western region of Saudi Arabia. Ordinary kriging method was applied to map the spatial distribution of the groundwater chemistry. Most of the groundwater is not suitable for drinking purposes. Groundwater chemical parameters are decreasing toward the eastern part of Madrakah village. In predicting groundwater chemistry distribution maps, data transformation has been executed to reduce the skewness on most of the chemical parameters. The best semivariogram model for every parameter varies based on the root mean square error (RMSE) criterion. The groundwater chemical parameters, i.e., Na+, Mg2+, Cl−, conductivity, salinity, and total dissolved solid (TDS), have a strong spatial dependence, while, NO3 − and temperature have a moderate and weak spatial dependence, respectively.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Saudi Arabia Geological Survey for providing the data to perform such analysis. The third author is on leave of absence from the Faculty of Engineering, Mansoura University, Egypt. The authors thank Dr. Tariq Cheema, from the Waterloo University, Canada (currently at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) for proofreading the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hydrology and Water Resources Management, Faculty of Meteorology, Environment Arid Land Agriculture, King Abdulaziz University (KAU), P.O. Box 80208, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia

    Kuswantoro Marko, Nassir S. Al-Amri & Amro M. M. Elfeki

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  1. Kuswantoro Marko
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  2. Nassir S. Al-Amri
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  3. Amro M. M. Elfeki
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Correspondence to Kuswantoro Marko.

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Marko, K., Al-Amri, N.S. & Elfeki, A.M.M. Geostatistical analysis using GIS for mapping groundwater quality: case study in the recharge area of Wadi Usfan, western Saudi Arabia. Arab J Geosci 7, 5239–5252 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-013-1156-2

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