Assessment of Groundwater-Level Susceptibility to Degradation Based on Analytical Network Process (ANP)

Abstract

Groundwater resources are among the world's most important and vital supplies which are highly required for continuation of human life as well as wildlife. The growth of world's population and the occurrence of climatic drought in recent decades have put a severe strain on these blessings all over the world so that most of the aquifers have dried up and the depth to groundwater in wells has deepened severely. In the present study the Analytic Network Process was used to extract degradation risk zones of groundwater in Marand Plain. To do this, all the effective factors including precipitation, air temperature, land use, soil permeability, flow direction, proximity to rivers and groundwater exploitation via wells and qanats were used. After construction of the database in GIS environment, the structure of the network was designed in Super Decision software. Clustering and pair-wise comparisons of the elements were executed based on the results of the Expert Knowledge questionnaire and the priority weights for each cluster and parameter was extracted consequently. Finally, the priority weights of the criteria were applied on the map layers and the final degradation risk map created overlaying all the maps. According the final output of the study, the Eastern and Western parts of Marand Plain have the highest and lowest susceptibilities respectively. It's also found that the groundwater decline trend mimics the surface topography and flow direction in which has an East-West pattern.

Delineation of Groundwater Potential Zones in Rajkot Tehsil, Gujarat, Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques

“…The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock become completely saturated with water is called the water table. Groundwater is also often withdrawn for agricultural, municipal, and industrial use by constructing and operating extraction wells (Khorrami̇ et al, 2018).…”

Analyses of Meteorological Drought and its Impacts on Groundwater Fluctuations, a Case Study: Marand Plain (Iran)

“…It has a semi-arid climate and the average annual rainfall is 236 mm [16]. Most of the region's population lives in the plain and relies on the region's agriculture-based economy [17]. Almost all water needs of the region are provided from groundwater resources.…”

Determining safe yield and mapping water level zoning in groundwater resources of the Neishabour Plain

“…A lack of proper understanding and over-use of groundwater resources can result in significant, irreversible harm, including groundwater deline, reduced well discharge and aqueduct discharge, and altered groundwater flow patterns (e.g. saltwater intrusion and mixing of salt and fresh waters (Kamran et al 2018). The examination of various scenarios in this article aims to determine the appropriate pumping rate, which will be discussed in further detail in this article.…”