Abstract
Groundwater resources are important natural resources that must be appropriately managed. Because groundwater level fluctuation typically exhibits nonstationarity, revealing its complex characteristics is of scientific and practical significance for understanding the response mechanism of the groundwater level to natural or human factors. Therefore, multifractal analysis can be employed to detect groundwater level variation irregularities. In this study, the multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA) was applied to study the multifractal characteristics of the groundwater level in Baotu Spring Basin and further detect the complexity of groundwater level variation. The main results indicated that groundwater level variation in Baotu Spring Basin exhibited multifractal characteristics, and multifractality originated from a broad probability density function (PDF) and the long-range correlation of the hydrological series. The complexity index (CI) values of wells 358 and 361 were 3.50 and 3.48, respectively (high complexity); the CI values of wells 287 and 268 were − 0.77 and − 1.46, respectively (moderate complexity). The lowest CI values were for wells 257 and 305 with − 2.32 and − 2.43 (low complexity). The different levels of groundwater complexity reflect the complexity of recharge and discharge processes, such as precipitation and exploitation, as well as the extent of groundwater levels being affected by these factors. The spatial variability of hydrogeological conditions resulted in spatial heterogeneity in the groundwater level complexity. This study is the first to analyze the multifractal characteristics and complexity of groundwater levels in different aquifers in a karst spring area. This study could provide an important reference for the analysis of the nonlinear response mechanism of groundwater to its influencing factors and the development of hydrological models.
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Data availability
All data used in the manuscript comply with field standards and they are available. The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [L.S], upon reasonable request.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. L.S. and S.N. conceived and designed this study; S.N. analyzed the data; H.L. and J.G. provided data and funding support; Y.L. participated in the revision.
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Niu, S., Shu, L., Li, H. et al. Groundwater level complexity analysis based on multifractal characteristics: a case study in Baotu Spring Basin, China. Theor Appl Climatol 155, 2135–2149 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-023-04741-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-023-04741-5