Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Using GIS methods for determining the spatial distribution of groundwater hydrochemical facies: a case study for a shallow aquifer in Fuyang, China

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Environmental Earth Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The determination of groundwater hydrochemical facies (GHF) is useful for analyzing the chemical composition of groundwater, tracking sources of groundwater recharge and assessing how its chemical composition changes along groundwater flowpaths due to water–rock interactions. This paper proposes a geographical information systems (GIS)-based method for identifying and mapping the spatial distribution of GHF categories in an aquifer. Several procedures including spatial interpolation, raster reclassification, raster-to-vector conversion, spatial union overlay, and generalization methods are coupled in GIS tools to determine the type and distribution of GHF categories. This method was implemented to distinguish shallow GHF categories for a shallow aquifer near Fuyang City in Anhui Province, China. The results obtained from the GIS assessment of water quality data from 30 wells show there were seven types of hydrochemical facies identified in the study area. The major GHFs categories are HCO3–Na + K + Ca + Mg, HCO3–Ca + Mg, HCO3–Na + K + Ca, and HCO3–Na + K, which cover 94% of the total area. The GIS method correctly identified the GHF categories determined in 80% of the wells in the area. The major GHFs categories progressively change in the direction of groundwater flow from HCO3–Ca + Mg to HCO3–Na + K+Ca + Mg, then to HCO3–Na + K + Ca, and then to HCO3–Na + K. The changes in the proportions of major ions in groundwater, coupled with salinity increases in the direction of groundwater flow are due to the combined effects of water–rock interactions in the aquifer and human activities. The method can relatively efficiently identify and map GHF zones for aquifers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Appleyard S (1995) The impact of urban development on recharge and groundwater quality in a coastal aquifer near perth,Western Australia. Hydrogeol J 3(2):65–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Back W (1966) Hydrochemical facies and ground-water flow patterns in northern part of Atlantic Coastal Plain. US Geological Survey Professional Paper 498–A

  • Beckler AA, French BW, Chandler LD (2004) Characterization of western corn rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) population dynamics in relation to landscape attributes. Agr Forest Entomol 6(2):129–139

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen L, Xie W, Feng X, Zhang N, Yin X (2017) Formation of hydrochemical composition and spatio-temporal evolution mechanism under mining-induced disturbance in the Linhuan coal-mining district. Arab J Geosci 10(3):57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cloutier V, Lefebvre R, Therrien R, Savard MM (2008) Multivariate statistical analysis of geochemical data as indicative of the hydrogeochemical evolution of groundwater in a sedimentary rock aquifer system. J Hydrol 353(3–4):294–313

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalton MG, Upchurch SB (1978) Interpretation of hydrochemical facies by factor analysis. Groundwater 16(4):228–233

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Caro M, Crosta GB, Frattini P (2017) Hydrogeochemical characterization and natural background levels in urbanized areas: Milan Metropolitan area (Northern Italy). J Hydrol 547:455–473

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • El Alfy M, Lashin A, Al-Arifi N, Al-Bassam A (2015) Groundwater characteristics and pollution assessment using integrated hydrochemical investigations GIS and multivariate geostatistical techniques in arid areas. Water Resour Manag 29(15):5593–5612

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elewa HH, Shohaib RE, Qaddah AA, Nousir AM (2013) Determining groundwater protection zones for the Quaternary aquifer of northeastern Nile Delta using GIS-based vulnerability mapping. Environ Earth Sci 68(2):313–331

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (2014). ArcGIS Help 10.2

  • Fijani E, Moghaddam AA, Tsai FTC, Tayfur G (2017) Analysis and assessment of hydrochemical characteristics of Maragheh-Bonab Plain aquifer, Northwest of Iran. Water Resour Manag 31(3):765–780

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giménez-Forcada E (2010) Dynamic of sea water interface using hydrochemical facies evolution diagram. Groundwater 48(2):212–216

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giménez-Forcada E (2014) Space/time development of seawater intrusion: A study case in Vinaroz coastal plain (Eastern Spain) using HFE-Diagram, and spatial distribution of hydrochemical facies. J Hydrol 517(2):617–627

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Güler C, Thyne GD (2004a) Hydrologic and geologic factors controlling surface and groundwater chemistry in Indian Wells-Owens Valley area, southeastern California, USA. J Hydrol 285(1–4):177–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Güler C, Thyne GD (2004b) Delineation of hydrochemical facies distribution in a regional groundwater system by means of fuzzy c-means clustering. Water Resour Res 40(12):W12503

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Güler C, Thyne GD, McCray JE, Turner KA (2002) Evaluation of graphical and multivariate statistical methods for classification of water chemistry data. Hydrogeol J 10(4):455–474

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • He X, Liu Z, Qian J, Zhao W, Liu Y (2016) Distribution of nitrate in different aquifers in the urban district of Zhanjiang, China. B Environ Contam Tox 97(2):279–285

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jankowski J, Jacobson G (1989) Hydrochemical evolution of regional groundwaters to playa brines in Central Australia. J Hydrol 108:123–173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kshetrimayum KS (2015) Hydrochemical evaluation of shallow groundwater aquifers: a case study from a semiarid Himalayan foothill river basin, northwest India. Environ Earth Sci 74(10):7187–7200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lei Z, Yang S, Xu Z, Vachaud G (1985) Preliminary investigation of the spatial variability of soil properties. Shuili xuebao 9:10–21 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lerner DN (2002) Identifying and quantifying urban recharge: a review. Hydrogeol J 10(1):143–152

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li C, Gao X, Wang Y (2015) Hydrogeochemistry of high-fluoride groundwater at Yuncheng Basin, northern China. Sci Total Environ 508:155–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li P, Wu J, Qian H, Zhang Y, Yang N, Jing L, Yu P (2016) Hydrogeochemical characterization of groundwater in and around a wastewater irrigated forest in the southeastern edge of the Tengger Desert, Northwest China. Expos Health 8(3):331–348

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li P, Wu J, Tian R, He S, He X, Xue C, Zhang K (2018) Geochemistry, hydraulic connectivity and quality appraisal of multilayered groundwater in the Hongdunzi coal mine, northwest China. Mine Water Environ 37(2):222–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu GY, Wong DW (2008) An adaptive inverse-distance weighting spatial interpolation technique. Comput Geosci 34(9):1044–1055

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ma L, Qian J, Zhao W, Curtis Z, Zhang R (2016) Hydrogeochemical analysis of multiple aquifers in a coal mine based on nonlinear PCA and GIS. Environ Earth Sci 75(8):716

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ma T, Du Y, Ma R, Xiao C, Liu Y (2018) Water-rock interactions and related eco-environmental effects in typical land subsidence zones of China. Hydrogeol J 26(5):1339–1349

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Montcoudiol N, Molson J, Lemieux JM (2015) Groundwater geochemistry of the Outaouais Region (Québec, Canada): a regional-scale study. Hydrogeol J 23(2):377–396

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newman BD, Havenor KC, Longmire P (2016) Identification of hydrochemical facies in the Roswell Artesian Basin, New Mexico (USA), using graphical and statistical methods. Hydrogeol J 24(4):819–839

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nur A, Ishaku JM, Yusuf SN (2012) Groundwater flow patterns and hydrochemical facies distribution using geographical information system (GIS) in Damaturu, Northeast Nigeria. Int J Geosci 3(5):1096–1106

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oh HJ, Kim YS, Choi JK, Park E, Lee S (2011) GIS mapping of regional probabilistic groundwater potential in the area of Pohang City, Korea. J Hydrol 399(3–4):158–172

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Owen DDR, Pawlowsky-Glahn V, Egozcue JJ, Buccianti A, Bradd JM (2016) Compositional data analysis as a robust tool to delineate hydrochemical facies within and between gas-bearing aquifers. Water Resour Res 52(8):5771–5793

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piper AM (1944) A graphic procedure in the geochemical interpretation of water analyses. Trans Am Geophys Union 25(6):914–928

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qian J, Peng Y, Zhao W, Ma L, He X, Lu Y (2018) Hydrochemical processes and evolution of karst groundwater in the northeastern Huaibei Plain, China. Hydrogeol J 26(5):1721–1729

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raji BA, Alagbe SA (1997) Hydrochemical facies in parts of the Nigerian basement complex. Environ Geol 29(1–2):46–49

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ravikumar P, Venkatesharaju K, Somashekar RK (2010) Major ion chemistry and hydrochemical studies of groundwater of Bangalore South Taluk, India. Environ Monit Assess 163(1–4):643–653

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Safarbeiranvnd M, Amanipoor H, Battaleb-Looie S, Ghanemi K, Ebrahimi B (2018) Quality evaluation of groundwater resources using geostatistical methods (case study: Central Lorestan Plain, Iran). Water Resour Manag 32(11):3611–3628

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shah ZUH, Ahmad Z (2015) Hydrochemical mapping of the Upper Thal Doab (Pakistan) using the geographic information system. Environ Earth Sci 74(3):2757–2773

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sheikh MA, Azad C, Mukherjee S, Rina K (2017) An assessment of groundwater salinization in Haryana state in India using hydrochemical tools in association with GIS. Environ Earth Sci 76(13):465

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shi X, Jiang F, Feng Z, Yao B, Xu H, Wu J (2015) Characterization of the regional groundwater quality evolution in the north plain of Jiangsu Province, China. Environ Earth Sci 74(7):5587–5604

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soldatova E, Guseva N, Sun Z, Bychinsky V, Boeckx P, Gao B (2017) Sources and behaviour of nitrogen compounds in the shallow groundwater of agricultural areas (Poyang Lake basin, China). J Contam Hydrol 202:59–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stuyfzand PJ (1989) A new hydrochemical classification of water types. Iahs Publ 182:89–98

    Google Scholar 

  • Sun Z, Ma R, Wang Y, Hu Y, Sun L (2016) Hydrogeological and hydrogeochemical control of groundwater salinity in an arid inland basin: Dunhuang Basin, northwestern China. Hydrol Process 30(12):1884–1902

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vandenbohede A, Lebbe L (2012) Groundwater chemistry patterns in the phreatic aquifer of the central Belgian coastal plain. Appl Geochem 27(1):22–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang P, Yu JJ, Zhang YC, Liu CM (2013) Groundwater recharge and hydrogeochemical evolution in the Ejina Basin, northwest China. J Hydrol 476:72–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu J, Zheng C, Chien CC (2005) Cost-effective sampling network design for contaminant plume monitoring under general hydrogeological conditions. J Contam Hydrol 77(1–2):41–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Z, Guo H, Zhao W, Liu S, Cao Y, Jia Y (2018) Influences of groundwater extraction on flow dynamics and arsenic levels in the western Hetao Basin, Inner Mongolia, China. Hydrogeol J 26(5):1499–1512

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The research is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41602256 and 41772250) and the Science and Technology Project of Land and Resources of Anhui Province (2016-k-11). The authors are grateful to Jiankui Liu, Zhangxian Yan from Anhui institute of Geo-Environment Monitoring for groundwater samples testing, and Han Qiu from Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Michigan State University for good suggestions for the manuscript. The authors extend their gratitude to one anonymous reviewer for his valuable suggestions to improve the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, 230009, China

    Lei Ma, Jiazhong Qian, Xiaosan Yan, Qiankun Luo, Luwang Chen & Weidong Zhao

Authors
  1. Lei Ma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jiazhong Qian
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Xiaosan Yan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Qiankun Luo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Luwang Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Weidong Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Weidong Zhao.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ma, L., Qian, J., Yan, X. et al. Using GIS methods for determining the spatial distribution of groundwater hydrochemical facies: a case study for a shallow aquifer in Fuyang, China. Environ Earth Sci 78, 335 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-019-8335-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-019-8335-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation