Title: Evaluation of regional groundwater quality using PCA and geostatistics in the urban coastal aquifer, East Coast of India

Authors: Y.R. Satyaji Rao, Ashok K. Keshari, A.K. Gosain

Addresses: Deltaic Regional Centre, National Institute of Hydrology, Kakinada 533003, AP, India. ' Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110016, India. ' Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110016, India

Abstract: A systematic groundwater quality-monitoring program was conducted, and a total of 201 groundwater samples were collected. Multivariate and geostatistical techniques were employed to investigate major contamination types and its spatial characteristics in the study area. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) reveals that salinity (Factor 1) and nutrient (Factor 2) are very predominant contaminants in the shallow coastal aquifer. The factor (F1 and F2) scores of each well during three seasons were indicated a spatial correlation of salinity factor (F1) up to 10 km and no spatial correlation were found for nutrient factor (F2).

Keywords: coastal aquifers; groundwater; PCA; principal component analysis; geostatistics; nitrate pollution; India; water pollution; water quality; quality monitoring; water monitoring; salinity.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEWM.2010.029700

International Journal of Environment and Waste Management, 2010 Vol.5 No.1/2, pp.163 - 180

Published online: 01 Dec 2009 *

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