Groundwater Assessment Platform (GAP): A free online GIS tool for predicting geogenic groundwater quality and other parameters
Abstract
One-third of the world's population uses groundwater for drinking and cooking. Since it is generally less susceptible to microbial contamination, groundwater is usually considered to be a safe alternative to untreated surface water. However, wells in many areas of the world are potentially exposed to contamination with naturally occurring arsenic and/or fluoride.
Since health symptoms often become apparent only after long-term exposure or can be hard to distinguish from other causes, it is important to differentiate between safe and unsafe groundwater sources as early as possible. In recent years, significant progress has been made in predicting groundwater arsenic and fluoride contamination by drawing relationships with a variety of climatic, geological, soil and other physical parameters. These can function as effective spatial proxies for hydrogeochemical processes related to geogenic contamination and can be used in different combinations with statistical modeling (e.g. logistic regression or random forest) to predict the distribution of high and low arsenic or fluoride concentrations across entire regions, even in areas without survey data. Due to the general nature of this modeling process, it can also be applied to a variety of other contaminants and problems of a geospatial nature. Examples include nitrate in groundwater, aquifer vulnerability, cyanide contamination of soil and arsenic in rice. The great potential of this approach has provided the basis for us to develop the Groundwater Assessment Platform (GAP) for the mapping, sharing and predictive risk modeling of groundwater and other data. GAP is an interactive online GIS platform that provides maps of existing data and models as well as the possibility for users to upload, display and model their own data in a secure environment. Despite having fewer options compared to statistical programming languages, the prediction maps produced using GAP are remarkably similar and require substantially less time to generate due to GAP's easy and straightforward modelling interface. This and GAP's functionality for sharing data/models with other users, groups of users or the public also make GAP an excellent tool for dissemination and public involvement.- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AGUFMGH12A..01P
- Keywords:
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- 0414 Biogeochemical cycles;
- processes;
- and modeling;
- BIOGEOSCIENCES;
- 0220 Geomedicine;
- GEOHEALTH;
- 0240 Public health;
- GEOHEALTH;
- 1884 Water supply;
- HYDROLOGY