Abstract
The study of groundwater distribution is gaining importance due to the mounting pressures exerted by rapid urban growth on water supply, especially in small islands that could experience faster supply deterioration through saltwater intrusion. Understanding the interplay between the groundwater supply and demand dynamics requires seeing the resources beneath the surface. One typical visualization technique is groundwater potential (GWP) mapping, which predicts groundwater's spatial distribution from measurable variables on or above the Earth's surface. However, system errors and noise can affect the quality of the input variables, which can influence the reliability and explanatory power of the GWP maps. Herein, we analyzed the effect of noise on the GWP map accuracy for Cebu and Mactan islands, Philippines. We found that the GWP map retains the fidelity of the zonal structure information in the presence of noise in the input map layers. With a combination of two binary-classifier performance curves, we established the noise-resilience horizon. This horizon is the limit noise-level that the input maps may contain such that the GWP maps retain high accuracy. This horizon indicates that the input maps may carry as much as 20% to 25% error without significantly corrupting the GWP map's predictive accuracy. Our findings contribute to the knowledge of GWP mapping's accuracy limits, which is valuable as such diagrams comprise the core of decision-support systems in groundwater management. We also anticipate our dither approach as a foundation for the generic assessment of GWP map accuracy, regardless of a priori details of the map-generating model.
Highlights
Groundwater is an essential resource at the very foundation of modern human civilization
The frequency ratio (FR) values resulting from the application of the frequencyratio calculations onto the training data set reveals the noteworthy correlations between the thematic layers and groundwater potential (GWP)
We find that GWP takes strong influence from low lineament density and high drainage density, a counterintuitive combination
Summary
Groundwater is an essential resource at the very foundation of modern human civilization. The growth of urban centers worldwide presents an ever-mounting pressure on this water supply for three reasons. The population has grown tremendously in a period shorter than the development of groundwater extraction systems (Wyman, 2013). The threat of climate shifts seems to be happening at a rate faster than cities could adapt (Green, 2016). The speed of groundwater contamination, which anthropogenic activities accelerate, is sufficiently significant. Noise-Resilience Horizon in GWP Maps in magnifying the perceived scarcity (Burri et al, 2019). Studies that can help in enhancing the community’s adaptation rate, such as on the informative search of untapped groundwater sources, will be valuable
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
