Assessment and Modeling of the Vulnerability of Regional Aquifers to Anthropogenic Perturbations
Więcej
Ukryj
1
Water and Environmental Study Centre, King Faisal University Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia
2
Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa, 31982, Saudi Arabia
3
Department of Environmental Health, College of Public Health, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam-Saudi Arabia
4
Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
5
Date Palm Research Center of Excellence, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
6
Department of Environmental Sciences, G.C. University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan
7
Department of Biological Sciences and Technology, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan
Autor do korespondencji
Abdul Ghafoor
Water and Environmental Study Centre, King Faisal University Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia
J. Ecol. Eng. 2024; 25(7):398-409
SŁOWA KLUCZOWE
DZIEDZINY
STRESZCZENIE
Water is at the core for achieving all 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs). The current study was performed for the appraisal and modeling of the vulnerability of regional aquifers to anthropogenic perturbations. Samples of water were examined to determine their physical and chemical properties. pH of groundwater varied from a value of 7.08 to a value of 8.46. Total dissolved solids (TDS) varied from 1048‒1580 mgL-1. Results revealed that 79% of Ca2+, 47.3 % of Mg2+, and 100% of Na+ and Cl‒ in water samples exceeded the standard permissible limits. The Aquifer Vulnerability Index (AVI) revealed that Neogene aquifer was categorized as high vulnerability to extremely high vulnerability class to risk of contamination. AVI Index method was also performed for the other major aquifers demonstrating that Dammam aquifer was categorized in the high vulnerability class, Er Radhuma and Aruma categorized as moderately vulnerable to contamination. This study demonstrated an integrated model to help investigate the vulnerability of regional aquifers and highlighted the need for continuous monitoring campaigns to investigate the effects of anthropogenic activities on aquifers to make timely and effective decisions