Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Agricultural Engineering, Institute of Agriculture, Visva-Bharati (A Central University), Sriniketan, 731236, West Bengal, India
  • 2 Centre for Advanced Modelling and Geospatial Information Systems (CAMGIS), School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and IT, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia
  • 3 Ludwig-Franzius-Institute for Hydraulic, Estuarine and Coastal Engineering, Leibniz University Hannover, Nienburger Str. 4, 30167 Hanover, Germany
  • 4 Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano, Via Privata Giuseppe La Masa, 34, 20156, Milan, Italy
Heliyon, 2024 Jan 30;10(2):e24308.
PMID: 38293330 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e24308

Abstract

Assessing groundwater potential for sustainable resource management is critically important. In addressing this concern, this study aims to advance the field by developing an innovative approach for Groundwater potential zone (GWPZ) mapping using advanced techniques, such as FuzzyAHP, FuzzyDEMATEL, and Logistic regression (LR) models. GWPZ was carried out by integrating various primary factors, such as hydrologic, soil permeability, morphometric, terrain distribution, and anthropogenic influences, incorporating twenty-seven individual criteria using multi-criteria decision models along with a hybrid approach for the Subarnarekha River basin, India, in Google earth engine (GEE). The predictive capability of the model was evaluated using a Multi-Collinearity test (VIF <10.0), followed by applying a random forest model, considering the weighted impact of the five primary factors. The hybrid model for GWPZ classification showed that 21.97 % (4256.3 km2) of the area exhibited very high potential, while 11.37 % (2202.1 km2) indicated very low potential for GW in this area. Validation of the groundwater level data from 72 observation wells, performed by the Area under receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve technique, yielded values ranging between 75 % and 78 % for different models, underscoring the robust predictability of GWPZ. The hybrid and LR-FuzzyAHP models demonstrated remarkable effectiveness in GWPZ mapping, indicating that the downstream and southern regions boast substantial groundwater potential attributed to alluvial soil and favorable recharge conditions. Conversely, the central part grapples with a scarcity of groundwater. It holds the potential to assist planners and managers in formulating strategies for managing groundwater levels and alleviating the impacts of future droughts.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.