Application of Stepwise Discriminant Analysis for the Identification of Salinity Sources of Groundwater

Statistical analysis can be an important tool to identify and classify different sources of groundwater salinisation. This paper refers to the application of Stepwise Discriminant Analysis (SDA) as an effective technique for the identification of major constituent ratios which can be used for efficiently identifying various salinity sources. The effectiveness of the SDA method was tested on five groups of groundwater samples known for their salinisation. Three were taken from the brackish groundwater of the Nestos River delta, from the geothermal field of Nea Kessani and the brackish groundwater of the western coastal area of Rhodope, in Greece. The remaining two groups were taken from bibliographic sources and they refer to the degraded groundwater of the Wittmund area in coastal NW Germany as well as from the underground brines of Sichuan Basin in China. The method of SDA has demonstrated its effectiveness of classifying different groundwater groups, and its usefull contribution to the groundwater contamination. In this way, possible expensive field investigations and analyses of chemical parameters can be eliminate.