Supervisors info:
Παπαζώτος Παναγιώτης , Μεταδιδακτορικός Ερευνητής ΕΜΠ, σχολή Μεταλλειολόγων- Μεταλλουργών Μηχανικών, ΕΜΠ
Διακάκης Μιχάλης, Επίκουρος καθηγητής ΕΚΠΑ, τμήμα Γεωλογίας & Γεωπεριβάλλοντος
Ιακωβόγλου Βαλασία ,Εντεταλμένη Διδάσκουσα Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλίας, τμήμα Δασολογίας, Επιστημών Ξύλου & Σχεδιασμού
Summary:
The importance of water has been crucial for the evolution of both organisms and civilizations, from ancient times to the present. Water is essential not only for personal human use but also for industrial purposes, irrigation, and drinking. This master's thesis, titled "Coupling of Geo-Environmental Indices for the Evaluation of Groundwater Quality for Various Uses: A Case Study of NE Peloponnese," aims to evaluate groundwater quality in the Northern Peloponnese region, specifically Loutraki-Schinos-Geraneia Mountains. This study assesses groundwater suitability for uses such as irrigation and drinking by employing geo-environmental indices and ionic ratios. To achieve this, a total of 68 chemical analyses from groundwater samples were used, and various indices were calculated to evaluate water quality. These indices assess water quality in terms of: i) Irrigation suitability (SAR, KR, Na%, PS, MAR, RSC, SSP, TH, PI, IWQI, and TDS) ii) Drinking suitability (NPI, RI, PIG, WQI, and WPI) iii) Potentially Toxic Element (PTE) loadings (Cd, HEI, and HPI) iv) Various ionic ratios (Ca2+/Mg2+, Ca2+/SO42-, Ca2+/Na-, Cl-/NO3-, and Cl-/HCO3-) This comprehensive analysis ensures a thorough evaluation of groundwater quality for multiple uses. The data processing involved descriptive statistics, Pearson/Spearman correlation coefficients, factor analysis, and hierarchical cluster analysis. Additionally, numerous boxplots and hydrogeochemical diagrams were created. The results from the index calculations revealed that the groundwater samples from the Loutraki area and Geraneia Mountains are of good quality. In contrast, the samples from the Schinos area demonstrated lower quality compared to the other two areas for the various uses examined. This groundwater deterioration is attributed to the elevated concentrations of Cl-, Na+, ΝΟ3-, As, and Cr in the Schinos area, resulting from groundwater salinization and mild anthropogenic influences. The statistical analysis and the coupling of various geo-environmental indices revealed significant insights for assessing groundwater quality and optimizing groundwater resource management.
Keywords:
Groundwater, multivariate statistical analysis, potentially toxic elements, pollution, water use, geo-environmental indices
