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Volume 9
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10.3390/hydrology9020020
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Article

Identifying the Major Hydrogeochemical Factors Governing Groundwater Chemistry in the Coastal Aquifers of Southwest Bangladesh Using Statistical Analysis

by
Md. Mizanur Rahman Sarker
1,2,*,
Thomas Hermans
1,
Marc Van Camp
1,
Delwar Hossain
2,
Mazeda Islam
1,2,
Nasir Ahmed
3,
Md. Abdul Quaiyum Bhuiyan
3,
Md. Masud Karim
3 and
Kristine Walraevens
1
1
Laboratory for Applied Geology and Hydrogeology, Department of Geology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
2
Department of Geological Sciences, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka 1342, Bangladesh
3
Isotope Hydrology Division, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, Dhaka 1349, Bangladesh
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Hydrology 2022, 9(2), 20; https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology9020020
Submission received: 31 December 2021 / Revised: 19 January 2022 / Accepted: 29 January 2022 / Published: 1 February 2022
(This article belongs to the Section Marine Environment and Hydrology Interactions)
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Abstract

People in the southwestern (SW) coastal part of Bangladesh are suffering from a severe freshwater crisis due to saline groundwater at a shallow depth. Fresh groundwater below a 200 m depth is an option, but it is costly to construct deep tubewells for the local inhabitants. The processes of salinization and freshening were previously identified using conventional methods. In this study, we brought new insight into these processes by analyzing existing datasets using multivariate statistics to identify the factors affecting groundwater chemistry. Cluster analysis (CA) revealed three major clusters. Cluster A corresponded to saline (NaCl-type) water. Cluster B was also saline (NaCl-type) water but showed mixing effects. Cluster C was fresh groundwater (NaHCO3-type) and isolated. The hydrochemical characteristics of clusters A, B and C compared remarkably well with the groundwaters from the upper shallow aquifer (USA), lower shallow aquifer (LSA) and deep aquifer (DA), respectively. Factor analysis (FA) showed that 75% of the total variance was influenced by evaporate dissolution, carbonate dissolution/precipitation, cation exchange and anthropogenic pollution to some extent. Therefore, the integrated approach showed the validity of applying multivariate statistical techniques to infer the dominant hydrochemistry and to characterize and understand a complicated hydrogeological system.
Keywords: hydrochemistry; evaporite dissolution; cation exchange; cluster analysis; factor analysis hydrochemistry; evaporite dissolution; cation exchange; cluster analysis; factor analysis

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MDPI and ACS Style

Sarker, M.M.R.; Hermans, T.; Van Camp, M.; Hossain, D.; Islam, M.; Ahmed, N.; Bhuiyan, M.A.Q.; Karim, M.M.; Walraevens, K. Identifying the Major Hydrogeochemical Factors Governing Groundwater Chemistry in the Coastal Aquifers of Southwest Bangladesh Using Statistical Analysis. Hydrology 2022, 9, 20. https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology9020020

AMA Style

Sarker MMR, Hermans T, Van Camp M, Hossain D, Islam M, Ahmed N, Bhuiyan MAQ, Karim MM, Walraevens K. Identifying the Major Hydrogeochemical Factors Governing Groundwater Chemistry in the Coastal Aquifers of Southwest Bangladesh Using Statistical Analysis. Hydrology. 2022; 9(2):20. https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology9020020

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sarker, Md. Mizanur Rahman, Thomas Hermans, Marc Van Camp, Delwar Hossain, Mazeda Islam, Nasir Ahmed, Md. Abdul Quaiyum Bhuiyan, Md. Masud Karim, and Kristine Walraevens. 2022. "Identifying the Major Hydrogeochemical Factors Governing Groundwater Chemistry in the Coastal Aquifers of Southwest Bangladesh Using Statistical Analysis" Hydrology 9, no. 2: 20. https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology9020020

APA Style

Sarker, M. M. R., Hermans, T., Van Camp, M., Hossain, D., Islam, M., Ahmed, N., Bhuiyan, M. A. Q., Karim, M. M., & Walraevens, K. (2022). Identifying the Major Hydrogeochemical Factors Governing Groundwater Chemistry in the Coastal Aquifers of Southwest Bangladesh Using Statistical Analysis. Hydrology, 9(2), 20. https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology9020020

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