Premium
Spatial relationship of groundwater–phosphorus interaction in the Kissimmee river basin, South Florida
Author(s) -
Assegid Y.,
Melesse A. M.,
Naja G. M.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
hydrological processes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.222
H-Index - 161
eISSN - 1099-1085
pISSN - 0885-6087
DOI - 10.1002/hyp.10241
Subject(s) - groundwater , phosphorus , environmental science , drainage basin , hydrology (agriculture) , spatial variability , geology , chemistry , geography , mathematics , statistics , geotechnical engineering , cartography , organic chemistry
Fluctuations of groundwater levels were used to predict soluble phosphorus concentrations. In‐situ observations showed a decrease in soluble phosphorus during groundwater recession and an increase with groundwater rise. A spatial analysis of the simulated soluble phosphorus and groundwater levels indicated similarity of patterns (spatial correlation) 99% of the time. A geographically weighted multivariate analysis of soluble phosphorus using groundwater levels, phosphorus levels of the Kissimmee River, and distance from the Kissimmee River as predictors showed a goodness of fit ( R 2 ) ranging from 0.2 to 0.7. Results indicated no significant difference between the simulated and observed soluble phosphorus levels at a p value of 0.01. Among the parameters, the groundwater level explained 70% of the soluble phosphorus variability. The distance to surface waterbodies and their phosphorus levels had significant weights only within a 5‐km range from the waterbody. A model generalization is further required to simulate the spatiotemporal groundwater–phosphorus dynamics over meaningful temporal ranges – at least for 3 to 5 years – for conclusiveness of the data. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.